Ubuntu 24.04 VM with SQL Server 2025 Express
بواسطة cloudimg
Ubuntu 24.04 VM with Microsoft SQL Server 2025 Express Edition | 24/7 Support by cloudimg
Ubuntu 24.04 VM with Microsoft SQL Server 2025 Express Edition by cloudimg
Microsoft SQL Server 2025 Express Edition on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, purpose built for Microsoft Azure and maintained by cloudimg. Express is the FREE production-licensed tier — no product key required, no BYOL ceremony. Microsoft SQL Server 2025 Express ships every engine improvement Standard/Enterprise gets, including the new vector type, native JSON and regex, and optimized locking.
What's New in Microsoft SQL Server 2025 (Express)
- Native vector type and HNSW indexes — `VECTOR(N)` columns and approximate-nearest-neighbour search built into the engine
- Native JSON_OBJECT / JSON_ARRAY / JSON_VALUE / JSON_PATH — first-class T-SQL JSON construction
- Native regex — REGEXP_LIKE, REGEXP_INSTR, REGEXP_SUBSTR, REGEXP_REPLACE in T-SQL
- Optimized locking — reduced lock memory, fewer escalations on concurrent OLTP
- Native AAD on Linux — Microsoft Entra ID authentication for Linux clients
Why Choose cloudimg?
- 24/7 Expert Support — guaranteed 24-hour response. support@cloudimg.co.uk
- Production Ready from Launch — pre-configured, security-patched, validated before publication
- Azure Native Integration — Azure Linux Agent, cloud-init, Gen2 Hyper-V, TrustedLaunch ready
- Per VM SA + cloudimg Credentials — fresh strong passwords generated at first boot, written to /stage/scripts/mssql-credentials.log (mode 0600 root only)
Express Edition Limits
- 1 socket OR 4 cores (whichever is lower)
- 1410 MB buffer pool memory per instance
- 10 GB max database size per database
- Single-instance only — no Always On AGs, no Replication subscriber
For larger workloads, apply a Standard or Enterprise 2025 key with `sudo /opt/mssql/bin/mssql-conf setpid` and restart `mssql-server`.
Licensing — FREE
Express is licensed by Microsoft for production use within the edition limits. The cloudimg charge ($0.04 per vCPU/hour) covers packaging, security patching, image maintenance, and 24/7 expert support; the Microsoft SQL Server 2025 engine itself is free.
Recommended Virtual Machine Sizes
- Standard_B2s (2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM) — dev/test, light workloads
- Standard_D2s_v5 (2 vCPU, 8 GB RAM) — small production embedded databases
- Express's 1.4 GB buffer-pool cap means larger VMs add little benefit