The installation process for SQL Server has changed slightly with the release of SQL Server 2016. You now have a couple of new installation options available when you install SQL Server 2016. One of those new features is being able to define multiple tempdb data files while installing SQL Server. Additionally the incorporation of PolyBase into the database engine means there is a new option for installing the new PolyBase Query Service. In this article I walk through the GUI installation process for SQL Server 2016 and explore these new installation options.
Pre-Installation Requirements
As with any installation I needed to set up a Windows machine that could support my SQL Server 2016 installation. To identify all the installation requirements I referred to this documentation: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms143506.aspx.
I decided to install SQL Server 2106 on a VM machine that was setup to support 4 CPU. I chose to install SQL Server on the Windows 2012 R2 Data Center operation system.
Since my installation was going to install PolyBase my VM machine installation needed to meet these requirements, as well as the requirements for SQL Server 2016:
- 64-bit SQL Server Evaluation edition
- Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0.
- Oracle Java SE RunTime Environment (JRE) version 7.51 or higher.
- Minimum memory: 4GB
- Minimum hard disk space: 2GB
These and additional requirements for PolyBase can be found by reading the “Getting started with PolyBase” information found here: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/mt163689.aspx
Note that PolyBase can only be installed on one instance of SQL Server on a machine. Lastly if you are not installing PolyBase, then there is no requirement to install the JRE from Oracle.
Installing SQL Server
I will be walking you through all the screen shots of my SQL Server 2016 installation. This may seem like overkill but I wanted you to be able to see each and every installation window that was associated with my installation.
The first step I take, once my virtual machine is set and running is to mount the ISO image of CTP2.4. I downloaded the ISO image from this location: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-sql-server-2016.
When I mount the ISO image and browse the image you see the following directory.
ISO Image
To launch the installation I just double clicked on the “setup” exe as shown. Upon doing this the following Planning pane for the SQL Server Installation Center window was displayed.
Planning Pane
On this window I clicked on “Installation” to start my installation process. When I did this the Installation pane was displayed in the SQL Server Installation Center window.
Installation Pane
On this installation pane, I clicked on the “New SQL Server stand-alone installation or add feature to an existing installation” option to start my install for my copy of SQL Server 2016. When I do this the “Product Key” page is displayed.
Product Key Page
Here I click on the “Next>” button to continue with the installation, since there isn’t any information for me to enter on this window, since the “Evaluation” edition is the only addition available. When I clicked on the “Next>” button the License Term window is displayed.
License Term Window
On this window I checked the “I accept the license terms.” checkbox. The “Turn on Telemetry and Error Reporting…” checkbox was already checked when the window first displays. I could have selected to uncheck these options, but instead I just used the default value. I just feel this is the correct choice in my case. I made this choice so if my installation identifies issues then those issues can be used to improve the installation process for others in the future. I then click on the “Next>” button to continue my installation. When I click “Next>” the following Microsoft Update window is displayed.
Microsoft Update Window
On this screen I’m am being asked if I want to use the “Microsoft Update” service to keep this installation up to date. Since my machine is only for testing I will leave this box unchecked. If this was a real installation after RTM, I would considering checking this box so my installation would install the latest updated image of SQL Server. When I click the “Next>” box the following Install Rules window is displayed.
Install Rules Window
On this screen it shows the status of some installation rules that were run. As you can see I’ve gotten a firewall rule warning. Since I’m running a stand-alone instance of SQL Server I’m not going to bother with fixing my firewall rules and it is only just a warning. On a real installation I would resolve this issue to make sure my firewall was configured based on the environment it was installed. To move on I just clicked on the “Next>” button. When I click on the “Next>” button I get the Setup Role window displayed.
Setup Role Window
On this screen I have the option to install individual features, or all the features with the defaults. For my installation I will only be installing the SQL Server database engine and PolyBase, therefore I selected the first radio button. I then clicked on the “Next>” button to move on to the next step. When the next button was clicked the “Feature Selection” window was displayed.
“Feature Selection” Window
On this window I selected the features I want to install. In my case I want the “Database Engine Services”, “PolyBase Query Service for External Data”, and the “Management Tools”. The PolyBase option is a new option available with SQL Server 2016. Since I wanted to install PolyBase I checked that option. On this screen I also have the option to identify the default directories that will be used for storing different SQL Server components. I’ll used the defaults directory settings for my installation. Once I’ve selected all the options I want, I then click on the “Next>” button. When I do a number of feature rules get checked. The results of those rules is displayed on the “Feature Rules” window.
“Feature Rules” Window
As you can see, I got a warning. This error was caused because I hadn’t installed the Oracle JRE that PolyBase requires. If I hadn’t selected to install PolyBase then this rule would not have run, and no error would have been reported. Since I am installing PolyBase I needed to resolve this prior to moving on. To resolve this problem I installed the latest JRE, version 8, from this location: http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/jre8-downloads-2133155.html
