Keynote comment: is a unified storage system just
around the corner?
For me the most significant aspect of Cliff Reeve's keynote was
the sneak preview of 'Yukon', the codename for the next release of SQL
Server. This will probably be called SQL Server .NET, or some such jazzy
title. The claims for it were fascinating, partly because they are aiming
to make it an extremely strong XML platform, but primarily because they
are turning it into a very strong platform for semi-structured and
un-structured data.
The demo went smoothly, and there in the
XML-based result set were things like files and messages. I really woke up
at this point, and the brain cells went into overdrive.
You see, it was only last week that I heard a few
leaked claims about 'Kodiak', the forthcoming Exchange Server 2003
product. I heard that the JET engine store that has underpinned all
releases of Exchange Server since the initial 4.0 release in 1996, is
being replaced by SQL Server's engine. I also heard that the Exchange team
now report to the SQL group at Microsoft.
Then the real bombshell dropped. The Yukon
demonstration showed how the stored procedure engine of SQL Server has
been replaced by the .NET Common Language Runtime. In other words, you
will be able to write stored procedure code using any .NET language -
Visual Basic, C#, Cobol, Fortran or whatever takes your fancy. In other
words, Yukon will be the first major .NET server product built using the
.NET development technology.
Think through the implications of this for a
moment. If, as seems certain now, Kodiak will use the SQL Server engine,
then we have finally got a unified SQL and messaging store. Programming it
will be a matter of leveraging the facilities of .NET Framework, and SQL
Server turns into a fully focused and native XML store.
Now extend the thinking forward one more stage.
Look at the 'Drive M' facility in Exchange Server today. This is a
powerful replicating file system, based around the public folders
capabilities in Exchange Server. You can treat it just like it was file
system - create directories, apply permissions, expose metadata such as
the structured storage tags found in Office documents, and so forth. Can
we imagine that all of this is going to be junked, just because of a move
to the SQL Server store? No, of course not. So this clearly implies that
the Kodiak store, based on Yukon, will also be a native file system store
as well.
Yes, this is the promised Holy Grail of a unified
store. Something that can manage structured RDBMS data, semi-structured
data like that held in Exchange Server, and fully unstructured data held
in file system.
Now let's be even more radical. Given that, with
the release of Windows XP, there is no legacy real-mode operating system
code any more, there is therefore no need whatsoever for there to be any
limit to what could be bootstrapped as part of the operating system
start-up. Indeed, would it be really beyond the realms of possibility for a
Yukon-based MSDE derivative to boot as the native file system for Windows
XP+1, otherwise codenamed 'Blackcomb'?
All the pieces fit together. Everyone at
Microsoft that I talk to about SQL Server futures gets very nervous when I
touch upon Exchange Server futures, and especially native file storage. I
think there is a big picture here, and one which Microsoft is keeping very
tight lipped about at the moment.
Timescales for them opening the kimono on this? I
think nothing will be said until after Windows.NET Server ships, along
with the initial release of Visual Studio.NET. Yukon will be in beta early
2002, and Microsoft has traditionally been very quiet about SQL Server
betas anyway. That puts Yukon on track for a mid 2002 release, which ties
up nicely with the Yukon-derived Kodiak shipping in early 2003.
Oh, and given that Tahoe is not even Active
Directory enabled at the moment, can we see an interesting scope for Tahoe
2003 becoming a version control and content management system for
Yukon/Kodiak?
I think it all fits together. I am utterly
convinced that there is a clear path to a unified storage system,
including the file system, and I expect it to be on my servers by the end
of 2003. How's that for a bold prediction?
Jon Honeyball
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Cliff Reeves on Microsoft's
"three big bets"
Comment: keynote shows Microsoft's
maturity
 Keynote interview: Anders Hejlsberg
|
