Finding Install Media on an Azure SQL Virtual Machine

I was recently wanting to test out some PolyBase features in SQL Server. Azure being my test environment of choice these days, I spun up an Azure SQL Virtual Machine, but I quickly found that PolyBase wasn't installed. To add it I would need the install media of course, but how does one get that in an Azure SQL Virtual Machine?

It's Already There

I've often found that questions I think are going to be difficult tend to have a pretty simple answer staring me in the face. This one is no exception. It turns out that if you are using an Azure SQL Virtual Machine, the installer media is already present and mounted in the VM!

To access the install media, navigate to the VM's C:\ drive, where you will find a directory called SQLServerFull.

Once there, you'll see SETUP.exe, which you can run to access the installer and modify your SQL Server installation however you like. In my case, I checked the PolyBase box, updated my instance, and was all set.

This is not a particularly difficult solution, but I never knew the installer media was already present in the VM so I imagine others might not either. I hope you find this helpful!