Microsoft Corp. has announced it now supports SUSE Linux Enterprise in its latest preview of the new SQL Server.

The SQL Server vNext Community Technology Preview (CTP 1.2) has just been released on Windows and Linux, ahead of a full release expected later this year. Previous releases of the database software already added support for the Ubuntu and Red Hat Linux distributions, and the new SQL Server vNext branding is intended to showcase the new Linux and cloud-friendly direction of a product that was formerly Windows-only.

Microsoft first revealed its intentions to make the software available on Linux last year, saying at the time that it would “enable SQL Server to deliver a consistent data platform across Windows Server and Linux, as well as on-premises and cloud.” General availability of SQL Server vNext has been slated for mid-2017, and this preview release is intended for prospective users to test how it performs on SUSE servers, the company said. In addition, Microsoft has announced a new early adopter program for the software. “You can try the preview in your development and test environments now or apply to join the SQL Server Early Adoption Program to get support for implementing SQL Server vNext in production,” the company said in a blog post announcing the release.

The SQL Server Early Adoption Program is designed to help enterprises validate the software for Windows or Linux, and get to grips with its new features and enhancements. In addition, SQL EAP offers members direct access to a Microsoft Program Manager Buddy whenever support is required.

Microsoft wants participants to do more than just evaluate the new features, however. It said early adopters will be given the chance to suggest ideas and explain their product requirements via regular surveys. The main idea is to “provide customers with choice about how to develop and deploy SQL Server applications using technologies they love like Java, .NET, PHP, Python, R and Node.js.”

Another benefit for members is that they’ll be able to bring their workloads to Microsoft’s SQL Customer Advisory Team Customer Lab, so they can test how the database performs in the presence of the company’s experts.

Lastly, Microsoft has also set up a discussion forum in a private Yammer group that allows SQL EAP customers and the SQL engineering team to communicate and share ideas. However, Microsoft requires that customers keep silent about whatever is discussed in the group, as its contents fall under a non-disclosure agreement that each SQL EAP participant is obliged to sign.

Image courtesy of Microsoft via Facebook