I'm taking a course and this term was casually mentioned, but I'm not sure what it means. Here is an excerpt from the course: "Microsoft keeps images of all supported versions of SQL Server available in Azure Marketplace. If you have a need for an older version, that is covered by an extended support contract, you must install your own SQL Server binaries." Please explain to me like I'm 10. Thank you.
SQL Binaries are the code (in this case, the assembly or machine code).
They are spread across sqlservr.exe and .dll files.
When it says you "own SQL Server binaries," it means "you own licensed SQL Server binaries."
This implies that you must possess a valid license, which may either be a free edition or a purchased one. Once you have the correct license, you are entitled to download the installer. Executing this installer will deploy all the crucial .dll and .exe files on your system, thus successfully installing SQL Server. In essence, by completing this process, you have installed the licensed binaries of SQL Server on your device.