SQL Server 2019 Standard on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS

Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Standard Edition on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (Focal Fossa), purpose-built for Azure by cloudimg. A unique SA password is generated automatically on every VM deployment — no credential is baked into the image. The SQL Server Standard software license is not included; you apply your own product key after deployment.

Important: This image charges for cloudimg packaging, maintenance, and 24/7 expert support at $0.04 per vCPU per hour. The SQL Server 2019 Standard Edition software license is not included. You must hold and apply a valid SQL Server 2019 Standard Edition product key — see Step 6.

Prerequisites

• An Azure subscription with permission to create virtual machines
• An SSH key pair — the public key is uploaded during VM creation
• A valid SQL Server 2019 Standard Edition product key (BYOL) for production use

Step 1 — Deploy from the Azure Portal

1. Find SQL Server 2019 Standard on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS by cloudimg in the Azure Marketplace and click Create.
2. On the Basics tab, select or create a Resource Group, choose a region, and set the VM size. Standard_D4s_v3 (4 vCPU / 16 GB RAM) is recommended for most production workloads. SQL Server 2019 Standard Edition supports up to 24 cores and 128 GB RAM.
3. Under Administrator account, choose SSH public key and paste your public key.
4. On the Networking tab, open inbound port 1433 (SQL Server) in addition to 22 (SSH).
5. Click Review + create, then Create.

Step 2 — Deploy with the Azure CLI

az vm create \
  --resource-group <your-resource-group> \
  --name mssql-2019-standard \
  --image "$(az sig image-version list \
       --resource-group AZURE-CLOUDIMG \
       --gallery-name cloudimgGallery \
       --gallery-image-definition mssql-2019-standard-ubuntu-20-04 \
       --query '[0].id' -o tsv)" \
  --size Standard_D4s_v3 \
  --admin-username azureuser \
  --ssh-key-values ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub \
  --public-ip-sku Standard

After the VM starts, open the SQL Server port:

az vm open-port --port 1433 --resource-group <your-resource-group> --name mssql-2019-standard

Step 3 — Connect via SSH

ssh azureuser@<vm-ip>

On first boot, mssql-firstboot.service generates a unique SA password, creates the cloudimg database and login, and writes credentials to /stage/scripts/mssql-credentials.log. Allow 60–90 seconds for the service to complete before connecting.

Step 4 — Retrieve Your Credentials

sudo cat /stage/scripts/mssql-credentials.log

The file is owned root:root (mode 0600) and contains your SA password, cloudimg login password, database name, and a ready-to-use connect command. Store the passwords somewhere safe.

Example output:

# SQL Server 2019 Standard Edition — Per-VM Credentials
# Generated: Thu Apr 23 22:37:47 UTC 2026
#
# NOTE: The SQL Server Standard software license is NOT included.
# Apply your own license key:
#   sudo /opt/mssql/bin/mssql-conf setpid <your-product-key>
#   sudo systemctl restart mssql-server
#
SA_USER=sa
SA_PASSWORD=Az3f8a2c1d9e7b4f6a!8c2e1d
CLOUDIMG_USER=cloudimg
CLOUDIMG_PASSWORD=Cl7e4a1b9c2d8f3e5a!4b1c9
CLOUDIMG_DATABASE=cloudimg
#
# Connect: sqlcmd -S localhost -U sa -P 'Az3f8a2c1d9e7b4f6a!8c2e1d' -C

Step 5 — Connect with sqlcmd

Read the generated SA password and open an interactive sqlcmd session:

SA_PASS=$(sudo grep '^SA_PASSWORD=' /stage/scripts/mssql-credentials.log | cut -d= -f2-)
/opt/mssql-tools18/bin/sqlcmd -S localhost -U sa -P "${SA_PASS}" -C

The -C flag trusts the self-signed TLS certificate that SQL Server generates at startup. Confirm the version and edition:

SELECT @@VERSION;
GO

Expected output:

Microsoft SQL Server 2019 (RTM-CU32-GDR) (KB5084816) - 15.0.4465.1 (X64)
        Mar 13 2026 01:28:40
        Copyright (C) 2019 Microsoft Corporation
        Standard Edition (64-bit) on Linux (Ubuntu 20.04.6 LTS) <X64>

