SQL Server versions, licensing and new features from the Microsoft SQL Server Blog, Brent Ozar and SQLskills, checked every 6 hours. Each item links to the full article. Subscribe with the SQL Server News RSS feed.

Microsoft SQL Server Blog

• SQLCon Barcelona 2026: Advancing SQL with greater control, scale, and intelligence (29 September 2026)
  We're bringing the Azure control plane and management to wherever you are, providing a consistent SQL and Azure experience. The post SQLCon Barcelona 2026: Advancing SQL with greater control, scale,…
• SQL Server on Azure Local is now generally available (29 September 2026)
  With SQL Server on Azure Local, customers can modernize where their data resides while maintaining control over infrastructure, connectivity, and data placement. The post SQL Server on Azure Local is…
• What’s next for SQL? Performance, scale, AI, and developer productivity at the European SQL Community Conference (13 August 2026)
  Join Microsoft Fabric and SQL Community Conference 2026 in Barcelona to explore SQL Server 2025, Azure SQL Database Hyperscale, developer productivity tools, and the future of AI-powered data platforms. The…
• SQL Server 2016 end of support is here: Plan your next steps (14 July 2026)
  See what changes as SQL Server 2016 reaches end of support. Choose between cloud migration, upgrading SQL Server, and Extended Security Updates (ESU). The post SQL Server 2016 end of…
• FabCon and SQLCon 2026: Unifying databases and Fabric on a single data platform (18 March 2026)
  Welcome to the third annual FabCon and our first ever SQLCon here in Atlanta, Georgia. With nearly 300 workshops and sessions, this joint event will highlight how they are bringing…
• Advancing agentic AI with Microsoft databases across a unified data estate (18 March 2026)
  Built on a consistent Microsoft SQL foundation from on premises to the cloud, Azure SQL brings AI capabilities directly into your database experience. The post Advancing agentic AI with Microsoft…
• How the Microsoft SQL team is investing in SQL tools and experiences (05 December 2025)
  Microsoft is modernizing SQL tools with AI, SSMS, Visual Studio Code, and DevOps features to boost productivity and future-proof development. The post How the Microsoft SQL team is investing in…
• One consistent SQL: The launchpad from legacy to innovation (18 November 2025)
  One consistent SQL delivers the agility and consistency needed to modernize data systems and unlock new innovation opportunities. The post One consistent SQL: The launchpad from legacy to innovation appeared…

Brent Ozar

• [Video] Office Hours on the Last Alaskan Cruise of the Season (15 October 2026)
  It’s a cold, gloomy day on the very last Alaskan cruise of the season. Yes, I picked this on purpose! While I talk about why this is a fun cruise…
• Breaking News: Hold Off on SSMS 22.11.0 (14 October 2026)
  There’s a new SQL Server Management Studio update out today. I’d hold off on it for now. I had problems with the upgrade, and when I mentioned it on LinkedIn,…
• Fact-Checking Microsoft’s “PostgreSQL to SQL Field Notes: Connections” (14 October 2026)
  Microsoft has started a series of blog posts helping Postgres developers who are “upgrading” to Microsoft SQL. (Microsoft’s been using that generic “SQL” term to refer to its collection of…
• Free Webcast: How to Think Like the SQL Server & Postgres Engines (13 October 2026)
  You’re a developer or a DBA, and you’re comfortable writing queries to get the data you need. You’re much less comfortable trying to design the right indexes for your database…

SQLskills

• Reflections on 15 Years (11 August 2026)
  (This was the editorial for my 300th SQLskills Insider newsletter last week, that I’ve been producing since March 2011! See bottom of browser window to subscribe.) I was torn between…
• Presenting a workshop at PASS Summit West in Seattle! (07 July 2026)
  I’m excited to be presenting at the Pass Summit in November! My pre-con workshop is my absolute favorite to teach Performance Tuning with Waits and Latches and I’ll also be…
• Summer Sale: $699 Blackbelt Bundle! (23 June 2026)
  Summer Sale time! Hundreds of dollars lower-than-ever prices on our signature 158-hour Blackbelt training bundle: US$699 for one-year access (or to upgrade) – $200 lower than ever before! – US$1,299…
• The SQL Server Transaction Log, Part 4: Log Records (16 June 2026)
  (This post first appeared on SQLperformance.com four years ago as part of a blog series, before that website was mothballed later in 2022 and the series was curtailed. Reposted here…
• SQL101: Application data consistency checking (23 April 2026)
  It’s quite common for a company that experiences a corruption-causing disaster, but has no valid backups to restore from and no ability to fail over to a redundant secondary, to…
• SQL101: Phishing attacks (02 April 2026)
  I thought it was bad previously, but in 2026 I’ve noticed a big rise in emails trying to scam me into clicking a link – known as phishing. Phishing describes…
• SQL101: Top Ten SQL Server Performance Tuning Best Practices (25 March 2026)
  There are a huge number of best practices around SQL Server performance tuning – I could easily write a whole book on the topic, especially when you consider the number…
• Protecting Transparent Data Encryption Databases (19 March 2026)
  I have gotten a lot of email questions recently about TDE and SQL Server, specifically around the encryption hierarchy involved in protecting the encrypted data inside of a TDE enabled…

Last updated 15 October 2026 at 21:00 by my assistant, Athena.