The SQL Server community gathers annually at the PASS Data Community Summit, and they’ve been doing so now for more that 20 years. This year’s event is happening both online and in-person in Seattle from November 15-18, 2022. Event sessions are geared towards DBAs, devs, data architects and engineers. You can still register and join this vibrant, growing community and learn what’s happening in databases, database management, analytics, and many other related topics.
This year our partner, Microsoft is the Premier sponsor, and we are all excited about the upcoming release, SQL Server 2022. So far, SQL Server 2022 has been available in Public Preview, making it available for free download, allowing us to checkout what’s new in what’s billed as the most Azure-enabled release of SQL Server yet.
What’s the big deal with SQL Server today?
The newest versions of enterprise database systems, such as SQL Server, help address today’s top data challenges, like keeping up with data growth and complexity, ensuring availability and security, and delivering affordable cost of ownership and management.
And the installed base is hitting key end of life dates, meaning customers need to make big decisions about refreshing software, upgrading hardware, and whether to do it on or off-prem. SQL Server 2012 has passed its Extended Support life, and SQL Server 2016 just exceeded its Mainstream support window this year. Other important databases are also crossing end of life deadlines as well. Customers need to think about updating their database environments, and better yet, do so with a service that can provide ‘evergreen’ software and enterprise-class SLAs.
What’s new with SQL Server 2022
This latest version of SQL Server, 2022, will be especially Azure cloud-enabled, supporting Azure analytics capabilities with on-prem data, as well as bi-directional HA/DR to Azure SQL. This, plus continued performance and security innovations and new as-a-service consumption models, is expected to make this version especially appealing to IT orgs everywhere, driving the refresh of their organizations’ most important transactional and analytical data on-prem.
Most anticipated features (from Microsoft early access customers)
- Azure Synapse Link for SQL – near real-time analytics using hybrid cloud-based processing
- Microsoft Purview integration – provides unified data governance and management
- Ledger – new tech bringing blockchains to your relational database
- Linked Azure SQL Managed Instance – Relates to the evergreen, Azure connected version of SQL Server – Managed Instance – and its link feature providing bi-directional DR (expected after GA)
- Query performance, Security and In-memory OLTP enhancements
What’s coming in SQL Server 2022 - Azure-enabled Data services, improved performance, and security
How to get the latest SQL Server for your organization
Luckily for HPE customers, there are a number of ways to get the latest SQL Server for their IT operation, from traditional Cap-ex-oriented on-prem solutions, to the latest Opex-ex oriented as-a-service solutions.
- SQL Server on HPE Storage as an HPE Greenlake service – This is a full-stack workload-optimized infrastructure-as-a-service solution for SQL Server and other databases, built on familiar HPE Storage and Server infrastructure. The solution is designed with pre-configured platform stacks optimized for different-sized environments. Customers can either purchase this prescribed infrastructure and deploy and manage themselves, or can take advantage of HPE GreenLake managed services to make it an as-a-service experience. The Greenlake approach increases operational agility, reduces IT risk, and delivers cost savings through consumption-based pricing.
- Mission Critical SQL Server on HPE Infrastructure – This is for large enterprise business-critical SQL Server. The solution pairs HPE Superdome Flex compute with HPE Alletra 9000 storage for 100% guaranteed data availability and the highest levels of performance. The HPE Superdome Flex 280 server scales up to eight processors and 224 cores within a single system, and recent lab testing demonstrated a SQL Server query across a 600 billion row database completing in only a minute!
- SQL Server on HPE Enterprise storage – This popular solution uses HPE Alletra 6000 storage and serves the needs of Enterprise and mid-market SQL Server environments. It provides six 9s availability guaranteed, along with easier data mobility and protection.
- SQL Server on HPE SimpliVity – SQL Server is the #1 app running on this hyperconverged platform.
- SQL Server on HPE MSA Gen6 – This is our Entry-level and departmental SQL Server solution. The HPE MSA storage array-based solution delivers simplicity, speed, affordability, and enterprise-class reliability.
- Azure Arc-enabled SQL Server – This brand-new solution lets you run cloud-connected enterprise databases with the safety and control of on-prem infrastructure. It’s built with Azure Arc Data Services and SQL Server Managed Instance on HPE Apollo 4200s.
HPE also has related offerings for data protection, hybrid-cloud infrastructure, email & collaboration.
Act now to stay on top of the latest trends in data & database management
Go and register today for the PASS Data Community Summit and make the most of the hundreds of sessions delivered by more than 200 speakers. Get enlighted, trained-up and networked via the database management & analytics event of the year.
Event info and registration is here: https://passdatacommunitysummit.com/