Let’s start our blog series about SQL Server 2025 with the installation of it. In this part, we’ll cover the prerequisites needed to get started and walk through the installation process step by step. We’ll highlight any differences compared to SQL Server 2022, so if you’ve worked with previous versions, you’ll know exactly what’s new, or what’s the same as before.

Prerequirements

Before starting the installation, make sure your environment meets the minimum system requirements for SQL Server 2025 (17.x) Preview. Keep in mind, these are minimums for production workloads, we advise not to stick with the minimum requirements.

• Operating System:
  • Windows Server 2019 or later
  • Windows 10 version 1809 or later
  • Select supported Linux distributions
• Storage: At least 6 GB of available disk space (can change when adding more features)
• Memory:
  • Minimum: 1 GB (512 MB for Express)
  • Recommended: 4 GB or more for production environments (probably more in real life)
• Processor:
  • x64 processor, 1.4 GHz minimum, 2.0 GHz or faster recommended
  • ARM processors are not supported
• .NET Framework: Version 4.7.2 required on Windows
• Network: TCP/IP, Named Pipes, and Shared Memory protocols supported by default

For the full list of detailed hardware and software requirements, visit the official Microsoft documentation.

Installation

During the installation, one of the first changes you’ll see is at the edition selection screen. Where we previously had just one option for the Developer Edition, the installer now introduces two separate variants:

• Developer Standard
• Developer Enterprise

Instead of always installing the Enterprise feature set in non-production environments, we now can choose the edition level that matches our production environment. This allows for a (more) realistic development and test setup, just realistic testdata to go 😉. For teams running Standard Edition in production, selecting Developer Standard helps prevent accidental dependencies on Enterprise-only features.

Next to the free editions, the installer obviously also provides the option to install the paid versions of SQL Server. Here, you have a couple of choices:

• Pay-as-you-go, integrated with Azure billing, which can be used for cloud-connected environments
• Product key entry, for traditional licensing models

Once the license terms are accepted and the initial system checks have passed, the installer proceeds to a screen where you can enter your Azure account information. This step is mandatory if you’re going with the pay-as-you-go licensing model, as it connects your local SQL Server instance to your Azure subscription for billing purposes.

However, entering Azure details isn’t just for pay-as-you-go, it’s also used when integrating with Azure Arc. This enables hybrid management features, such as inventory and policy control across your environment.

For the sake of simplicity in this blog, we’ll continue the installation without enabling the Azure Extension for SQL Server.

Here we can choose which features to install. Compared to the previous installations, I miss the ‘Data Quality Client’ and ‘Master Data Services’ for now. For the rest, it’s the same clear structure we’re used to, where Database Engine Services remains the only feature required for a minimal, working SQL Server installation. The rest can be selected based on your specific workload needs.

In this step, we can choose whether to install SQL Server as the default instance or create a named instance.

One small change here is the installation path. The SQL Server directory now includes MSSQL17, a step up from the MSSQL16 used in SQL Server 2022.

Since I’m already running SQL Server 2022 on this VM, I’ll go and create a named instance called SQL2025.

No changes are visible on this screen compared to previous versions. You’ll want to ensure the correct service accounts are used based on your organization’s policies. This is also the place where, in most environments, it’s a good idea to enable Instant File Initialization (IFI) by granting the necessary privilege to the SQL Server Database Engine service account.

Also, don’t forget to check the collation before continuing to the next screen.

In this part of the wizard, we can apply basic configurations before the actual installation begins, like Administrators, default  directories, TempDB etc..  The only change here is the update in the default directory path: it now uses MSSQL17 instead of MSSQL16.

After completing this step, the wizard navigates to a summary of all chosen options, where you can proceed to start the actual installation.

When this is finished, you can use your instance. Keep in mind that for new databases the compatibility level is now 170.

In the following blog, we’ll dive deeper in each feature individually so make sure to follow our LinkedIn page for the latest updates.