Despite the fact that April 1st is April Fool’s Day, Microsoft released the latest version of SQL Server, SQL Server 2014 that day. Looking back a couple of years, I see that they did the same thing with SQL Server 2012.

I suppose you would love to learn more about SQL Server 2014 but have a dozen excuses why you are not downloading the evaluation edition and installing it. Maybe you don’t have a server handy, or just would like to learn about the features without taking the time to install it. Have I got a deal for you! If you take a look at the TechNet Virtual Labs and filter for SQL Server 2014, you will see two labs.

The cool thing about these labs is that they launch virtual machines that you can use to play with the technology. You can follow the provided lab…or not. Once you are done, the VMs are gone.

So, now you do not have an excuse, a technical one anyway, to avoid SQL Server 2014. By the way, there are also a number of 2012 labs available as well for learning even more about SQL Server. Have fun!