SQL Database

SQL Database requirements

Octopus Deploy requires a Microsoft SQL Server database to store configuration and history.

Octopus works with a wide range of versions and editions of SQL Server, from a local SQL Server Express instance, all the way to an Enterprise Edition SQL Server Failover Cluster or SQL Server AlwaysOn Availability Group, or even one of the hosted database-as-a-service offerings.

Octopus supports versions of SQL Server that have at least 2 years of active support remaining from Microsoft. Versions approaching or past end-of-support are not supported.

SQL Server hosting options

SQL Server can be hosted on Linux (including in a container), Windows, or in one of many managed offerings from Cloud Providers.

The requirements are:

  • Must be running SQL Server 2016+ or Azure SQL
  • Must be located in the same data center as the servers/container hosts that host Octopus Deploy.

Below are some configuration guidelines for various options:

Supported editions:

  • Express (free)
  • Web
  • Datacenter
  • Standard
  • Enterprise
  • Microsoft Azure SQL Database
  • AWS RDS SQL Database

Warning: Octopus does not support database mirroring or SQL Server replication. Having these features turned on may cause errors during configuration. More information.

Legacy Octopus version requirements

The following table outlines the minimum SQL Server version required by older Octopus Server releases.

Octopus ServerMinimum SQL Server versionAzure SQL
2020.2.x ➜ latestSQL Server 2016+Supported
3.0 ➜ 2019.13SQL Server 2008+Supported

Using SQL Server Express

The easiest and cheapest way to get started is with SQL Server Express and install the Octopus Server and SQL Server Express side-by-side on your server. This is a great way to test Octopus for a proof of concept. Depending on your needs, you might decide to use SQL Server Express, or upgrade to another supported edition.

Database administration and maintenance

For more information about maintaining your Octopus database, please read our database administrators guide.

Learn more

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Page updated on Wednesday, May 1, 2024

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