SQL Server Blog articles

Cumulative Update #3 for SQL Server 2025 RTM

SrinivasSQL — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 21:19:19 GMT

The 3rd cumulative update release for SQL Server 2025 RTM is now available for download at the Microsoft Downloads site. Please note that registration is no longer required to download Cumulative updates.
To learn more about the release or servicing model, please visit:

CU3 KB Article: https://learn.microsoft.com/troubleshoot/sql/releases/sqlserver-2025/cumulativeupdate3

Starting with SQL Server 2017, we adopted a new modern servicing model. Please refer to our blog for more details on Modern Servicing Model for SQL Server

Microsoft® SQL Server® 2025 RTM Latest Cumulative Update: https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?id=108540
Update Center for Microsoft SQL Server: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/sql/releases/download-and-install-latest-updates

Cumulative Update #24 for SQL Server 2022 RTM

SrinivasSQL — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 21:15:27 GMT

The 24th cumulative update release for SQL Server 2022 RTM is now available for download at the Microsoft Downloads site. Please note that registration is no longer required to download Cumulative updates.
To learn more about the release or servicing model, please visit:

CU24 KB Article: https://learn.microsoft.com/troubleshoot/sql/releases/sqlserver-2022/cumulativeupdate24

Starting with SQL Server 2017, we adopted a new modern servicing model. Please refer to our blog for more details on Modern Servicing Model for SQL Server

Microsoft® SQL Server® 2022 RTM Latest Cumulative Update: https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?familyid=105013
Update Center for Microsoft SQL Server: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/sql/releases/download-and-install-latest-updates

Security Update for SQL Server 2025 RTM CU2

HarveyMoraSQL — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 22:05:56 GMT

The Security Update for SQL Server 2025 RTM CU2 is now available for download at the Microsoft Download Center and Microsoft Update Catalog sites. This package cumulatively includes all previous security fixes for SQL Server 2025 RTM CUs, plus it includes the new security fixes detailed in the KB Article.

Security Bulletins:
- CVE-2026-21262 - Security Update Guide - Microsoft - Microsoft SQL Server Denial of Service Vulnerability
Security Update of SQL Server 2025 RTM CU2 KB Article: KB5077466
Microsoft Download Center: https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?id=108588
Microsoft Update Catalog: https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=5077466
Latest Updates for Microsoft SQL Server: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/sql/releases/download-and-install-latest-updates

Security Update for SQL Server 2025 RTM GDR

HarveyMoraSQL — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 22:05:48 GMT

The Security Update for SQL Server 2025 RTM GDR is now available for download at the Microsoft Download Center and Microsoft Update Catalog sites. This package cumulatively includes all previous security fixes for SQL Server 2025 RTM, plus it includes the new security fixes detailed in the KB Article.

Security Bulletins:
- CVE-2026-21262 - Security Update Guide - Microsoft - Microsoft SQL Server Denial of Service Vulnerability
Security Update of SQL Server 2025 RTM GDR KB Article: KB5077468
Microsoft Download Center: https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?id=108589
Microsoft Update Catalog: https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=5077468
Latest Updates for Microsoft SQL Server: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/sql/releases/download-and-install-latest-updates

Security Update for SQL Server 2022 RTM CU23

HarveyMoraSQL — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 22:05:41 GMT

The Security Update for SQL Server 2022 RTM CU23 is now available for download at the Microsoft Download Center and Microsoft Update Catalog sites. This package cumulatively includes all previous security fixes for SQL Server 2022 RTM CUs, plus it includes the new security fixes detailed in the KB Article.

Security Bulletins:
- CVE-2026-21262 - Security Update Guide - Microsoft - Microsoft SQL Server Denial of Service Vulnerability
Security Update of SQL Server 2022 RTM CU23 KB Article: KB5077464
Microsoft Download Center: https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?id=108583
Microsoft Update Catalog: https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=5077464
Latest Updates for Microsoft SQL Server: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/sql/releases/download-and-install-latest-updates

Security Update for SQL Server 2022 RTM GDR

HarveyMoraSQL — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 22:05:37 GMT

The Security Update for SQL Server 2022 RTM GDR is now available for download at the Microsoft Download Center and Microsoft Update Catalog sites. This package cumulatively includes all previous security fixes for SQL Server 2022 RTM, plus it includes the new security fixes detailed in the KB Article.

Security Bulletins:
- CVE-2026-21262 - Security Update Guide - Microsoft - Microsoft SQL Server Denial of Service Vulnerability
Security Update of SQL Server 2022 RTM GDR KB Article: KB5077465
Microsoft Download Center: https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?id=108584
Microsoft Update Catalog: https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=5077465
Latest Updates for Microsoft SQL Server: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/sql/releases/download-and-install-latest-updates

Security Update for SQL Server 2019 RTM CU32

HarveyMoraSQL — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 22:05:24 GMT

The Security Update for SQL Server 2019 RTM CU32 is now available for download at the Microsoft Download Center and Microsoft Update Catalog sites. This package cumulatively includes all previous security fixes for SQL Server 2019 RTM CUs, plus it includes the new security fixes detailed in the KB Article.

