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Install a Python custom runtime for SQL Server

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Applies to: SQL Server 2019 (15.x)

Learn how to install a Python custom runtime for running external Python scripts with SQL Server on:

  • Windows
  • Ubuntu Linux
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
  • SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES)

The custom runtime can run machine learning scripts and uses the SQL Server Language Extensions.

Use your own version of the Python runtime with SQL Server, instead of the default runtime version installed with SQL Server Machine Learning Services.

Beginning with SQL Server 2022 (16.x), runtimes for R, Python, and Java, are no longer installed with SQL Setup. Instead, install your desired Python custom runtime(s) and packages. For more information, see Install SQL Server 2022 Machine Learning Services (Python and R) on Windows or Install SQL Server Machine Learning Services (Python and R) on Linux.

Prerequisites

Before installing a Python custom runtime, install:

Install Language Extensions

Note

If you have Machine Learning Services installed on SQL Server 2019, Language Extensions is already installed and you can skip this step.

Follow the steps below to install SQL Server Language Extensions, which is used for the Python custom runtime.

  1. Start the setup wizard for SQL Server 2019.

  2. On the Installation tab, select New SQL Server stand-alone installation or add features to an existing installation.

  3. On the Feature Selection page, select these options:

    • Database Engine Services

      To use Language Extensions with SQL Server, you must install an instance of the database engine. You can use either a new or an existing instance.

    • Machine Learning Services and Language Extensions

      Select Machine Learning Services and Language Extensions. Do not select Python, as you will be installing the custom Python runtime later.

      SQL Server 2019 Language Extensions setup.

  4. On the Ready to Install page, verify that these selections are included, and select Install.

    • Database Engine Services
    • Machine Learning Services and Language Extensions

  5. After the setup is complete, restart the machine if you're asked to do so.

Important

If you install a new instance of SQL Server 2019 with Language Extensions, then install the Cumulative Update (CU) 3 or later before you continue to the next step.

Install Python

The Python language extension used for the custom Python runtime currently supports Python 3.7 only. If you would like to use a different version of Python, follow the instruction in the Python Language Extension GitHub repo to modify and rebuild the extension.

  1. Download Python 3.7 for Windows and run the Setup on the server.

  2. Select Add Python 3.7 to PATH and then select Customize installation.

    Python 3.7 installation - Add Python 3.7 to PATH

  3. Under Optional Features, leave the defaults and select Next.

  4. Select Install for all users and take note of the installation location.

    Python 3.7 installation - Install for all users

  5. Select Install.

Install pandas

Install the pandas package for Python from an elevated command prompt (Run as Administrator):

python.exe -m pip install pandas

Grant access to Python folder

Run the following icacls commands from a new elevated command prompt to grant READ & EXECUTE access to the Python installation location to SQL Server Launchpad Service and SID S-1-15-2-1 (ALL_APPLICATION_PACKAGES).

The examples below use the Python installation location as C:\Program Files\Python37. If your location is different, change it in the command.

  1. Give permissions to SQL Server Launchpad Service user name.

    icacls "C:\Program Files\Python37" /grant "NT Service\MSSQLLAUNCHPAD":(OI)(CI)RX /T

    For named instance, the command will be icacls "C:\Program Files\Python37" /grant "NT Service\MSSQLLAUNCHPAD$SQL01":(OI)(CI)RX /T for an instance called SQL01.

  2. Give permissions to SID S-1-15-2-1.

    icacls "C:\Program Files\Python37" /grant *S-1-15-2-1:(OI)(CI)RX /T

    The preceding command grants permissions to the computer SID S-1-15-2-1, which is equivalent to ALL APPLICATION PACKAGES on an English version of Windows. Alternatively, you can use icacls "C:\Program Files\Python37" /grant "ALL APPLICATION PACKAGES":(OI)(CI)RX /T on an English version of Windows.

Restart SQL Server Launchpad

Follow these steps to restart the SQL Server Launchpad service.

  1. Open SQL Server Configuration Manager.

  2. Under SQL Server Services, right-click on SQL Server Launchpad (MSSQLSERVER) and select Restart. If you are using a named instance, the instance name will be shown instead of (MSSQLSERVER).

Register language extension

Follow these steps to download and register the Python language extension, which is used for the Python custom runtime.

  1. Download the python-lang-extension-windows-release.zip file from the SQL Server Language Extensions GitHub repo.

    Alternatively, you can use the debug version (python-lang-extension-windows-debug.zip) in a development or test environment. The debug version provides verbose logging information to investigate any errors, and is not recommended for production environments.

