Is there a way to use standard CLR functions on Azure SQL Edge for Ubuntu Docker on an M1 Mac?

Question

I have a MacBook with an M1 chip, so (about) the only option for me to run SQL Server is to run it as a Docker container. This works fine for standard SQL, but our application uses some CLR features like COMPRESS; when I try to use that, it tells me

Msg 50000, Level 16, State 1, Line 45 Common Language Runtime(CLR) is not enabled on this instance.

Enabling it does not work:

EXEC sp_configure 'clr enabled', 1;  
RECONFIGURE;  
GO

gives

Msg 15392, Level 16, State 1, Procedure sp_configure, Line 166
The specified option 'clr enabled' is not supported by this edition of SQL Server and cannot be changed using sp_configure.

I found this Stack Overflow post but that is about someone using a custom .NET library; I'm looking for the 'standard' functionality available in SQL Server for Windows.

Answer 1

Yes, there is an easier path to this now, as of Ventura (I tested on 13.3) and Docker 4.16.

1. Make sure you are on macOS Ventura - I only know that it works on 13.3 because I can’t test anything earlier now

2. Make sure Docker is the "Apple Chip" version, 4.16 or later:

   

3. Enable "Use Virtualization Framework" in Settings > General:

   

4. Enable "Use Rosetta for x86/amd64 Emulation…" under Settings > Features in Development:

   

5. Hit Apply & Restart

6. Create a new container adding the important --platform=linux/amd64 argument; while it should work for any image in the hub, this command is for SQL Server 2022, and is the only one where I have validated that it works:

   docker run --platform=linux/amd64           \
     -e ACCEPT_EULA=1                          \
     -e MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=sTr0ng3st_p@ssw0rd!  \
     -p 1433:1433 -d                           \     
     mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2022-latest
   

7. Proof that COMPRESS() works:

   

Answer 2

You are not alone running SQL Server container images on MacBook Pro M1: and in fact CLR is missing from Azure SQL Edge container images.

However a brave person was able to install SQL Server 2019 on Windows Server 2016 on a M1 Max MacBook Pro by using an emulator called UTM, which itself is an abstraction over QEMU.

The recommended x86_64 architecture is this:

Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009) (alias of pc-q35-6.1) (q35)

Use it as the basis of your virtual machine and configured it with two CPU cores, 8GB RAM, and a 127GB virtual hard drive.