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SQL Server 2019 is a modern, self-hosted release of Microsoft's primary RDBM engine. The headline feature is the integration of Microsoft SQL Server with the Spark analytics engine, Hadoop Distributed File System, and additional Linux-powered big data components to enable Big Data Clusters. The Big Data Cluster supports massively scaled machine learning tasks on the data stored in HDFS and SQL Server storage pools. You can implement Big Data Clusters as containers in locally hosted Kubernetes clusters, such as AKS on Azure Stack, or in any cloud with a Kubernetes service like Microsoft Azure Kubernetes Service.

SQL 2019 also delivers enhancements in the fundamental SQL Server database technology such as feature parity on Linux systems. Additional significant innovations improve SSAS and SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS).

Because SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 R2 have reached EOS status, moving to a modern release of Microsoft SQL Server makes sense for organizations concerned about cybersecurity, compatibility, and competitiveness. Progent has two decades of background designing, deploying, managing, and debugging SQL Server environments and can assist companies of all sizes to perform a cost-effective upgrade to Microsoft SQL Server 2019. Progent's Microsoft-certified Microsoft SQL Server experts can help you to assess the benefits for transitioning to Microsoft SQL Server 2019 from an older release of SQL Server and Progent can provide fast remote or on-premises access to experts in system architecture, software programming, DBA services, and data security. Progent can help you to configure Microsoft SQL Server 2019 on premises, in a private or public cloud, or in a hybrid on-prem/cloud network model.

You can work with Progent's consultants on an as-needed basis for tasks like design review or troubleshooting or you can get comprehensive project management and co-management support to ensure your Microsoft SQL Server 2019 initiative is successfully carried out on time and within budget. Progent can provide the help of certified network security experts, disaster recovery/business continuity planning consultants, and database application designers and programmers to make sure your SQL Server 2019 environment delivers top business value.

Progent's Microsoft-certified IT experts can also help your business to configure Microsoft SQL Server 2019 to work with other Microsoft products and technologies by providing support such as Windows Server 2019 consulting services, Hyper-V configuration consulting, Exchange Server 2019 solution design consulting, SharePoint 2019 development consulting services, hybrid integration with Azure cloud services, Microsoft Skype for Business integration expertise, Dynamics GP reporting expertise, and Microsoft System Center Operations Manager (SCOM) consulting.

Progent's veteran software developers can help you to plan, produce, pilot test, install, and troubleshoot applications that use Microsoft SQL Server 2019 databases and Progent can provide expertise in data modeling, (Online Transaction Processing, Data Warehousing, Data Mining, ETL, tuning, availability, backup/recovery, analytics, and integration with Amazon Marketplace Web Service. To learn more about Progent's SQL Server development and debugging services, visit SQL Server software development experts.

Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Editions
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.

SQL Server 2019 Enterprise is the high-end edition of SQL Server 2019 and is designed for mission-critical applications that call for the highest advanced levels of capacity, resilience, and throughput. Compute power and RAM permitted per database are limited only by the operating system limit, the amount of virtual machines allowed is unlimited, and relational database size can be as high as 524 PB. High availability features offered only on the Enterprise version of Microsoft SQL Server 2019 include Always On availability groups for collective failover, online file restore, online index create and rebuild, pause and resume online index rebuilds, online schema change, and live add memory and processor. Scalability and performance features for the Enterprise version of Microsoft SQL Server 2019 include in-RAM database, partitioned table parallelism, automatic optimization, batch mode adaptive joins plus memory grant feedback. The Enterprise edition of Microsoft SQL Server 2019 also offers a richer collection of data warehousing services, Analysis Services and Reporting Services than other versions.

SQL Server 2019 Developer version is basically identical to the Enterprise edition, but is licensed for use only for development and testing. The Developeredition is not licensed for use in a production system. Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Developer supports only a single client for SQL Server Distributed Replay.

Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Standard version is intended for departments and small organizations who need a basic, minimum-overhead solution for information management and BI. Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Standard edition includes all the security functions of SQL Server 2019 Enterprise, but CPU scale is limited to the smaller of 4 sockets or two dozen cores. For every instance of SQL Server Database Engine, maximum memory for buffer pool is 128 GB, and max memory-optimized data size is 32 GB. In contrast to the Enterprise edition, the Standard version of Microsoft SQL Server 2019 does not come with advanced R and Python support and does not incorporate Machine Learning Services, but includes the remaining programmability functions and the administration utilities the come with the Enterprise edition. High-end features like transparent data encryption and Big Data Clusters are included with the Standard edition.