  2. Use Azure Data Studio to connect to your SQL Server instance and run the following T-SQL command to register the Python language extension with CREATE EXTERNAL LANGUAGE.

    Modify the path in this statement to reflect the location of the downloaded language extension zip file (python-lang-extension-windows-release.zip) and the location your Python installation (C:\\Program Files\\Python37).

    CREATE EXTERNAL LANGUAGE [myPython]
FROM (CONTENT = N'C:\path\to\python-lang-extension-windows-release.zip', 
    FILE_NAME = 'pythonextension.dll', 
    ENVIRONMENT_VARIABLES = N'{"PYTHONHOME": "C:\\Program Files\\Python37"}');
GO

    Execute the statement for each database you want to use the Python language extension in.

    Note

    Python is a reserved word and can't be used as the name for a new external language name. Use a different name instead. For example, the statement above uses myPython.

Prerequisites

Before installing a Python custom runtime, install:

Install Language Extensions

Note

If you have Machine Learning Services installed on SQL Server 2019, the mssql-server-extensibility package for Language Extensions is already installed and you can skip this step.

Run the commands below to install SQL Server Language Extensions on Ubuntu Linux, which is used for the Python custom runtime.

  1. If possible, run this command to refresh the packages on the system prior to the installation.

    # Install as root or sudo
sudo apt-get update

  2. Ubuntu might not have the https apt transport option. To install it, run this command.

    # Install as root or sudo
apt-get install apt-transport-https

  3. Install mssql-server-extensibility with this command.

    # Install as root or sudo
sudo apt-get install mssql-server-extensibility

Install Python 3.7 and pandas

The Python language extension used for the custom Python runtime currently supports Python 3.7 only. If you would like to use a different version of Python, follow the instruction in the Python Language Extension GitHub repo to modify and rebuild the extension.

  1. Run the commands below to install Python 3.7.

    # Install python3.7 and the corresponding library:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:deadsnakes/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install python3.7 python3-pip libpython3.7

  2. Run the command below to install the pandas package

    # Install pandas to /usr/lib:
sudo python3.7 -m pip install pandas -t /usr/lib/python3.7/dist-packages

Custom installation of Python

Note

If you have installed Python 3.7 in the default location of /usr/lib/python3.7, you can skip this section and move on to the Register language extension section.

If you built your own version of Python 3.7, use the following commands to let SQL Server know your custom installation.

Add environment variable

First, edit the mssql-launchpadd service to add the PYTHONHOME environment variable to the file /etc/systemd/system/mssql-launchpadd.service.d/override.conf

  1. Open the file with systemctl

    sudo systemctl edit mssql-launchpadd

  2. Insert the following text in the /etc/systemd/system/mssql-launchpadd.service.d/override.conf file that opens. Set value of PYTHONHOME to the custom Python installation path.

    [Service]
Environment="PYTHONHOME=<path to the python3.7 lib>"

  3. Save the file and close the editor.

Next, make sure libpython3.7m.so.1.0 can be loaded.

  1. Create a custom-python.conf file in /etc/ld.so.conf.d.

    sudo vi /etc/ld.so.conf.d/custom-python.conf

  2. In the file that opens, add the path to libpython3.7m.so.1.0 from the custom Python installation.

    <path to the python3.7 lib>

  3. Save the new file and close the editor.

  4. Run ldconfig and verify libpython3.7m.so.1.0 can be loaded by running the following commands and checking that all the dependent libraries can be found.

    sudo ldconfig
ldd <path to the python3.7 lib>/libpython3.7m.so.1.0

Grant access to Python folder

Set the datadirectories option in the extensibility section of /var/opt/mssql/mssql.conf file to the custom python installation.

sudo /opt/mssql/bin/mssql-conf set extensibility.datadirectories <path to python3.7>

Restart mssql-launchpadd

Run the following command to restart mssql-launchpadd.

sudo systemctl restart mssql-launchpadd

Register language extension

Follow these steps to download and register the Python language extension, which is used for the Python custom runtime.

  1. Download the python-lang-extension-linux-release.zip file from the SQL Server Language Extensions GitHub repo.

    Alternatively, you can use the debug version (python-lang-extension-linux-debug.zip) in a development or test environment. The debug version provides verbose logging information to investigate any errors, and is not recommended for production environments.

