[!INCLUDE SQL Server - Linux]

This article explains how you can configure and customize [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] Linux containers using Docker. You can persist your data, move files from and to containers, and change default settings.

You can create your own Dockerfile to build a customized [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] container. For more information, see a demo that combines SQL Server and a Node application. If you do create your own Dockerfile, be aware of the foreground process, because this process controls the life of the container. If it exits, the container shuts down. For example, if you want to run a script and start [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md], make sure that the [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] process is the right-most command. All other commands are run in the background. The following command illustrates this inside a Dockerfile:

/usr/src/app/do-my-sql-commands.sh & /opt/mssql/bin/sqlservr

If you reversed the commands in the previous example, the container would shut down when the do-my-sql-commands.sh script completes.

Your [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] configuration changes and database files are persisted in the container even if you restart the container with docker stop and docker start. However, if you remove the container with docker rm, everything in the container is deleted, including [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] and your databases. The following section explains how to use data volumes to persist your database files even if the associated containers are deleted.

The first option is to mount a directory on your host as a data volume in your container. To do that, use the docker run command with the -v <host directory>:/var/opt/mssql flag, where <host directory> is any given path. For instance: C:\SQL on Windows, or ~/sqlvolumes on Linux. This allows the data to be restored between container executions.

::: moniker range="=sql-server-linux-2017 || =sql-server-2017"

::: zone pivot="cs1-bash"

docker run -e 'ACCEPT_EULA=Y' -e 'MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=<YourStrong!Passw0rd>' \
-p 1433:1433 \
-v <host directory>/data:/var/opt/mssql/data \
-v <host directory>/log:/var/opt/mssql/log \
-v <host directory>/secrets:/var/opt/mssql/secrets \
-d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2017-latest

::: zone-end

::: zone pivot="cs1-powershell"

docker run -e "ACCEPT_EULA=Y" -e "MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=<YourStrong!Passw0rd>" `
-p 1433:1433 `
-v <host directory>/data:/var/opt/mssql/data `
-v <host directory>/log:/var/opt/mssql/log `
-v <host directory>/secrets:/var/opt/mssql/secrets `
-d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2017-latest

::: zone-end

::: zone pivot="cs1-cmd"

docker run -e "ACCEPT_EULA=Y" -e "MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=<YourStrong!Passw0rd>" ^
-p 1433:1433 ^
-v <host directory>/data:/var/opt/mssql/data ^
-v <host directory>/log:/var/opt/mssql/log ^
-v <host directory>/secrets:/var/opt/mssql/secrets ^
-d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2017-latest

::: zone-end

::: moniker-end

::: moniker range="=sql-server-linux-ver15 || =sql-server-ver15"

::: zone pivot="cs1-bash"

docker run -e 'ACCEPT_EULA=Y' -e 'MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=<YourStrong!Passw0rd>' \
-p 1433:1433 \
-v <host directory>/data:/var/opt/mssql/data \
-v <host directory>/log:/var/opt/mssql/log \
-v <host directory>/secrets:/var/opt/mssql/secrets \
-d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2019-latest

::: zone-end

::: zone pivot="cs1-powershell"

docker run -e "ACCEPT_EULA=Y" -e "MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=<YourStrong!Passw0rd>" `
-p 1433:1433 `
-v <host directory>/data:/var/opt/mssql/data `
-v <host directory>/log:/var/opt/mssql/log `
-v <host directory>/secrets:/var/opt/mssql/secrets `
-d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2019-latest

::: zone-end

::: zone pivot="cs1-cmd"

docker run -e "ACCEPT_EULA=Y" -e "MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=<YourStrong!Passw0rd>" ^
-p 1433:1433 ^
-v <host directory>/data:/var/opt/mssql/data ^
-v <host directory>/log:/var/opt/mssql/log ^
-v <host directory>/secrets:/var/opt/mssql/secrets ^
-d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2019-latest

::: zone-end

::: moniker-end

::: moniker range=">=sql-server-linux-ver16 || >=sql-server-ver16"

::: zone pivot="cs1-bash"

docker run -e 'ACCEPT_EULA=Y' -e 'MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=<YourStrong!Passw0rd>' \
-p 1433:1433 \
-v <host directory>/data:/var/opt/mssql/data \
-v <host directory>/log:/var/opt/mssql/log \
-v <host directory>/secrets:/var/opt/mssql/secrets \
-d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2022-latest