Security Bulletins:
- CVE-2026-21262 - Security Update Guide - Microsoft - Microsoft SQL Server Denial of Service Vulnerability
Security Update of SQL Server 2019 RTM CU32 KB Article: KB5077469
Microsoft Download Center: https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?id=108592
Microsoft Update Catalog: https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=5077469
Latest Updates for Microsoft SQL Server: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/sql/releases/download-and-install-latest-updates

Security Update for SQL Server 2019 RTM GDR

HarveyMoraSQL — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 22:05:18 GMT

The Security Update for SQL Server 2019 RTM GDR is now available for download at the Microsoft Download Center and Microsoft Update Catalog sites. This package cumulatively includes all previous security fixes for SQL Server 2019 RTM, plus it includes the new security fixes detailed in the KB Article.

Security Bulletins:
- CVE-2026-21262 - Security Update Guide - Microsoft - Microsoft SQL Server Denial of Service Vulnerability
Security Update of SQL Server 2019 RTM GDR KB Article: KB5077470
Microsoft Download Center: https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?id=108587
Microsoft Update Catalog: https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=5077470
Latest Updates for Microsoft SQL Server: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/sql/releases/download-and-install-latest-updates

Security Update for SQL Server 2017 RTM CU31

SrinivasSQL — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 22:05:09 GMT

The Security Update for SQL Server 2017 RTM CU31 is now available for download at the Microsoft Download Center and Microsoft Update Catalog sites. This package cumulatively includes all previous security fixes for SQL Server 2017 RTM CUs, plus it includes the new security fixes detailed in the KB Article.

Security Bulletins:

CVE-2026-21262 - Security Update Guide - Microsoft - Microsoft SQL Server Denial of Service Vulnerability

Security Update of SQL Server 2017 RTM CU31 KB Article: KB5077471
Microsoft Download Center: https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?id=108585
Microsoft Update Catalog: https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=5077471
Latest Updates for Microsoft SQL Server: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/sql/releases/download-and-install-latest-updates

Security Update for SQL Server 2017 RTM GDR

SrinivasSQL — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 22:05:00 GMT

The Security Update for SQL Server 2017 RTM GDR is now available for download at the Microsoft Download Center and Microsoft Update Catalog sites. This package cumulatively includes all previous security fixes for SQL Server 2017 RTM, plus it includes the new security fixes detailed in the KB Article.

Security Bulletins:

CVE-2026-21262 - Security Update Guide - Microsoft - Microsoft SQL Server Denial of Service Vulnerability

Security Update of SQL Server 2017 RTM GDR KB Article: KB5077472
Microsoft Download Center: https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?id=108586
Microsoft Update Catalog: https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=5077472

Latest Updates for Microsoft SQL Server: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/sql/releases/download-and-install-latest-updates

Security Update for SQL Server 2016 SP3 Azure Connect Feature Pack

SrinivasSQL — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 22:04:50 GMT

The Security Update for SQL Server 2016 SP3 Azure Connect Feature Pack is now available for download at the Microsoft Download Center and Microsoft Update Catalog sites. This package cumulatively includes all previous security fixes for SQL Server 2016 SP3 Azure Connect Feature Pack, plus it includes the new security fixes detailed in the KB Article.

Security Bulletins:

CVE-2026-21262 - Security Update Guide - Microsoft - Microsoft SQL Server Denial of Service Vulnerability

Security Update of SQL Server 2016 SP3 Azure Connect Feature Pack KB Article: KB5077473
Microsoft Download Center: https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?id=108591
Microsoft Update Catalog: https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=5077473
Latest Updates for Microsoft SQL Server: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/sql/releases/download-and-install-latest-updates

Security Update for SQL Server 2016 SP3 GDR

SrinivasSQL — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 22:04:23 GMT

The Security Update for SQL Server 2016 SP3 GDR is now available for download at the Microsoft Download Center and Microsoft Update Catalog sites. This package cumulatively includes all previous security fixes for SQL Server 2016 SP3, plus it includes the new security fixes detailed in the KB Article.