  2. Use Azure Data Studio to connect to your SQL Server instance and run the following T-SQL command to register the Python language extension with CREATE EXTERNAL LANGUAGE.

    Modify the path in this statement to reflect the location of the downloaded language extension zip file (python-lang-extension-linux-release.zip).

    CREATE EXTERNAL LANGUAGE [myPython]
FROM (CONTENT = N'/path/to/python-lang-extension-linux-release.zip', FILE_NAME = 'libPythonExtension.so.1.1');
GO

    Execute the statement for each database you want to use the Python language extension in.

    Note

    Python is a reserved word and can't be used as the name for a new external language name. Use a different name instead. For example, the statement above uses myPython.

Prerequisites

Before installing a Python custom runtime, install:

Install Language Extensions

Note

If you have Machine Learning Services installed on SQL Server 2019, the mssql-server-extensibility package for Language Extensions is already installed and you can skip this step.

Run the command below to install SQL Server Language Extensions on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), which is used for the Python custom runtime.

# Install as root or sudo
sudo yum install mssql-server-extensibility

Install Python 3.7 and pandas

The Python language extension used for the custom Python runtime currently supports Python 3.7 only. If you would like to use a different version of Python, follow the instruction in the Python Language Extension GitHub repo to modify and rebuild the extension.

  1. Run the commands below to install Python 3.7.

    # Install python3.7 and the corresponding library:
yum install gcc openssl-devel bzip2-devel libffi-devel zlib-devel

cd /usr/src
wget https://www.python.org/ftp/python/3.7.9/Python-3.7.9.tgz
tar xzf Python-3.7.9.tgz

cd Python-3.7.9
./configure --enable-optimizations --prefix=/usr
make altinstall

  2. Run the command below to install the pandas package

    # Install pandas to /usr/lib:
sudo python3.7 -m pip install pandas -t /usr/lib/python3.7/dist-packages

Custom installation of Python

Note

If you have installed Python 3.7 in the default location of /usr/lib/python3.7, you can skip this section and move on to the Register language extension section.

If you built your own version of Python 3.7, use the following commands to let SQL Server know your custom installation.

Add environment variable

First, edit the mssql-launchpadd service to add the PYTHONHOME environment variable to the file /etc/systemd/system/mssql-launchpadd.service.d/override.conf

  1. Open the file with systemctl

    sudo systemctl edit mssql-launchpadd

  2. Insert the following text in the /etc/systemd/system/mssql-launchpadd.service.d/override.conf file that opens. Set value of PYTHONHOME to the custom Python installation path.

    [Service]
Environment="PYTHONHOME=<path to the python3.7 lib>"

  3. Save the file and close the editor.

Next, make sure libpython3.7m.so.1.0 can be loaded.

  1. Create a custom-python.conf file in /etc/ld.so.conf.d.

    sudo vi /etc/ld.so.conf.d/custom-python.conf

  2. In the file that opens, add the path to libpython3.7m.so.1.0 from the custom Python installation.

    <path to the python3.7 lib>

  3. Save the new file and close the editor.

  4. Run ldconfig and verify libpython3.7m.so.1.0 can be loaded by running the following commands and checking that all the dependent libraries can be found.

    sudo ldconfig
ldd <path to the python3.7 lib>/libpython3.7m.so.1.0

Grant access to Python folder

Set the datadirectories option in the extensibility section of /var/opt/mssql/mssql.conf file to the custom python installation.

sudo /opt/mssql/bin/mssql-conf set extensibility.datadirectories <path to python3.7>

Restart mssql-launchpadd

Run the following command to restart mssql-launchpadd.

sudo systemctl restart mssql-launchpadd

Register language extension

Follow these steps to download and register the Python language extension, which is used for the Python custom runtime.

  1. Download the python-lang-extension-linux-release.zip file from the SQL Server Language Extensions GitHub repo.

    Alternatively, you can use the debug version (python-lang-extension-linux-debug.zip) in a development or test environment. The debug version provides verbose logging information to investigate any errors, and is not recommended for production environments.

  2. Use Azure Data Studio to connect to your SQL Server instance and run the following T-SQL command to register the Python language extension with CREATE EXTERNAL LANGUAGE.

    Modify the path in this statement to reflect the location of the downloaded language extension zip file (python-lang-extension-linux-release.zip).

    CREATE EXTERNAL LANGUAGE [myPython]
FROM (CONTENT = N'/path/to/python-lang-extension-linux-release.zip', FILE_NAME = 'libPythonExtension.so.1.1');
GO

    Execute the statement for each database you want to use the Python language extension in.

