VMs are old hat mate. Docker is what you want.
Soooo.. I created a VM running SQL express on an ubuntu 20.04 box. All working beautifully.
Now I'm trying to test a back up and restore. BUT I can't install another copy of sql on ubuntu. A chain of errors
So I'm going to try docker. I'm starting up a VM with docker preinstalled. How would I connect to the container (ideally from windows) , to tell it to pull and start a sql image? I assume all I need is the IP address of the VM host and the root login.
( I am assuming of course that the container isolates me from nasty messages about not being able to find mssql or outdated keychain bollox)
Not using a windows host as I'm cheap. Though I may give up soon , because time is money...