Security Bulletins:

CVE-2026-21262 - Security Update Guide - Microsoft - Microsoft SQL Server Denial of Service Vulnerability

Security Update of SQL Server 2016 SP3 GDR KB Article: KB5077474
Microsoft Download Center: https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?id=108590
Microsoft Update Catalog: https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=5077474
Latest Updates for Microsoft SQL Server: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/sql/releases/download-and-install-latest-updates

Writing a great session abstract for FabCon & SQLCon

RieMerritt — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 13:55:20 GMT

Important Dates

FabCon/SQLCon Europe in Barcelona, runs 2026 September 28 - Oct 1, 2026
Workshop Call for Content open Feb 17, 2026 to March 23, 2026
Breakout Session Call for Content open Feb 17, 2026 to April 17, 2026

When submitting a session to a conference, consider the following:

Title:

The title should answer the attendee's question what's in it for me? Why should I attend this session? Is it going to make me better at my job? Will it save my company money? Will it make my reports more organized or my database faster, more secure or modern?
The title needs to make sense; it needs to inform. It doesn't need to be funny or contain a dad joke. It CAN, but that's secondary.
It shouldn't just be the name of a product or even "Learn [product name]" because you can't teach me everything about it in 60 minutes or less.

Abstract:
The abstract should contain 3 things:
It should define the problem you're trying to solve.
It should introduce the solution.
It should briefly describe what they'll learn about the solution.
In the time allotted.

The problem can be that the attendee doesn’t know how to create great visuals, performance tune, connect to Lakehouse, etc. If so, consider titles like “Creating Great Visuals Using...”, “Cutting Costs by Optimizing Your...”, or “Understanding Governance in…”

The abstract can introduce a new feature or concept. If so, then the problem is "there's a new thing that you don't know about yet." The solution is "this feature does X, Y & Z." Then tell them that they'll learn everything about X or a little bit about X, Y & Z.

If you include an acronym, make sure you spell it out first. Not everyone is going to know what it means, and you don't want only a room full of attendees that already know everything.

Avoid using many buzz words in you title or abstract.

Drop it into Copilot for a final check and use prompts to help improve your work. Use "make it more precise" if it's over the character count. Tey "make it more professional" if you think it's more casual than you intended.

Final check:

Before you hit submit, run your abstract by a friend.
Does it make sense to the technical and/or non-technical?
Do the grammar & spelling check out? With allowances for English not being your 1st language, the abstract should show that you can effectively communicate the topic to an audience.
Does the level assigned match the abstract?
Is it in the right track? Most calls for content provide definitions on what's a good fit for content in each topic. You can find the topic definitions for FabCon/SQLCon Europe here.
Can you do ALL THIS in 60 minutes?
Does it fit within the character count?

Lastly, a few "don'ts"
Don't include your name in the abstract if you know the review is done blind.
Don't add it to every category or track. Be mindful.
Don't email organizers to say you've submitted a session. They know.
Don't demand feedback the very day you're declined. Well, never demand it, but waiting a week to politely ask never hurts. Respect the decision if they aren’t able to offer you feedback. Remember that 800 people might be asking the same question.
Don't be entitled. No one *stole* your spot. It was never yours to begin with.
Don't use AI to write your entire abstract. Reviewers typically know when it's not written by a human or there are tools that help them check. If you can't convey a concept on your own in 400 characters, how can we trust that you can speak on the concept for a full hour?

SSMA Copilot for SAP ASE (Sybase)

subhojitbasak — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 06:56:51 GMT

Introduction

SAP ASE (formerly Sybase) continues to power mission‑critical workloads across financial services, telecom, and large-scale enterprise applications. However, as modernization accelerates, more customers are actively seeking reliable and automated paths to migrate Sybase workloads to Microsoft SQL Server and Azure SQL Targets.

While Sybase’s T-SQL dialect shares several similarities with Microsoft SQL Server, its procedural code contains deep complexities—extended syntax, non-standard constructs, legacy system tables, and database‑scoped behaviors that often break traditional rule-based converters. These nuances make stored procedures, triggers, and packages some of the hardest assets to migrate.

To address these challenges, the SQL Migration team is expanding Copilot-based code conversion capabilities to SSMA SAP ASE, following the same intuitive user flow as the Oracle-to-SQL Copilot released earlier. This new AI-assisted experience dramatically reduces manual fix-up effort, boosts conversion accuracy, and empowers users to modernize complex Sybase assets with confidence.

Why We Built This

SSMA’s rule engine already auto-converts a significant portion of Sybase code—typically around 70% for standard workloads. But rule-based systems hit limitations when faced with:

Proprietary Sybase syntax variations
Conditional logic or cursors expressed in non-standard forms
System-level commands not supported in SQL Server
Ambiguous constructs requiring contextual interpretation

These gaps often force users into tedious manual rewriting.

By bringing agentic AI into the equation, Copilot attempts to fill the missing 30%—providing syntactically correct, context-aware, and fully explained code conversions. Instead of relying solely on static rules, Copilot understands intent, identifies root-causes of failures, and generates SQL Server-compatible alternatives with transparent reasoning.

This combination of deterministic rule engine + adaptive AI unlocks a far more complete, scalable, and user-friendly migration experience.

