Join us at SQLCon 2026
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. Register Now! Let's build the future of data together. See you at SQLCon + FabCon!Announcing GA of SQL Server 2025 on RHEL 10 and Ubuntu 24.04, with additional enhancements for Linux deployments
We are excited to announce the General Availability (GA) of SQL Server 2025 on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 10 and Ubuntu 24.04, starting with the CU1 release. This milestone empowers enterprises to deploy SQL Server 2025 on the latest Linux distributions, ensuring robust compatibility, enhanced security, and optimal performance for mission-critical workloads. The GA reinforces our commitment to delivering a modern, secure, and AI-ready database platform across diverse Linux environments. CU1 Release Highlights Key Features: Production-Ready Support: GA support for RHEL 10 and Ubuntu 24.04, enabling production deployments on the newest Linux platforms. Important: Update your SQL Server repository To ensure you are installing the production-ready GA version of SQL Server 2025, it is essential to update your repository from mssql-server-preview.repo to mssql-server-2025.repo. Continuing to use the preview repository may result in installing pre-release builds that are not intended for production workloads. You can proceed with the installation steps as described in the official documentation: RHEL: Install SQL Server on Linux Ubuntu: Install SQL Server on Linux Enable database creation or restoration in Contained Availability Group sessions You can now use the session context key 'allow_cag_create_db' set via the existing stored procedure sp_set_session_contex to enable database creation and restoration directly within a contained availability group (CAG) session through the CAG listener. Only users with the dbcreator role can create databases in a CAG session, and only users with the db_owner or sysadmin role can restore databases. Example: EXEC sp_set_session_context @key = N'allow_cag_create_db', @value = 1; This command enables the feature for your session. To disable it, set @value = 0. Enhanced Observability: SQL Server 2025 on Linux introduces new Dynamic Management Views (DMVs) that provides comprehensive, system-level insights. These DMVs collect and expose metrics from the underlying operating system, allowing administrators to monitor and diagnose not only SQL Server’s performance, but also the impact of other processes running on the same host. This holistic visibility helps distinguish between issues caused by SQL Server and those originating from other workloads or infrastructure bottlenecks, enabling more effective troubleshooting and optimization for mission-critical deployments. sys.dm_os_linux_cpu_stats: Enables users to identify CPU saturation, investigate I/O waits, analyze system responsiveness, and correlate SQL Server performance with broader OS activity, helping to separate database-specific bottlenecks from infrastructure-wide challenges. sys.dm_os_linux_disk_stats: Facilitates detection of log flush slowness, assessment of checkpoint or read-heavy workloads, and identification of external I/O pressure from noisy neighbors on shared hosts, helping teams optimize storage tiers and queue settings. sys.dm_os_linux_net_stats: Provides real-time visibility into network interface statistics, enabling proactive monitoring and troubleshooting of connectivity and throughput issues. Collectively, these DMVs equip database professionals with actionable, OS-level metrics to maintain stability, optimize performance, and ensure reliability in mission-critical Linux deployments. References What’s New in SQL Server 2025 Contained Availability Group You can share your feedback using any of the following methods: 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: Issues · microsoft/mssql-docker (github.com) on GitHub. We hope you give SQL Server 2025 CU1 on RHEL10 or Ubuntu 24.04 a try - and we look forward to hearing what you think!