SQL Server 2019 Web version is an inexpensive option intended for web hosting organizations. CPU capacity is restricted to the smaller of four sockets or 16 cores, max buffer pool RAM is 64 MB, and maximum RAM per instance is 64 GB. Unlike the Standard edition of Microsoft SQL Server 2019, SQL Server 2019 Web edition does not include Always On failover cluster instances, basic availability groups, or accelerated database recovery. The Web version also does not offer transparent database encryption. You can profile SQL Server Web with Microsoft SQL Server Enterprise or SQL Server Standard editions, and SQL Server Web includes the other management utilities provided with the Standard version. Data warehousing, multidimensional models, BI Services, and certain Reporting Services are not included.

Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Express, offered in several variants, is a no-cost entry-level version of Microsoft SQL Server designed for training or for creating desktop, bare-bones-server, and client applications that do not require an industrial-strength database platform. Processing scale is limited to the smaller of 1 socket or 4 cores, max buffer pool cache RAM is 1.41 MB, and maximum memory-optimized data is 352 MB. If applications developed with Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Express grow to require more resources or additional functionality, you can migrate smoothly to more advanced versions of Microsoft SQL Server. Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Express with Advanced Services adds Basic R and SQL Graph services, the distributed replay management utility, and SSDT. SQL Server 2019 Express with Advanced Services can also support a SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) database. SQL Server Express LocalDB is a trimmed down version of Express that operates in user mode and can be deployed without configuration and with virtually no prerequisites. The LocalDB edition of Express shares the programmability functions of other Express releases but does not allow in-memory (Online Transaction Processing.

Parts of Microsoft SQL Server 2019
The Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Installation Wizard enables you to select which of the SQL Server components you want to activate in your deployment. These parts include:

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

SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS)
SQL SSAS is an Online Analytical Processing and data mining resource for deriving useful insights from data dispersed across separate databases or in a variety of files or tables.

SSRS
SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) provides a collection of local utilities and services that enable you to build, share, and administer tabular, matrix, graphical, and unstructured reports. You can build responsive-design smart phone reports with the Mobile Report Publisher app and utilize native Power BI apps for mobile devices to access the data you have in SSRS.

Integration Services
SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) is a collection of programmable objects and code-less graphical utilities for blending data from a wide variety of sources. Extract, transform, and load (ETL) processes can be performed on XML data, text, and relational data silos. Integration Services can be utilized for copying or downloading files, loading data warehouses, cleaning up and mining data, and controlling Microsoft SQL Server data.

Master Data Services
Master Data Services is Microsoft SQL Server's Master Data Management (MDM) platform that allows businesses to build a centralized view of enterprise data, synchronizing data sources to avoid duplication and versioning data organization models to maintain consistency. A Microsoft Excel add-in makes it easy to share the master data set throughout an enterprise.

In-Database Machine Learning Services
SQL Server 2019 Machine Learning Services enables you to execute Python and R scripts with relational data without transferring data out of SQL Server 2019 or across the network to another server. The open-source Microsoft Python and R packages can be used to train and deploy machine learning models.

New and Improved Features of Microsoft SQL Server 2019
The most prominent new feature for Microsoft SQL Server 2019 is Big Data Clusters, which allows you to process big data from Transact-SQL or Spark for machine learning and AI applications. Additional new or improved features impact key technologies including the SQL Database Engine, feature parity between SQL Server on Linux and Microsoft SQL Server on Windows, SQL Server Analysis Services, and 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 massively scalable clusters in interrelated SQL Server, Apache Spark, and Hadoop Distributed File System containers managed by Kubernetes. Because these elements can run in parallel, The Big Data Clusters feature permits you to analyze big data from either Microsoft Transact-SQL or Apache Spark and makes it easy to combine and analyze your internal SQL Server relational data with. Deployment scenarios include virtualized data for processing external data silos without transferring or copying the data, data lakes made from HDFS storage pools to house big data, and scale-out data marts to distribute data from a variety of sources across data pool nodes. You can use Spark or built-in R, Python, Scala, and Java utilities in SQL Server 2019 for machine learning jobs on the data held in HDFS storage pools and data pools.

