What's new in SQL Server installation

Applies to: SQL Server - Windows only

Installation is supported on x64 processors only. For more information, see SQL Server 2022: Hardware and software requirements.

Installation of SQL Server Express prompts you to specify the directory to save the extracted package. If no location is entered, the server defaults to the computer's system drive (usually C:\). The extracted files will remain after SQL Server Express installation is complete.

SysPrep is supported for all installations of SQL Server. SysPrep now supports failover cluster installations. For more information, see Considerations for installing SQL Server using SysPrep and Install SQL Server with SysPrep.

You can upgrade from SQL Server 2012 (11.x), SQL Server 2014 (12.x), SQL Server 2016 (13.x), SQL Server 2017 (14.x), and SQL Server 2019 (15.x). For more information, see Supported version and edition upgrades (SQL Server 2022).