Install SQL Server Agent on Linux

Applies to: SQL Server - Linux

This article describes how to enable or install the SQL Server Agent on Linux.

The SQL Server Agent runs scheduled SQL Server jobs. Starting with SQL Server 2017 CU4, SQL Server Agent is included with the mssql-server package and is disabled by default. For information on the features supported for this release of the SQL Server Agent along with version information, see the Release notes for SQL Server 2017 on Linux.

Instructions

Before using the SQL Server Agent on Linux, use the following steps to enable or install it.

  1. Add your hostname (with and without domain) in the /etc/hosts files. The following lines show an example of the format for these entries:

    "IP Address" "hostname"
    "IP Address" "hostname.domain.com"
    
  2. Follow the instructions in one of the following sections based on your version of SQL Server:

    Versions Instructions
    SQL Server 2017 CU4 and higher
    SQL Server 2019
    Enable the SQL Server Agent
    SQL Server 2017 CU3 and lower Install the SQL Server Agent

Enable the SQL Server Agent

For SQL Server 2019 and SQL Server 2017 CU4 and higher, you only need to enable the SQL Server Agent. You don't need to install a separate package.

To enable SQL Server Agent, follow the steps below.

sudo /opt/mssql/bin/mssql-conf set sqlagent.enabled true
sudo systemctl restart mssql-server

Note

If you're upgrading from 2017 CU3 or below with Agent installed, SQL Server Agent will be enabled automatically and previous Agent packages will be uninstalled.

Note

SQL Server Management Studio Object Explorer doesn't display the contents of the SQL Server Agent node unless Agent XPs extended stored procedures are enabled, regardless of the SQL Server Agent service state. For more information, see Agent XPs (server configuration option)

Install the SQL Server Agent

For SQL Server 2017 CU3 and earlier, you must install the SQL Server Agent package.

Note

The install instructions below apply to SQL Server Versions 2017 CU3 and below. Before installing SQL Server Agent, first install SQL Server. This configures the keys and repositories that you use when you install the mssql-server-agent package.

Install the SQL Server Agent for your platform:

Install on RHEL

Use the following steps to install the mssql-server-agent on Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

sudo yum install mssql-server-agent
sudo systemctl restart mssql-server

If you already have mssql-server-agent installed, you can update to the latest version with the following commands:

sudo yum check-update
sudo yum update mssql-server-agent
sudo systemctl restart mssql-server

If you need an offline installation, locate the SQL Server Agent package download in the Release notes for SQL Server 2017 on Linux. Then use the same offline installation steps described in the article Install SQL Server.

Install on Ubuntu

Use the following steps to install the mssql-server-agent on Ubuntu.

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install mssql-server-agent
sudo systemctl restart mssql-server

If you already have mssql-server-agent installed, you can update to the latest version with the following commands:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install mssql-server-agent
sudo systemctl restart mssql-server

If you need an offline installation, locate the SQL Server Agent package download in the Release notes for SQL Server 2017 on Linux. Then use the same offline installation steps described in the article Install SQL Server.

Install on SLES

Use the following steps to install the mssql-server-agent on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.

Install mssql-server-agent

sudo zypper install mssql-server-agent
sudo systemctl restart mssql-server

If you already have mssql-server-agent installed, you can update to the latest version with the following commands:

sudo zypper refresh
sudo zypper update mssql-server-agent
sudo systemctl restart mssql-server

If you need an offline installation, locate the SQL Server Agent package download in the Release notes for SQL Server 2017 on Linux. Then use the same offline installation steps described in the article Install SQL Server.