Authentication Methods

SSMA for SAP ASE offers two simple ways to authenticate with Copilot, giving customers flexibility based on their security and infrastructure needs.

Option 1: Bring Your Own Key (Azure OpenAI)
Connect SSMA to your own Azure OpenAI resource using your deployment details and key. This option is ideal for organizations that already manage Azure OpenAI or require strict control over their AI environment.

Option 2: Microsoft‑Managed Endpoint (Preview)
A new, seamless experience where no API key is needed. Users simply sign in with Microsoft Entra ID, and SSMA handles authentication through a secure browser-based flow.

For detailed setup steps and prerequisites for both authentication options, refer to the SSMA Copilot Learn documentation.

What Copilot Offers

When the “Fix with Copilot” button is triggered, SSMA opens a structured tri-pane experience designed for clarity and trust:

1. Errors to Fix

Shows issues that the rule engine could not convert—whether due to unsupported syntax, parse failures, or ambiguous constructs.
This helps users quickly understand where the rule engine struggled.

2. Explanation

Provides a detailed, human-readable breakdown of:

Why the conversion failed
What the Copilot-generated fix means
How the logic differs from Sybase to SQL Server

This section builds trust, making AI-generated code fully interpretable.

3. Code Review Window

Displays a side-by-side diff:

Left: SSMA-generated output
Right: Copilot-converted SQL code

Changes are highlighted so users can validate improvements, understand transformations, and decide whether to apply the Copilot output.

From an implementation and architecture point of view, this is similar to SSMA Oracle to SQL Code Conversion Copilot. To know more about how the AI model has been trained, refer to this blog.

Sample Use Case (as illustrated in the GIF)

In the example shown in the blog GIF, a Sybase stored procedure fails conversion because:

It uses set switch on drop_system_tables with override, no_info—a Sybase-only command unsupported in SQL Server.
The procedure definition contains create or replace procedure, which is not valid T‑SQL syntax.
The rule engine cannot parse the affected block, causing SSMA to output the original Sybase procedure as a commented fallback.

When Copilot is invoked:

It identifies the unsupported keywords
Suggests correct SQL Server equivalents (e.g., translating create or replace into IF EXISTS ... DROP + CREATE PROCEDURE)
Generates a complete, runnable T‑SQL procedure
Explains why each fix was made

This allows users to resolve previously conversion‑blocking issues instantly.

To learn more, Copilot in SSMA

Real‑World Impact

With SSMA’s SAP ASE Copilot, teams can migrate Sybase workloads with significantly less manual effort. Developers, DBAs, and architects gain:

Faster conversion cycles
Higher code accuracy
Clear explanations that improve learning and long-term maintainability
Independence from long, multi-step manual rewrite processes

This Copilot experience transforms complex procedural conversions into guided, high-confidence workflows—making modernization more accessible for organizations of all sizes.

Cumulative Update #2 for SQL Server 2025 RTM

SrinivasSQL — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 23:19:24 GMT

The 2nd cumulative update release for SQL Server 2025 RTM is now available for download at the Microsoft Downloads site. Please note that registration is no longer required to download Cumulative updates.
To learn more about the release or servicing model, please visit:

CU2 KB Article: https://learn.microsoft.com/troubleshoot/sql/releases/sqlserver-2025/cumulativeupdate2

Starting with SQL Server 2017, we adopted a new modern servicing model. Please refer to our blog for more details on Modern Servicing Model for SQL Server

Microsoft® SQL Server® 2025 RTM Latest Cumulative Update: https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?familyid=108540
Update Center for Microsoft SQL Server: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/sql/releases/download-and-install-latest-updates

Announcing database instructions and a lot of fixes in SQL Server Management Studio 22.3

erinstellato — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 17:35:22 GMT

In January we released SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) 22.2.1 and I commented that it might look like a minor release, but it really wasn’t. That’s true for SSMS 22.3 as well, which dropped yesterday (February 10). Read on to learn what’s new and a couple changes that may impact your daily workflow.

Fixes

Our engineers have continued to fix bugs in addition to making improvements around fundamentals (which I mentioned in the last post). Many fixes for this release come from feedback items, and we thank those of you who log and upvote issues. You can view the full list in the release notes, but it includes:

Addressing an error encountered when browsing a multi-dimensional model when connected to Analysis Services
Fixing the error list notification count in the query editor
No longer prompting to save a file when closing it from the query editor if no actual changes were made
Ensuring that data shows for the correct time range in Query Store reports
Restoring the ability for CTRL+R to hide or restore the results pane when viewing an execution plan

In addition, startup performance for the modern connection dialog has been improved, and we made changes to ensure that if you set any of the advanced options when connecting to something like Object Explorer, those options carry over to connections subsequently initiated (e.g. if you open a query editor from OE).

