I often receive the question what is the quickest way to learn SQL Server 2008 R2. Microsoft have published developers training kit which one can download and learn at your own pace, it has tutorials, videos, and hands-on lab which one can practice. This training kit has been published earlier and has been refreshed in May 2011. The May 2011 update provides support for Windows 7 SP1, Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 and Visual Studio 2010 SP1. Additionally, any demos or hands-on labs that no longer have a Visual Studio 2008 dependency were updated to Visual Studio 2010.

The training kit is divided into four sections:

• Getting Started (for Web and BI developers who are new to SQL Server)
• SQL Server 2008 (for experienced SQL Server developers who want to understand what’s new in 2008)
• SQL Server 2008 R2 (for experienced SQL Server developers who want to understand what’s new in 2008 R2)
• Office 2010 (for experienced BI developers who want to understand what’s new in 2008 R2 and Office 2010)

SQL Server 2008 R2 Update for Developers Training Kit

Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com)

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