Basic Attendance
The installer will download the full setup package, which may take several minutes depending on your internet connection speed. Navigate the SQL Server Installation Center
| Step | Action | | :--- | :--- | | | Get the lightweight installer ( SQL2019-SSEI-Dev.exe ) from the official Microsoft website . | | 2. Install | Run the installer as an administrator, choose a Custom installation for full control, and carefully select your features. | | 3. Configure | Set a Named Instance (recommended), configure Mixed Mode authentication, and create a strong sa password. | | 4. Post-Install | Download and install SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) from Microsoft's website. | | 5. Connect | Launch SSMS and connect to your new Database Engine instance. |
| Feature Category | Typical Recommendation | |------------------|------------------------| | | Always install – The core of SQL Server | | SQL Server Replication | Install only if you need data replication | | Full-Text and Semantic Extractions | Useful for text search workloads; optional | | Data Quality Services | For data cleansing; install only if needed | | Analysis Services | For tabular/multidimensional models; optional | | Reporting Services (SSRS) | For paginated reports; install separately if needed | | Integration Services (SSIS) | For ETL workloads; optional | | Machine Learning Services (R/Python) | Install if you plan to run ML models inside SQL Server | | PolyBase Query Service | For querying external data (Hadoop, Azure Blob); optional |
Select if this is the only SQL Server installed on your machine. The instance name will automatically default to MSSQLSERVER .
Select to ensure proper configuration of database settings and security modes. Step 3.2: Select Media Location
: Best if you need to install it on multiple machines later; choose the Setup Configuration New SQL Server stand-alone installation from the Installation Center. Select the edition when prompted for a product key. Feature Selection : At a minimum, select Database Engine Services
button so your Windows account has full permissions immediately. Post-Installation: SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
Note: SQL Server Developer Edition is fully functional but is strictly licensed for development and testing scenarios. It must not be used for production workloads.
Select Basic for a standard development setup. (The steps below follow the Basic workflow).