Important changes

In this release we also updated to later releases of Microsoft.Data.SqlClient (MDS) and SQL Management Objects (SMO). While these updates are invisible and foundational to core SSMS functionality, they are quite impactful to components like third-party extensions that have dependencies on them. We are aware that SSMS 22.3 does not work when certain third-party extensions are installed, and we are following up with extension owners based on feedback items that have already been opened. If you use a third-party extension, be aware this could happen. If you uninstall the third-party extension and the problem no longer occurs in SSMS 22.3, please file a ticket with the extension owner. Have questions about extensions in SSMS, please check out our FAQ.

In the event that you ever need to rollback to a previous release, you can do that from the Visual Studio Installer. From the SSMS 22 entry in the VS Installer, select More > Rollback to previous version. If you happen to uninstall SSMS entirely, you can find previous versions on the Release History page. While you can install different major versions of SSMS side by side (e.g. SSMS 21.6 and 22.3), you can only install one version of SSMS 22 GA on your machine.

Database instructions

If you’re using GitHub Copilot in SSMS, this release introduces support for database instructions. Folks that have used GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio or VS Code may already be familiar with custom instructions, which provide persisted guidance for how GitHub Copilot should behave across all your interactions. Custom instructions are implemented using markdown (.md) files in your repository or user profile, and while helpful for a developer, they may not be readily available to all SSMS users that connect to a database.

The database instructions feature allows you to add database-specific context that describe business rules and leverages extended properties. By storing this information in the database, it’s available to anyone who uses GitHub Copilot when connected to that database. The instructions follow the AGENTS.md format to provide context. Once in place, you no longer need to ask the person who’s supported the application for 20 years what the values 9 and 42 mean for the Status column in the Orders table.

EXEC sp_addextendedproperty 
    @name = N'AGENTS.md',
    @value = N'The dbo.Apts table stores information about patient appointments', 
    @level0type = N'SCHEMA', 
    @level0name = N'dbo', 
    @level1type = N'TABLE', 
    @level1name = N'Apts';
GO

No additional configuration or setting is required for database instructions to be available to GitHub Copilot. Extended properties can exist for a host of objects in your database, starting with tables, columns and stored procedures and extending 😉 to functions, constraints, and more.

We recognize the following:

Not everyone uses extended properties (yet)
We’ve seen folks mention that it would be great if you could add an extended property as part of the CREATE syntax for an object. We haven’t seen a feedback item filed anywhere for that…we will need one (and allllllllll your votes) if SSMS users want us to drive this change on the engine side. To be clear, a change in T-SQL syntax happens in the engine, that's not an enhancement to the query editor in SSMS.
Some companies do a fantastic job of documenting their business definitions, etc. but it lives elsewhere, outside the database. If that’s your scenario, then please create a feedback item for us (please search in case someone else submits it first) so we can understand where that information lives and in what form (e.g. is it in a Word doc, OneNote, a proprietary system, etc. and stored as plain text, YAML, JSON, something else?).
- Edit February 12, this has been created by a community user (thank you), feel free to upvote: Extended Properties via CREATE and ALTER · Community

We expect – we want – this feature to advance, but we need your input to help guide that evolution. The feedback site is your friend. Please search first, please add constructive comments, and please upvote.

Final thoughts

I’ve seen some recent comments along the lines of “I don’t understand why it takes so long to fix something simple.” We appreciate everyone’s passion for SSMS and fully understand that in an application that you use daily, certain bugs can be very frustrating and affect your workflow. What’s often going on behind the scenes is:

Sometimes it takes time to find the root issue. Logging a feedback issue with an error is only the start of the journey. Very often folks don’t include exact steps to recreate the issue, or even if they do, we can’t recreate it internally because there is a specific configuration that wasn’t captured in the steps to recreate.
There are competing priorities that we work to continually balance and re-balance.
Issues that appear “simple” are not always easy to fix, and in some scenarios require extensive testing (e.g. those involving connections).
Issues can be marked as Fixed - Pending Release but not appear in the immediate next release because of timing. There are branches, code complete dates, testing, and sign-offs by multiple teams before we get to a release.

As a team, we regularly review the issues and suggestions that have a severe impact on users, and those that are highly voted. There is a perpetual review of what we have planned and what we’re being asked to do, and we continue to adjust priorities as necessary. Thank you for your dedication and support.

Join us at SQLCon 2026

RieMerritt — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 21:26:32 GMT

SQLCon 2026, the premier Microsoft SQL Community Conference, is co-located with the Microsoft Fabric Community Conference (FabCon) from March 16-20, 2026! Register today!

This year, your Azure Data Community worlds collide, bringing the SQL and Fabric communities together for a brand-new experience. If you're passionate about SQL Server, Azure SQL, SQL in Fabric, SQL Tools, migration and modernization, database security, or building AI-powered apps with SQL, SQLCon 2026 is the place for you. We're bringing you an amazing keynote in the State Farm Arena, 50+ breakout sessions, and 4 expert-led workshops designed to help you optimize, innovate, and connect just on SQL alone!