::: zone-end

::: zone pivot="cs1-powershell"

docker run -e "ACCEPT_EULA=Y" -e "MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=<YourStrong!Passw0rd>" `
-p 1433:1433 `
-v <host directory>/data:/var/opt/mssql/data `
-v <host directory>/log:/var/opt/mssql/log `
-v <host directory>/secrets:/var/opt/mssql/secrets `
-d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2022-latest

::: zone-end

::: zone pivot="cs1-cmd"

docker run -e "ACCEPT_EULA=Y" -e "MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=<YourStrong!Passw0rd>" ^
-p 1433:1433 ^
-v <host directory>/data:/var/opt/mssql/data ^
-v <host directory>/log:/var/opt/mssql/log ^
-v <host directory>/secrets:/var/opt/mssql/secrets ^
-d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2022-latest

::: zone-end

::: moniker-end

This technique also enables you to share and view the files on the host outside of Docker.

The second option is to use a data volume container. You can create a data volume container by specifying a volume name instead of a host directory with the -v parameter. The following example creates a shared data volume named sqlvolume.

::: moniker range="= sql-server-linux-2017 || = sql-server-2017"

::: zone pivot="cs1-bash"

docker run -e 'ACCEPT_EULA=Y' -e 'MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=<YourStrong!Passw0rd>' \
-p 1433:1433 \
-v sqlvolume:/var/opt/mssql \
-d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2017-latest

::: zone-end

::: zone pivot="cs1-powershell"

docker run -e "ACCEPT_EULA=Y" -e "MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=<YourStrong!Passw0rd>" `
-p 1433:1433 `
-v sqlvolume:/var/opt/mssql `
-d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2017-latest

::: zone-end

::: zone pivot="cs1-cmd"

docker run -e "ACCEPT_EULA=Y" -e "MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=<YourStrong!Passw0rd>" ^
-p 1433:1433 ^
-v sqlvolume:/var/opt/mssql ^
-d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2017-latest

::: zone-end

::: moniker-end

::: moniker range="=sql-server-linux-ver15 || =sql-server-ver15"

::: zone pivot="cs1-bash"

docker run -e 'ACCEPT_EULA=Y' -e 'MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=<YourStrong!Passw0rd>' \
-p 1433:1433 \
-v sqlvolume:/var/opt/mssql \
-d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2019-latest

::: zone-end

::: zone pivot="cs1-powershell"

docker run -e "ACCEPT_EULA=Y" -e "MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=<YourStrong!Passw0rd>" `
-p 1433:1433 `
-v sqlvolume:/var/opt/mssql `
-d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2019-latest

::: zone-end

::: zone pivot="cs1-cmd"

docker run -e "ACCEPT_EULA=Y" -e "MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=<YourStrong!Passw0rd>" ^
-p 1433:1433 ^
-v sqlvolume:/var/opt/mssql ^
-d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2019-latest

::: zone-end

::: moniker-end

::: moniker range=">=sql-server-linux-ver16 || >= sql-server-ver16"

::: zone pivot="cs1-bash"

docker run -e 'ACCEPT_EULA=Y' -e 'MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=<YourStrong!Passw0rd>' \
-p 1433:1433 \
-v sqlvolume:/var/opt/mssql \
-d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2022-latest

::: zone-end

::: zone pivot="cs1-powershell"

docker run -e "ACCEPT_EULA=Y" -e "MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=<YourStrong!Passw0rd>" `
-p 1433:1433 `
-v sqlvolume:/var/opt/mssql `
-d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2022-latest

::: zone-end

::: zone pivot="cs1-cmd"

docker run -e "ACCEPT_EULA=Y" -e "MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=<YourStrong!Passw0rd>" ^
-p 1433:1433 ^
-v sqlvolume:/var/opt/mssql ^
-d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2022-latest

::: zone-end

::: moniker-end

Even if you stop and remove this container, the data volume persists. You can view it with the docker volume ls command.

docker volume ls

If you then create another container with the same volume name, the new container uses the same [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] data contained in the volume.

To remove a data volume container, use the docker volume rm command.

In addition to these container techniques, you can also use standard [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] backup and restore techniques. You can use backup files to protect your data or to move the data to another [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] instance. For more information, see Backup and restore SQL Server databases on Linux.

