Microsoft port SQL Server to Linux

Microsoft brings SQL Server to Linux. A preview of the basic capabilities of the relational database is available immediately. SQL Server for Linux should be widely available in mid-2017.

The arrival of SQL Server to Linux makes it possible to offer a consistent data platform, in Microsoft’s own words. The current limited release is still a private preview, but Microsoft says it is working with its partners, the community of users and customers to bring SQL Server for Linux to market.

Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth and Paul Cormier, chief executive of Red Hat’s Products & Technologies division, welcome the arrival of SQL Server to Ubuntu and Red Hat, respectively. Both companies are working with Microsoft on the port.

For a long time it seemed unthinkable that SQL Server would come to Linux, but the move follows a series of announcements from Microsoft in the Linux and open source field. Microsoft already brought Visual Studio Code to Linux, made .Net Core open source and developed its own Linux distro Azure Cloud Switch. The announcement is also in line with the strategy to make products and services available on as many platforms as possible. To this end, Microsoft recently purchased cross-platform development tool Xamarin.