Join us in Atlanta where we're going to renew the SQL Community spirit - rebuild & reconnect with your networks, friendships, and career-building opportunities. SQLCon is just one part of our renewed commitment to connect at conferences, user groups, online, and at regional events. In a few words, we miss you.

Why are SQLCon + FabCon better together?

One registration, double the value: Register for either conference and get full access to both - mix and match sessions, keynotes, and community events to fit your interests.
Shared spaces, shared energy: Enjoy the same expo hall, registration desk, conference app, and community lounge. Network with peers across the data platform spectrum.
Unforgettable experiences: Join us for both keynotes at the State Farm Arena and celebrate at the legendary attendee party at the Georgia Aquarium.

Register today and save $200 with code SQLCMTY200.

Let's build the future of data together. See you at SQLCon + FabCon!

SQL + AI: Get ready for a fun new experience, launching next week!

RieMerritt — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 17:06:05 GMT

The SQL community is leveling up!

We’re launching a lightweight, beginner friendly SQL + AI contest designed to spark awareness of SQL Server 2025’s new AI capabilities—from connecting to an AI model, to generating embeddings, to exploring what’s possible when natural language intelligence meets your database.

Building on the momentum, each week in February unlocks a new chapter of the story - from your first steps connecting SQL to AI, to exploring embeddings, to experimenting with lightweight RAG patterns, and finally orchestrating full end-to-end workflows. This will be hands-on, guided, and fun!

You don’t need to be an AI expert to participate. Each challenge builds on the last, helping you discover what’s possible when SQL’s new capabilities meet real world scenarios — all in a fun, approachable format designed to spark curiosity and get people talking.

Join us for some SQL fun starting next week, February 5th! Stay tuned to this post for more details!

Get ready to build, discover, and play. SQL + AI is here.

Announcing GitHub Copilot code completions in SQL Server Management Studio 22.2.1

erinstellato — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 15:49:10 GMT

Hey folks! Welcome to a new year, and a new release of SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS). That’s right, we’re starting off 2026 with SSMS 22.2.1, which may look like “just another” minor release, but it’s not…it’s definitely not.

Fixes

SSMS 22.2.1 contains a set of important bug fixes, thanks to our engineers. You can find the full list of fixes in the release notes, and I’ll note that all but one are linked to an item on the feedback site. That’s my not-so-subtle way of reminding you that logging issues on the site matters 😊

As always, please search for an existing issue before you create one…and if you do find that someone else has logged the same issue/problem/error, please upvote it so we understand how many folks are affected.

We updated our roadmap when SSMS 22 became generally available, but we didn’t specifically call out that in December and January we would primarily focus on fundamentals work. In addition to some bug fixes, the engineering team is also making improvements internally, related to pipelines, testing, etc. There are a lot of behind-the-scenes improvements that will help with quality and reliability, though they may not be immediately obvious.

Features

We’ve added support for code completions in the query editor for GitHub Copilot. Thanks to those who waited patiently for this functionality! While our GitHub Copilot is based on the one for Visual Studio, we had to add database context into completions functionality. For completions to behave in the manner that you expect, we had to give the model information about the database, and make sure it provided suggestions quickly.

Code completions for GitHub Copilot in SSMS are not the same as IntelliSense, and I’d argue they exceed the concept of “IntelliSense on steroids”. The more T-SQL that exists in the editor window, the more powerful you’ll find the suggestions to be. If you find that completions and IntelliSense are competing, you may want to try turning off IntelliSense. I’m extremely pleased with the code completion capabilities, and I’m excited for you all to give it a try.

What's next?

I mentioned the SSMS Roadmap earlier, and we’ll be updating the AI experiences section to note that Agent mode is on the roadmap for GitHub Copilot. We’re also working on improvements related to instructions, which is a top request specific to AI Assistance. If that’s something you’d like to see, feel free to vote on the feedback item and add a comment if there’s something specific in which you’re interested. Friendly reminder that votes are the quickest and easiest way for us to understand interest. It's what we check first. The comments help capture more details about what SSMS users want to see and why.

If you’re interested in other requests for GitHub Copilot in SSMS, please search the feedback site for open suggestions. I'll be adding "GHCP" to the title of all GitHub Copilot-related feedback items - both suggestions and issues - to make it easier for everyone to find. You can filter by “copilot” right now but that doesn’t quite catch everything. While Agent mode is a big space, I’d love to see more ideas about what folks want to see/do with it.

For those in the northern hemisphere, hope you’re staying warm and safe. For those in the southern hemisphere, please enjoy some sunshine for the rest of us today. Looking forward to hearing from you all about the 22.2.1 release!