    Note

    Python is a reserved word and can't be used as the name for a new external language name. Use a different name instead. For example, the statement above uses myPython.

Prerequisites

Before installing a Python custom runtime, install:

Install Language Extensions

Note

If you have Machine Learning Services installed on SQL Server 2019, the mssql-server-extensibility package for Language Extensions is already installed and you can skip this step.

Run the command below to install SQL Server Language Extensions on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES), which is used for the Python custom runtime.

# Install as root or sudo
sudo zypper install mssql-server-extensibility

Install Python 3.7 and pandas

The Python language extension used for the custom Python runtime currently supports Python 3.7 only. If you would like to use a different version of Python, follow the instruction in the Python Language Extension GitHub repo to modify and rebuild the extension.

  1. Install Python 3.7 on the server.

  2. Run the command below to install the pandas package

    # Install pandas to /usr/lib:
sudo python3.7 -m pip install pandas -t /usr/lib/python3.7/dist-packages

Custom installation of Python

Note

If you have installed Python 3.7 in the default location of /usr/lib/python3.7, you can skip this section and move on to the Register language extension section.

If you built your own version of Python 3.7, use the following commands to let SQL Server know your custom installation.

Add environment variable

First, edit the mssql-launchpadd service to add the PYTHONHOME environment variable to the file /etc/systemd/system/mssql-launchpadd.service.d/override.conf

  1. Open the file with systemctl

    sudo systemctl edit mssql-launchpadd

  2. Insert the following text in the /etc/systemd/system/mssql-launchpadd.service.d/override.conf file that opens. Set value of PYTHONHOME to the custom Python installation path.

    [Service]
Environment="PYTHONHOME=<path to the python3.7 lib>"

  3. Save the file and close the editor.

Next, make sure libpython3.7m.so.1.0 can be loaded.

  1. Create a custom-python.conf file in /etc/ld.so.conf.d.

    sudo vi /etc/ld.so.conf.d/custom-python.conf

  2. In the file that opens, add the path to libpython3.7m.so.1.0 from the custom Python installation.

    <path to the python3.7 lib>

  3. Save the new file and close the editor.

  4. Run ldconfig and verify libpython3.7m.so.1.0 can be loaded by running the following commands and checking that all the dependent libraries can be found.

    sudo ldconfig
ldd <path to the python3.7 lib>/libpython3.7m.so.1.0

Grant access to Python folder

Set the datadirectories option in the extensibility section of /var/opt/mssql/mssql.conf file to the custom python installation.

sudo /opt/mssql/bin/mssql-conf set extensibility.datadirectories <path to python3.7>

Restart mssql-launchpadd

Run the following command to restart mssql-launchpadd.

sudo systemctl restart mssql-launchpadd

Register language extension

Follow these steps to download and register the Python language extension, which is used for the Python custom runtime.

  1. Download the python-lang-extension-linux-release.zip file from the SQL Server Language Extensions GitHub repo.

    Alternatively, you can use the debug version (python-lang-extension-linux-debug.zip) in a development or test environment. The debug version provides verbose logging information to investigate any errors, and is not recommended for production environments.

  2. Use Azure Data Studio to connect to your SQL Server instance and run the following T-SQL command to register the Python language extension with CREATE EXTERNAL LANGUAGE.

    Modify the path in this statement to reflect the location of the downloaded language extension zip file (python-lang-extension-linux-release.zip).

    CREATE EXTERNAL LANGUAGE [myPython]
FROM (CONTENT = N'/path/to/python-lang-extension-linux-release.zip', FILE_NAME = 'libPythonExtension.so.1.1');
GO

    Execute the statement for each database you want to use the Python language extension in.

    Note

    Python is a reserved word and can't be used as the name for a new external language name. Use a different name instead. For example, the statement above uses myPython.

Enable external scripts

You can execute a Python external scripts with the stored procedure sp_execute_external script.

To enable external scripts, use Azure Data Studio to execute the statement below.

sp_configure 'external scripts enabled', 1;
RECONFIGURE WITH OVERRIDE;

Verify installation

Use the following SQL script to verify the installation and functionality of the Python custom runtime. In the below sample script, myPython is used as the language name because the default language name Python cannot be provided for a custom runtime.

EXEC sp_execute_external_script
@language =N'myPython',
@script=N'
import sys
print(sys.path)
print(sys.version)
print(sys.executable)'

Next steps