Additional Enhancements to the SQL Server 2019 Database Engine
Additional improvements to the Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Database Engine address smart databases, the developer environment, security, HA, and Linux and Windows feature parity. Enhancements to the Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Database Engine include:

• Intelligent Query Processing increases the responsiveness of your existing applications and is activated automatically on the current database compatibility level setting. Enhancements include automatic memory grant correction, batch mode execution without requiring columnstore indexes, automatic transformation of scalar UDFs into relational expressions, and table variable deferred compilation.
• Enhanced In-Memory Database features leverage contemporary hardware to enhance performance and expandability with new capabilities like direct PMEM device access, reduced Metadata contention in TempDB, and the ability to create snapshots of databases that contain memory-optimized filegroups for In-Memory OLTP.
• Intelligent performance enhancements in SQL Server 2019 impact typical resource bottlenecks and provide database configuration options to promote more consistent performance for all applications. Enhancements include optimization for indexes prone to high-concurrency inserts, Query Store plan forcing support for fast forward and static Transact-SQL and API cursors, finer control for configuring memory limits for resource governance, reduction in incidents of unnecessary recompilations, improved scalability for indirect checkpoint, shared latch concurrent updates for Page Free Space, and scheduler worker migration for long-running tasks to achieve more balanced CPU usage.
• Enhancements to the developer experience include partition tables and index partitioning support for graph tables, UTF-8 import and export encoding, a new Java SDK, new spatial reference identifiers (SRIDs) better aligned with global positioning systems, and more detailed warnings to streamline troubleshooting truncation issues in unsuccessful ETL processes.
• Security improvements include the Always Encrypted feature with secure enclaves, which enables processing on plaintext data within a secure enclave on the server side instead of being restricted to on the client side. This eliminates moving data in and out of the database for operations such as key rotation, thereby improving cryptographic performance and reliability. Also, certificate management is integrated into the SQL Server Configuration Manager. This simplifies processes like checking and validating certificates, managing certificates approaching expiration, and deploying certificates throughout machines within Failover Clusters. A new integrated Data Discovery and Classification function helps you to categorize and name 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, Microsoft SQL Server 2019 expands the maximum allowable synchronous replicas within an Availability Group (AG) from 3 to 5. You can set up this group of replicas to have automatic failover inside the group. You can deploy one primary replica plus four synchronous secondary replicas within a group. Also, secondary to primary replica read/write connection redirection for Always On Availability Groups allows client app connections to be directed to the primary replica regardless of what target server is specified in the connections string. This feature brings replica connection redirection for implementations that have no an AG listener as with a multi-subnet configuration in the cloud.
• Microsoft's SQL Server Database Engine database recovery technology has been revamped in SQL Server 2019 to include the Accelerated Database Recovery feature. This capability substantially shortens the time it takes to complete a database recovery after a failover or other abrupt termination. Accelerated Database Recovery also cuts the time required to complete rollback of canceled long-running transactions.
• SQL Server on Linux has come close to offering feature parity with SQL Server on Windows with the addition of new SQL Server on Linux features such as replications services, the MSDTC and RPC endpoint mapper, AD authentication, Python and R Machine Learning Services, PolyBase on Linux for non-Hadoop connectors, Change Data Capture (CDC), plus enhancements in TempDB file size and auto growth.

Improvements to SSRS 2019
Enhancements to SQL Server 2019 Reporting Services include:

• Support for Azure SQL Managed Instance (MI) allows you to host a database catalog for SSRS 2019 in an Azure SQL Managed Instance hosted in a VM or in your on-prem data center. You must use your database credentials for the connection to SQL MI.
• Support for Power BI Premium datasets via either Microsoft Report Builder or SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT). You can publish your reports to SQL Server 2019 Reporting Services (SSRS) using SSAS 2019 connectivity.
• Azure AD Application Proxy eliminates the necessity of managing your own web application proxy in order to permit safe access through the web or via mobile apps.
• Microsoft SQL Server 2019 now works with Transparent Database Encryption for the SSRS 2019 catalog database for both Enterprise and Standard editions.

Progent can help your company to migrate your data and apps, set up test environments to verify SQL Server 2019's ability to run your business-critical workloads, centralize management, design and implement a company-wide security plan that complies with regulatory and industry requirements, integrate mobile devices, and define a disaster recovery/business continuity strategy that takes advantage of the advanced HA features built into SQL Server 2019.