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 Management Studio (SSMS) 22 is now Generally Available (GA)
SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) 22 GA is now available The SSMS team is thrilled to announce the general availability release of SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) 22! This has been a busy year for SSMS, to say the least. For the first time in SSMS history, we released two GA versions. Between Previews, minor releases, and major version updates, we shipped SSMS 22 times (yes, we counted!). We want to say thank you to the community for staying patient with us over the past year (it’s hard to believe that just about a year ago SSMS 21 Preview 1 was released), giving us so much feedback to improve the product, and of course adapting to the new look and feel of the SSMS interface! SSMS 22 brings several highly-awaited features, including Windows Arm64 support, GitHub Copilot (preview), SQL Server 2025 (preview) support, several UX improvements, and new SQL database and data warehouse in Fabric integrations. Download and Install SSMS 22 SSMS 22 can be installed side-by-side with other versions of SSMS. Download SSMS 22.0.0 Like SSMS 21, SSMS 22 uses the Visual Studio Installer. You can customize your installation by adding Workloads, including those such as GitHub Copilot (preview), the Query Hint Recommendations Tool (preview), or the Migration Assistant. Highlights The entire list of new features and bug fixes can be found in our release notes, but a few notable mentions include: Introduction of Windows Arm64 support Introduction of GitHub Copilot (preview) UX improvements (zoom results grid, open an execution plan in a new tab, connection dialog updates) Introduction of Query Hint Recommendations Tool (preview) SQL Server 2025 (preview) updates (supporting JSON/Vector data types, JSON viewer, IntelliSense updates, snippets, scripting, table designer support, edit data support) SQL database in Fabric integrations (browse SQL databases in Fabric from connection dialog, OE improvements) Support policy With the release of SSMS 22, previous versions of SSMS will no longer receive support, as per our support policy. We strongly recommend upgrading to SSMS 22 to access the latest features, security updates, and critical fixes. What’s next? As I mentioned before, this was a historic year for SSMS (perhaps fitting for SSMS’ 20 th year). We knew that two GA releases in the same calendar year was going to be ambitious, but as Erin mentioned in her previous blog post, various factors informed our release schedule this year. Now that SSMS 22 is out in the world, we do not expect to have the same release cadence and we’ll spend time to think about what an optimal balance looks like. Looking ahead, we’re focusing on extending support for SQL Server 2025, continuing to integrate with Fabric SQL experiences, and expanding our efforts related to theming and Arm64 support. We’re also continuing our investment in AI-powered tooling enhancements to improve productivity and make intelligent recommendations more accessible throughout the management workflow. You can read more about our plans on our roadmap. Let us know what you think Without our community, SSMS wouldn’t exist! We’d love to hear from you about SSMS 22. If you find a bug or a feature that you’re wishing for, please add an item to our Developer Community site. Filing a bug directly from SSMS by going to Help > Send Feedback > Report a Bug/Suggest a Feature automatically tells us which version you’re using (one less question for us to ask you in our Need More Info requests!). Thank you for being part of this journey with us. It's been a wild ride, and the future is bright. Enjoy SSMS 22 GA!Announcing the release of SSMS 22 Preview 1
