SQL Server 2019 is an advanced, on-premises release of Microsoft's primary RDBM platform. The headline feature is the integration of Microsoft SQL Server 2019 with Apache Spark, Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS), and additional Linux-powered big data components to support Big Data Clusters. The Big Data Cluster supports data-intensive AI and machine learning tasks on the high-volume data stored in HDFS and Microsoft SQL Server storage pools. You can implement Big Data Clusters as containers in self-hosted Kubernetes clusters, such as AKS on Azure Stack, or in a cloud with a managed Kubernetes service like Microsoft Azure AKS.
Microsoft SQL 2019 also delivers enhancements in the core SQL Server database technology such as feature parity on Linux machines. Other important innovations improve SSAS and SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS).
Since Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 R2 have reached end of support (EOS) status, moving to a current version of Microsoft SQL Server is a priority for organizations concerned about security, manageability, and competitiveness. Progent has two decades of experience planning, deploying, tuning, and debugging SQL Server environments and can help companies of any size to perform a cost-effective migration to SQL Server 2019. Progent's Microsoft Gold-certified SQL Server consultants can assist your organization to assess the benefits for transitioning to Microsoft SQL Server 2019 from any earlier release of SQL Server and Progent offers fast online or on-premises access to top-tier consultants in system architecture, software programming, DBA services, and data security. Progent can assist your business 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 jobs like system architecture review or debugging or you can get comprehensive project management and co-management services to make sure your Microsoft SQL Server 2019 initiative is completed on schedule and on budget. Progent can provide the skills of certified information security experts, disaster recovery preparedness specialists, and database application designers and programmers to ensure your SQL Server 2019 deployment provides maximum business value.
Progent's Microsoft Gold-certified consultants can also assist your organization to configure SQL Server 2019 to work in conjunction with additional Microsoft products and services by providing support that includes Microsoft Windows Server 2019 integration consulting, Windows Hyper-V configuration consulting, Exchange Server 2019 integration consulting, SharePoint 2019 development expertise, hybrid integration with Azure cloud services, Microsoft Skype for Business configuration expertise, Microsoft Dynamics GP/Great Plains custom reporting consulting, and Microsoft System Center Operations Manager (SCOM) consulting.
Progent's veteran software developers can help you to plan, produce, pilot test, deploy, and troubleshoot applications that utilize SQL Server 2019 and Progent can provide guidance in data modeling, (Online Transaction Processing, Data Warehousing, Data Mining, ETL, optimization, fault tolerance, backup/restore, reporting, and integration support for Amazon MWS. To learn more about Progent's SQL Server programming and troubleshooting services, visit SQL Server application programming 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.
SQL Server 2019 Enterprise is the high-end version of SQL Server 2019 and is designed for critical business applications requiring the highest advanced levels of scale, reliability, and throughput. Processing power and RAM permitted per database are limited only by the operating system limit, the number of VMs allowed is unlimited, and database size can be as high as 524 PB. HA features offered only on the Enterprise edition of Microsoft SQL Server 2019 include Always On availability groups, online file restore, online indexing, resumable online index rebuilds, fast recovery, and live add memory and processor. Expandability and throughput features for the Enterprise edition of Microsoft SQL Server 2019 include in-RAM database, resource governance, auto tuning, read ahead plus memory grant feedback. The Enterprise edition of Microsoft SQL Server 2019 also offers a richer set of data warehousing services, Analysis Services and Reporting Services than other editions.
Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Developer edition is basically identical to the Enterprise edition, but is restricted for use exclusively for application development and validation. The Developeredition is not permitted for use in a production server. Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Developer handles only one client for SQL Server Distributed Replay simulation.
SQL Server 2019 Standard version is designed for departments and small businesses who require an entry-level, low-overhead solution for information management and business intelligence. SQL Server 2019 Standard version supports all the security features of the Enterprise edition, but CPU capacity is restricted to the lesser of four sockets or 24 cores. For each instance of SQL Server Database Engine, the most RAM for the buffer pool cache is 128 GB, and maximum memory-optimized data size is 32 GB. In contrast to the Enterprise version, the Standard version of Microsoft SQL Server 2019 does not include advanced R and Python support and does not include Machine Learning Services, but supports the other development features as well as the management tools the come with the Enterprise version. Advanced features like transparent data encryption and Big Data Clusters are now included with the Standard version.
Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Web version is an inexpensive package intended for web hosting companies. CPU power is restricted to the lesser of four sockets or 16 cores, max buffer pool RAM is 64 MB, and maximum RAM per instance is 64 GB. In contrast to the Standard edition of Microsoft SQL Server 2019, Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Web edition does not support Always On failover cluster instances, hybrid backup, or accelerated database recovery. The Web edition also does not support transparent database encryption. You can profile SQL Server Web by using Microsoft SQL Server Enterprise or SQL Server Standard versions, and SQL Server Web includes the other management utilities included with the Standard version. Analysis Services, tabular and multidimensional models, BI Services, and certain Reporting Services are not provided.
Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Express, available in a few variants, is a free entry-level edition of SQL Server designed for learning or for creating PC, small-server, and client apps that do not need an advanced database. Compute scale is limited to the smaller of 1 socket or 4 cores, maximum buffer pool cache memory is 1.41 MB, and top RAM-optimized data is 352 MB. If applications created with SQL Server 2019 Express expand to call for more resources or extra functionality, you can migrate seamlessly to more advanced versions of SQL Server. Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Express with Advanced Services includes Basic R and SQL Graph integration, the distributed replay management tool, and SSDT. Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Express with Advanced Services can also support a SQL Server Reporting Services database. SQL Server Express LocalDB is a ultra-lite version of Express that runs in user mode and can be deployed without configuration and with virtually no prerequisites. The LocalDB version of Express includes the programmability features of other Express releases but does not allow in-memory OLTP.
Elements of SQL Server 2019
The SQL Server 2019 Installation Wizard allows you to choose which of the SQL Server components you want to include in your deployment. These components include:
Database Engine
The Database Engine is the core of SQL Server's services for processing, holding, and securing data. The Database Engine is responsible for replication, full-text search, utilities for managing relational data, supporting in-database analytics, integrating PolyBase for working with external data sources such as Hadoop, and Machine Learning Services for analyzing SQL Server's relational data using Python and R scripts.
SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS)
SQL SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) is an OLAP and data mining toolset for deriving useful insights from data dispersed across separate databases or in various files or tables.
SQL Server Reporting Services
SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) provides a library of local tools and services that allow organizations to build, share, and manage tabular, matrix, graphical, and unstructured reports. You can build responsive-design mobile reports with Microsoft's Mobile Report Publisher app and use integrated Power BI apps for handheld endpoints to view the data you have in SQL Server Reporting Services.
Integration Services
Integration Services is a set of programmable objects and code-less graphical utilities for migrating data from a broad range of sources. ETL processes can be applied to XML data files, flat files, and relational data sources. These services can be used for duplicating or downloading files, loading data warehouses, cleansing and mining data, and controlling Microsoft SQL Server data and objects.
Master Data Services
Master Data Services (MDS) is SQL Server's Master Data Management (MDM) solution that enables you to create a single visualization of corporate-wide data, synchronizing data sources to avoid duplication and tracking models to preserve consistency. A Microsoft Excel add-in makes it easy to share the master data set throughout an organization.
In-Database Machine Learning Services
SQL Server 2019 Machine Learning Services enables you to execute Python and R scripts using relational data without moving data out of SQL Server or across the network to another server. The Microsoft Python and R packages can be used to train and deploy machine learning models.
New and Improved Features of SQL Server 2019
The most prominent new feature for Microsoft SQL Server 2019 is Big Data Clusters, which enables you to work with big data from Transact-SQL or Spark for machine learning solutions. Other new or enhanced features impact key technologies such as the SQL Server Database Engine, feature equivalence between SQL Server on Linux and SQL Server on Windows, SSAS, and SQL Server Reporting Services.
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 configure and run massively scalable clusters in connected SQL Server, Apache Spark, and Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS) containers managed by Kubernetes. Since these components can run concurrently, The Big Data Clusters technology permits you to analyze big data from either Transact-SQL or Spark and makes it easy to combine and process your internal SQL Server relational data with unstructured big data. Deployment scenarios include data virtualization for processing outside data silos without transferring or copying the data, data lakes created with HDFS pools to house big data, and scale-out data marts to spread data from a variety of sources across data pool nodes. You can use Spark or integrated R, Python, Scala, and Java tools in SQL Server 2019 for AI and machine learning tasks on the data stored in HDFS storage pools.
Additional Improvements to the SQL Server 2019 Database Engine
Other enhancements to the Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Database Engine address smart databases, the developer experience, cybersecurity, high-availability, and Linux and Windows feature set parity. Enhancements to the Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Database Engine include:
Improvements to SQL Server 2019 Reporting Services
Improvements to SQL Server 2019 Reporting Services (SSRS) include:
Progent's SQL Server experts can assist you to migrate your data and apps, configure pilot environments to verify SQL Server 2019's capability to support your mission-critical applications, simplify management, design and implement a comprehensive cybersecurity plan that meets government and business mandates, accommodate mobile devices, and create a disaster preparedness/business continuity strategy that takes advantage of the modern HA features integrated into SQL Server 2019.
IT consulting services available from Progent for Microsoft SQL Server 2019 include:
If you need immediate online help from a Microsoft-certified expert, see Progent's Remote Network Support.
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