Microsoft Gold-Certified Consultants

Microsoft SQL Server 2019 is a modern, self-hosted release of Microsoft's primary database engine. The marquee enhancement is the seamless combination of SQL Server with Spark, HDFS, and other Linux-powered big data components to support Big Data Clusters. The Big Data Cluster enables massively scaled AI operations on the high-volume data resident in HDFS and Microsoft SQL Server 2019 storage pools. You can deploy Big Data Clusters as containers in locally hosted Kubernetes clusters, such as AKS on Azure Stack, or in any cloud with a managed Kubernetes service such as Microsoft Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS).

SQL 2019 also delivers improvements in the core SQL Server database engine such as feature parity for Linux machines. Other important innovations impact SQL Server Analysis Services and SQL Server Reporting Services.

Because Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 R2 have reached end of support status, moving to a current version of SQL Server makes sense for businesses worried about security, manageability, and competitiveness. Progent has twenty years of background planning, implementing, optimizing, and debugging SQL Server environments and can help companies of all sizes to perform an efficient migration to Microsoft SQL Server 2019. Progent's Microsoft Gold-certified Microsoft SQL Server experts can assist you to evaluate the advantages for transitioning to Microsoft SQL Server 2019 from an older version of Microsoft SQL Server and Progent can provide rapid remote or on-premises access to experts in solution architecture, application programming, DBA services, and data security. Progent can help you to install SQL Server 2019 on premises, in a private or public cloud, or in a hybrid on-prem/cloud network architecture.

You can work with Progent's experts on an occasional basis for tasks like system architecture guidance or debugging or you can get comprehensive project management and co-management support to ensure your SQL Server 2019 migration is successfully carried out on time and within budget. Progent offers the skills of certified information security experts, disaster recovery/business continuity preparedness specialists, and SQL database application developers to ensure your SQL Server 2019 ecosystem provides maximum business value.

Progent's Microsoft Gold-certified consultants can also assist your organization to set up Microsoft SQL Server 2019 to operate with other Microsoft products and technologies by offering expertise that includes Windows Server 2019 consulting, Hyper-V planning and integration consulting, Exchange Server 2019 solution design consulting, SharePoint 2019 development consulting services, hybrid integration with Microsoft Azure cloud services, Skype for Business configuration consulting, Dynamics GP/Great Plains custom reporting consulting, and Microsoft System Center Operations Manager (SCOM) consulting.

Progent's veteran software developers can assist your organization to plan, produce, validate, deploy, and troubleshoot apps that utilize SQL Server 2019 and Progent can provide expertise in data modeling, OLTP, Data Warehousing and Mining, ETL, tuning, availability, backup/recovery, OLAP, and integration support for Amazon MWS. To find out more about Progent's SQL Server development and debugging expertise, refer to SQL Server application development experts.

SQL Server 2019 Versions
SQL Server 2019 is available in five basic editions distinguished by price, performance, scale and licensing rules. Progent can help you decide which editions make sense for your needs, and Progent can also help you simplify license management.

Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Enterprise is the high-end version of SQL Server 2019 and is intended for critical applications requiring the most advanced levels of scale, resilience, and performance. Processing power and memory supported per database are bound only by the operating system limit, the number of virtual machines allowed is unlimited, and relational database size can be as high as 524 PB. High availability features unique to the Enterprise version of SQL Server 2019 include Always On availability groups for collective failover, online page and file restore, online index create, suspend and resume online index rebuilds, mirrored backups, and live add memory and CPU. Scalability and throughput functions for the Enterprise edition of Microsoft SQL Server 2019 include in-memory database, resource governance, auto tuning, batch mode adaptive joins plus memory grant feedback. The Enterprise version of SQL Server 2019 also offers a more complete collection of data warehousing services, Master Data Services and Reporting Services than other versions.

SQL Server 2019 Developer edition is basically the same as the Enterprise edition, but is restricted for use exclusively for development and validation. The Developerversion is not licensed for use in a production system. SQL Server 2019 Developer handles only one client for SQL Server Distributed Replay simulation.

Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Standard edition is intended for departments and small businesses who need a basic, low-overhead solution for information management and business intelligence. Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Standard version supports all the security features of SQL Server 2019 Enterprise, but compute scale is restricted to the smaller of four sockets or two dozen cores. For every instance of SQL Server Database Engine, the most RAM for the buffer pool cache is 128 GB, and max RAM-optimized data size is 32 GB. Unlike the Enterprise version, the Standard version of SQL Server 2019 does not come with advanced R and Python integration and does not incorporate Machine Learning Services, but supports the remaining development features as well as the management tools provided with the Enterprise version. Advanced features like transparent data encryption and Big Data Clusters are included with the Standard edition.

Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Web edition is a value-priced option designed for web hosting organizations. Compute capacity is limited to the smaller of 4 sockets or 16 cores, maximum buffer pool memory is 64 MB, and maximum memory per instance is 64 GB. Unlike the Standard version of Microsoft SQL Server 2019, Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Web version does not include Always On failover cluster instances, basic availability groups, or transactional replication to Windows Azure. The Web version also does not support transparent database encryption. You can profile Microsoft SQL Server Web by using Microsoft SQL Server Enterprise or SQL Server Standard editions, and SQL Server Web comes with the other management features provided with the Standard edition. Data warehousing, tabular models, BI Services, and some Reporting Services are not provided.

SQL Server 2019 Express, offered in a few variants, is a free low-end edition of Microsoft SQL Server designed for training or for creating PC, bare-bones-server, and end-user applications that do not need an advanced database. Compute capacity is limited to the smaller of one socket or 4 cores, max buffer pool cache memory is 1.41 MB, and top RAM-optimized data is 352 MB. If apps created with Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Express expand to require more capacity or additional functionality, you can migrate smoothly to more powerful versions of Microsoft SQL Server. SQL Server 2019 Express with Advanced Services includes Basic R and SQL Graph integration, the distributed replay management utility, and SSDT. SQL Server 2019 Express with Advanced Services can also host a SSRS database. SQL Server Express LocalDB is a ultra-lite version of Express that operates in user mode and can be installed without configuration and with virtually no prerequisites. The LocalDB version of Express includes the programmability functions of other Express releases but does not allow in-memory (Online Transaction Processing.

Elements of SQL Server 2019
The SQL Server 2019 Installation Wizard enables you to select which of the Microsoft SQL Server components you wish to activate in your installation. These elements include:

Database Engine
The Database Engine is the core of SQL Server's services for computing, holding, and protecting data. The Database Engine is used for replication, search, utilities for managing relational and XML data, supporting in-database analytics, integrating PolyBase for working with external data sources such as Hadoop, and Machine Learning Services for analyzing Microsoft SQL Server 2019's relational data with Python and R scripts.

SSAS
SQL SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) is an Online Analytical Processing and data mining toolset for extracting useful insights from data dispersed across separate databases or contained in various files or tables.

SSRS
SSRS offers a collection of local tools and services that enable organizations to build, share, and administer tabular, matrix, graphical, and unstructured reports, both mobile and paginated. You can create device-aware mobile reports with the Mobile Report Publisher app and utilize integrated Power BI apps for handheld devices to access the data processed in SSRS.

SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS)
SQL Server Integration Services is a collection of programmable objects and zero-code graphical tools for extracting and transforming data from multiple sources. Extract, transform, and load (ETL) processes can be applied to XML data files, text files, and relational data sources. Integration Services can be utilized for copying or downloading files, loading data warehouses, cleansing and mining data, and controlling Microsoft SQL Server data.

Master Data Services (MDS)
Master Data Services is SQL Server's Master Data Management (MDM) platform that enables organizations to build a centralized visualization of corporate-wide data, synchronizing data silos to eliminate redundancies and versioning data organization models to maintain consistency. An Excel add-in makes it easy to publish the master data set throughout an organization.

In-Database Machine Learning Services
SQL Server 2019 Machine Learning Services allows you to run Python and R scripts with relational data without transferring data outside SQL Server or across the network. The open-source Microsoft Python and R packages can be used for predictive analytics and machine learning.

New and Enhanced Features of Microsoft SQL Server 2019
The most prominent new feature for SQL Server 2019 is Big Data Clusters, which allows you to analyze big data from Transact-SQL or Spark for machine learning and AI solutions. Other new or enhanced features impact important technologies including the SQL Server Database Engine, feature parity between Microsoft SQL Server on Linux and Microsoft SQL Server on Windows, SSAS, and SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS).

Big Data Clusters
trusted execution environment Server 2019 debuts the Big Data Cluster, a cluster of Linux containers orchestrated by Kubernetes. The Big Data Cluster enables you to implement and run scalable clusters in interrelated SQL Server, Apache Spark, and Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS) containers managed by Kubernetes. Because these components can run concurrently, The Big Data Clusters feature permits you to process big data from Transact-SQL or Apache Spark and makes it simpler to aggregate and process your SQL Server relational data with unstructured big data. Implementation scenarios include virtualized data for processing outside data silos without transferring or replicating the target data, data lakes created with HDFS pools to hold big data, and scale-out data marts to spread data from a variety of sources across multiple data pool nodes. You can utilize Apache Spark or built-in R, Python, Scala, and Java tools in SQL Server 2019 for AI tasks on the data deposited in HDFS storage pools.

