SP1, which is about 250MB in size and can be downloaded at www.microsoft.com/sql/ctp_sp1.mspx, includes fixes for bugs and other technical problems but no security updates this time around, Bukshteyn said. Security patches for SQL Server will in the future be available on an immediate, ad hoc basis as well as in the Service Packs.

One "ongoing" security complaint about SQL Server 2005 is the "still-vast number of extended stored procedures that can be executed by even low-privilege user accounts," said Andrews. "They still give normal users too much of an opportunity for mischief."

Microsoft has not publicly discussed how well SQL Server 2005, which took five years to ship, is selling -- apart from revealing late last month that SQL Server revenue from its most recent quarter had grown 20 percent over the same quarter a year earlier.