Virtual Device Interface (VDI) backup and restore operations are now supported in [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] container deployments beginning with CU15 for [!INCLUDE sssql19-md] and CU28 for [!INCLUDE sssql17-md]. Follow these steps to enable VDI-based backup or restores for [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] containers:

1. When deploying [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] containers, use the --shm-size option. To begin, set the sizing to 1 GB, as shown in the following command:

   docker run -e "ACCEPT_EULA=Y" -e "MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=Mystr0ngP@ssw0rd!" \
   --shm-size 1g \
   -p 1433:1433 \
   --name sql19 \
   --hostname sql19 \
   -d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2019-latest

   The option --shm-size allows you to configure the size of the shared memory directory (/dev/shm) inside the container, which is set to 64 MB by default. This default size of the shared memory is insufficient to support VDI backups. We recommend that you configure this to a minimum of 1 GB when you deploy [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] containers and want to support VDI backups.

2. You must also enable the new parameter memory.enablecontainersharedmemory in mssql.conf inside the container. You can mount mssql.conf at the deployment of the container using the -v option as described in the Persist your data section, or after you deploy the container by manually updating mssql.conf inside the container. Here's a sample mssql.conf file with the memory.enablecontainersharedmemory setting set to true.

   [memory]
   enablecontainersharedmemory = true

To copy a file out of the container, use the following command:

docker cp <Container ID>:<Container path> <host path>

You can get the Container ID by running the command docker ps -a.

Example:

::: zone pivot="cs1-bash"

docker cp d6b75213ef80:/var/opt/mssql/log/errorlog /tmp/errorlog

::: zone-end

::: zone pivot="cs1-powershell"

docker cp d6b75213ef80:/var/opt/mssql/log/errorlog C:\Temp\errorlog

::: zone-end

::: zone pivot="cs1-cmd"

docker cp d6b75213ef80:/var/opt/mssql/log/errorlog C:\Temp\errorlog

::: zone-end

To copy a file into the container, use the following command:

docker cp <Host path> <Container ID>:<Container path>

Example:

::: zone pivot="cs1-bash"

docker cp /tmp/mydb.mdf d6b75213ef80:/var/opt/mssql/data

::: zone-end

::: zone pivot="cs1-powershell"

docker cp C:\Temp\mydb.mdf d6b75213ef80:/var/opt/mssql/data

::: zone-end

::: zone pivot="cs1-cmd"

docker cp C:\Temp\mydb.mdf d6b75213ef80:/var/opt/mssql/data

::: zone-end

To run [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] in a Linux container with a specific time zone, configure the TZ environment variable (see Configure the time zone for SQL Server 2022 on Linux for more information). To find the right time zone value, run the tzselect command from a Linux bash prompt:

tzselect

After you select the time zone, tzselect displays output similar to the following example:

The following information has been given:

    United States
    Pacific

Therefore TZ='America/Los_Angeles' will be used.

You can use this information to set the same environment variable in your Linux container. The following example shows how to run [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] in a container in the Americas/Los_Angeles time zone:

::: moniker range="= sql-server-linux-2017 || = sql-server-2017"

::: zone pivot="cs1-bash"

sudo docker run -e 'ACCEPT_EULA=Y' -e 'MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=<YourStrong!Passw0rd>' \
-p 1433:1433 --name sql1 \
-e 'TZ=America/Los_Angeles' \
-d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2017-latest

::: zone-end

::: zone pivot="cs1-powershell"

sudo docker run -e 'ACCEPT_EULA=Y' -e "MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=<YourStrong!Passw0rd>" `
-p 1433:1433 --name sql1 `
-e "TZ=America/Los_Angeles" `
-d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2017-latest

::: zone-end

::: zone pivot="cs1-cmd"

sudo docker run -e 'ACCEPT_EULA=Y' -e "MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=<YourStrong!Passw0rd>" ^
-p 1433:1433 --name sql1 ^
-e "TZ=America/Los_Angeles" ^
-d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2017-latest

::: zone-end

::: moniker-end

::: moniker range="=sql-server-linux-ver15 || =sql-server-ver15"

