- SQL Query is available in both free and pro version, and it is the best roll you can use for straightforward and complex SQL server optimization; this is not just a standalone software solution; it is also the best tool that features multiple views of plan data in the Standard Query Language Server Management Studio.
- This article will guide you on how to perform a new SQL Server 2016 installation. Microsoft released SQL Server 2016 on June 1, 2016. Click here to download SQL Server 2016. Sign in with a valid Hotmail account or else create a new Microsoft account here. Fill in the required information, click Register to continue.
With the SQL Server 2016 release Microsoft has changed the way that they are delivering SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS). In previous releases SSMS was installed as a part of the SQL Server installation itself from the SQL Server Installation Center. That is no longer the case with SQL Server 2016. Now SSMS is not installed as a part of the main SQL Server installation process. Instead you need to install SSMS separately. There a number of reasons Microsoft has made this change. First, this allows Microsoft to update SSMS more frequently than they were able to in the past when it was bundled in with the main release. In addition, a best practice for managing SQL Server is to run SSMS from a networked workstation rather than running SSMS directly on the SQL Server system itself. Separating the SSMS installation from the main SQL Server Installation Center makes it easier to install SSMS on a separate systems.
SSMS has a number of core changes compared to earlier versions of SSMS. First, SSMS 2016 is now based on the Visual Studio 2015 Isolated Shell. It includes a wizard for the new Always Encrypted feature and a new quick launch toolbar to quickly find different menu items. SSMS 2016 also includes a new SQL PowerShell module and new cmdlets that work with Always Encrypted, SQL Agent, and SQL Error Logs. There’s also a new activity monitor with filtering and automatic refresh. For a complete list of all of the features in SSMS 2016 you can check out Features in SQL Server Management Studio
Managing Multiple SQL Server Instances with SSMS 2016
Each shared feature is installed once within a defined scope and operates within that scope. The defined scope can span all SQL Server versions on a computer (e.g., SQL Server Browser), can be isolated to one major version of SQL Server (e.g., SQL Server Management Tools), or can be isolated to one or more minor versions.
The new SSMS 2016 is able to manage multiple different SQL Server releases. SSMS 2016 is able to work with:
- SQL Server 2016
- SQL Server 2014
- SQL Server 2012
- SQL Server 2008 / R2
- SQL Azure
- Azure SQL Data Warehouse
Microsoft states that there is no specific restrictions for using SSMS 2016 with SQL Server 2000 or SQL Server 2005 but all of the features may not work properly.
Running the SSMS Install
To install SSMS 2016 you first need to download it. You can get SSMS for SQL Server 2016 at Download SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) or you can begin the SSMS 2016 download using the installation link for SSMS on the SQL Server 2016 Installation Center in Figure 1.
Figure 1 – The link to install SQL Server Management Studio
Clicking the Install SQL Server Management Tools link opens up the Download SQL Server Management Studio page that you can see in Figure 2.
Figure 2 – The SQL Server Management Studio Download Page
Clicking the Download SQL Server Management Studio July 2016 link will prompt you to Run or Save the SSMS-Setup-ENU.exe program that you can see in Figure 2. If you choose the Save option the SSMS-Setup-ENU.exe setup program will be saved to your Downloads folder. Then you can click Run after the download completes to display the SSMS 2016 installation screen that you can see in Figure 3.
Figure 3 – The SQL Server Management Studio Installation Program
Clicking Install will launch the SSMS 2016 setup process. The setup takes several minutes as it installs the .NET Framework 4.6.1 and the Visual Studio 2015 isolated shell as part of the SSMS 2016 setup. The system required a restart following the SSMS 2016 installation. The SSMS setup logs are stored in the %USERPROFILE%AppDataLocal tempSsmsSetup directory. The logs can be used for troubleshooting if you encounter errors during the installation process.
Unlike earlier versions SSMS 2016 automatically checks online for updates. You can also manually check for updates using the Check for Updates option on the Tools menu. You can see SSMS 2016 in Figure 4.