Creating a Contained Availability Group and Enabling Database Creation via CAG Listener

Attinder_Pal_Singh — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 16:20:51 GMT

A Contained Availability Group (CAG) is designed to simplify high availability and disaster recovery by encapsulating system databases (master, msdb) within the availability group itself. This means that logins, jobs, credentials, and other metadata are automatically replicated across replicas, eliminating the need for manual synchronization and reducing operational complexity.

Starting with SQL Server 2025 CU1, you can create or restore databases directly through the CAG listener - without connecting to the physical instance - by enabling a session context key.

Why Contained AGs Matter

Self-contained HA unit: Each CAG has its own copy of master and msdb, making it independent of the physical SQL instance.
Simplified failover: When the AG fails over, all associated metadata moves with it, ensuring applications continue to function without manual intervention.
Improved automation: Supports scenarios where direct access to the SQL instance is restricted, enabling operations through the AG listener.
Enhanced security: Reduces exposure by limiting instance-level access; operations can be scoped to the AG context.
Streamlined management: Eliminates the need for login and job replication scripts across replicas.

Step 1: Prepare the Database for Availability Group

This example uses SQL Server on Linux; however, the steps are identical for SQL Server on Windows.

In this walkthrough, an existing database named CAGDB is added to a Contained Availability Group (CAG). Before adding the database to the CAG, verify that it is configured for FULL recovery mode and perform a full database backup.

ALTER DATABASE CAGDB SET RECOVERY FULL; GO BACKUP DATABASE CAGDB TO DISK = N'/var/opt/mssql/backups/CAGDB.bak' WITH INIT, COMPRESSION; GO

Note: On Linux, ensure that the backup target directory exists and is owned by the mssql user.

sudo mkdir -p /var/opt/mssql/backups sudo chown mssql:mssql /var/opt/mssql/backups

Step 2: Create the Contained Availability Group

On your Linux SQL Server nodes, run:

CREATE AVAILABILITY GROUP [CAGDemo] WITH ( CLUSTER_TYPE = EXTERNAL, CONTAINED ) FOR DATABASE [CAGDB] REPLICA ON N'node1' WITH ( ENDPOINT_URL = N'tcp://node1:5022', AVAILABILITY_MODE = SYNCHRONOUS_COMMIT, FAILOVER_MODE = EXTERNAL, SEEDING_MODE = AUTOMATIC ), N'node2' WITH ( ENDPOINT_URL = N'tcp://node2:5022', AVAILABILITY_MODE = SYNCHRONOUS_COMMIT, FAILOVER_MODE = EXTERNAL, SEEDING_MODE = AUTOMATIC ); GO #Connect to secondary replicas and join the AG: ALTER AVAILABILITY GROUP [CAGDemo] JOIN WITH (CLUSTER_TYPE = EXTERNAL); ALTER AVAILABILITY GROUP [CAGDemo] GRANT CREATE ANY DATABASE;

Step 3: Configure Listener and Connect

Create a listener and connect using SSMS or sqlcmd:

ALTER AVAILABILITY GROUP [CAGDemo] ADD LISTENER N'CAGDemoListener' ( WITH IP ( (N'*.*.*.*', N'255.255.255.0') ), PORT = 1453 ); GO

Step 4: Connect to CAGDemoListener and attempt Database Creation (Failure)

When connected through the listener:

CREATE DATABASE TestCAGDB;

Result:\ Msg 262, Level 14, State 1: CREATE DATABASE is not allowed in this context.\ This happens because database creation is blocked by default in a contained AG session.

Step 5: Enable Database Creation in CAG Session or Instance master

EXEC sp_set_session_context = N'allow_cag_create_db', @value = 1;

This enables database creation for your current session.

Step 6: Retry Database Creation (Success)

CREATE DATABASE TestCAGDB;

Result: Database created successfully within the contained AG context.

Users with dbcreator role in the CAG context can perform this action.

Step 7: Backup the database.

ALTER DATABASE TestCAGDB SET RECOVERY FULL; BACKUP DATABASE TestCAGDB TO DISK = N'/var/opt/mssql/data/backups/TestCAGDB.bak';

Step 8: Add database to the CAG

ALTER AVAILABILITY GROUP [CAGDemo] ADD DATABASE [TestCAGDB];

Optional: To automate Steps 4 - 8, you can create a stored procedure (for example: [dbo].[sp_cag_create_db]) and execute it while connected through the Contained Availability Group (CAG) listener context.

