MS SQL Server on Mac – SQL

Microsoft SQL Server is a powerful relational database management system that is most commonly used with Windows operating system. However, it is also possible to install and use MS SQL Server on a Mac. In this article, we will provide a step-by-step guide on how to install MS SQL Server on a Mac using SQL.

Step 1: Install Docker

Before proceeding with the installation, you will need to have Docker installed on your Mac. Docker is an open-source tool that allows you to run applications in containers. To install Docker, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Docker website (https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop) and download the Docker Desktop for Mac.
2. Once the download is complete, double-click the downloaded file to begin the installation process.
3. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

Step 2: Download and Run the SQL Server Image

After installing Docker, you will need to download the MS SQL Server image from the Docker Hub repository. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Open the Terminal application on your Mac.
2. In the Terminal window, enter the following command to download the SQL Server image:

docker pull mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2019-latest

3. Once the image is downloaded, run the following command to start the SQL Server container:

docker run -e 'ACCEPT_EULA=Y' -e 'SA_PASSWORD=<YourStrong!Passw0rd>' \
   -p 1433:1433 --name sqlserver \
   -d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2019-latest

Note: Replace <YourStrong!Passw0rd> with a strong password of your choice.

4. After a few moments, the SQL Server container should be up and running. You can check its status by entering the following command in the Terminal window:

docker ps -a

Step 3: Connect to the SQL Server

Now that the SQL Server is up and running in a container, you can connect to it using Visual Studio Code or SQL Server Management Studio. Follow these steps to connect to the SQL Server using Visual Studio Code:

1. Download and install Visual Studio Code from the official website (https://code.visualstudio.com/download).
2. Open Visual Studio Code and install the mssql extension by entering the following command in the Extensions panel:

ext install ms-mssql.mssql

3. After the installation is complete, press the F1 key and select "MS SQL: Connect" from the list. This will open the "Connect to Server" window.
4. In the "Connect to Server" window, enter the following details:

• Server name: localhost
• Authentication type: SQL Login
• User name: sa (or the user name you created during the container creation)
• Password: <YourStrong!Passw0rd> (or the password you created during the container creation)

5. Click the "Connect" button to connect to the SQL Server.

Conclusion

With the above steps, you can easily install and run MS SQL Server on your Mac using SQL. This allows you to develop and test applications on a local machine without the need for expensive server hardware. With the help of Docker, you can also quickly spin up and tear down containers as required.