SQL Server 2019 is the next evolution of Microsoft’s RDBMS, continuing to extend its capabilities as a platform for data unification. This release has been enhanced to deliver breakthrough scalability and performance to improve the stability and response time of the database. Building on the introduction of support for Linux with the release of SQL Server 2017, which provided organizations the flexibility to select Windows or Linux operating systems based on their business and application needs, SQL Server 2019 extends this support to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.0 and Ubuntu 18.04. This support continues to provide organizations with more options for running SQL Server on containers with Kubernetes.

Multiple performance and support improvements for SQL Server on Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Linux platforms were also implemented. Support for the XFS file system on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.0 and Forced Unit Access (FUA) functionality enhancements were added. For more information about these updates, see SQL Server 2019 on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 now Generally Available.

Microsoft has also improved SQL Server’s security features in this release. These enhancements include protection of data at rest, in transit, and in use, and Always Encrypted with secure enclaves, which allows rich computations on encrypted data, while still protecting sensitive Personally Identifiable Information (PII) data.

For more information about the new Microsoft SQL Server 2019 features, see View the new capabilities of SQL Server 2019.