I just got my copy of the latest Yukon CTP and I've been poking around all weekend. I'm definitely like a kid with a new toy when I get a hold of something like this. However, what I've seen in the newsgroups and magazines for several months now makes me wonder what people think Yukon's going to be. Yukon is being billed as the answer to all of our database woes, and in many ways it is... but what gets glossed o I just got my copy of the latest Yukon CTP and I’ve been poking around all weekend. I’m definitely like a kid with a new toy when I get a hold of something like this. However, what I’ve seen in the newsgroups and magazines for several months now makes me wonder what people think Yukon’s going to be.Yukon is being billed as the answer to all of our database woes, and in many ways it is… but what gets glossed over quite often is that it’s still just a database, and you still access it like you always have. Yes, it is true that there are many new features that will solve a lot of our everyday problems, and maybe even some we don’t even know we have, but keep in mind that from the application or end-user perspective it really won’t be any different. For the most part, a solid SQL2K DBA will be able to function quite nicely in this new environment and he’ll only run into real trouble when he tries doing something new that he didn’t plan for. Sure, there are a lot of new concepts to learn, but as it stands, if your application isn’t using these new features, then you have a lot of room to get Yukon in place and learn the concepts at your leisure. Frankly, I’m hot and cold on the new release. I’ve been playing with Yukon since Beta 1, and I’ve seen a lot of polishing go into this last CTP, so I’m finally starting to see more what it’s going to look like. I’m very excited about some of the new features. Being a production DBA myself, I look at the things that will make my life easier… things like online reindexing, built-in database mail, completely re-written DTS, and the new DMVs (Dynamic Management Views). Those are the biggies, but the true test is in the details… the smaller things. Moving everything to a single environment was a good move. I personally get tired of moving from one environment to another, and having 3 different apps open on my taskbar. I even like the new keyboard shortcuts that have been added for SQL editing.The new release started me thinking about previous releases though. I remember when we went from 6.5 to 7.0, I wasn’t hot and cold at all. I loved the new release and everything about it. It was such a drastic revision, but everything was easier to do. They solved some of our biggest problems, and even the mistakes they made were easy to take in comparison to having to do the same thing in 6.5. So why am I hot and cold on this release then? Well, I suspect that it’s partially that I’m just so used to doing things in SQL2K, and I know the tools really well. I don’t know the Yukon tools very well yet, and I’m sure there’s a level of uncertainty that’s contributing to my reservation. Also, there are things I do now that I just haven’t figured out how to do in Yukon yet, so I’m not a fully fuctioning DBA with it. I honestly believe that I can probably do the largest percentage of my job with it, but I like to be able to do everything.The basic message here is just don’t be scared to make the leap to Yukon. Going to Yukon doesn’t mean you’ll have to be an instant guru with .Net, nor does it mean that you have to instantly make huge changes to your environment. I just means that as you business grows, and as you become more comfortable with the new concepts, you can start bringing them in slowly. Comments? Databases