Other Enhancements to the SQL Server 2019 Database Engine
Additional enhancements to the Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Database Engine cover smart databases, the developer environment, security, high-availability (HA), and Linux/Windows feature parity. Improvements to the Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Database Engine include:

• Intelligent Query Processing (IQP) increases the responsiveness of your current applications and is activated by default on the latest database compatibility level setting. Improvements include row mode memory grant feedback, batch mode on rowstore, automatic transformation of scalar UDFs into relational expressions, and approximate query processing.
• Enhanced In-Memory Database features leverage hardware advances to improve performance and expandability with new capabilities such as direct access of persistent memory (PMEM) devices, reduced Metadata contention in TempDB, and support for creating Database Snapshots of databases that include memory-optimized filegroups for In-Memory OLTP.
• Intelligent throughput enhancements in SQL Server 2019 impact common bottlenecks and offer database setup alternatives to promote more consistent execution speed for all your workloads. Enhancements include optimization for indexes subject to high-concurrency inserts, Query Store plan forcing support for fast forward and static Transact-SQL and API cursors, finer control for configuring memory grants for resource governance, reduced incidents of unnecessary recompilations, improved scalability for indirect checkpoint, shared latch concurrent updates for Page Free Space (PFS), and scheduler worker migration for more balanced CPU usage.
• Improvements to the developer experience include partition tables and indexes for graph tables, support for UTF-8 import and export character encoding, an advanced Java SDK, new spatial reference identifiers (SRIDs) more closely aligned with global positioning systems, and more specific warnings to streamline debugging data truncation issues in failed extract, transform, and load (ETL) processes.
• Cybersecurity enhancements include the Always Encrypted feature with secure enclaves, which allows operations on plaintext data inside the trusted execution environment of a secure enclave on the server side instead of exclusively on on the client. This avoids transferring data into and out of the database for operations such as initial data encryption, which increases encryption speed. Also, certificate infrastructure management tools are incorporated in the SQL Server Configuration Manager. This simplifies processes like viewing and verifying SSL/TLS certificates, managing certificates nearing their expiration, and deploying certificates across machines within Availability Groups and Failover Clusters. An integrated Data Discovery and Classification function assists you to categorize and label columns in user tables. This can make it easier to identify where sensitive data is kept in the enterprise and to meet information security standards and compliance requirements.

• For enhanced availability, SQL Server 2019 ups the highest allowable allowable synchronous replicas in an Availability Group (AG) from three to five. You can configure this group of five replicas with auto failover within the group. You can have a primary replica along with four synchronous secondary replicas. Also, secondary to primary replica R/W connection redirection for Always On Availability Groups permits client app connections to be directed to the primary replica regardless of what target server is called for the connections string. This capability brings replica connection redirection for implementations that do not include an Availability Group listener as with a multi-subnet configuration in the cloud.
• Microsoft's SQL Server Database Engine recovery process has been re-architected in SQL Server 2019 to support the Accelerated Database Recovery feature. This feature dramatically shortens the time needed to complete the recovery process after a failover or other disorderly termination. Accelerated Database Recovery also shrinks the time required to execute rollback of aborted long-running transactions.
• Microsoft SQL Server on Linux has come close to offering feature parity with SQL Server on Windows through the provision of additional SQL Server on Linux functionality such as replications services, the Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (MSDTC), OpenLDAP for third-party AD providers, Python and R Machine Learning Services, PolyBase on Linux for non-Hadoop connectors, CDC support, plus improved scale in TempDB file size and auto growth.

Enhancements to SQL Server 2019 Reporting Services (SSRS)
Enhancements to SQL Server 2019 Reporting Services (SSRS) include:

• Support for Azure SQL Managed Instance (MI) allows you to host a database catalog for SQL Server 2019 Reporting Services (SSRS) in an Azure SQL Managed Instance hosted in a virtual machine or in your on-prem data center. You must use your database credentials for the connection to SQL Managed Instance.
• Support for connecting to Power BI Premium datasets via either Microsoft Report Builder or SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT). You can then publish your reports to SQL Server 2019 Reporting Services by utilizing SSAS 2019 connectivity.
• Azure Active Directory Application Proxy support does away with the necessity of managing your own web application proxy to allow protected access through the web or via mobile apps.
• Microsoft SQL Server 2019 works with Transparent Database Encryption for the SQL Server 2019 Reporting Services catalog database for Enterprise and Standard versions of SQL Server.

Progent's SQL Server experts can help your company to migrate your data and apps, set up test environments to validate SQL Server 2019's capability to run your business-critical workloads, simplify management, create and implement an enterprise-wide cybersecurity strategy that meets government and industry requirements, accommodate mobile devices, and create and test a disaster recovery/business continuity strategy that incorporates the advanced HA features incorporated in Microsoft SQL Server 2019.

