mssql error: The evaluation period has expired

Question

I am trying to install MSSQL on Centos. I followed the article here. I typed the following command to configure mssql to set a password etc.

sudo /opt/mssql/bin/mssql-conf setup

I got the following error

    The license terms for this product can be found in
    /usr/share/doc/mssql-server or downloaded from:
    https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=852741&clcid=0x409

    The privacy statement can be viewed at:
    https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=853010&clcid=0x409

    Choose an edition of SQL Server:
      1) Evaluation (free, no production use rights, 180-day limit)
      2) Developer (free, no production use rights)
      3) Express (free)
      4) Web (PAID)
      5) Standard (PAID)
      6) Enterprise (PAID)
      7) I bought a license through a retail sales channel and have a product key to enter.

    Details about editions can be found at
    https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=852748&clcid=0x409

    Use of PAID editions of this software requires separate licensing through a
    Microsoft Volume Licensing program.
    By choosing a PAID edition, you are verifying that you have the appropriate
    number of licenses in place to install and run this software.

    Enter your edition(1-7): 3
    Configuring SQL Server...

    Error: The evaluation period has expired.
    /opt/mssql/lib/mssql-conf/invokesqlservr.sh: line 15: 74577 Aborted                 sudo -EH -u mssql /bin/bash -c "$CMDLINE"
    Setup has completed successfully. SQL Server is now starting.

I have the Package mssql-server-14.0.900.75-1.x86_64 installed. I have run sudo yum update mssql-server but it says No packages marked for update.

Can anyone help me? Why I am getting this error I am unable to proceed with the setup.

Answer 1

It is important to understand that the Instructions for RedHat 7.3 and 7.4 apply to the applicable versions of CentOS. Since you didn't specify which version of CentOS you are using, I can only assume, you are using one based on RHEL 7.3 or RHEL 7.4. If that is not the case then your OS doesn't support MSSQL.

Can anyone help me? Why I am getting this error I am unable to proceed with the setup.

I suspect by following unofficial instructions you have by accident installed the CTP or RC SQL Server 2017 package. Microsoft typically limits preview builds to a specific timeframe. Before you run any of the commands below, you will want to remove what you have installed, using the appropriate commands.

In order to solve that problem you need to run the following command:

sudo rm -rf /etc/yum.repos.d/mssql-server.repo

After that command is successful you need to run the following command:

sudo curl -o /etc/yum.repos.d/mssql-server.repo https://packages.microsoft.com/config/rhel/7/mssql-server-2017.repo

In Microsoft own documentation on how to change the repository source for SQL Server 2017 they indicated the following.

At this point, if you choose to perform a full installation using the quickstart tutorials, remember that you have just configured the target repository. Do not repeat that step in the tutorials. This is especially true if you configure the GDR repository because the quickstart tutorials use the CU repository.

Change repositories from the preview repository to the GA repository

Once you have updated the repository you need to run the following command:

sudo yum install -y mssql-server

You then need to run the following command:

sudo /opt/mssql/bin/mssql-conf setup

You can then proceed with the configuration as outlined by Microsoft.

If you are trying SQL Server 2017 in this tutorial, the following editions are freely licensed: Evaluation, Developer, and Express.

Install SQL Server and create a database on Red Hat

The end of the repository URL confirms the repository type:

• mssql-server: preview repository.

• mssql-server-2017: CU repository.

• mssql-server-2017-gdr: GDR repository.

There are two main types of repositories for each distribution:

• Cumulative Updates (CU): The Cumulative Update (CU) repository contains packages for the base SQL Server release and any bug fixes or improvements since that release. Cumulative updates are specific to a release version, such as SQL Server 2017. They are released on a regular cadence.

• GDR: The GDR repository contains packages for the base SQL Server release and only critical fixes and security updates since that release. These updates are also added to the next CU release.

Installation guidance for SQL Server on Linux