Quick Setup: Ubuntu Server 18.04 LTS on Hyper-V

Introduction

SQL Server containers are hot right now and if you are trying to understand the technology better, get to your nearest PC and get started with containers. I’ll be posting guides on working with SQL Server containers in the future, but first we’ll need an operating system to work with. Since Ubuntu Server 18.04.1 is the latest LTS, that is where we will begin. For this guide, see the following prerequisites:

Access to a computer (didn’t see that one coming)
Hyper-V (feel free to substitute in your favorite virtualization platform)
A virtual network adapter with internet access

Note: At this time, Microsoft resources list Ubuntu 16.04 in their docs for SQL Server in Docker. However, with Ubuntu 18.04 being the latest LTS, it’s probably just a matter of time until Microsoft officially supports it.

Download the ISO Image

Get the latest copy of Ubuntu Server 18.04.1 LTS.

Virtual Machine Preparation

Create a virtual machine and attach a hard disk.

Attach the Ubuntu image file to the virtual machine.

Add a virtual network adapter with access to the internet. In Hyper-V, this is an External virtual network.

Ubuntu 18.04.1 LTS Setup

Chose your preferred language and keyboard layout.

Select the top option Install Ubuntu.

Edit the IPv4 network configuration. Choose an IP address on the same subnet as your host’s network.

If you are familiar with Windows network configuration, things are a little different here. The Subnet field is actually not the subnet mask, but rather the CIDR notation. Since I’m using a Class C network and my assigned IP address is 10.2.110.250, my Subnet is 10.2.110.0/24. Learn more about classful networks.