Installation requirements for each version of SQL Server

Currently, Microsoft website only offers downloads for SQL Server 2016, SQL Server 2017, SQL Server 2019, and SQL Server 2022. For other versions of SQL Server, you need to find resources on the Internet to download.

SQL Server 2016 supports Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2019 operating systems and does not support Windows Server 2022 operating systems. For more details about hardware and software requirements, see the table link above.

SQL Server 2017 supports Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2016, and Windows Server 2019 operating systems. For more details about hardware and software requirements, see the links in the table above.

SQL Server 2019 supports Windows Server 2016 and Windows Server 2019 operating systems. For more details about hardware and software requirements, see the links in the table above.

SQL Server 2022 supports Windows Server 2016 and Windows Server 2019 operating systems. For more details about hardware and software requirements, see the links in the table above.

For Windows Server 2008 cloud server, please use SQL Server 2014 or earlier.

Operation Steps for Installing SQL Server 2016

The following installation method takes SQL Server 2016 installation as an example, and the cloud server operating system is Windows Server 2012 Data Center Edition R2 64-bit.

1. Click the downloaded SQLServer2016-SSEI-Eval.exe file to enter the SQL installation wizard and install it.

2. Select Custom installation and wait until the installer is ready.

3. Select the installation language and directory, and click Install. Wait for the installer to download, and after the download is complete, it will automatically enter the SQL Server installation center.

4. Click the Install navigation bar on the left and select the first option, which is "New SQL Server Standalone Installation or Add Features to an Existing Installation".

5. Select Specify Available Version and install it in free image mode. (To officially build Sharepoint, you need to enter the key to install the full version of SQL Server.) Click Next.

6. Check "I accept the license terms and privacy statement". Click Next.

7. Check if you need to update using Microsoft Update. Don't check if you don't need it. Click Next.

8. Check "Select All", and uncheck "PolyBase Query Service for External Data", "R Service (In-Database)" and "R Server (Independent)" after selecting to install all functions. The cloud server is a domain controller, and PolyBase cannot be used in the domain controller, so deselect this option. Click Next.

9. Check "Default Instance". Configure the instance using default values without any modification. Click Next.

10. Set up SQL Server Configuration.

Modify the account name of SQL Server Database Engine to "NT AUTHORITY\NETWORK SERVICE".

Set "SQL Server Analysis Services" to add the domain account and password set in AD, DHCP, DNS, and IIS services for Windows Server. For details, see: Add AD, DHCP, DNS, and IIS services to Windows Server

Click Next after setting up.

11. Check "Windows Authentication Mode" and click Add Current User to use the current account as the administrator account of SQL Server. Click Next.

12. Check "Multidimensional and Data Mining Mode". Click Add Current User to add the administrator privilege of Analysis Services to the current account. Click Next.

13. To set up Reporting Services, in Reporting Services Native Mode, check "Install and Configure", and in Reporting Services SharePoint Integrated Mode, check "Install Only". Click Next.

14. Click Add Current User to add Distributed Replay Controller privileges to the current account. Click Next.

15. The Distributed Replay client facility uses the default values without modification. Click Next.

16. Confirm the SQL Server configuration and click Install to start the installation.

17. Check if the function status is all successful, if it is, click Close to complete the SQL Server installation.