Participate in a live AMA with SQL Leadership following all the excitement from Microsoft Ignite 2025! This session invites attendees to submit questions ahead of time (highly recommended). Submit questions at https://aka.ms/SQL-AMA. Attendees can upvote questions to help prioritize topics most important to the community.

Unveil the data platform of the future with SQL Server 2025—guided by one of its key architects . With built-in AI for application development and advanced analytics powered by Microsoft Fabric, SQL Server 2025 empowers you to innovate—securely and confidently. This book shows you how. Author Bob Ward, Principal Architect for the Microsoft Azure Data team, shares exclusive insights drawn from over three decades at Microsoft. Having worked on every version of SQL Server since OS/2 1.1, Ward brings unmatched expertise and practical guidance to help you navigate this transformative release. Ward covers everything from setup and upgrades to advanced features in performance, high availability, and security. He also highlights what makes this the most developer-friendly release in a decade: support for JSON, RegEx, REST APIs, and event streaming. Most critically, Ward explores SQL Server 2025’s advanced, scalable AI integrations, showing you how to build AI-powered applications deeply integrated with the SQL engine—and elevate your analytics to the next level. But innovation doesn’t come at the cost of safety: this release is built on a foundation of enterprise-grade security, helping you adopt AI safely and responsibly. You control which models to use, how they interact with your data, and where they run—from ground to cloud, or integrated with Microsoft Fabric. With built-in features like Row-Level Security (RLS), Transparent Data Encryption (TDE), Dynamic Data Masking, and SQL Server Auditing, your data remains protected at every layer. The AI age is here. Make sure your SQL Server databases are ready—and built for secure, scalable innovation . What You Will Learn [if !supportLists] · [endif]Grasp the fundamentals of AI to leverage AI with your data, using the industry-proven security and scale of SQL Server [if !supportLists] · [endif]Utilize AI models of your choice, services, and frameworks to build new AI applications [if !supportLists] · [endif]Explore new developer features such as JSON, Regular Expressions, REST API, and Change Event Streaming [if !supportLists] · [endif]Discover SQL Server 2025's powerful new engine capabilities to increase application concurrency [if !supportLists] · [endif]Examine new high availability features to enhance uptime and diagnose complex HADR configurations [if !supportLists] · Use new query processing capabilities to extend the performance of your application [if !supportLists] · [endif]Connect SQL Server to Azure with Arc for advanced management and security capabilities [if !supportLists] · [endif]Secure and govern your data using Microsoft Entra [if !supportLists] · [endif]Achieve near-real-time analytics with the unified data platform Microsoft Fabric [if !supportLists] · [endif]Integrate AI capabilities with SQL Server for enterprise AI [if !supportLists] · [endif]Leverage new tools such as SQL Server Management Studio and Copilot experiences to assist your SQL Server journey Who This Book Is For The SQL Server community, including DBAs, architects, and developers eager to stay ahead with the latest advancements in SQL Server 2025, and those interested in the intersection of AI and data, particularly how artificial intelligence (AI) can be seamlessly integrated with SQL Server to unlock deeper insights and smarter solutions

In this session, we will explore the roadmap of SQL Server including future capabilities for AI applications deeply integrated into the security zone of the SQL Server engine. We will also show you AI assisted experiences to help you manage SQL Server including tools like SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), Query Store, Intelligent Query Processing and Azure Arc. Learn how AI can streamline your workflow, reduce context switching, and boost overall efficiency.

𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀: * Joe Sack * Erin Stellato * Bob Ward

𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: This is one of many sessions from the Microsoft Ignite 2024 event. View even more sessions on-demand and learn about Microsoft Ignite at https://ignite.microsoft.com

BRK195 | English (US) | Data

MSIgnite

GenAI applications and Copilots are transforming the SQL experience. Join us to learn how Microsoft delivers an optimal platform for new AI workloads using vectors and RAG patterns, while ensuring ROI, performance, and security your business demands today. Discover the latest innovations for Azure SQL for gen AI applications and database context-aware Copilots, powered by Azure SQL Database Hyperscale. Ensure your SQL estate is future-ready in this era of intelligent applications and analytics.

𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀: * John Tracy * Bob Ward * Muazma Zahid

𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: This is one of many sessions from the Microsoft Ignite 2024 event. View even more sessions on-demand and learn about Microsoft Ignite at https://ignite.microsoft.com

BRK192 | English (US) | Data

MSIgnite

Data is the fuel for innovation, driving the development of transformative applications and artificial intelligence (AI). This session will explore how harnessing the power of data across the Azure databases portfolio can lead to groundbreaking advancements that enhance operational efficiency, deliver personalized user experiences, and revolutionize the way we interact with technology.

𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀: * Shireesh Thota * Arun Ulagaratchagan * James Codella * Charles Feddersen * Aditi Gupta * Bob Ward

𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: This is one of many sessions from the Microsoft Ignite 2024 event. View even more sessions on-demand and learn about Microsoft Ignite at https://ignite.microsoft.com

BRK188 | English (US) | Data

MSIgnite

Access detailed content and examples on Azure SQL, a set of cloud services that allows for SQL Server to be deployed in the cloud. This book teaches the fundamentals of deployment, configuration, security, performance, and availability of Azure SQL from the perspective of these same tasks and capabilities in SQL Server. This distinct approach makes this book an ideal learning platform for readers familiar with SQL Server on-premises who want to migrate their skills toward providing cloud solutions to an enterprise market that is increasingly cloud-focused. If you know SQL Server, you will love this book. You will be able to take your existing knowledge of SQL Server and translate that knowledge into the world of cloud services from the Microsoft Azure platform, and in particular into Azure SQL. This book provides information never seen before about the history and architecture of Azure SQL. Author Bob Ward is a leading expert with access to and support from the Microsoft engineering team that built Azure SQL and related database cloud services. He presents powerful, behind-the-scenes insights into the workings of one of the most popular database cloud services in the industry. This book also brings you the latest innovations for Azure SQL including Azure Arc, Hyperscale, generative AI applications, Microsoft Copilots, and integration with the Microsoft Fabric. What You Will Learn Know the history of Azure SQL Deploy, configure, and connect to Azure SQL Choose the correct way to deploy SQL Server in Azure Migrate existing SQL Server instances to Azure SQL Monitor and tune Azure SQL’s performance to meet your needs Ensure your data and application are highly available Secure your data from attack and theft Learn the latest innovations for Azure SQL including Hyperscale Learn how to harness the power of AI for generative data-driven applications and Microsoft Copilots for assistance Learn how to integrate Azure SQL with the unified data platform, the Microsoft Fabric Who This Book Is For This book is designed to teach SQL Server in the Azure cloud to the SQL Server professional. Anyone who operates, manages, or develops applications for SQL Server will benefit from this book. Readers will be able to translate their current knowledge of SQL Server—especially of SQL Server 2019 and 2022—directly to Azure. This book is ideal for database professionals looking to remain relevant as their customer base moves into the cloud.

Improve performance with the latest capabilities for Azure SQL Databases, Azure Database for PostgreSQL, and SQL Server enabled by Azure Arc for hybrid and multi-cloud. You’ll learn how customers enabled ongoing innovation by migrating to Azure Database for MySQL. This session will cover tactical ways to get the most from your applications with the databases that are easy to use, deliver unmatched price/performance, support open-source and enable transformative AI technologies.

To learn more, please check out these resources: * https://aka.ms/Ignite23CollectionsBRK224H * https://info.microsoft.com/ww-landing-contact-me-for-events-m365-in-person-events.html?LCID=en-us&ls=407628-contactme-formfill * https://aka.ms/ArcSQL * https://aka.ms/azure-ignite2023-dataaiblog

𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀: * Chandra Gavaravarapu * Maximilian Conrad * Shireesh Thota * Simon Faber * Vlad Rabenok * Xiaoxuan Guo * Ed Donahue * Aditya Badramraju * Bob Ward * Denzil Ribeiro * Parikshit Savjani

𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: This video is one of many sessions delivered for the Microsoft Ignite 2023 event. View sessions on-demand and learn more about Microsoft Ignite at https://ignite.microsoft.com

BRK224H | English (US) | Data

MSIgnite

Know how to use the new capabilities and cloud integrations in SQL Server 2022. This book covers the many innovative integrations with the Azure Cloud that make SQL Server 2022 the most cloud-connected edition ever. The book covers cutting-edge features such as the blockchain-based Ledger for creating a tamper-evident record of changes to data over time that you can rely on to be correct and reliable. You'll learn about built-in Query Intelligence capabilities to help you to upgrade with confidence that your applications will perform at least as fast after the upgrade than before. In fact, you'll probably see an increase in performance from the upgrade, with no code changes needed. Also covered are innovations such as contained availability groups and data virtualization with S3 object storage. New cloud integrations covered in this book include Microsoft Azure Purview and the use of Azure SQL for high availability and disaster recovery. The bookcovers Azure Synapse Link with its built-in capabilities to take changes and put them into Synapse automatically. Anyone building their career around SQL Server will want this book for the valuable information it provides on building SQL skills from edge to the cloud. ​ What You Will Learn Know how to use all of the new capabilities and cloud integrations in SQL Server 2022 Connect to Azure for disaster recovery, near real-time analytics, and security Leverage the Ledger to create a tamper-evident record of data changes over time Upgrade from prior releases and achieve faster and more consistent performance with no code changes Access data and storage in different and new formats, such as Parquet and S3, without moving the data and using your existing T-SQL skills Explore new application scenarios using innovations with T-SQL in areassuch as JSON and time series Who This Book Is For SQL Server professionals who want to upgrade their skills to the latest edition of SQL Server; those wishing to take advantage of new integrations with Microsoft Azure Purview (governance), Azure Synapse (analytics), and Azure SQL (HA and DR); and those in need of the increased performance and security offered by Query Intelligence and the new Ledger

