The software will be launched at a special kickoff wave to be held in Los Angeles on February 27, 2008.

With its press release hyping the next round as the most important enterprise launch in company history, Microsoft will be rolling out Windows Server 2008, formerly code-named Longhorn; Visual Studio 2008, a.k.a., Orcas; and SQL Server 2008, a.k.a, Katmai.

Among highlights of the new release are declarative management for SQL Server, which lets you manage SQL Server configurations through higher-level policies; Visual Studio’s support of the Vista WinFX programming model; and new virtualization and the ability to eliminate some unnecessary baggage such as elimination of GUI support for remote servers that are running back end processes (such as DHCP or DNS) rather than applications.

Just about the only surprise of the announcement was the date of the actual rollout event. The features of Microsoft’s enterprise servers have been known for some time. Only the exact date, time, and location of release have been mysteries.