SQL Server 2017 on LINUX FAQs – Microsoft

In this post we shall discuss few questions and answers for SQL Server 2017 on Linux.

1. What Linux platforms are supported?

As of now SQL Server supports following platforms-

1. Red Hat Enterprise Server
2. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
3. Ubuntu
4. Container with Docker

More info at- https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/linux/sql-server-linux-setup?view=sql-server-linux-2017#supportedplatforms

2. What SQL Server features are supported on Linux?

Ans:-

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/linux/sql-server-linux-release-notes?view=sql-server-linux-2017

3. How do I get SQL Server installed on my Linux servers?

Ans:-
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/linux/sql-server-linux-setup?view=sql-server-linux-2017#platforms

4. Which Linux file systems can SQL Server 2017 use for data files?

Ans:-

Currently SQL Server on Linux supports ext4 and XFS. Support for other file systems will be added as needed in the future.

5. Can I use the SQL Server Management Studio client on Windows to access SQL Server on Linux??

Ans:-

Yes, you can use all your existing tools that run on Windows to access SQL Server on Linux. These include tools from Microsoft such as SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT), and OSS and third-party tools.

6. Is there a tool like SSMS that runs on Linux?

Ans:-

The new Microsoft SQL Operations Studio (preview) is a cross-platform tool for managing SQL Server.

For more please refer-
https://msbiskills.com/2018/01/19/2017-new-data-management-tool-for-sql-server-sql-operations-studio/

7. Are commands like sqlcmd and bcp available on Linux?

Ans:-

Yes, sqlcmd and bcp are natively available on Linux, macOS, and Windows. In addition we can use the new mssql-scripter command-line tool on Linux and macOS.

8. What tools are available to monitor SQL Server performance on Linux?

Ans:-

You can use system dynamic management views (DMVs) to collect various types of information about SQL Server, including Linux process information. You can use Query Store to improve query performance.

9. Has Microsoft created an app like the SQL Server Configuration Manager on Linux?

Ans:-

Yes a configuration tool is there for SQL Server on Linux. The name is -mssql-conf.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/linux/sql-server-linux-configure-mssql-conf?view=sql-server-linux-2017

10. Does SQL Server on Linux support multiple instances on the same host?

Ans:-

We recommend running multiple containers on a host to have multiple distinct instances. Each container needs to listen on a different port.

For more information, see Run multiple SQL Server containers.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/linux/sql-server-linux-active-directory-authentication?view=sql-server-linux-2017

11. Is Active Directory Authentication supported on Linux?

Ans:-

Yes

For more information, see Active Directory Authentication with SQL Server on Linux.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/linux/sql-server-linux-active-directory-authentication?view=sql-server-linux-2017

12. Are Always On and clustering supported in Linux?

Ans:-

Failover clustering and high availability on Linux are achieved with the help of Pacemaker on Linux.

For more information on Business continuity and database recovery – SQL Server on Linux.-

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/linux/sql-server-linux-business-continuity-dr?view=sql-server-linux-2017

13. Is it possible to configure replication from Linux to Windows and vice versa?

Ans:-

Read-scale replicas can be used between Windows and Linux for one-way data replication.

14. Is it possible to migrate existing databases in older versions of SQL Server from Windows to Linux?

Ans:-

Yes, there are many methods to achieve this.

15. Can I migrate my data from Oracle and other database engines to SQL Server on Linux?

Ans:-

Yes. SSMA (SQL Server Migration Assistant) supports migration.

Below are the types of database engines:-

Microsoft Access
DB2
MySQL
Oracle
SAP ASE (formerly SAP Sybase ASE).

Migrate an Oracle schema to SQL Server 2017 on Linux using SSMA

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/ssma/oracle/sql-server-linux-convert-from-oracle?toc=%2fsql%2flinux%2ftoc.json&view=sql-server-linux-2017

16. What permissions are required for SQL Server files?

Ans:-

All files in the /var/opt/mssql file folder should be owned by the mssql user and belong to the mssql group. Both the mssql user and group should have read-write permissions of all files and directories. Note the following special scenarios involving file and directory permissions:

Permissions for mssql owner and group are required for mounted network shares that are used to store SQL Server files.

If you locate database files or backups in a non-default directory, you must also set permissions for that directory.

If you change the default root umask from 0022, SQL Server configuration fails after installation. You must then manually apply required permissions to SQL Server startup account.

17. Can I change the ownership of SQL Server files and directories from the installed mssql account and group?

Ans:-

SQL SERVER does not support changing the ownership of SQL Server directory and files from the default installation. The mssql account and group is only for SQL Server and has no interactive login access.

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Microsoft ref – https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/linux/sql-server-linux-faq?view=sql-server-linux-2017

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