The SSMS team is excited to share the first preview of SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) 22! Preview releases are our way of getting features into your hands early so we can learn from your feedback while we continue building. How to get SSMS 22 Preview 1 You can install SSMS 22 Preview from our documentation site. As always, SSMS 22 Preview can be installed side-by-side with earlier versions of SSMS, including SSMS 21, released today. Full details of all features and fixes are available in our release notes, with known issues documented here. An important note: the SSIS and GitHub Copilot components are not present in SSMS 22 Preview 1. We're working on making these available in upcoming previews! If you need SSIS functionality like import/export or Maintenance Plans, those are supported in SSMS 21. Read here for more details about how to download and install SSIS in SSMS 21. For more information about GitHub Copilot, please reference Erin's blog. Unified Settings We’ve introduced a modern Settings experience with: Search and filtering to help you quickly find what you need. Save options that let you apply settings at the user level, the instance of SSMS, or even scoped to a solution (solution settings override user settings). A clean, modern UI that lays the foundation for future settings enhancements. This feature is still in progress, and we’ll be refining the experience in future previews. New visual themes We’ve retired the classic SSMS blue theme – this was a tough decision and we know that some folks have strong feelings about the look of SSMS. However, this was a necessary action since the classic blue theme was a source of accessibility issues. Accessibility is a top priority for us, and this change ensures SSMS continues to be inclusive for all users. In its place, you’ll find a set of fresh light and dark themes, with full support for customizing fonts, backgrounds, and colors (just like in SSMS 21). Zooming in the results grid You can now zoom the results grid, independent of zooming the editor using: CTRL + scroll up/down Or CTRL + SHIFT + < / > Fabric integration work We’re continuing to make SSMS a great companion for Fabric. In this preview you’ll find: Group by schema support for SQL databases in Fabric Updated right-click menus for smoother workflows More Fabric integration is coming in future previews – stay tuned! IntelliSense updates We’ve made IntelliSense improvements with support for: New syntax (AI_GENERATE_EMBEDDINGS and CURRENT_TIMEZONE_ID) RegEx support (regexp_matches and regexp_split_to_table) ANSI concatenation using the ||= operator General UI fixes We’ve resolved several long-standing UI issues, including fixing dialogs that sometimes popped up behind the main window instead of on top. What's next? Coming in future previews, we’re planning support for: Windows ARM64 GitHub Copilot integration (read more in Erin’s blog post) Fabric integration in the Connection Dialog More SQL Server 2025 features You can track our progress on the SSMS roadmap. Your voice matters! Previews are all about learning from the community, and we’d love your input. You can share feedback directly from SSMS (Help > Send Feedback > Report a Problem / Suggest a Feature), or head to https://aka.ms/ssms-feedback. Pro tip: leaving feedback from inside SSMS automatically includes helpful details like your SSMS version number and OS info, which makes it easier for us to troubleshoot. We’re thrilled to start this journey toward SSMS 22 with you. Please try out Preview 1, let us know what works, what doesn’t, and what you’d love to see next!Database Innovations: Your Guide to Microsoft Ignite 2025
In two weeks, we will share the latest news and features for SQL, NoSQL, and open-source databases on Azure, Fabric, and SQL Server at Microsoft Ignite. Held November 18 – 21 in San Francisco and online, Ignite is Microsoft’s largest event of the year, and we look forward to sharing product innovations, hearing best practices and insights from customers, and building new connections. Read on for all the Databases breakout sessions, demos, and labs taking place at Microsoft Ignite – and don’t forget to add them to your schedule. All times listed are in PST (Pacific Standard Time). Databases: End-to-end Want to see the top news about databases all at once? Starting after the opening keynote on November 18th, these sessions will provide an overview of the latest innovations and announcements: BRK134 Modern Data, Modern Apps: Innovation with Microsoft Databases (Nov 18th, 1pm) BRK1702 Innovation Session: Microsoft Fabric and Azure Databases - the data estate for AI (Nov 18th, 2:30pm) Explore new features and capabilities Join the product teams from Azure SQL, SQL Server, Azure Cosmos DB, Azure Database for PostgreSQL, and Fabric Databases as they show off the innovative new features that will be announced at Microsoft Ignite. NoSQL (Azure Cosmos DB, DocumentDB, and Cosmos DB in Fabric) BRK132 Move fast, save more with MongoDB-compatible workloads on DocumentDB (Nov 19th, 11:30am) BRK133 How