SQL Spotlight: Ignite 2025
Ignite 2025: Your SQL Guide Microsoft Ignite 2025 is less than 30 days away! Whether you’re a data professional, DBA, or developer, this event is your chance to dive in, expand knowledge, and connect with fellow SQL experts. Join Microsoft leaders and customers as they share best practices, practical insights from across the SQL portfolio. Be the first to hear the latest releases, dive in with hands-on labs, and new learning paths to grow your skill set. Grab your coffee and add the following sessions to your schedule! Be sure to check back for more updates: 5 SQL Sessions You Don’t Want to Miss (in person and online) 1. BRK124: SQL Server 2025: The AI-ready enterprise database Tue, Nov 18 | 3:45 PM – 4:30 PM PST | Learn how SQL Server 2025 is redefining what’s possible for enterprise data with AI integration, native JSON, REST APIs, and vector search. 2. BRK156: How Levi’s is transforming their IT estate with Azure Wed, Nov 19 | 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM PST Hear how American icon Levi’s transformed its 150 year-business by migrating Windows Server, SQL Server, SAP and Oracle workloads to Azure. 3. BRK126: Build scalable AI apps with Azure SQL Database Hyperscale Tue, Nov 18 | 5:00 PM – 5:45 PM PST | Learn how Azure SQL Hyperscale together with AI Foundry delivers a more modern, secure, scalable solution for building AI apps. Industrial IT company Hexagon and investment company, BlackRock will join us onstage to share their experience, demos and more. 4. BRK125: Meet the performance-enhanced next-gen Azure SQL Managed Instance Wed, Nov 19 | 10:15 AM – 11:00 AM PST | This session is all about to get the most from your SQL Server workloads with Azure SQL Managed Instance. 5. BRK220: SQL database in Fabric: The unified database for AI apps and analytics Wed, Nov 19 | 11:30 AM – 12:15 PM PST | See how the latest from SQL in Fabric brings transactional and analytical workloads together in one end-to-end AI-driven solution. Theater sessions (in person only) 1. THR707: Elevate SQL development with VSCode, GitHub Copilot and new drivers Tue, Nov 18 | 2:00 PM – 2:30 PM PST | A demo-heavy theater session showing how AI-driven tools streamline SQL development. Love coding efficiency? This one’s for you. 2. THR711: Smarter SQL: GitHub Copilot + SSMS 22 Thu, Nov 20 | 3:30 PM – 4:00 PM PST | Hands-on exploration of AI-powered Copilots in SQL Server Management Studio and beyond. 3. THR704: Accelerate SQL Migrations with AI-assisted experience in Azure Arc Thu, Nov 20 | 9:30 AM – 10:00 AM PST | Learn how Azure Arc simplifies SQL migrations with near-zero downtime. For the builders: Labs (in person only) LAB533: Build scalable AI & Data Solutions in SQL Database in Microsoft Fabric LAB530: Build new AI Applications with Azure SQL Databases Connect with us at the Expert Meet Up stations! (in person only) Come back and learn more about the onsite experiences we’re bringing to San Francisco!
Announcing SQLCon 2026: Better Together with FabCon!
