The ability to return the virtual tables and support the SQL syntax is actually built into the and is totally independent of any database software. This means that the Data Model does not require SQL Server to be installed.

However, you would need to have access to a SQL Server installation if you want to read or store data in a SQL Server database using the RDB DSC or your own DSC, but this is not a requirement for using the Data Model to read and store data in other formats.