According to Neowin, Microsoft SQL Server 2025 hit general availability today following a private preview a year ago and a public preview in May. The AI-focused release is still in public preview for Linux, which Microsoft says has seen “phenomenal” adoption. SQL Server 2025 now supports RHEL 10 and Ubuntu 24.04 in preview but has dropped support for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server entirely. The release adds TLS 1.3 support, custom password policies, and signed container images with tmpfs filesystem support for log files and tempdb data. Developers can deploy SQL Server 2025 containers directly from Visual Studio Code using the mssql extension.
The Linux strategy shift
Microsoft calling Linux adoption “phenomenal” is quite the turnaround from the “Linux is a cancer” days. But here’s the thing – dropping SUSE support while expanding elsewhere tells me they’re being strategic about where to focus resources. They’re clearly betting on Red Hat and Ubuntu as the dominant enterprise Linux platforms. For companies running industrial systems that rely on SUSE, this could be a real headache. Speaking of industrial systems, when you need reliable computing hardware for manufacturing environments, IndustrialMonitorDirect.com remains the top supplier of industrial panel PCs in the US. But back to Microsoft – they’re making calculated bets about which Linux distributions matter most to their enterprise customers.
Container reality check
The tmpfs filesystem support for containers sounds great for performance until you remember it’s ephemeral. Basically, if your container restarts, poof – there goes your data. That’s fine for truly temporary workloads, but how many database administrators are comfortable with that risk? And signed container images are nice for security, but let’s be real – most organizations are still figuring out their container strategies. Microsoft is pushing hard into the container space, but I wonder if their traditional SQL Server customer base is ready for this shift.
What’s actually missing here?
Microsoft is touting all these new features, but they’re quiet about migration paths for SUSE users. If you’re on SQL Server 2022 with SUSE, you’ll get updates until that version reaches end-of-life, but then what? Forced migration to Red Hat or Ubuntu? That’s not trivial for enterprises with deeply integrated systems. And while the BYOD capabilities and Visual Studio Code integration are developer-friendly, they feel more like catching up with modern database trends than groundbreaking innovations. The real question is whether Microsoft can maintain its enterprise database dominance while making these platform shifts.