::: zone pivot="cs1-bash"

sudo docker run -e 'ACCEPT_EULA=Y' -e 'MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=<YourStrong!Passw0rd>' \
-p 1433:1433 --name sql1 \
-e 'TZ=America/Los_Angeles' \
-d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2019-latest

::: zone-end

::: zone pivot="cs1-powershell"

sudo docker run -e 'ACCEPT_EULA=Y' -e "MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=<YourStrong!Passw0rd>" `
-p 1433:1433 --name sql1 `
-e "TZ=America/Los_Angeles" `
-d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2019-latest

::: zone-end

::: zone pivot="cs1-cmd"

sudo docker run -e 'ACCEPT_EULA=Y' -e "MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=<YourStrong!Passw0rd>" `
-p 1433:1433 --name sql1 `
-e "TZ=America/Los_Angeles" `
-d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2019-latest

::: zone-end

::: moniker-end

::: moniker range=">=sql-server-linux-ver16 || >=sql-server-ver16"

::: zone pivot="cs1-bash"

sudo docker run -e 'ACCEPT_EULA=Y' -e 'MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=<YourStrong!Passw0rd>' \
-p 1433:1433 --name sql1 \
-e 'TZ=America/Los_Angeles' \
-d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2022-latest

::: zone-end

::: zone pivot="cs1-powershell"

sudo docker run -e 'ACCEPT_EULA=Y' -e "MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=<YourStrong!Passw0rd>" `
-p 1433:1433 --name sql1 `
-e "TZ=America/Los_Angeles" `
-d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2022-latest

::: zone-end

::: zone pivot="cs1-cmd"

sudo docker run -e 'ACCEPT_EULA=Y' -e "MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=<YourStrong!Passw0rd>" ^
-p 1433:1433 --name sql1 ^
-e "TZ=America/Los_Angeles" ^
-d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2022-latest

::: zone-end

::: moniker-end

It's a good practice to keep your tempdb database separate from your user databases.

1. Connect to the [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] instance, and then run the following Transact-SQL (T-SQL) script. If there are more files associated with tempdb, you need to move them as well.

   ALTER DATABASE tempdb MODIFY FILE (
      NAME = tempdev, FILENAME = '/var/opt/mssql/tempdb/tempdb.mdf'
   );
   GO
   
   ALTER DATABASE tempdb MODIFY FILE (
       NAME = templog, FILENAME = '/var/opt/mssql/tempdb/templog.ldf'
   );
   GO

2. Verify that the tempdb file location has been modified, using the following T-SQL script:

   SELECT *
   FROM sys.sysaltfiles
   WHERE dbid = 2;

3. You must restart the [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] container for these changes to take effect.

   ::: zone pivot="cs1-bash"

   docker stop sql1
   docker start sql1

   ::: zone-end

   ::: zone pivot="cs1-powershell"

   docker stop sql1
   docker start sql1

   ::: zone-end

   ::: zone pivot="cs1-cmd"

   docker stop sql1
   docker start sql1

   ::: zone-end

4. Open an interactive bash session to connect to the container.

   ::: zone pivot="cs1-bash"

   docker exec -it sql1 bash

   ::: zone-end

   ::: zone pivot="cs1-powershell"

   docker exec -it sql1 bash

   ::: zone-end

   ::: zone pivot="cs1-cmd"

   docker exec -it sql1 bash

   ::: zone-end

   Once connected to the interactive shell, run the following command to check the location of tempdb:

   ls /var/opt/mssql/tempdb/

   If the move was successful, you see similar output:

   tempdb.mdf templog.ldf
   

Add the MSSQL_DATA_DIR variable to change your data directory in your docker run command, then mount a volume to that location that your container's user has access to.

::: moniker range="= sql-server-linux-2017 || = sql-server-2017"

::: zone pivot="cs1-bash"

docker run -e 'ACCEPT_EULA=Y' -e 'MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=MyStrongPassword' \
-e 'MSSQL_DATA_DIR=/my/file/path' \
-v /my/host/path:/my/file/path \
-p 1433:1433 \
-d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2017-latest

::: zone-end

::: zone pivot="cs1-powershell"

docker run -e 'ACCEPT_EULA=Y' -e "MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=MyStrongPassword" `
-e "MSSQL_DATA_DIR=/my/file/path" `
-v /my/host/path:/my/file/path `
-p 1433:1433 `
-d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2017-latest

