Apart from Big Data clusters being the biggest news surrounding the release of SQL Server 2019, there are a number of major developments and upgrades that has helped to transform this latest release into a masterpiece. We will take a look at them as we move on.

In this article, we will do a technical review and have an overview of some of the exciting new features of SQL Server 2019. With the release of this latest SQL Server from Microsoft, businesses will now be able to manage their relational and non-relational data workloads in a single database management system.

During the PASS Summit in Seattle, Microsoft announced the release of the CTP (Community Technology Preview) 2.1 for SQL Server 2019. The summit which was attended by Experda and other tech giants exposed the new features included in this new CTP version.

Release Dates

• CTP 2.1 (October 2018)
• CTP 2.2 (December 2018)

• The SQL Server 2019 will either run on the Microsoft Azure stack or on-premise. The introduction of Azure clearly reiterates Microsoft belief that businesses can save about 80% of their operational costs by moving their SQL database to Azure. Microsoft also announced the introduction of Azure SQL Database Managed Instance. This feature will allow businesses to easily move their database to the cloud at any time without any code changes.

• Always Encrypted using Secure Enclaves – With this new feature, users will be able to encrypt data almost instantly when compared to the old way of using the wizard will have to move all the data out and then send it back after encrypting it. With “Secure Enclaves,” data that is encrypted with Always Encrypted can now be compared in range scans and LIKE queries. They can even be operated on using aggregate functions.

• Columnstore Index Enhancements – There are also enhancements to columnstore index features in SQL Server 2019. They include columnstore index maintenance and a low-memory load path for columnstore tables, better metadata memory management, and not forgetting the improved performance for bulk loading to columnstore indexes that it provides.

• The Use of Machine Learning Services – SQL Server 2019 will possess smart machine learning capabilities which will support both Spark Machine Learning and the SQL Server Machine Learning services.

• Introduction of the Azure Data Studio. This new client tool supports administering and managing cross-platform database management systems

• Provision for UTF-8 collations – The new SQL Server 2019 provides adequate support for UTF-8 collations to the setup process and UI. This will help to improve compatibility with external applications and other database platforms and systems.

An Improved Intelligent Query Processing system which will help to improve the scaling of queries.

Enhanced Security Features

Big data clusters in kubernettes.

With this new version of SQL Server, data administrators and professionals now have better query processing power and even more support for big data.

Furthermore, with the SQL Server 2019, Microsoft has been able to provide substantial enhancements that are going to improve the way you use your favorite relational database platform. From the big data clusters, machine learning services, memory support and many others, this new version will be the toast of many.