IT consulting services available from Progent for Microsoft SQL Server 2019 include:

• Project Management: Progent can provide project management and co-management support services to assist you to follow best practices to make sure your Microsoft SQL Server 2019 project is successfully completed on time and within budget. Project offers the services of top-tier consultants to help with any phase of project management such as requirements identification, preparedness evaluation, system architecture, upgrade planning, configuring test systems, deployment, optimization, documentation, training, administration, and as-needed remote or onsite consulting and troubleshooting.
• Database Migration: Progent's veteran DBA experts can provide expertisefor all releases of Microsoft SQL Server, including end-of-support (EOS) versions such as Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2. Progent also offers Oracle consulting, MySQL solution design and development, and Microsoft Access expertise. Progent has two decades of background providing database solutions and can help your organization to port your databases and applications to SQL Server 2019 quickly and efficiently.
• Integration with Other Microsoft Applications: Microsoft's extensive line of enterprise apps, operating systems, development platforms, management utilities, and IT services depend on Microsoft SQL Server as their core database technology. Progent's Microsoft Gold-certified consultants can assist you to integrate Microsoft SQL Server 2019 seamlessly with other Microsoft products by providing consulting services that include Windows Server 2019 migration expertise, SharePoint Server 2019 application design, Power BI business reporting expertise, Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 integration consulting and Microsoft 365 Exchange Online hybrid integration solutions, and Active Directory design and debugging.
• Business Intelligence and Custom Reporting: Progent's business intelligence (BI) and custom reporting consultants can help your company to use Microsoft's business Intelligence (BI) stack to create and distribute BI dashboards and reports that can be shared safely from any device. Progent can help you build PowerPivot models and use Microsoft SQL SSAS 2019 to extract insights from tabular databases. Progent's Power BI specialists can help your organization to connect to Power BI datasets via Microsoft Report Builder or SQL Server Data Tools and publish reports to SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) by using SQL Server Analysis Services connections. Progent's BI experts can also assist your company to integrate Microsoft SQL Server 2019 with third-party BI reporting platforms like Crystal Reports or upgrade from legacy reporting products such as FRx.
• Infrastructure: Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE networking experts can assist you to plan, deploy, manage, and protect a resilient and high-performance network infrastructure for your SQL Server 2019 environment. Progent can help you design and implement an optimal infrastructure for any network model including on-premises or hybrid.
• Cybersecurity and Compliance: Progent's security and compliance experts have earned prestigious network security certifications including CISM, ISSAP and CRISC. Progent can provide organizations of any sizes a selection of security services including vulnerability audits, enhancement, response, and RMM services to counter known and new malware assaults like ransomware and to validate compliance with regulatory and industry standards.
• Virtualization Expertise: Progent can assist your company to plan and configure a cost-effective and manageable virtualization solution for Microsoft SQL Server 2019 and can provide the expertise of certified Hyper-V consulting experts, VMware vSphere and vCloud experts, VMware NSX-certified consultants, and Citrix XenServer experts to assist you to deploy and maintain a virtualized ecosystem.
• ProSight Remote Monitoring and Management Services: Progent provides a selection of low-cost, flat-rate managed services intended to enable small and mid-size businesses to benefit from the same advanced technology deployed by some of the industry's top corporations. The ProSight suite of network monitoring and management services covers all critical aspects of information technology including email content filtering, threat defense based on machine leaning, automated backup/recovery, network infrastructure health monitoring, VM cloud hosting, and IT resources documentation management.
• Disaster Preparedness/Business Continuity Preparedness: Progent's disaster preparedness specialists can assist you to create and test a disaster recovery strategy that utilizes SQL Server 2019's HA features to maximize network resilience and shorten restore time for mission-critical applications and services. Progent's business continuity preparedness experts can help your company to develop and validate a detailed plan to keep your core business processes operating in the event of a catastrophe. The business continuity plan deals with IT infrastructure but also covers preparation for problems like emergency notification systems and procedures, temporary office space and transportation, and regulatory mandates for reporting.
• Remote Guidance and Troubleshooting: Progent has twenty years of experience providing high-level consulting, software development, and debugging services online. Using remote IT support allows you to minimize the expense and delay of network disruptions. Progent has delivered online IT services to businesses in each state in the U.S. Refer to Progent's customer testimonials.) Progent also offers on-site support in major metro areas across the United States and Canada.

If you require immediate online assistance from a Microsoft-certified consultant, see Progent's Remote Network Support.

Learn more about Progent's Consulting Services for Microsoft .NET Server Platforms.