This month is an interesting invitation from Tracy Boggiano. It’s on Linux, which I like. I hadn’t thought about this in terms of T-SQL Tuesday, but I think it fits and more than that, I think Linux will be the future of the backend data platform from Microsoft. I’ve said it in a few presentations, and I think we’ll get there in 10 years.
In any case, I wanted to write about how I use Linux and SQL Server.
Containers for Work
One of the technologies that I see gaining a foothold in many companies is containerization. More and more developers are using containers, and asking for their databases to work in containers. At Redgate, we’ve been investigating this and are looking to build solutions that will use containers.
As a result, I’m experimenting with SQL Server in containers on my laptop ad giving some presentations that share the way in which they work. I’ve written a little at SQLServerCentral as well as on this blog.
In setting up my laptop, I installed Docker and experimented a little with Windows and Linux containers. I’ve standardized on Linux containers, because they’re more mature for production (Windows containers are in preview now), and I think with Kubernetes and the growth of how the SQL Server 2019 Big Data Clusters will work, I expect more Linux for servers in the future.
I’m also using this as an opportunity to brush up on some bash and Linux skills, connecting to my containers with the –it (interactive) switch, as well as using the Windows Subsystem for Linux.
It’s slow learning, and it’s interesting trying to juggle things in bash and PowerShell at the same time, but I expect these skills will become more hand in the future.