Microsoft made a splash this week ahead of its Data Driven event for the upcoming SQL Server 2016, announcing plans to port the database to Linux. It's a move that would have been unthinkable under the leadership of ex-CEO Steve Ballmer, who once called Linux a "cancer," but under current CEO Satya Nadella is emblematic of a Microsoft that has embraced open source with both arms, even if skeptics would say it's out of necessity more than anything else.
Here are the key details from an official blog post by cloud and enterprise EVP Scott Guthrie marking the announcement:
Today I’m excited to announce our plans to bring SQL Server to Linux as well. This will enable SQL Server to deliver a consistent data platform across Windows Server and Linux, as well as on-premises and cloud. We are bringing the core relational database capabilities to preview today, and are targeting availability in mid-2017.
SQL Server on Linux will provide customers with even more flexibility in their data solution. One with mission-critical performance, industry-leading TCO, best-in-class security, and hybrid cloud innovations – like Stretch Database which lets customers access their data on-premises and in the cloud whenever they want at low cost – all built in.
Analysis: A Move that Could Make Waves
Red Hat and Canonical are two initial launch partners for the project. Of course, Microsoft recently created its own version of Linux as well, which runs on Azure.
It's unclear whether Microsoft will manage to work with other Linux distribution providers, such as Oracle, to test and certify SQL Server.
Such a move would also seem unthinkable, given the heightening competition between Microsoft and Oracle at the database layer, particularly given the rash of new features slated for SQL Server 2016. In turn, however, adding Linux support should help SQL Server fend off challenges from the likes of open-source options MySQL, MariaDB and Postgres for certain types of database workloads.
Another question is how SAP will respond to Microsoft's move, with respect to its own HANA in-memory database, which runs on Linux. SQL Server 2016 will introduce improved in-memory features—Guthrie's blog claims a performance boost of 30 to 100x—along with new support for R and real-time predictive analytics, mobile BI features and beefed-up data warehousing capabilities.
Many SAP customers run their applications on top of SQL Server and SAP is the industry's largest enterprise applications vendor. While the company's next-generation S/4HANA suite runs only on HANA, it has pledged to support earlier products until at least 2025. Given the timing of the SQL Server 2016 release later this year and the planned GA of SQL Server on Linux in mid-2017, many SAP customers may opt for an upgrade rather than move to HANA for the time being.
There are some reality checks to consider. For one, mid-2017 is nonetheless a year-and-a-half away, giving other vendors time to respond to Microsoft's move with any number of tactics. Secondly, Guthrie's post carefully noted Microsoft is bringing the "core relational database capabilities to preview" on Linux: That means it's unclear how many of and when SQL Server's bells and whistles will be ported over, or remain exclusive to Windows.
Still, it's inarguable that Microsoft's move is a welcome one for customers, providing options and flexibility at the OS layer for SQL Server.
"This is another key move of the new Microsoft being different," says Constellation Research VP and principal analyst Holger Mueller. "Supporting a key franchise product like SQL Server on Linux is another proof point. But it also shows a key aspect of moving to the cloud: TCO and choice matter. It's good to see Microsoft will now offers both for customers, even on-premises."
Symbolic, But Logical
"The move to Linux is a logical step in Microsoft’s move to becoming an open and cloud-first company, and it has already offered Linux server capacity on Azure," says Constellation Research VP and principal analyst Doug Henschen. "Nonetheless, it will be a real milestone when a product with the stature of SQL Server moves out of Windows-only mode. SQL Server has been gaining ground in the enterprise for years, but with many mission-critical application workloads running on Linux, the artificial, Windows-only limitation only blunted SQL Server’s potential, particularly at the high-end of the market."
"Customers want simplicity, consistency and the ability to consolidate workloads to gain economies of scale," Henschen adds. "Whether on-premises or in the cloud, operating systems are secondary to these desires. To win in the cloud or on-premises, Microsoft has to give customers flexibility and choice. This is a step in the right direction that will benefit SQL Server and other enterprise-grade products that are opened up to the customer’s choice of computing standards."
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