We’re thrilled to unveil SQLCon 2026, the premier Microsoft SQL Community Conference, co-located with the Microsoft Fabric Community Conference (FabCon) from March 16–20, 2026! This year, we’re bringing the best of both worlds under one roof—uniting the vibrant SQL and Fabric communities for a truly next-level experience. Whether 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 has you covered. Dive into 50+ breakout sessions and 4 expert-led workshops designed to help you optimize, innovate, and connect. 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. Our goal is to reignite the SQL Community spirit—restoring the robust networks, friendships, and career-building opportunities that make this ecosystem so special. SQLCon is just the beginning of a renewed commitment to connect at conferences, user groups, online, and at regional events. Early Access Pricing Extended! Register by November 14th and save $200 with code SQLCMTY200. Register Now! Want to share your expertise? The Call for Content is open until November 20th for both conferences! Let’s build the future of data—together. See you at SQLCon + FabCon!SQL Server 2025 Preview RC1: Now Supporting Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 10
We’re happy to announce that SQL Server 2025 Release Candidate 1 (RC1) now includes preview support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 10, expanding our commitment to modern, secure, and flexible Linux-based deployments. RHEL 10 Support in SQL Server 2025 RC1 You can now deploy SQL Server 2025 Preview on RHEL10 for your Dev/Test environments using the Enterprise Evaluation Edition, which is valid for 180 days. For your production workloads you could use SQL Server 2022 on RHEL 9 or Ubuntu 22.04. Deploying SQL Server 2025 RC1 on RHEL10 You can follow the Quickstart: Install SQL Server and create a database on RHEL10 to install SQL Server and create a database on RHEL10. It walks you through everything—from preparing your system to installing and configuring SQL Server. To explore the latest improvements in SQL Server 2025 RC1, check out What's New in SQL Server 2025 - SQL Server | Microsoft Learn. I was particularly interested in testing the new Half-precision float support in vector data type. To do this, I deployed SQL Server RHEL10 (the tag is 2025-RC1-rhel-10) container on WSL2 and I already have Docker Desktop installed on my local machine to manage containers. I launched the SQL Server 2025 RC1 container, connected to it using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), and successfully tested the vector data type enhancement. docker pull mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/rhel/server:2025-RC1-rhel-10 docker run -e "ACCEPT_EULA=Y" -e "MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=passwordshouldbestrong" \ -e "MSSQL_AGENT_ENABLED=true" \ -p 14337:1433 --name sql2025RC1RHEL10 --hostname sql2025RC1RHEL10 \ -d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/rhel/server:2025-RC1-rhel-10 SELECT @@VERSION GO CREATE DATABASE SQL2025onRHEL10 GO USE SQL2025onRHEL10 GO -- Step 0: Enable Preview Features ALTER DATABASE SCOPED CONFIGURATION SET PREVIEW_FEATURES = ON; GO -- Step 1: Create a Table with a VECTOR(5, float16) Column CREATE TABLE dbo.Articles ( id INT PRIMARY KEY, title NVARCHAR(100), content NVARCHAR(MAX), embedding VECTOR(5, float16) ); -- Step 2: Insert Sample Data INSERT INTO Articles (id, title, content, embedding) VALUES (1, 'Intro to AI', 'This article introduces AI concepts.', '[0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5]'), (2, 'Deep Learning', 'Deep learning is a subset of ML.', '[0.2, 0.1, 0.4, 0.3, 0.6]'), (3, 'Neural Networks', 'Neural networks are powerful models.', '[0.3, 0.3, 0.2, 0.5, 0.1]'), (4, 'Machine Learning Basics', 'ML basics for beginners.', '[0.4, 0.5, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3]'), (5, 'Advanced AI', 'Exploring advanced AI techniques.', '[0.5, 0.4, 0.6, 0.1, 0.2]'); -- Step 3: Perform a Vector Similarity Search Using VECTOR_DISTANCE function DECLARE @v VECTOR(5, float16) = '[0.3, 0.3, 0.3, 0.3, 0.3]'; SELECT TOP (3) id, title, VECTOR_DISTANCE('cosine', @v, embedding) AS distance FROM dbo.Articles ORDER BY distance; -- Step 4: Optionally Create a Vector Index CREATE VECTOR INDEX vec_idx ON Articles(embedding) WITH ( metric = 'cosine', type = 'diskANN' ); -- Step 5: Perform a Vector Similarity Search DECLARE @qv VECTOR(5, float16) = '[0.3, 0.3, 0.3, 0.3, 0.3]'; SELECT t.id, t.title, t.content, s.distance FROM VECTOR_SEARCH( table = Articles AS t, column = embedding, similar_to = @qv, metric = 'cosine', top_n = 3 ) AS s ORDER BY s.distance, t.title; Conclusion The addition of RHEL10 support in SQL Server 2025 Preview is a major milestone in delivering a modern, secure, and flexible data platform for Linux users. We encourage you explore these new capabilities and share your feedback to help us continue enhancing SQL Server for the Linux ecosystem. You can share your feedback using any of the following methods: Email us at sqlpreviewpackage@microsoft.com with your thoughts and suggestions. Submit your ideas on Azure Ideas (Use the SQL Server on Linux Group on the left side of the page) Alternatively, you can open issues related to the preview packages Issues · microsoft/mssql-docker (github.com) on GitHub. We hope you give SQL Server 2025 preview on RHEL10 a try - and we look forward to hearing what you think!
