How to Install Presto SQL: A Step-by-Step Tutorial

Presto SQL is a fast, distributed SQL query engine designed for running interactive analytic queries against various data sources of all sizes. It excels in querying big data where traditional databases struggle with performance. This tutorial guides you through the entire process of installing Presto SQL on a Linux system, configuring it, and ensuring it is ready for querying your data.

Prerequisites

A Linux server or virtual machine (Ubuntu, CentOS, or similar) with sudo privileges.
Java Development Kit (JDK) 11 or newer installed because Presto runs on the Java Virtual Machine.
Basic command line and text editor knowledge.
Network connectivity if you plan on running Presto in a cluster setup.
Enough free RAM and CPU resources (at least 4GB RAM recommended for single node testing).

Step 1: Install Java

Presto SQL requires Java 11 or above. To install OpenJDK 11 on Ubuntu, run:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install openjdk-11-jdk
java -version

Verify the Java version output displays version 11 or above.

Step 2: Download Presto Server

Download the latest Presto Server tarball from the official Presto SQL website (Official site). You can use wget or curl. For example:

wget https://repo1.maven.org/maven2/io/prestosql/presto-server/your-version-here/presto-server-your-version.tar.gz

Step 3: Extract and Prepare Presto

Create a directory for Presto and extract the archive:

sudo mkdir /usr/local/presto
sudo tar -xzf presto-server-your-version.tar.gz -C /usr/local/presto --strip-components=1

Step 4: Create Necessary Directories

Presto requires certain directories for configuration and data:

sudo mkdir /etc/presto
sudo mkdir /var/presto/data

Step 5: Configure Presto

Navigate to the configuration directory and create key config files:

cd /etc/presto

jvm.config – JVM options. Example:

-server
-Xmx16G
-XX:+UseG1GC
-XX:+UseGCOverheadLimit
-XX:+ExplicitGCInvokesConcurrent

config.properties – Main Presto config. Example for single-node:

coordinator=true
node-scheduler.include-coordinator=true
http-server.http.port=8080
query.max-memory=5GB
query.max-memory-per-node=1GB
discovery-server.enabled=true
discovery.uri=http://localhost:8080

node.properties – Node info. Example:

node.environment=production
node.id=ffffffff-ffff-ffff-ffff-ffffffffffff
node.data-dir=/var/presto/data

catalog directory – place connectors here (e.g., Hive, MySQL). For example, create hive.properties to connect with Hive:

connector.name=hive
hive.metastore.uri=thrift://localhost:9083

Step 6: Run Presto Server

To start Presto, go to the presto installation directory and run the launcher:

cd /usr/local/presto
bin/launcher start

Check logs in the var/presto/data directory if startup issues occur.

Step 7: Verify Installation

Run the Presto CLI to test queries. Download the Presto CLI jar from the official site or use the one bundled with Presto:

wget https://repo1.maven.org/maven2/io/prestosql/presto-cli/current/presto-cli-current-executable.jar
mv presto-cli-current-executable.jar presto
chmod +x presto
./presto --server localhost:8080 --catalog hive --schema default

Try a basic query:

select * from your_table limit 10;

Troubleshooting

Ensure the configured ports are not blocked by firewall or used by other applications.
Check Java version and memory settings; insufficient memory can prevent Presto from starting.
Inspect logs in /var/presto/data for errors.
Validate connectivity to any external data source like Hive Metastore or others used by Presto.