Developers Software engineers and IT leaders have been enthused with the SQL Server 2019. A database management system requires SQL to handle the structured data and organize the data elements. Popularity of SQL has not fallen from 2012 and is on top even today, when checked against the DB- Engine ratings. Surveys have proved that almost 58% developers prefer SQL Server to other available database platforms. In Nov 2012, the DB-Engine Ranking of Relational DBMS was 1356.836 and in Aug 2019 Microsoft SQL Server ranks on 1093.179.
The companies prefer SQL for the ample of reliable functionalities available in budget. This stable database management engine is available on both the platforms like Linux and Windows. Microsoft products and SQL Server 2019 work peacefully, have gained new energy with inclusion of AI.
SQL Server also has some great features including visualisations on mobiles and the ability to change and track performance levels, which can potentially save time and money.
What are the reasons to choose SQL Server 2019?
- Big Data: SQL Server store the big data clusters.
- Artificial Intelligence: Bring AI for better operations and reduced workloads.
- Data Virtualization: It runs queries across the relational & non-relational data without replicating or moving it.
- Interact with Virtual Data: Explore and interact with the virtual data to analyse for better insights.
- Real-time Analytics: The operational data is concurrent and lasting memory enables analysing of data in real-time.
- Resolve Performance Issues: Automatic correction works because of the improved query processing ability of SQL Server 2019.
- Database Maintenance Costs: Reduced costs and increased uptime due to more online indexing.
- Data Protection: Encryption secures the SQL server, boosts the security of data. Security of data on cloud is vital due to DBAs facing cybersecurity issues with the growth in online storage.
- Data Discovery & Labelling: The assessment tool can track the compliances using powerful resources of SQL server.
- Flexibility: Run the Java code on the SQL Server to analyze the graphical data on Windows and Linux servers.
How useful it is for data visualization?
SQL Server 2019 and data virtualization eliminates the need to use the alternative ETL. This extract transform load with the copies of data loaded to the systems, process, and analyses data. ETL may bring value to business with its analysis but has several issues like high development and maintenance costs. It also requires extensive efforts to create and update the process of ETL. The delay it causes in processing can range between 2-7 days; this hampers the accuracy of analysis. You may lose business opportunities due to this delay. The storage space required for each data set and the security concerns affects the budget.
Alternatively, data virtualization allows integration of data from varied sources, saved in different locations and design formats. It does not require moving or replicating of data. The single virtual layer created with this data provides cohesive support to multiple users of different applications. User’s data access to sensitive information, if dynamically and centrally controlled can avoid the threat and loss that delay causes.
SQL Server 2019 identifies and addresses the need to store the variety of data, which is mixture of relational and non-relational data. Maintain the relevance of data, store and use from separate locations yet combine it to analyse on a single platform.
How flexible is SQL Server 2019?
The capability it brings to performance of business applications is mainly because of its transaction processing speed. SQL Server possesses TPC- E3 performance benchmark for On-Line Transaction Processing –OLTP that considers the transaction per second rate. TPC- E3 is highly effective in financial transactions at brokerage firm but can be applicable for other online business trades.
With owned TPC-H4 performance benchmark it serves effectively for data warehousing. It principally multiplies the capacity to run and populate data even for the ad-hoc queries of businesses. It can examine voluminous data, execute complex queries, and sustain concurrent data mutation. The reliability it brings to business decisions is astonishing. TPC-H is the performance metric for Composite Query-per-Hour. This includes the query processing when submitted by multiple users simultaneously.
Security with SQL Server 2019 is consistent, thus enhances the capacity of data management and applications that are data-driven. As per the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the proof of the high security is the low concerns raised, on security attacks by the database vendors in the span of 7-8 years.
Enhancements/ Additional Features in SQL Server 2019:
- SQL Server 2019 extended competence of PolyBase, with new connectors allows us to create external tables that can link to a variety of data stores such as SQL Server, Oracle, MongoDB, etc using ODBC driver.
- We can choose the language and platform to include additional container scenarios to embrace higher extensibility.
- Java language extension will allow you to call a pre-compiled program and securely execute this Java code on the SQL Server. You can stipulate the Java runtime by installing the JDK distribution and selected Java version to meet your requirement.
- Support to Persistent Memory SQL, now directly accesses & picks the files stored on PMEM devices circumventing the operating system.
- SQL Server 2019 provides better integration with big data systems and connectors for data visualization. It leads to right use of data lying scattered on the business systems.
- Columnstore Index features advances to deliver improved metadata memory management, low-memory load alley for columnstore tables, bulk loading, and maintenance of columnstore.
- Built-in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence supports additional scenarios like failover cluster instance. It maintains the zero downtime and consistent availability of applications and services.
- SQL Server 2019 has intelligent query processing, added security, and features that support the GDPR compliance. The data protection and data privacy makes business applications safe and secure.
- The memory grant feedback again calculates the memory required for the repeating workload in case of the query repetition. This memory grant feedback is available for match and row mode processing.
- The lightweight query-profiling infrastructure helps in trouble shooting and diagnostics by reducing the overhead of CPU to just 2%.
- SQL data discovery and classification integrated to the SQL server engine with new metadata meets the compliance needs of databases.
- Assessment of vulnerability on SQL server and Azure database instances has a standard security procedure introduced for best practice.
- Newly introduced enclave technology secures data and client applications on server side from malware by encryption.
- Configure one primary and four secondary replicas, in total five synchronous replicas in AG (availability groups). It is effective due to programmed failover between these replicas. The client applications can connect with any replicas of the availability groups.
- UTF-8 character encoding support allows us to create char or varchar column to store data and improve data performance and harmony.
- You can expect support from SQL Server 2019 for the resumable online index creation just as in SQL server 2017.
- It brings better scalability and balance as it automatically redirects connections on basis of read/write intent.
- Use SQL Server 2019 to configure Always on Availability Groups using the Kubernetes as orchestration layer.
- SQL Server Configuration Manager, this functionality makes certificate management efficient. We can view the valid certificates installed on the SQL server instance and know about their expiry dates. It allows us to deploy certificates for the Availability Group instances, instigating from primary replica.
- SQL Graph enriched with inclusion of restrictions on connections with nodes adds to security. Now add, update or delete operations on target table and merge your existing graph data.
- The Power BI apps for mobile devices (Windows 10, iOS, and Android) allow easy access to the dashboard and the mobile reports in online /offline mode.
Conclusion:
There are multiple database combinations but most of them include MS SQL.
Thus, MS SQL Server 2019 allows you to add more data sources and volumes of data. Reliable help from SQL will encourage developers to build intelligent enterprise applications. Exploration of data in real-time using interactive analysis enables immediate issue tracking and solution. New features address many challenges powerfully than the earlier versions. Simply explore the features that make applications smarter and easy to access.