Figure 4 –SQL Server Management Studio 2016
In a long overdue move Microsoft has drastically changed the installation process for SQL Server Data Tools with the SQL Server 2016 release. In the past, SQL Server Data Tools was the name of two separate and quite different products. One of them was the descendant of the Business Intelligence Development Studio (BIDS) which was last officially part of the SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 R2 release. The other was the descendant of a project called Data Dude. In spite of sharing the same moniker, each of these tools had very different purposes. The BIDS project became known as SQL Server Data Tools-BI (SSDT-BI) and it was used to develop Analysis Services projects, Integration Services packages and Reporting Services reports – all vital to SQL Server BI subsystems. The Data Dude project became known as just SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) and it was used for data and schema compare as well as versioning and other database development.
With the SQL Server 2016 release the former Data Dude capabilities have been incorporated into the main Visual Studio family and the BIDS feature set is now the new SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT).
Supported SQL Server and Windows Versions
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SSDT 2016 supports development for a number of different SQL Server releases including:
- Relational databases — SQL Server 2005 though SQL Server 2016, Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Data Warehouse (SQL Server 2005 is officially at the end of support)
- Analysis Services — SQL Server 2008 through SQL Server 2016
- Reporting Services — SQL Server 2008 through SQL Server 2016
- Integration Services –SQL Server 2012 through SQL Server 2016
SSDT 2016 can run on the following operating systems:
- Windows 10 (x86 and x64)
- Windows 8, 8.1 (x86 and x64)
- Windows 7 SP1 (x86 and x64)
- Windows Server 2012 (x64), R2 (x64)
- Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 (x64)
Installing SQL Server Data Tools
Getting the new SSDT is now more straightforward than in earlier releases as well. You can download SSDT directly from Download SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) or you can also download it using the Install SQL Server Data Tools link on the SQL Server 2016 Installation Center. You can see the SQL Server Installation Center’s installation option for SQL Server Data Tools in Figure 1.
Figure 1 – Downloading SQL server Data Tools from the SQL Server Installation Center
Clicking the Install SQL Server Data Tools link opens a browser window and takes you to the Download SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) dialog that you can see in Figure 2. This is the direct download page that was mentioned earlier.
Figure 2 – SQL Server Data Tools Download Page
Clicking on the Download SQL Server Data Tools for Visual Studio 2015 here! will display the second download page that you can see in Figure 3.
Figure 3 – SQL Server Data Tools Download Page 2
Microsoft Sql Server Management Studio
This page enables you to optionally create an installation point on a network share or you can simply scroll down and select the download image you want to install. In Figure 3 you can see that the English language image has been selected. You will then be prompted to open or save the ISO image. By default, saving the SSDT_14.60629.0_EN.iso image will copy it into the system’s Downloads directory. After the download completes clicking Open launches a Windows File Explorer window which will have expanded the ISO file. Then you can run the SSDTSETUP.EXE program to start the SSDT 2016 setup process that you can see in Figure 4.
Figure 4 – Running the SSDT Installer
The first SSDT 2016 installation screen enables you to select the different features you want to install. By default all of the boxes are checked. Clicking Next displays the Microsoft Software License Terms dialog that you can see in Figure 5.
Figure 5 – Accepting the License Terms and Installing SSDT 2016
Check the I agree to license terms and conditions box and then click on Install to begin the SSDT 2016 installation process. The installer will run through a number of steps including installing SQL Server LocalDB, the SQL Server DB OLE DB Providers and the Microsoft Visual Studio 2015 Integrated Shell.
Download Microsoft Management Studio 2016
When you first open up SSDT 2016 you get to choose your Visual Studio color theme as well as the type of development environment you want to use. The default color theme is blue and the default development environment is general. When SSDT 2016 first launches it will open the SQL Server LocalDB instance. You can then connect to your other SQL Server instances.
Selecting the File, New, Project option will display the SSDT project templates that you can see in Figure 6. To start a new project simply select one of the templates and give it a name. SSDT will add a new project to the Solutions dialog and you can begin working on your BI project.
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Figure 6 – SSDT 2016 Project Templates