::: zone-end

::: zone pivot="cs1-cmd"

docker run -e "ACCEPT_EULA=Y" -e "MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=MyStrongPassword" ^
-e "MSSQL_DATA_DIR=/my/file/path" ^
-v /my/host/path:/my/file/path ^
-p 1433:1433 ^
-d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2017-latest

::: zone-end

::: moniker-end

::: moniker range="= sql-server-linux-ver15 || = sql-server-ver15"

::: zone pivot="cs1-bash"

docker run -e 'ACCEPT_EULA=Y' -e 'MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=MyStrongPassword' \
-e 'MSSQL_DATA_DIR=/my/file/path' \
-v /my/host/path:/my/file/path \
-p 1433:1433 \
-d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2019-latest

::: zone-end

::: zone pivot="cs1-powershell"

docker run -e 'ACCEPT_EULA=Y' -e "MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=MyStrongPassword" `
-e "MSSQL_DATA_DIR=/my/file/path" `
-v /my/host/path:/my/file/path `
-p 1433:1433 `
-d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2019-latest

::: zone-end

::: zone pivot="cs1-cmd"

docker run -e "ACCEPT_EULA=Y" -e "MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=MyStrongPassword" ^
-e "MSSQL_DATA_DIR=/my/file/path" ^
-v /my/host/path:/my/file/path ^
-p 1433:1433 ^
-d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2019-latest

::: zone-end

::: moniker-end

::: moniker range=">= sql-server-linux-ver16 || >= sql-server-ver16"

::: zone pivot="cs1-bash"

docker run -e 'ACCEPT_EULA=Y' -e 'MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=MyStrongPassword' \
-e 'MSSQL_DATA_DIR=/my/file/path' \
-v /my/host/path:/my/file/path \
-p 1433:1433 \
-d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2022-latest

::: zone-end

::: zone pivot="cs1-powershell"

docker run -e 'ACCEPT_EULA=Y' -e "MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=MyStrongPassword" `
-e "MSSQL_DATA_DIR=/my/file/path" `
-v /my/host/path:/my/file/path `
-p 1433:1433 `
-d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2022-latest

::: zone-end

::: zone pivot="cs1-cmd"

docker run -e "ACCEPT_EULA=Y" -e "MSSQL_SA_PASSWORD=MyStrongPassword" ^
-e "MSSQL_DATA_DIR=/my/file/path" ^
-v /my/host/path:/my/file/path ^
-p 1433:1433 ^
-d mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2022-latest

::: zone-end

::: moniker-end

You can use the mssql-conf tool to set parameters in [!INCLUDE ssnoversion-md] containers.

For example, you can set a memory limit for the instance using the following steps:

1. Connect directly to the container using docker exec as the root user. Replace sqlcontainer with your container name.

   docker exec -u root -it sqlcontainer "bash"

2. Use mssql-conf to change a setting. This example changes the memory.memorylimitmb setting to 2 GB (2,048 MB).

   /opt/mssql/bin/mssql-conf set memory.memorylimitmb 2048

For examples of custom Docker containers, see https://github.com/microsoft/mssql-docker/tree/master/linux/preview/examples. The examples include:

• Dockerfile example with Full-Text Search
• Dockerfile example for RHEL 7 and SQL Server 2019
• Dockerfile example for RHEL 8 and SQL Server 2017
• Dockerfile example for Ubuntu 20.04 and SQL Server 2019 with Full-Text Search, PolyBase, and Tools

For information on how to build and run Docker containers using Dockerfiles, see the ML Services samples on GitHub.

::: moniker range="= sql-server-linux-2017 || = sql-server-2017"

• Get started with [!INCLUDE sssql17-md] container images on Docker by going through the quickstart

::: moniker-end

::: moniker range="= sql-server-linux-ver15 || = sql-server-ver15"

• Get started with [!INCLUDE sssql19-md] container images on Docker by going through the quickstart

::: moniker-end

::: moniker range=">= sql-server-linux-ver16 || >= sql-server-ver16"

• Get started with [!INCLUDE sssql22-md] container images on Docker by going through the quickstart

::: moniker-end

• Deploy and connect to SQL Server Linux containers

• Troubleshoot SQL Server Docker containers

• Secure SQL Server Linux containers

[!INCLUDE contribute-to-content]