Microsoft announce the retirement of SQL Server 2019 Big Data Clusters. Existing users will be fully supported on the platform through February 2025 with the software maintained through SQL Server cumulative updates until that time.
There’s advice for replacement and migration options for customers here: https://bit.ly/35Xiblt, and you can find the retirement announcement here: https://bit.ly/3sMVUjl.
Microsoft announce that SQL Server 2019 is generally available. There are the usual product enhancements you’d expect with, from a licensing perspective, the most significant being support for deploying Big Data Clusters. A new SA benefit gives customers an allowance for licensing Big Data Cluster nodes, with additional licences available in the (inevitable) 2-core pack. There are also SA benefits added for licensing Disaster Recovery solutions.
Find the announcement here: http://bit.ly/2pGwlD5, with a 42-page Licensing Guide here: http://bit.ly/SQL2019LGNov2019.