How to Download & Install SQL Server 2025 and the Latest SSMS (A Clean, Step-by-Step Guide)

4 — Install SQL Server 2025

After downloading the setup file, you can start the installation. The steps are simple, but there are a few options you should choose carefully.

Step-by-Step Installation

• Mount the ISO file
  
  • Open the drive and run setup.exe.
• Choose “New SQL Server stand-alone installation”

  • This option will install a fresh copy of SQL Server.

    

• Accept license terms
  • Read and accept Microsoft’s license agreement.
  • Adjust the next few pages to your needs and continue.
• Azure Extention for SQl Server

  • During installation, SQL Server 2025 gives you the option to add the Azure Extension for SQL Server. This feature connects your local SQL Server to Microsoft Azure services. With it, you can enable automatic backups to the cloud, use Azure security and monitoring tools, and manage your database in a hybrid environment. If you are only using SQL Server on your personal computer or for testing, you can skip this option. For business or cloud integration, enabling it can give extra value.

    

• Feature selection
  • Select the features you need.
  • For most users:
    • Database Engine Services
    • SQL Server Replication (optional)
    • Full-Text and Semantic Extraction (optional)

      

• Instance configuration
  • You can keep Default instance if this is your first SQL Server.
  • If you plan to install more than one, choose Named instance.

    

• Server configuration
  • Keep the default service accounts unless you have special needs. These accounts are already optimized for normal use and security.
  • You will also see a check box: Grant Perform Volume Maintenance Tasks to SQL Server Database Engine Service.
    
    • If you check this, SQL Server can create and grow database files faster (instant file initialization).
    • It is safe to enable this in most cases, and it can improve performance, especially when working with large databases.
  • On the Collation tab, you can set how SQL Server handles text sorting and comparison.
    
    • The default collation (usually SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS) is fine for English systems.
    • If you work with other languages (for example Persian, Arabic, or Asian languages), you may want to choose a collation that matches your language and case sensitivity needs.

      

      

• Database Engine configuration
  Server Configuration
  
  • Choose Mixed Mode (SQL Server authentication and Windows authentication).
  • Create a strong password for the sa account.
  • Add your Windows user account as an SQL admin (so you don’t lose access later).

    

  Data Directories

  • Here you can change the location of system databases, user databases, and backup files.
  • By default, they go to the C: drive.
  • For better performance, you can move Data files and Log files to different drives.
  • Example: Data on SSD, Logs on another disk, Backups on a separate storage.

    

  TempDB

  • TempDB is a system database used for temporary operations.
  • Best practices:
    
    • Create multiple data files (usually 1 file per CPU core, up to 8).
    • Put TempDB on a fast SSD.
    • Make sure the size is big enough to avoid frequent auto-growth.

      

  MaxDOP (Maximum Degree of Parallelism)

  • This controls how many CPU cores can run a single query.
  • Default may not always be optimal.
  • Best practice: set it to the number of cores in one NUMA node (often 8).
  • For OLTP systems, use lower values (like 4 or 8).

    

  Memory

  • You can limit how much memory SQL Server will use.
  • Default lets SQL Server use almost all system memory, which may hurt other apps.
  • Best practice:
    
    • Leave at least 2–4 GB for the OS.
    • Example: If the server has 16 GB RAM, set Max Server Memory to 12–14 GB.

      

  Filestream

  • If you plan to store large files (images, documents, videos) inside the database, you can enable Filestream.
  • For most cases, you can leave it disabled.
  • Only enable if your application needs this feature.

    

• Installation
  
  • Review the summary.
  • Click Install.
  • Wait until setup completes, then click Close.