| Component | Minimum Requirement | Recommended | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | Windows 10 (21H2+), Windows 11, Windows Server 2019+ | Windows 11 or Windows Server 2022 | | Processor | 1.8 GHz (x64) | 2.5 GHz (Quad-core) | | RAM | 4 GB | 16 GB | | Hard Disk Space | 2 GB | 10 GB (for cache and extensions) | | .NET Framework | .NET 6.0 (installed by setup) | .NET 8.0 | | Screen Resolution | 1280 x 720 | 1920 x 1080 (for docking windows) |
| Feature | SSMS 20.5 | Azure Data Studio | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | Excellent (Full GUI) | Poor (Requires extensions) | | Query Execution & Tuning | Excellent (Plan Analyzer) | Good (Visualize plans) | | Lightweight & Cross-Platform (Mac/Linux) | No (Windows only) | Yes (Windows, Mac, Linux) | | Notebooks (Python/R/SQL) | No | Yes (First-class support) | | Git Integration | Basic | Excellent |
If you are still on a legacy version, you are not just missing out on "nice to have" features—you are exposing your environment to performance bottlenecks and potential security risks.
| Component | Minimum Requirement | Recommended | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | Windows 10 (21H2+), Windows 11, Windows Server 2019+ | Windows 11 or Windows Server 2022 | | Processor | 1.8 GHz (x64) | 2.5 GHz (Quad-core) | | RAM | 4 GB | 16 GB | | Hard Disk Space | 2 GB | 10 GB (for cache and extensions) | | .NET Framework | .NET 6.0 (installed by setup) | .NET 8.0 | | Screen Resolution | 1280 x 720 | 1920 x 1080 (for docking windows) |
| Feature | SSMS 20.5 | Azure Data Studio | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | Excellent (Full GUI) | Poor (Requires extensions) | | Query Execution & Tuning | Excellent (Plan Analyzer) | Good (Visualize plans) | | Lightweight & Cross-Platform (Mac/Linux) | No (Windows only) | Yes (Windows, Mac, Linux) | | Notebooks (Python/R/SQL) | No | Yes (First-class support) | | Git Integration | Basic | Excellent |
If you are still on a legacy version, you are not just missing out on "nice to have" features—you are exposing your environment to performance bottlenecks and potential security risks.