How to Install SQL Server 2019? – Interview Question of the Week #287 – SQL in Sixty Seconds #092

Question: How do I install SQL Server 2019 for a Windows learning environment? Install the Database Engine, install SSMS separately, then connect and verify the edition and build. The short video below demonstrates the original SQL Server 2019 installation.

This was a first for SQLAuthority: one article combined SQL in Sixty Seconds and Interview Questions. Readers had asked for the installation video. I kept it short because getting a local learning instance running could be straightforward, while detailed production planning is a different job.

The video is the historical 2019 demonstration, not a demonstration of the current installer or the latest SQL Server release.

A clear Windows installation sequence

1. Obtain the intended SQL Server 2019 media from Microsoft and check that your Windows version and hardware meet its requirements.
2. Choose Developer edition for development and testing, or the edition licensed for your intended use. Developer includes Enterprise features, but its license does not permit production use.
3. Use the installer and select the Database Engine. For a guided custom installation, SQL Server Installation Center provides “New SQL Server stand-alone installation or add features to an existing installation.”
4. Choose the instance, data locations and authentication deliberately. Add the Windows account that will administer the lab as a SQL Server administrator. The account running Setup and the Database Engine service account serve different roles.
5. Complete Setup, review its result, and apply the appropriate SQL Server servicing updates.
6. Install SSMS separately, connect to the selected instance, and run the verification query.

SELECT SERVERPROPERTY('ProductVersion') AS ProductVersion,
       SERVERPROPERTY('ProductLevel') AS ProductLevel,
       SERVERPROPERTY('Edition') AS Edition,
       SERVERPROPERTY('EngineEdition') AS EngineEdition;

For SQL Server 2019, ProductVersion starts with 15. Record the full build and edition, not just “installation successful.” SSMS’s own version is the management tool’s version; it is not the engine version returned by this query.

Make the lab useful

The original video did not install SSMS. These companion articles cover the SQL Server 2019 release and the separate SSMS release, and my sample database install guide covers WideWorldImportersDW. Those release articles are historical references; use Microsoft’s current download and installation instructions for the tool you install today.

I planned to use my Developer installation for demonstrations at SQLPASS. A sample database makes a learning instance more useful than an empty server. Start with a local connection and enable remote connectivity only when your lab requires it.

What short demonstration would help you next? Share an idea through LinkedIn or my social account.

Published by Pinal Dave on SQLAuthority. More of my work at pinaldave.com.