[domsj]

I don't get it: why would they need/want to set up a server to test the sql module in the first place? The behaviour of the sql module doesn't depend on server, so logically I would assume the tests shouldn't either... And if some tests really need a server, then they are not testing the sql layer anymore, and shouldn't need access to internals of the sql module.

[radub]

The sql module needs other aspects of the server set up to function (e.g. the KV layer). You are free to browse the code at https://github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach if you want a more in-depth look.