Sitecore built a scalable, isolated SaaS platform on Azure (Nov 19th, 1:30pm) BRK155 Sam’s Club transforms retail mission-critical apps with Azure (Nov 20th, 8:30am) BRK228 Real-time analytics and AI apps with Cosmos DB in Fabric (Nov 20th, 9:45am) THR708 Vibe coding: Ship it faster with GitHub Copilot and Azure Cosmos DB (Nov 20th, 10:30am) BRK135 From DEV to PROD: How to build agentic memory with Azure Cosmos DB (Nov 20th, 11:00am) BRK131 How Veeam delivers planet-scale semantic search with Azure Cosmos DB (Nov 20th, 1:00pm) PostgreSQL (Azure Database for PostgreSQL) THR705 PostgreSQL on Azure: Your launchpad for intelligent apps and agents (Nov 18th, 3:45pm) BRK127 Mission-critical PostgreSQL on Azure (Nov 19th, 9am) BRK130 The blueprint for intelligent AI agents backed by PostgreSQL (Nov 19th, 11:30am) BRK137 Nasdaq Boardvantage: AI-driven governance on PostgreSQL and AI Foundry (Nov 19th, 2:45pm) BRK123 AI-assisted migration: The path to powerful performance on PostgreSQL (Nov 20th, 8:30am) THR706 Simplifying scale-out of PostgreSQL for performant multi-tenant apps (Nov 20th, 10:30am) SQL (SQL Server, Azure SQL, and SQL in Fabric) THR707 Elevate SQL development with VSCode, GitHub Copilot and new drivers (Nov 18th, 2:00pm PT) BRK139 Use Azure Migrate for AI assisted insights and cloud transformation (Nov 18th, 3:45pm PT) BRK126 Build scalable AI apps with Azure SQL Database Hyperscale (Nov 18th, 5pm) BRK125 Meet the performance-enhanced next gen Azure SQL Managed Instance (Nov 19th, 10:15am) BRK220 SQL database in Fabric: The unified database for AI apps and analytics (Nov 19th, 11:30am) BRK156 How Levi’s is transforming their IT estate with Azure (Nov 19th, 2:45pm) BRK124 SQL Server 2025: The AI-ready enterprise database (Nov 19th, 3:45pm PT) THR704 Accelerate SQL Migrations with AI-assisted experience in Azure Arc (Nov 20th, 9:30am) THR711 Smarter SQL: GitHub Copilot + SSMS 22(Nov. 20th, 3:30pm) How they did it - real-world lessons from customers Hear directly from your peers, as developers and IT professionals from a diverse range of organizations share their insights and best practices about using Microsoft databases to support some of their most critical and innovative applications. BRK126 Build scalable AI apps with Azure SQL Database Hyperscale, feat. Blackrock and Hexagon (Nov 18th, 5pm) BRK125 Meet the performance-enhanced next gen Azure SQL Managed Instance feat. Hexure (Nov 19th, 10:15am) BRK130 The blueprint for intelligent AI agents backed by PostgreSQL, feat. AlphaLife Sciences (Nov 19th, 11:30am) BRK133 How Sitecore built a scalable, isolated SaaS platform on Azure (Nov 19th, 1:30pm) BRK137 Nasdaq Boardvantage: AI-driven governance on PostgreSQL and AI Foundry (Nov 19th, 2:45pm) BRK156 How Levi’s is transforming their IT estate with Azure (Nov 19th, 2:45pm) BRK124 SQL Server 2025: The AI-ready enterprise database, feat. Ivanti (Nov 19th, 3:45pm PT) BRK155 Sam’s Club transforms retail mission-critical apps with Azure (Nov 20th, 8:30am) BRK123 AI-assisted migration: The path to powerful performance on PostgreSQL, feat. Apollo Hospitals and DBTune (Nov 20th, 8:30am) BRK135 From DEV to PROD: How to build agentic memory with Azure Cosmos DB, feat. Walmart Chile and IntelePeer (Nov 20th, 11:00am) BRK131 How Veeam delivers planet-scale semantic search with Azure Cosmos DB (Nov 20th, 1:00pm) Get hands on keyboard with your fave database In-person attendees can dive deep into Azure SQL Database, Azure Cosmos DB, and Azure Database for PostgreSQL in technical workshops that run throughout Microsoft Ignite. Space is limited – so make sure you register in advance. LAB515 Build advanced AI Agents with PostgreSQL Tues, Nov. 18: 6:45-8 pm Wed, Nov. 19: 2:00-3:15 pm Thurs, Nov. 20: 1:00 - 2:15pm Fri, Nov 21: 10:45am – 12:00pm LAB518 Multi-Agent Apps with Semantic Kernel, LangChain & Azure Cosmos DB Wed, Nov. 19: 11:45-1:00 pm Thurs, Nov. 20: 2:45 – 4:00pm LAB530 Build new AI Applications with Azure SQL Databases Wed, Nov 18th: 1:00-2:15 pm PT Wed, Nov 19: 10-11:15 am PT Thurs, Nov. 20: 9:00-10:15 am PT LAB534 Build real-time analytics with Cosmos DB in Microsoft Fabric Tues, Nov. 18: 2:45pm – 4:00pm Wed, Nov 19: 10:00 – 11:15am Thurs, Nov 20 10:45am – 12:00pm Fri, Nov 21: 10:45am – 12:00pm Say hi to the Databases team Members of the product engineering and marketing teams will be on-site in the Expert Meet-Up Zone and Community Hub. We look forward to meeting you.
