Free Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Download aka SQL Server Denali

Download SQL Server 2012 RTM Version

Finally SQL Server 2012 release date has come (8 March 2012).
But before the SQL Server 2012 release date, Microsoft has already published public available free download SQL Server 2012 RTM binaries for evaluation. SQL Server data professionals can download SQL Server 2012 free for evaluation purposes from Microsoft Downloads portal.

Database developers and SQL Server DBA's will find more detailed information at http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=29066

Microsoft SQL Server 2012 trial version is released in three main parts.
SQLFULL_ENU.iso setup image file contains 32-bit and 64-bit SQL Server 2012 installation programs. Of course the size of SQLFULL_ENU.iso is 4.2 GB so it will take more time to download.

If you do not need both X86 and X64 versions of Microsoft SQL Server 2012 RTM, you can choose to download only 32-bit SQL Server or 64-bit SQL Server.

To download SQL Server 2012 for free trial version (X86), you have to download following files:
SQLFULL_x86_ENU_Core.box which is about 1.6 GB in size,
SQLFULL_x86_ENU_Lang.box that is about 642 MB in size, and
SQLFULL_x86_ENU_Install.exe only 94 KB.

For SQL Server 2012 free download of X64 trial version, you should download the following files:
SQLFULL_x64_ENU_Core.box that is 1.8 GB in size,
SQLFULL_x64_ENU_Lang.box that is 655 MB in size, and
SQLFULL_x64_ENU_Install.exe only 94 KB.

Download SQL Server 2012 Release Candidate 0 (SQL2012 RC0)

Microsoft has released the new SQL Server product Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Release Candidate 0 (RC0) on 17th of November, 2011 for Data Platform professionals to evaluate and analyze what is new in SQL Server 2012. The SQL Server 2012 RC0 downloads are better organized and the main sub-product lines within the SQL Server Data Platform has been highlighted with separate downloads options for SQL Server administrators and SQL Server developers.

You can continue Microsoft Downloads web portal to download Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Release Candidate 0 (RC0). But unfortunately this main SQL2012 download page offers a unique download .iso image file "ENU\SQLFULL_ENU.iso" with 4.4 GB in size. This single SQLFULL_ENU.iso image download contains both x86 and x64 editions of SQL Server 2012 RC0 so it may be unreasonable to download and both SQL Server 2012 editions.

I'll suggest database administrators and Transact-SQL developers to check the SQL Server 2012 download page on Microsoft Beta Experience.

As you can see from above screenshot of the Microsoft Beta Experience SQL Server download page, IT professionals can download and try evaluation version in 32-bit version or in 64-bit version options. Of course SQL Server 2012 is available in languages US English, French, Italian, German, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian, simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, Japanese and in Korean for the first Release Candidate RC0 version.

32-bit and 64-bit SQL Server 2012 download files are around 2.15GB

Microsoft SQL Server 2012 CTP3 Download

Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Denali CTP3 is released at 07/13/2011 for SQL Server IT professionals to enable them review the next version of SQL Server from first hand. The data platform administrators and developers can free download MS SQL Server 2012 Denali CTP3 version from Microsoft Beta Experience portal using url https://www.microsoft.com/betaexperience/pd/SQLDCTP3CTA/enus/. The current SQL Server 2012 download is provided in 32bit and 64 bit binaries in English, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Chinese, Japanese and Russian.

Before downloading below setup files, remember that Microsoft renamed the SQL Server Denali as SQL Server 2012 which was expected as SQL Server 2011 or SQL11. If you meet so-called SQL Server 2011 or SQL11 versions, remember that these are the CTP releases of the early beta versions of SQL Server 2012.

SQL Server Denali CTP3 download includes four SQL Server download files :

For 32 bit SQL Server 2012 installation files :
SQL Denali LCA EN.html, 1 KB ReadMe file
SQLFULL_x86_ENU_Install.exe, about 94 KB installation file
SQLFULL_x86_ENU_Core.box, about 1.7 GB x86 32-bit SQL Server 2012 Edition
SQLFULL_x86_ENU_Lang.box, about 570 MB

For 64 bit SQL Server 2012 installation files :
SQL Denali LCA EN.html, 1 KB ReadMe file
SQLFULL_x64_ENU_Install.exe, about 94 KB installation file
SQLFULL_x64_ENU_Core.box, about 1.8 GB x64 64-bit SQL Server 2012 Edition
SQLFULL_x64_ENU_Lang.box, about 620 MB

For free download of SQL Server 2012 Express edition and new SQL Express LocalDB edition, IT professionals can go to Microsoft Downloads portal Denali Express Core CTP3 download page http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=26784

Download Microsoft SQL Server 2012 CTP1 (aka SQL Server Denali CTP1)

Microsoft has released the next version of SQL Server, Microsoft SQL Server 2012 code-name SQL Server Denali CTP1 (Community Technology Preview 1) on 11/8/2010.
SQL Server database professional waiting first SQL Server 2012 CTP before the new year.
As assumed Microsoft has released MS SQL Server 2012 for free community download.
As we have used to, the first release of SQL Server Denali is the Community Technology Preview 1 or Microsoft SQL Server 2012, Denali CTP 1.
SQL Server database administrators and developers can find the Microsoft SQL Server 2012 download links below.

Please note that it is possible that in following months we will be presented a new version of SQL Server 2012 Denali CTP which will contain fewer bugs, more stable, more functional.
This next version will be named as Microsoft SQL Server 2012 CTP 2. I will announce the SQL Server 2012 CTP download links here as soon as the next CTP is released. I assume that the next CTP of SQL Server 2012 release date will be within four months.

After SQL Server 2012 CTP releases (Community Technology Preview), we will be able to try free SQL Server 2012 Beta version. Just a few months later the RTM release of the Microsoft SQL Server 2012 will be released to manufacture. You can find the Microsoft SQL Server 2012 download links for various builds here in this page.

Microsoft SQL Server 2012 CTP Download

SQL Server Denali CTP1 download includes 4 SQL Server download files :

Readme SQL Server Denali CTP1, 12 KB read me file. Download from "http://download.microsoft.com/download/A/6/B/A6BA76B8-BA7D-4408-A93A-F5EF8A1E1DD5/Readme_SQLServerDenaliCTP1.htm" Readme

SQLFULL_x86_ENU.exe, about 1.3 GB x86 32-bit SQL Server 2012 Enterprise Evaluation Edition download from "http://download.microsoft.com/download/A/6/B/A6BA76B8-BA7D-4408-A93A-F5EF8A1E1DD5/SQLFULL_x86_ENU.exe"
SQLFULL_x64_ENU.exe, about 1.5 GB x64 64-bit SQL Server 2012 Enterprise Evaluation Edition download from "http://download.microsoft.com/download/A/6/B/A6BA76B8-BA7D-4408-A93A-F5EF8A1E1DD5/SQLFULL_x64_ENU.exe" X64 version

It is also possible to download SQL Server Denali in .iso image file mode :
SQLFULL_ENU.iso about 2.8 GB in size downloadable from "http://download.microsoft.com/download/A/6/B/A6BA76B8-BA7D-4408-A93A-F5EF8A1E1DD5/SQLFULL_ENU.iso" SQL Server 2012 Full

Please note that starting with SQL Server 2012, Denali CTP 1 Itanium based installations are not supported any longer.

Before starting to download SQL Server 2012 CTP 1, note that SQL Server Denali is only supported on Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2, or on Windows Vista Service Pack 2 operating systems.
So if you are still using Windows XP computers, it is not possible to install SQL Server 2012 Denali on Windows XP.
For further SQL Server 2012 Requirements please refer to Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Requirements.