CREATE OR ALTER PROCEDURE [dbo].[sp_cag_create_db] @database_name sysname, @createdb_sql NVARCHAR(MAX) = NULL AS BEGIN SET NOCOUNT ON DECLARE @fIsContainedAGSession int EXECUTE @fIsContainedAGSession = sys.sp_MSIsContainedAGSession if (@fIsContainedAGSession = 1) BEGIN DECLARE @SQL NVARCHAR(MAX); EXEC sp_set_session_context key = N'allow_cag_create_db', @value = 1; IF @createdb_sql IS NULL SET @SQL = 'CREATE DATABASE ' + QUOTENAME(@database_name); ELSE SET @SQL = @createdb_sql; PRINT @SQL EXEC sp_executesql @SQL; SET @SQL = 'ALTER DATABASE ' + QUOTENAME(@database_name) + ' SET RECOVERY FULL'; PRINT @SQL EXEC sp_executesql @SQL; SET @SQL = 'BACKUP DATABASE ' + QUOTENAME(@database_name) + ' TO DISK = N''NUL'''; PRINT @SQL EXEC sp_executesql @SQL; DECLARE AG_Name sysname; set AG_Name = (SELECT name FROM sys.availability_groups ags INNER JOIN sys.dm_exec_sessions des ON ags.group_id = des.contained_availability_group_id WHERE @@SPID = des.session_id); SET @SQL = 'use master; ALTER AVAILABILITY GROUP ' + QUOTENAME(@AG_Name) + ' add DATABASE ' + QUOTENAME (@database_name) PRINT @SQL EXEC sp_executesql @SQL; EXEC sp_set_session_context key = N'allow_cag_create_db', @value = 0; END ELSE BEGIN RAISERROR('This can only be used with a contained availability group connection.', 16, 1); END END GO

At a high level, this procedure simplifies database onboarding into a CAG by orchestrating the following actions as a single workflow:

Creating (or restoring) the database
Setting the recovery model to FULL
Taking the initial backup required for availability group seeding
Adding the database to the target Contained Availability Group

Example: Create a database

Execute the following command to create NewTestDB and add it to the target CAG.

EXEC [dbo].sp_cag_create_db @database_name = [NewTestDB];

Example: Restore a database

The stored procedure also supports an optional parameter, @createdb_sql, which allows you to provide a custom SQL statement to create or restore a database (for example, restoring from a backup). Once the database backup file exists and is accessible to SQL Server, you can use this parameter to perform the operation.

Important: When @createdb_sql is used, the procedure executes that SQL statement directly. Ensure the SQL statement is from a secured and trusted source.

DECLARE @restoreSql NVARCHAR(MAX); SET @restoreSql = N' RESTORE DATABASE AdventureWorks2022 FROM DISK = ''/var/opt/mssql/backups/AdventureWorks2022.bak'' WITH MOVE ''AdventureWorks2022'' TO ''/var/opt/mssql/data/AdventureWorks2022.mdf'', MOVE ''AdventureWorks2022_log'' TO ''/var/opt/mssql/data/AdventureWorks2022_log.ldf'', RECOVERY; '; EXEC dbo.sp_cag_create_db @database_name = N'AdventureWorks2022', @createdb_sql = @restoreSql;

Conclusion

Contained Availability Groups represent a major step forward in simplifying high availability for SQL Server. By encapsulating system databases within the AG context, they eliminate the complexity of synchronizing logins, jobs, and credentials across replicas.

With the new capability in SQL Server 2025 CU1 to create or restore databases directly through the AG listener using sp_set_session_context, organizations can streamline automation and reduce operational overhead.

SQL Server Blog articles

Cumulative Update #3 for SQL Server 2025 RTM

Cumulative Update #24 for SQL Server 2022 RTM

Security Update for SQL Server 2025 RTM CU2

Security Update for SQL Server 2025 RTM GDR

Security Update for SQL Server 2022 RTM CU23

Security Update for SQL Server 2022 RTM GDR

Security Update for SQL Server 2019 RTM CU32

Security Update for SQL Server 2019 RTM GDR

Security Update for SQL Server 2017 RTM CU31

Security Update for SQL Server 2017 RTM GDR

Security Update for SQL Server 2016 SP3 Azure Connect Feature Pack

Security Update for SQL Server 2016 SP3 GDR

Writing a great session abstract for FabCon & SQLCon

SSMA Copilot for SAP ASE (Sybase)

Introduction

Why We Built This

Authentication Methods

What Copilot Offers

1. Errors to Fix

2. Explanation

3. Code Review Window

Sample Use Case (as illustrated in the GIF)

Real‑World Impact

Cumulative Update #2 for SQL Server 2025 RTM

Announcing database instructions and a lot of fixes in SQL Server Management Studio 22.3

Fixes

Important changes

Database instructions

Final thoughts

Join us at SQLCon 2026

Why are SQLCon + FabCon better together?

SQL + AI: Get ready for a fun new experience, launching next week!

The SQL community is leveling up!

Get ready to build, discover, and play. SQL + AI is here.

Announcing GitHub Copilot code completions in SQL Server Management Studio 22.2.1

Fixes

Features

What's next?

Creating a Contained Availability Group and Enabling Database Creation via CAG Listener

Conclusion

References