SQL Server Linux - a quick look

After a few changes, I now have a SQL Server Linux installation running in a totally Linux environment.

Whilst there is still a dearth of tools for Linux-based SQL server it is very doable and manageable.
I have two choices of tools which I found to mostly be useful for managing SQL Server with no Windows present. It is going to be some time before we see if ever Management Studio on Linux so you are going to have to keep reviewing alternative tools with which to manage Linux with

The first is Microsoft official
sqlcmd

There are good instructions for all main distros to help you install sqlcmd and add the directory of the command files to your path.

Firstly install .Net Core to your Linux installation https://www.microsoft.com/net/core#linuxubuntu for the Ubuntu installation.

Next, install Microsoft Tools mssql-tools https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/linux/sql-server-linux-setup-tools#ubuntu.

once this is installed and right now if you are running 17.04 Ubuntu you will need to review the bug page for tools and install Preview versions as there are compatibility bugs which appear ironed out in those releases.


To access the data from some sort of GUI you might like Visual Studio Code as an editor which can interact with the SQL Server Database. You need to install the mssql extension.

The alternative I am using is DBDeaver http://dbeaver.jkiss.org/
It is based on Eclipse and seems rock solid as a database management tool. Now of course without all the proprietary bits of Management Studio your database T-SQL skills are going to have to raise a notch. You will need to grab the latest JDBC drivers from Microsoft https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/connect/jdbc/microsoft-jdbc-driver-for-sql-server


Now one final thing with VS Code is that it hasn't quite worked out Linux. Microsoft there is no C: lettering in file paths and the slashes in the path names need correcting, but I guess we can live with that for now.

DBBeaver file paths

VS Code file paths

 Overall it is great to see SQL Server advancing on Linux and I can see a lot of places using SQL Server Development Edition on Linux to eliminate a bundle of cost from their no production environments. It is a great step forward and look to the future when it goes full GA


See ya round

Peter