Access detailed content and examples on Azure SQL, a set of cloud services that allows for SQL Server to be deployed in the cloud. This book teaches the fundamentals of deployment, configuration, security, performance, and availability of Azure SQL from the perspective of these same tasks and capabilities in SQL Server. This distinct approach makes this book an ideal learning platform for readers familiar with SQL Server on-premises who want to migrate their skills toward providing cloud solutions to an enterprise market that is increasingly cloud-focused. If you know SQL Server, you will love this book. You will be able to take your existing knowledge of SQL Server and translate that knowledge into the world of cloud services from the Microsoft Azure platform, and in particular into Azure SQL. This book provides information never seen before about the history and architecture of Azure SQL. Author Bob Ward is a leading expert with access to and support fromthe Microsoft engineering team that built Azure SQL and related database cloud services. He presents powerful, behind-the-scenes insights into the workings of one of the most popular database cloud services in the industry. What You Will Learn Know the history of Azure SQL Deploy, configure, and connect to Azure SQL Choose the correct way to deploy SQL Server in Azure Migrate existing SQL Server instances to Azure SQL Monitor and tune Azure SQL’s performance to meet your needs Ensure your data and application are highly available Secure your data from attack and theft Who This Book Is For This book is designed to teach SQL Server in the Azure cloud to the SQL Server professional. Anyone who operates, manages, or develops applications for SQL Server will benefit from this book. Readers will be able to translate their current knowledge of SQL Server—especially of SQL Server 2019—directly to Azure. This book is ideal for database professionals looking to remain relevant as their customer base moves into the cloud.

Get SQL Server up and running on the Linux operating system and containers. No database professional managing or developing SQL Server on Linux will want to be without this deep and authoritative guide by one of the most respected experts on SQL Server in the industry. Get an inside look at how SQL Server for Linux works through the eyes of an engineer on the team that made it possible. Microsoft SQL Server is one of the leading database platforms in the industry, and SQL Server 2017 offers developers and administrators the ability to run a database management system on Linux, offering proven support for enterprise-level features and without onerous licensing terms. Organizations invested in Microsoft and open source technologies are now able to run a unified database platform across all their operating system investments. Organizations are further able to take full advantage of containerization through popular platforms such as Docker and Kubernetes. Pro SQL Server on Linux walks you through installing and configuring SQL Server on the Linux platform. The author is one of the principal architects of SQL Server for Linux, and brings a corresponding depth of knowledge that no database professional or developer on Linux will want to be without. Throughout this book are internals of how SQL Server on Linux works including an in depth look at the innovative architecture. The book covers day-to-day management and troubleshooting, including diagnostics and monitoring, the use of containers to manage deployments, and the use of self-tuning and the in-memory capabilities. Also covered are performance capabilities, high availability, and disaster recovery along with security and encryption. The book covers the product-specific knowledge to bring SQL Server and its powerful features to life on the Linux platform, including coverage of containerization through Docker and Kubernetes. What You'll Learn Learn about the history and internal of the unique SQL Server on Linux architecture. Install and configure Microsoft’s flagship database product on the Linux platform Manage your deployments using container technology through Docker and Kubernetes Know the basics of building databases, the T-SQL language, and developing applications against SQL Server on Linux Use tools and features to diagnose, manage, and monitor SQL Server on Linux Scale your application by learning the performance capabilities of SQL Server Deliver high availability and disaster recovery to ensure business continuity Secure your database from attack, and protect sensitive data through encryption Take advantage of powerful features such as Failover Clusters, Availability Groups, In-Memory Support, and SQL Server’sSelf-Tuning Engine Learn how to migrate your database from older releases of SQL Server and other database platforms such as Oracle and PostgreSQL Build and maintain schemas, and perform management tasks from both GUI and command line Who This Book Is For Developers and IT professionals who are new to SQL Server and wish to configure it on the Linux operating system. This book is also useful to those familiar with SQL Server on Windows who want to learn the unique aspects of managing SQL Server on the Linux platform and Docker containers. Readers should have a grasp of relational database concepts and be comfortable with the SQL language.