Security Update for SQL Server 2022 RTM CU20
The Security Update for SQL Server 2022 RTM CU20 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-2025-47997 - Security Update Guide - Microsoft - Microsoft SQL Server Denial of Service Vulnerability Security Update of SQL Server 2022 RTM CU20 KB Article: KB5065220 Microsoft Download Center: https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?id=108373 Microsoft Update Catalog: https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=5065220 Latest Updates for Microsoft SQL Server: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/sql/releases/download-and-install-latest-updatesSecurity Update for SQL Server 2019 RTM GDR
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-2025-47997 - Security Update Guide - Microsoft - Microsoft SQL Server Denial of Service Vulnerability Security Update of SQL Server 2019 RTM GDR KB Article: KB5065223 Microsoft Download Center: https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?id=108374 Microsoft Update Catalog: https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=5065223 Latest Updates for Microsoft SQL Server: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/sql/releases/download-and-install-latest-updatesSecurity Update for SQL Server 2019 RTM CU32
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-2025-47997 - Security Update Guide - Microsoft - Microsoft SQL Server Denial of Service Vulnerability Security Update of SQL Server 2019 RTM CU32 KB Article: KB5065222 Microsoft Download Center: https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?id=108372 Microsoft Update Catalog: https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=5065222 Latest Updates for Microsoft SQL Server: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/sql/releases/download-and-install-latest-updatesSecurity Update for SQL Server 2016 SP3 GDR
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-2025-47997 - Security Update Guide - Microsoft - Microsoft SQL Server Denial of Service Vulnerability Security Update of SQL Server 2016 SP3 GDR KB Article: KB5065226 Microsoft Download Center: https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?id=108375 Microsoft Update Catalog: https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=5065226 Latest Updates for Microsoft SQL Server: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/sql/releases/download-and-install-latest-updatesSecurity Update for SQL Server 2016 SP3 Azure Connect Feature Pack
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-2025-47997 - Security Update Guide - Microsoft - Microsoft SQL Server Denial of Service Vulnerability Security Update of SQL Server 2016 SP3 Azure Connect Feature Pack KB Article: KB5065227 Microsoft Download Center: https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?id=108377 Microsoft Update Catalog: https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=5065227 Latest Updates for Microsoft SQL Server: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/sql/releases/download-and-install-latest-updatesSecurity Update for SQL Server 2022 RTM GDR
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-2025-47997 - Security Update Guide - Microsoft - Microsoft SQL Server Denial of Service Vulnerability Security Update of SQL Server 2022 RTM GDR KB Article: KB5065221 Microsoft Download Center: https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?id=108371 Microsoft Update Catalog: https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=5065221 Latest Updates for Microsoft SQL Server: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/sql/releases/download-and-install-latest-updatesSecurity Update for SQL Server 2017 RTM GDR
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-2025-47997 - Security Update Guide - Microsoft - Microsoft SQL Server Denial of Service Vulnerability Security Update of SQL Server 2017 RTM GDR KB Article: KB5065224 Microsoft Download Center: https://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?id=108376 Microsoft Update Catalog: https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=5065224 Latest Updates for Microsoft SQL Server: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/sql/releases/download-and-install-latest-updates
