Configure repositories for installing and upgrading SQL Server on Linux

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APPLIES TO: yesSQL Server (Linux only) noAzure SQL Database noAzure SQL Data Warehouse noParallel Data Warehouse

This article describes how to configure the correct repository for SQL Server 2017 and SQL Server 2019 installations and upgrades on Linux. At the top, your current selection is Red Hat (RHEL).

This article describes how to configure the correct repository for SQL Server 2017 and SQL Server 2019 installations and upgrades on Linux. At the top, your current selection is SUSE (SLES).

This article describes how to configure the correct repository for SQL Server 2017 and SQL Server 2019 installations and upgrades on Linux. At the top, your current selection is Ubuntu.

Tip

SQL Server 2019 preview is now available! To try it, use this article to configure the new mssql-server-preview repository. Then install using the instructions in the installation guide.

Repositories

When you install SQL Server on Linux, you must configure a Microsoft repository. This repository is used to acquire the database engine package, mssql-server, and related SQL Server packages. There are currently three main repositories:

Repository Name Description
Preview (2017) mssql-server SQL Server 2017 CTP and RC repository (discontinued).
Preview (2019) mssql-server-preview SQL Server 2019 preview and RC repository.
CU mssql-server-2017 SQL Server 2017 Cumulative Update (CU) repository.
GDR mssql-server-2017-gdr SQL Server 2017 GDR repository for critical updates only.

Cumulative Update versus GDR

It is important to note that there are two main types of repositories for each distribution:

  • Cumulative Updates (CU): The Cumulative Update (CU) repository contains packages for the base SQL Server release and any bug fixes or improvements since that release. Cumulative updates are specific to a release version, such as SQL Server 2017. They are released on a regular cadence.

  • GDR: The GDR repository contains packages for the base SQL Server release and only critical fixes and security updates since that release. These updates are also added to the next CU release.

Each CU and GDR release contains the full SQL Server package and all previous updates for that repository. Updating from a GDR release to a CU release is supported by changing your configured repository for SQL Server. You can also downgrade to any release within your major version (ex: 2017).

Note

You can update from a GDR release to CU release at any time by changing repositories. Updating from a CU release to a GDR release is not supported.

Configure repositories

Use the steps in the following sections to configure repositories on Red Hat Enterprise Server (RHEL).

Use the steps in the following sections to configure repositories on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES).

Use the steps in the following sections to configure repositories on Ubuntu.

Check for previously configured repositories

First verify whether you have already registered a SQL Server repository.

  1. View the files in the /etc/yum.repos.d directory with the following command:

    sudo ls /etc/yum.repos.d

  2. Look for a file that configures the SQL Server directory, such as mssql-server.repo.

  3. Print out the contents of the file.

    sudo cat /etc/yum.repos.d/mssql-server.repo

  4. The name property is the configured repository. You can identify it with the table in the Repositories section of this article.

First verify whether you have already registered a SQL Server repository.

  1. Use zypper info to get information about any previously configured repository.

    sudo zypper info mssql-server

  2. The Repository property is the configured repository. You can identify it with the table in the Repositories section of this article.

First verify whether you have already registered a SQL Server repository.

  1. View the contents of the /etc/apt/sources.list file.

    sudo cat /etc/apt/sources.list

  2. Examine the package URL for mssql-server. You can identify it with the table in the Repositories section of this article.

Remove old repository

If necessary, remove the old repository with the following command.

sudo rm -rf /etc/yum.repos.d/mssql-server.repo

This command assumes that the file identified in the previous section was named mssql-server.repo.

If necessary, remove the old repository. Use one of the following commands based on the type of previously configured repository.

Repository Command to remove
Preview (2017) sudo zypper removerepo 'packages-microsoft-com-mssql-server'
Preview (2019) sudo zypper removerepo 'packages-microsoft-com-mssql-server-preview'
CU sudo zypper removerepo 'packages-microsoft-com-mssql-server-2017'
GDR sudo zypper removerepo 'packages-microsoft-com-mssql-server-2017-gdr'

If necessary, remove the old repository. Use one of the following commands based on the type of previously configured repository.

Repository Command to remove
Preview (2017) sudo add-apt-repository -r 'deb [arch=amd64] https://packages.microsoft.com/ubuntu/16.04/mssql-server xenial main'
Preview (2019) sudo add-apt-repository -r 'deb [arch=amd64] https://packages.microsoft.com/ubuntu/16.04/mssql-server-preview xenial main'
CU sudo add-apt-repository -r 'deb [arch=amd64] https://packages.microsoft.com/ubuntu/16.04/mssql-server-2017 xenial main'
GDR sudo add-apt-repository -r 'deb [arch=amd64] https://packages.microsoft.com/ubuntu/16.04/mssql-server-2017-gdr xenial main'

Configure new repository

Configure the new repository to use for SQL Server installations and upgrades. Use one of the following commands to configure the repository of your choice.

Repository Version Command
Preview (2019) 2019 sudo curl -o /etc/yum.repos.d/mssql-server.repo https://packages.microsoft.com/config/rhel/7/mssql-server-preview.repo
CU 2017 sudo curl -o /etc/yum.repos.d/mssql-server.repo https://packages.microsoft.com/config/rhel/7/mssql-server-2017.repo
GDR 2017 sudo curl -o /etc/yum.repos.d/mssql-server.repo https://packages.microsoft.com/config/rhel/7/mssql-server-2017-gdr.repo

Configure the new repository to use for SQL Server installations and upgrades. Use one of the following commands to configure the repository of your choice.

Repository Version Command
Preview (2019) 2019 sudo zypper addrepo -fc https://packages.microsoft.com/config/sles/12/mssql-server-preview.repo
CU 2017 sudo zypper addrepo -fc https://packages.microsoft.com/config/sles/12/mssql-server-2017.repo
GDR 2017 sudo zypper addrepo -fc https://packages.microsoft.com/config/sles/12/mssql-server-2017-gdr.repo

Configure the new repository to use for SQL Server installations and upgrades.

  1. Import the public repository GPG keys.

    sudo curl https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | sudo apt-key add -

  2. Use one of the following commands to configure the repository of your choice.

    Repository Version Command
    Preview (2019) 2019 sudo add-apt-repository "$(curl https://packages.microsoft.com/config/ubuntu/16.04/mssql-server-preview.list)"
    CU 2017 sudo add-apt-repository "$(curl https://packages.microsoft.com/config/ubuntu/16.04/mssql-server-2017.list)"
    GDR 2017 sudo add-apt-repository "$(curl https://packages.microsoft.com/config/ubuntu/16.04/mssql-server-2017-gdr.list)"

  3. Run apt-get update.

    sudo apt-get update

Next steps

After you have configured the correct repository, you can proceed to install or update SQL Server and any related packages from the new repository.

Important

At this point, if you choose to use the RHEL quickstart, remember that you have already configured the target repository. Do not repeat that step in the tutorials. This is especially true if you configure the GDR repository, because the quickstart uses the CU repository.

Important

At this point, if you choose to use the SLES quickstart, remember that you have already configured the target repository. Do not repeat that step in the tutorials. This is especially true if you configure the GDR repository, because the quickstart uses the CU repository.

Important

At this point, if you choose to use the Ubuntu quickstart, remember that you have already configured the target repository. Do not repeat that step in the tutorials. This is especially true if you configure the GDR repository, because the quickstart uses the CU repository.

For more information on how to install SQL Server 2017 on Linux, see Installation guidance for SQL Server on Linux.