Running outdated SQL Server versions exposes your business to security risks, performance issues, and compliance gaps. Microsoft no longer supports some older SQL Server editions, leaving systems unpatched and vulnerable. Upgrading to SQL Server 2025 ensures protection, stability, and access to the latest features. In this article, we shall discuss how to Install all Editions of Microsoft SQL Server 2025. To learn more in SQL Server 2025, please take a look at the technical blog post. Please, see Securing Hybrid Cloud Infrastructure and Applications: Security Posture and Ransomware Best Practices.

If you want to install or upgrade SQL Server to SQL Server 2022 (16.x) or a later version, on Windows Server 2022 or greater, make sure there are no restarts pending. You should restart Windows first, and then run the SQL Server installation or upgrade. Please, see Modern Protection with Veeam + Wasabi – Truly Immutable and Efficient Backup Strategy.

Also, see Upgrade Veeam Backup and Replication v12.3 to v13 on Windows, how to Integrate Active Directory with IPMI for Out-of-Band Management, and Migrate Microsoft Enterprise Root Certification Authority and Forest Domain to Azure.

SQL Server Installation Best Practices

For security reasons, we recommend that you don’t install SQL Server on a domain controller (DC). SQL Server Setup won’t block installation on a DC, but the following limitations apply:

You can’t run SQL Server services on a domain controller under a local service account.
After SQL Server is installed, you can’t change the computer from a domain member to a domain controller. You must uninstall SQL Server before you change the host computer to a domain controller.
After SQL Server is installed, you can’t change the server from a domain controller to a domain member. You must uninstall SQL Server before you change the host to a domain member.
SQL Server failover cluster instances aren’t supported where cluster nodes are domain controllers.
SQL Server isn’t supported on a read-only domain controller. SQL Server Setup can’t create security groups or provision SQL Server service accounts on a read-only domain controller. In this scenario, Setup fails.
A SQL Server failover cluster instance isn’t supported in an environment where only a read-only domain controller is accessible.

Please, see Unveiling OOTBI Mini and New Features for v1.7 from Object First, Understanding User Roles & Access Control in Object First OOTBI, and how to create a backup job for Proxmox VMs using VBR.

SQL Server editions

In this section, we shall discuss the available SQL Server editions. MSSQL 2025 editions are tailored for every environment, from mission-critical Enterprise workloads to lightweight Express deployments.

Together, these editions give organisations and developers a full spectrum of options for building, testing, and running modern data solutions. Kindly take a look at this table for more information and differences between the editions.

Editions	Description

Enterprise

This edition delivers top-tier performance, advanced security, and massive scalability. Organizations use it to run mission-critical, AI-enhanced workloads across on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments.

Standard

Standard edition provides strong performance, solid security features, and cost-effective capabilities. It supports growing businesses that require enterprise-level functionality and modern AI features without excessive complexity.

Enterprise Developer

This edition gives developers full access to every Enterprise feature for building and testing applications. It mirrors Enterprise capabilities but is licensed strictly for development and testing, not production.

Standard Developer

Standard Developer offers the same features as the Standard edition, enabling developers to build and test applications in non-production environments. It is optimized for development workflows while staying aligned with the Standard feature set.

Evaluation

Evaluation edition lets organizations explore the full Enterprise feature set for 180 days. It is ideal for testing performance, capabilities, and deployment scenarios before licensing a production system.

Express

Express edition provides a free, lightweight database engine for learning, small applications, and independent development. It includes SSDT, machine learning integration, and Full-Text Search, with a seamless upgrade path to higher editions when needed. Express LocalDB offers a minimal, quick-install version that runs in user mode with simple configuration.

Please, see “Editions of MSSQL Server: What are the differences between various Editions of Microsoft SQL Server, and Install MSSQL 2019 Developer Edition and SSMS on Windows.

Hardware and software requirements for MSSQL Server

Some of these steps have been discussed here “SQL Server 2025 Upgrade Requirements and Compatibility“. Therefore, we will not be eloborating so much in this section ofr Hardware and software requirements for Microsoft SQL Server 2025 (MSSQL 2025).

MSSQL 2025 is designed to ensure stable performance, compatibility, and support for modern workloads. At a minimum, SQL Server 2025 requires a 64-bit CPU with at least 1.4 GHz, though faster multi-core processors are strongly recommended for production systems.

Installations need several gigabytes of free storage on the system drive, plus additional space depending on the features you deploy and the size of your databases. Memory requirements start at 1 GB, but real-world deployments benefit from considerably more RAM, especially when running analytics, high-volume OLTP workloads, or AI-driven features introduced in SQL Server 2025.

The database engine also depends on .NET Framework 4.7.2 or newer, and proper network connectivity for protocols such as TCP/IP and Named Pipes.

On the software side, SQL Server 2025 supports only modern Windows operating systems, including Windows 10/11 for client environments and Windows Server 2019 or later for server deployments. This ensures access to updated security baselines, improved kernel performance, and the latest storage and clustering technologies.

Administrators planning upgrades or installation as it is in my case must ensure that existing installations meet these OS and hardware prerequisites, and that all SQL components are compatible with the target edition. With these requirements in place, SQL Server 2025 can run efficiently on both development machines and fully licensed production environments, providing a reliable foundation for traditional database workloads and new AI-integrated capabilities.

Please, see How to uninstall Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio, and “Microsoft SQL Evaluation period has expired: How to upgrade SQL Server instance“.

Download Microsoft SQL Server 2025

The aim of this article is to walk you through the entire steps of download, installation and migration. Therefore, as an experienced DBA, or System Administrator, you can skip through some of these steps. Navigate to this link to download SQL Server 2025.

Shortly, you are redirected. Please, click on the “Download the EXE” as shown below. You can see the referenced link If you wish to install SQL Server on Linux.

You will also be redirected to register for your free trial and thereafter be able to download it.

Click on download as shown below to get started

Please, see How to download and install the Windows ADK Patches, and Procedure for creating an MSSQL Always On Cluster on Azure.

Install Microsoft SQL Server 2025

After downloading and running the installer, you may perform an immediate Basic installation of the SQL Engine, a full Custom installation, or download the media only. For me, I will be performing the custom installation.

UI language detected, I will continue with English

Specify a download target location. I am fine with the default and will click on Install.

The packages are being downloaded..

You can take a look just at the extracted setup file for your information as shown blow.

Shortly, it will execute setup script

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Select your Edition

You can select one of your the following editions such as the Enterprise Developer, Standard Developer, or Evaluation editions. You can opt for pay as you go option through Microsoft Azure or enter a Product key for the specific edition of your choice.

I will be selecting the Enterprise Developer as you can see below.

Accept the license terms

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Enable Update

I will select the option to use Microsoft Update to check for update” and click on Next

The SQL Server is internal-only, so the firewall warning is acceptable.

At the moment, I will uncheck the Azure Extension for SQL Server

Now proceed to the feature selection

Please, see Unable to edit MDT XML unattended file: Could not load file, and Enhanced Proactive Monitoring with Veeam ONE.

Feature Selection

I will be selecting the below instance features. Check and uncheck based on your need and click on Next

I will go with the default instance. You can choose to use the named instance and click next

Microsoft recommends using separate accounts for each service; however, since this is a lab environment, I am fine using the default NT Service accounts.