Step 6 — Apply Your SQL Server License Key (BYOL)

By default, the image runs in Standard Edition evaluation mode — this is functionally identical to a licensed Standard Edition but requires a product key for production compliance. Apply your own SQL Server 2019 Standard Edition product key:

sudo /opt/mssql/bin/mssql-conf setpid <YOUR-PRODUCT-KEY>
sudo systemctl restart mssql-server

Confirm the edition after restart:

SA_PASS=$(sudo grep '^SA_PASSWORD=' /stage/scripts/mssql-credentials.log | cut -d= -f2-)
/opt/mssql-tools18/bin/sqlcmd -S localhost -U sa -P "${SA_PASS}" -C \
  -Q "SELECT SERVERPROPERTY('Edition'), SERVERPROPERTY('LicenseType')"

SQL Server 2019 Standard Edition supports up to 24 cores and 128 GB RAM.

Step 7 — Create Databases and Tables

Create a database, a table, insert a row, and query it back:

SA_PASS=$(sudo grep '^SA_PASSWORD=' /stage/scripts/mssql-credentials.log | cut -d= -f2-)

# Create database
/opt/mssql-tools18/bin/sqlcmd -S localhost -U sa -P "${SA_PASS}" -C \
  -Q "IF DB_ID('mydb') IS NULL CREATE DATABASE mydb;"

# Create table, insert, and select
/opt/mssql-tools18/bin/sqlcmd -S localhost -U sa -P "${SA_PASS}" -C -d mydb -W -Q "
CREATE TABLE greetings (id INT IDENTITY(1,1) PRIMARY KEY, msg NVARCHAR(256));
INSERT INTO greetings (msg) VALUES (N'Hello from cloudimg SQL Server 2019');
SELECT id, msg FROM greetings;
"

Expected output:

(1 rows affected)
id msg
-- -----------------------------------
1  Hello from cloudimg SQL Server 2019

(1 rows affected)

The pre-created cloudimg database and cloudimg SQL login (db_owner on the cloudimg database) are available for immediate application use:

CL_PASS=$(sudo grep '^CLOUDIMG_PASSWORD=' /stage/scripts/mssql-credentials.log | cut -d= -f2-)
/opt/mssql-tools18/bin/sqlcmd -S localhost -U cloudimg -P "${CL_PASS}" -C -d cloudimg \
  -Q "SELECT DB_NAME(), SUSER_SNAME();"

Step 8 — Open Port 1433 for Remote Access

By default, port 1433 is blocked by the Azure NSG. To allow remote clients:

az network nsg rule create \
  --resource-group <your-resource-group> \
  --nsg-name <your-nsg-name> \
  --name allow-mssql \
  --priority 1433 \
  --protocol Tcp \
  --destination-port-ranges 1433 \
  --access Allow

Remote clients then connect with:

sqlcmd -S <vm-ip> -U sa -P '<sa-password>' -C

For production, use a TLS certificate from a trusted CA rather than the self-signed cert — omit -C once you replace the certificate.

Step 9 — Backup and Restore

Back up a database to disk:

SA_PASS=$(sudo grep '^SA_PASSWORD=' /stage/scripts/mssql-credentials.log | cut -d= -f2-)
/opt/mssql-tools18/bin/sqlcmd -S localhost -U sa -P "${SA_PASS}" -C -Q "
BACKUP DATABASE [mydb]
TO DISK = N'/var/opt/mssql/data/mydb.bak'
WITH NOFORMAT, INIT, NAME = N'mydb full backup', STATS = 10;
"

Restore from backup:

SA_PASS=$(sudo grep '^SA_PASSWORD=' /stage/scripts/mssql-credentials.log | cut -d= -f2-)
/opt/mssql-tools18/bin/sqlcmd -S localhost -U sa -P "${SA_PASS}" -C -Q "
RESTORE DATABASE [mydb]
FROM DISK = N'/var/opt/mssql/data/mydb.bak'
WITH REPLACE;
"

Step 10 — Server Components

Step 11 — Filesystem Layout

Support

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