Looks outside: pigs are flying!
In an announcement yesterday, SQL Server will be made available on Linux. The private preview of SQL Server on Linux is available now, and Microsoft is targeting availability in mid-2017. Microsoft will offer both on-premises and cloud versions of the product (via Linux VMs). It will include the Stretch Database capabilities that Microsoft is building into SQL Server 2016. Right now, SQL Server on Linux is available on Ubuntu or as a Docker image, and Microsoft intends to support Red Hat Enterprise Linux as well as other platforms over time. The private preview is based on SQL Server 2016.
Considering how anti-Linux Microsoft was a few years ago, this is very surprising, but not so surprising if you have followed the changes over the past two years as Microsoft has come to embrace Linux and other open source technologies and tools (see Microsoft Loves Linux).
To find out more about SQL Server on Linux, you can sign up to get regular updates and provide input to the team, as well as apply to the private preview.
More info:
Microsoft is porting SQL Server to Linux
8 no-bull reasons why SQL Server on Linux is huge for Microsoft
