Why SQL Server on Linux?

Abstract

Microsoft SQL Server 2017 became generally available on October 2nd, 2017. It marked the 12th major release of SQL Server in its history. SQL Server is now a leading data platform for the industry. It powers websites, industries, and business applications all over the world from laptops to small businesses to large enterprise servers. It is used as a data platform in private and public clouds. The database engine is the power behind Microsoft Azure SQL Database. SQL Server has for many years had a great reputation for ease of use, ease of administration, and as a leader in price/performance. But SQL Server has now become a major force in technology through breakthrough performance and scalability, trusted security, and new intelligence capabilities. Features like Columnstore indexes, Query Store, Always Encrypted, Graph Database, Always On Availability Groups, and Machine Learning Services demonstrate that SQL Server is not just a great relational database engine but truly a data platform for applications. Our proud history of running side by side with Windows Server over the years is an incredible story. Then why would we build SQL Server to also run on Linux?