This post lists all the supported SQL server versions for SCCM (ConfigMgr) current branch. SQL Server is necessary to host the site database when installing SCCM, and most importantly, the SQL Server version should be supported by Configuration Manager.
Update: Starting in version 2409, support for SQL Server 2014 is deprecated. Its support lifecycle ends in July 2024. Plan to upgrade all database servers to the next version before that time.
When you are going to install a new instance of ConfigMgr in your setup, you should be aware of support SQL Server versions for SCCM. It is always recommended to go with the latest version of SQL Server, as it is stable and provides better performance.
With the release of Configuration Manager current branch, many organizations are planning to upgrade SCCM 2012/2012 R2 to the latest CB version. One important aspect during the ConfigMgr upgrade is determining whether the installed SQL server version is compatible or not. To determine which version of ConfigMgr you can upgrade to, it is crucial to review the SCCM in-place upgrade paths.
Site databases always use a full SQL install when it comes to CAS and primary sites. The SQL database server could be on a local server computer or on a remote computer. For SCCM secondary sites, the site database can use a default instance of a full installation of SQL Server or SQL Server Express. However, the SQL Server cannot be remote in this case. It should be on the site server computer.
This article provides a list of all the SQL server versions that Configuration Manager supports. This will assist you in selecting the SQL server version when installing or upgrading configuration manager. If you are looking for size and scale numbers for Configuration Manager, refer to this link.
SCCM Configurations Required for SQL Server
Listing some important configurations required for all SQL server installs for SCCM.
- Configuration Manager requires a 64-bit version of SQL Server to host the site database.
- While installing SQL server for SCCM, the site database must use the following Database collation: SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS.
- Only the Database Engine Services feature is required for each site server.
- SCCM requires Windows authentication to validate connections to the database.
- Take a look at SQL Server Memory Configurations.
- SQL Server ports: The Intersite communications use the SQL Server Service Broker, which uses port TCP 4022 by default. And the intrasite communications between the database engine and various ConfigMgr site system roles use port TCP 1433 by default.
Supported SQL Server versions for SCCM (ConfigMgr)
The below table lists all the supported SQL server versions for SCCM.
| Supported SQL Server Versions for SCCM | SCCM CAS Site | SCCM Primary Site | SCCM Secondary Site |
|---|---|---|---|
| SQL Server 2022 (Standard, Enterprise) | YES | YES | YES |
| SQL Server 2019 (Standard, Enterprise) with cumulative update 5 or higher | YES | YES | YES |
| SQL Server 2017 Express with minimum CU2 or higher | NO | NO | YES |
| SQL Server 2017 (Standard, Enterprise) | YES | YES | YES |
| SQL Server 2016 Express | NO | NO | YES |
| SQL Server 2016 (Standard, Enterprise) | YES | YES | YES |
| SQL Server 2014 SP2 (Standard, Enterprise) | NO | NO | NO |
| SQL Server 2014 SP1 (Standard, Enterprise) | NO | NO | NO |
| SQL Server 2014 Express SP2 | NO | NO | NO |
| SQL Server 2014 Express SP1 | NO | NO | NO |
| SQL Server 2012 SP3 (Standard, Enterprise) | NO | NO | NO |
| SQL Server 2012 SP2 (Standard, Enterprise) | NO | NO | NO |
| SQL Server 2012 Express SP3 | NO | NO | NO |
| SQL Server 2012 Express SP2 | NO | NO | NO |
| SQL Server 2008 R2 SP3 (Standard, Enterprise) | NO | NO | NO |
If you are using an older version of SQL Server for SCCM, you can always perform an in-place upgrade to the next version. For example, if you are running SQL 2014 for SCCM, you can upgrade SQL Server 2014 to 2017.
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