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Azure provides Linux virtual machine images that have SQL Server 2017 CTP 2.1 installed. This topic provides a short walkthrough on how to use the Azure portal to create a Linux SQL Server virtual machine.

You can take backups of databases from SQL Server 2017 CTP 2.1 on Linux with the same tools as other platforms. On a Linux server, you can use `sqlcmd` to connect to the SQL Server and take backups. From Windows, you can connect to SQL Server on Linux and take backups with the user interface. The backup functionality is the same across platforms. For example, you can backup databases locally, to remote drives, or to [Microsoft Azure Blob storage service](http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/dn435916.aspx).

1. Start SSMS and connect to your server in SQL Server 2017 CTP 2.1 on Linux.

The simplest solutions leverage virtualization technologies to achieve a high degree of resiliency against host-level failures, fault tolerance against hardware failures, as well as elasticity and resource maximization. These systems can run on-premises, in a private or public cloud, or hybrid environments. The simplest form of disaster recovery and protection is the database backup. Simple solutions available in SQL Server 2017 CTP 2.1 include:

Standard high-availability and disaster recovery techniques provide instance-level protection combined with a reliable shared storage infrastructure. For SQL Server 2017 CTP 2.1 standard high-availability includes:

SQL Server 2017 CTP 2.1 on Linux includes virtualization, backup and restore, and failover clusters to support high-availability and disaster recovery.

You can use several different environment variables to configure SQL Server 2017 CTP 2.1 on Linux. This topic provides a list of the settings that are configurable using environment variables.

**mssql-conf** is a configuration script that installs with SQL Server 2017 CTP 2.1 for Red Hat Enterprise Linux, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, and Ubuntu. You can use this utility to set the following parameters:

This topic provides connection requirements and guidance for SQL Server 2017 CTP 2.1 running on Linux. In most cases, the connection requirements and processes do not differ across platforms. This topic approaches the subject in the context of Linux and then points to other resources.

You can create applications that connect to and use SQL Server 2017 CTP 2.1 on Linux from a variety of programming languages, such as C#, Java, Node.js, PHP, Python, Ruby, and C++. You can also use popular web frameworks and Object Relational Mapping (ORM) frameworks.

If you have an existing database application, you can simply change its connection string to target SQL Server 2017 CTP 2.1 on Linux. Make sure to read about the [Known Issues](sql-server-linux-release-notes.md) in SQL Server 2017 CTP 2.1 on Linux.

Tools that currently run on Windows such as SSMS, SSDT, and PowerShell, also work with SQL Server 2017 CTP 2.1 on Linux. Although they do not run natively on Linux, you can still manage remote SQL Server instances on Linux.

SQL Server 2017 CTP 2.1 on Linux is supported by SSDT version 17.0 RC or later.

This topic shows how to use [SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)](https://msdn.microsoft.com/library/mt238290.aspx) to connect to SQL Server 2017 CTP 2.1 on Linux. SSMS is a Windows application, so use SSMS when you have a Windows machine that can connect to a remote SQL Server instance on Linux.