Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Release to Manufacturing (RTM) was released in the August 2008. There are different versions of SQL Server 2008 available such as Enterprise, Standard, Workgroup, Web, Express, Compact and Developer editions. The trial version of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 can be downloaded from the following link http://www.microsoft.com/sql/2008/prodinfo/download.mspx. This article describes the steps needed to install a standalone instance of SQL Server 2008.
Prerequisites for SQL Server 2008
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 setup requires Windows Installer 4.5 and .Net Framework 3.5 SP1 to be installed. The Windows Installer 4.5 and .Net Framework 3.5 SP1 can be installed independently or it can be installed by double clicking SETUP.EXE within SQL Server 2008 installation media. Both Windows Installer 4.5 and .Net Framework setups are also available in <Drive>:x86redist folder of installation media. Once Windows Installer 4.5 and .Net Framework 3.5 SP1 is installed the system requires a restart of the operating system.
Steps for Installing SQL Server 2008
1. On the server where SQL Server 2008 is being installing, login with administrative privileges and then insert the SQL Server 2008 installation media. From the root folder double click setup.exe. If SQL Server 2008 prerequisites are not meet then the installation wizard will prompt to install the prerequisites. Once the prerequisites are installed and the server is restarted, rerun the setup.exe to resume the installation.
2. On the SQL Server Installation Center Planning screen run “System Configuration Checker” to look for any potential issues that can prevent the successful installation of SQL Server 2008. If any issues are discovered then they must be fixed before continuing with the wizard.
3. To install SQL Server 2008 32 bit edition on a 64 bit operation system (WOW) mode, first go to SQL Server Installation Center’s Option screen and choose x86 as the processor type as shown in the snippet below.
4. Click on SQL Server Installation Center’s Installation screen. To create a new installation of SQL Server 2008 click on “New SQL Server stand-alone installation or add features to an existing installation” link as shown in the snippet below.
5. This will run the Setup Support Rules to identify problems that might occur when installing SQL Server Setup support files. If there are any issues discover then it must be fixed before continuing with the wizard. If there are no issues discovered then click OK to continue with the installation.
6. On the Product Key screen choose to install SQL Server 2008 as an Evaluation Edition or specify the product key received and then click Next to continue with the installation. One important thing to note is that the installation setup for all SQL Server 2008 editions is same. The installation varies depending upon the product key which is provided.
7. In License Terms screen, read the license agreement and then select the check box at the bottom of the page to accept the licensing terms and conditions of the product. Click Next to continue with the wizard.
8. In the Setup Support Rules screen it will identify problems that can occur when you are installing SQL Server Support files. If there are any issues discovered then they must be fixed before continuing with the wizard. Click Next to continue with the wizard.
9. On the Feature Selection Screen, select the components of SQL Server 2008 which are to be installed. A brief description about each feature is shown in the right side panel when each feature is selected. The different components which are available for install within SQL Server 2008 are mentioned below.
- Database Engine Services
- Analysis Services
- Reporting Services
- Business Intelligence Development Studio
- Client Tools Connectivity
- Integration Services
- Client Tools Backwards Compatibility
- Client Tools SDK
- SQL Server Books Online
- Management Tools
- SQL Server Connectivity SDK
- Microsoft Sync Framework
10. On the Instance Configuration screen, specify whether to install SQL Server 2008 as a default edition or as a named instance. If installing SQL Server 2008 as a default instance then the Name and Instance ID will be MSSQLSERVER. On the same screen choose the instance root directory where SQL Server 2008 needs to be installed. Click Next to continue with the installation.
11. Next on the Disk Space Requirement screen you will be able to see the disk space which is required for the installation of SQL Server 2008. If there are any issues with the disk space then it needs to be fixed to continue with the installation.
12. In Server Configuration screen configure both Service Accounts information and Collation. In the Service Account tab, provide the service account details under which SQL Server services should run. Within the same screen specify the startup type for each of the SQL Server services. There are three startup type options available and they are Automatic, Manual & Disabled. Next click the Collations tab and select the appropriate collation value as per the requirements or else choose the default value as per the operating system. Click Next to continue with the installation.
13. On Database Engine Configuration “Account Provisioning” tab specify the authentication mode and administrators for the database engine.
Authentication Mode: – SQL Server supports two authentication modes, Windows and Mixed Mode Authentication. If selecting Mixed Mode Authentication then a very strong password must be used for the SQL Server System Administrator account.
SQL Server Administrators: – other system administrators may be added. To add an account, under the current installation of SQL Server 2008 running as a SQL Server System Administrator, click on “Add Current User” button. To add other users then click on “Add” button and follow the process. To remove a user from the list, then click the user and then click the “Remove”.
Click on Database Engine Configuration “Data Directories” tab to specify non default installation directory. It’s possible to place System Databases, User Databases, User Databases Log, TempDB Data, TempDB Log and Backup directory in a different directory other than the default. It’s a good practice to store database log files on a separate disk from database files. Performance may be improved as log file I/O’s are sequential and database file I/O’s are random. It is also advised to keep TempDB related data and log files on a separate log file itself to improve performance.
Next click on Database Engine Configuration “FILESTREAM” tab to enable FILESTEAM feature for the instance of SQL Server. Refer to the previous article titled Configure Filestream in SQL Server 2008 to read more about configuring FILESTREAM feature in SQL Server 2008. Click Next to save the configuration changes and to continue the wizard.
14. On Analysis Services Configuration “Account Provisioning” tab which users will have administrative privileges for analysis services needs to be specified.
Click Analysis Services Configuration “Data Directories” tab to specify non default installation directory.
15. On the Reporting Services Configuration screen there are three choices available to configure reporting services. The options are:
a) Install the native mode default configuration
b) Install the SharePoint integrated mode default configuration
c) Install, but do not configure the report server
Make the right choice as per the requirements and click Next to continue with the wizard.
16. Error and Usage Reporting Screen select both the checkbox to send the information’s related to SQL Server Error Reports and information related to the hardware configuration.
17. SQL Server 2008 Setup will run rules to determine if there are any issues to prevent the installation from succeeding. Should any issues be identified, they must be resolved before setup can proceed. The summary will be shown under Installation Rules screen. If there are no issues identified, click Next to continue with the installation.
18. Quickly review the features selected for installation on the “Ready to Install” screen. Click Install to begin the installation of SQL Server.
19. Progress can be monitored on the Installation Progress screen. Once completed successfully the status for each feature selected for installation will read Success. Click Next to see the installation summary report.
20. On the Complete screen the location for the SQL Server 2008 Installation Summary log is provided. Click Close to complete the SQL Server 2008 installation.
