Endpoint Central Database Choice PostgreSQL or MS SQL During Setup
One wizard screen decides where every scan result, patch record and inventory detail will live for years. Here is how to choose between the bundled PostgreSQL and your own SQL Server.
✍️ Technical Anshu🪟 Windows Server⏱️ 7 minute read
🎥 Watch this choice being made during the real installation in the video
Endpoint Central supports exactly two database families: PostgreSQL and Microsoft SQL Server. The installer makes the decision painless by installing and configuring the bundled PostgreSQL automatically — no separate download, no licence, nothing to prepare. MS SQL (2016 and later; Standard or Enterprise is what ManageEngine sizes for the SQL host) is there for organisations that already run SQL Server properly. Neither choice is wrong. The wrong move is choosing without knowing what each one asks of you later.
Extra licence neededPostgreSQL — none · MS SQL — yours
The two supported database options, exactly as the setup presents them
1
Choose Bundled PostgreSQL When This Sounds Like You
You manage a small or mid-size network — the free edition's 25 endpoints up to a few hundred machines
Nobody on the team is a SQL Server administrator, and nobody wants to become one for a patching tool
You want the server self-contained: one machine, one backup story, no dependency on another team's database server being awake
This is the default for a reason. Finish the wizard, and the database simply exists and works
2
Choose MS SQL Server When This Sounds Like You
Your organisation already runs SQL Server with proper backup, monitoring and a DBA who owns it — Endpoint Central data joins an existing, well-kept house
You are planning a large deployment. ManageEngine's sizing guidance scales the SQL host separately (its own CPU, RAM and fast disk), and for very large environments, above roughly 10,000 computers, it recommends putting SQL Server on a different machine from the Endpoint Central server
Your reporting or compliance process already pulls from SQL Server and you want this data in the same place
3
Whichever You Choose — Disk Is the Real Requirement
ManageEngine's hardware tables give the server around 10 GB at small scale with a clear warning: disk usage grows dynamically with scanning frequency, patch binaries and retained history
Put the installation on a drive with real headroom, and include the database in your backup plan from day one — the database is your Endpoint Central: configurations, inventory, patch status and audit history all live there
On the SQL route, size the SQL host by the same tables instead of borrowing whatever space a shared instance happens to have
4
The Honest Advice for Most Readers ⭐
Start on the bundled PostgreSQL. It is supported, it is the path the installer is built around, and it removes an entire category of setup failures (wrong SQL permissions, unreachable instances, edition surprises) from your first week. Revisit the decision when your endpoint count, reporting needs or company standards genuinely demand SQL Server — by then you will be moving a known, working system instead of gambling during installation.
Install with PostgreSQL and complete the rollout
Take a database-inclusive backup once the system is stable, and test restoring it
Record the database choice in your IT documentation — the next admin will ask exactly the question this page answers
⚠️ Do not pick SQL Server just because it sounds more serious. A badly maintained shared SQL instance is a worse home for this data than the bundled database on a healthy server. Serious is whichever one your team will actually back up and watch.
🎥 Watch the Full Installation Including This Step
The video walks the complete setup, database screen included.
Does the bundled PostgreSQL cost anything or need separate installation?
No. The Endpoint Central installer sets it up automatically as part of the product installation, and there is no separate database licence. That zero-preparation path is the main reason it is the default.
Which SQL Server versions does Endpoint Central support?
Microsoft SQL Server 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022 and 2025, per ManageEngine's system requirements, with Standard or Enterprise edition sized for the SQL host. SQL Server hosted in AWS is also listed as supported.
Can I start on PostgreSQL and think about SQL later?
Yes — treat PostgreSQL as the starting point, not a trap. Get the system installed, backed up and documented first. If scale or company standards later call for SQL Server, plan it as a deliberate infrastructure project with vendor guidance, not a wizard-screen impulse.
This guide is based on the Technical Anshu video on Endpoint Central installation • Stuck on a step? Ask in the video comments and you will get a reply 🙏