How to Install and Configure SQL Server on RHEL

This tutorial guides you through installing SQL Server 2022 on RHEL 8.x or 9.x, connecting via the sqlcmd command-line tool, database creation, and basic querying.

Prerequisites

Before beginning, ensure:

• A supported RHEL version (RHEL 8 or 9).
• Sudo or root privileges.
• At least 2 GB RAM, 6 GB free disk space, and a supported x64 CPU architecture.

Step 1: Enabling SELinux (Recommended for RHEL 9)

SQL Server 2022 supports RHEL 8.x and 9.x. For RHEL 9, running SQL Server as a confined application using SELinux (Security-Enhanced Linux) is recommended for enhanced security.

Enable SELinux enforcement (optional for RHEL 8, recommended for RHEL 9):

sestatus
sudo setenforce 1

If SELinux is disabled in /etc/selinux/config, sudo setenforce 1 will fail. You'll need to modify /etc/selinux/config to set SELINUX=enforcing and reboot.

Edit /etc/selinux/config:

sudo vi /etc/selinux/config

Change SELINUX=disabled to SELINUX=enforcing.

Reboot your system:

sudo reboot

Verify SELinux is in Enforcing mode:

getenforce

The output should be Enforcing.

Step 2: Installing SQL Server on RHEL

Download and configure the Microsoft SQL Server repository:

sudo curl -o /etc/yum.repos.d/mssql-server.repo https://packages.microsoft.com/config/rhel/$(rpm -E %{rhel})/mssql-server-2022.repo

Install the SQL Server package:

sudo yum install -y mssql-server

For enhanced security with SELinux, install:

sudo yum install -y mssql-server-selinux

Run the setup script, setting the 'sa' password and choosing your SQL Server edition (Evaluation, Developer, or Express are free):

sudo /opt/mssql/bin/mssql-conf setup

Verify SQL Server is running:

sudo systemctl status mssql-server

Start it if necessary:

sudo systemctl start mssql-server

Open port 1433 (default SQL Server port) in FirewallD:

sudo firewall-cmd --zone=public --add-port=1433/tcp --permanent
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

Step 3: Installing SQL Server Command-Line Tools

Install sqlcmd and bcp:

Download the Microsoft Red Hat repository configuration file (use the command appropriate for your RHEL version):

RHEL 9:

curl https://packages.microsoft.com/config/rhel/9/prod.repo | sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/mssql-release.repo

RHEL 8:

curl https://packages.microsoft.com/config/rhel/8/prod.repo | sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/mssql-release.repo

Install the tools and unixODBC:

sudo yum install -y mssql-tools18 unixODBC-devel

Update to the latest version:

sudo yum check-update
sudo yum update mssql-tools18

Add sqlcmd and bcp to your PATH (choose one method):

For current session only:

export PATH="$PATH:/opt/mssql-tools18/bin"

To persist across sessions (recommended): Edit ~/.bashrc or ~/.bash_profile:

echo 'export PATH="$PATH:/opt/mssql-tools18/bin"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

Step 4: Connecting to and Using SQL Server

Connect locally using sqlcmd:

sqlcmd -S localhost -U sa -P '<your_sa_password>' -N -C</your_sa_password>

Create a database:

CREATE DATABASE TestDB;
GO

List databases:

SELECT Name FROM sys.databases;
GO

Create and populate a table:

USE TestDB;
GO
CREATE TABLE dbo.Inventory (id INT, name NVARCHAR(50), quantity INT, PRIMARY KEY (id));
GO
INSERT INTO dbo.Inventory VALUES (1, 'banana', 150), (2, 'orange', 154);
GO

Query the table:

SELECT * FROM dbo.Inventory WHERE quantity > 152;
GO

Exit sqlcmd:

QUIT

Alternative tools include Azure Data Studio, Visual Studio Code (with the mssql extension), PowerShell Core, and mssql-cli.

Conclusion

This guide detailed installing SQL Server 2022 on RHEL, configuration, database creation, and basic querying using sqlcmd.

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