How to let multiple SQL Server instances use PolyBase (best practice with ?Linked Servers)?
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I know PolyBase can only be installed on one SQL Server instance per host.
**In my setup:**
- Instance A already uses PolyBase for its own external data queries.
- Instance B (on the same server) also needs access to external data. Since I can’t install PolyBase twice, my plan is for B to query A via a Linked Server.
- Windows Server 2019 running SQL 2019 on prem
**Questions:**
1. Is using Linked Servers in this way considered the best practice, or are there cleaner alternatives?
2. Any security/authentication recommendations (Kerberos, least privilege)?
3. What about performance (four-part names vs. OPENQUERY, predicate pushdown)?
4. Should I expose views in A for B to query, or reference A’s external tables directly?
5. Any known operational issues (timeouts, monitoring, transactions)?
I havent tried it yet, so I’d appreciate any guidance or alternative approaches that work without adding a second server.
Asked by Jonasstadi
(11 rep)
Sep 19, 2025, 08:42 AM