SQL Server is a conventional RDBMS created in partnership between Microsoft and Sybase in ~1989. Since then, SQL Server has only ever run on the Windows operating system.
Infoworld ranked SQL Server as the second most popular database (along with MySQL). SQL Server is considered by many to be in the top 3 database systems (for popularity), competing head to head with Oracle’s database product.
When run on Windows, SQL Server comes with several ‘extras’ including an ETL Platform (SSIS), a reporting platform (SSRS) and several other analytics features such as SSAS and R Server.
In March 2016, Microsoft announced that it would release a version of SQL Server that would run on Linux. It is currently in public preview, though not all features are working at this point.
Microsoft’s decision to port SQL Server on to Linux was quite a surprise to me. I blogged about it last March here.
Upon seeing the announcement, I quickly confirmed that it wasn’t an April Fools joke and I immediately applied to be included in the private preview. I was accepted a few months later and was given early access to the product. I built a Ubuntu Linux Virtual Machine and, a few shell commands later, it was up and running on an Ubuntu Linux VM. When I was able to connect to it with SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), I was able to confirm that, “Yep!, it’s Microsoft SQL Server running on Linux!”.
So you might be wondering: Is it usable? What are the use cases for this? Is anyone taking it seriously or is Microsoft just doing it ‘for show’? Is this something customers are really asking for?
Join SQL Server experts Richard Weiss and Warner Chaves as we discuss the particulars, including the viability of the product and possible use-cases on the second episode of the Datascape Podcast.
You can find it on iTunes, Google Play, Sound Cloud, and just about anywhere that shares podcasts.
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