IT consulting services offered by Progent for SQL Server 2019 include:

• Project Management: Progent offers project management and co-management consulting services to help your company to adhere to best practices to ensure that your SQL Server 2019 project is carried out on schedule and on budget. Project offers support from top-tier consultants to provide guidance for any phase of project management including requirements identification, preparedness assessment, solution design, upgrade planning, configuring pilot environments, implementation, optimization, documentation, training, administration, and on-demand remote or onsite advice and troubleshooting.
• Database Migration: Progent's seasoned Database Administration consultants can provide expertisefor all releases of Microsoft SQL Server, even end-of-support (EOS) releases like SQL Server 2008. Progent can also provide Oracle consulting, MySQL solution design and programming, and Microsoft Access expertise. Progent has 20 years of experience delivering database consulting expertise and can assist you to migrate your databases and apps to Microsoft SQL Server 2019 rapidly and economically.
• Integration with Other Microsoft Applications: Microsoft's extensive catalog of enterprise applications, operating systems, development environments, management tools, and cloud services depend on SQL Server as their underlying database technology. Progent's Microsoft-certified experts can assist you to integrate SQL Server 2019 seamlessly with other Microsoft apps by providing services such as Windows Server 2019 upgrade services, SharePoint Server 2019 application design, Power BI reporting training and support, Exchange Server 2019 integration expertise and Microsoft 365 Exchange Online integration consulting, and Active Directory planning and troubleshooting.
• Business Intelligence (BI) and Custom Reporting: Progent's business intelligence and reporting consultants can help you to utilize Microsoft's business Intelligence (BI) stack to build and publish BI reports that can be accessed safely via any device. Progent can assist your organization create PowerPivot models and utilize Microsoft SQL SSAS 2019 to manage tabular databases. Progent's Power BI consultants can assist your organization to connect to Power BI datasets via Microsoft Report Builder or SQL Server Data Tools and post reports to SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) by using SQL Server Analysis Services connections. Progent's BI experts can also help your company to connect SQL Server 2019 with third-party BI reporting products like Crystal Reports or upgrade from legacy reporting platforms such as FRx.
• Infrastructure: Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE network architecture experts can help your company to plan, configure, manage, and secure a high-availability and responsive network infrastructure for your SQL Server 2019 environment. Progent can assist your business design and implement an optimal solution for any network model including onsite or hybrid.
• Cybersecurity and Compliance: Progent's cybersecurity and compliance specialists have earned advanced information security certifications such as CISA, CISSP and GIAC. Progent can provide businesses of any sizes a variety of cybersecurity services covering vulnerability audits, improvements, response, and monitoring services to counter known and new malware attacks such as ransomware and to validate compliance with regulatory and industry standards.
• Virtualization Support: Progent can help you to plan and configure an affordable and manageable virtualization solution for SQL Server 2019 and offers access to certified Hyper-V consulting experts, VMware vSphere and vCloud experts, VMware NSX-certified virtualization consultants, and Citrix XenServer experts to help your organization to deploy and manage a virtualized ecosystem.
• ProSight Remote Monitoring and Management Services: Progent offers a selection of budget-friendly, fixed-price services designed to enable small and medium-size businesses to benefit from the same best-of-breed IT solutions used by some of the industry's top enterprises. The ProSight line of outsourced network management services addresses all key areas of modern networking such as email protection, threat defense based on machine leaning, automated backup and disaster recovery, network infrastructure health monitoring, virtual server cloud hosting, and IT resources documentation management.
• Disaster Preparedness/Business Continuity Planning: Progent's disaster preparedness consultants can help your organization to develop and test a disaster recovery plan that utilizes Microsoft SQL Server 2019's high-availability technology to maximize network uptime and shorten recovery time for mission-critical applications and services. Progent's business continuity preparedness experts can help you to create and validate a detailed plan to keep your core business processes running in case of a catastrophe. The business continuity plan deals with network issues but also covers preparation for problems like emergency alert technologies and processes, temporary office space, and regulatory mandates for reporting.
• Remote Consulting and Debugging: Progent has two decades of experience providing high-level consulting, application development, and troubleshooting services online. Access to remote expertise allows you to reduce the expense and delay of network downtime. Progent has delivered remote network services to businesses of all sizes in each state in the U.S. See Progent's customer testimonials.) Progent also offers on-site expertise in most metro areas throughout the U.S. and Canada.

If you require immediate online assistance from a Microsoft-certified consultant, see Progent's Online IT Technical Support.

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