SQL Server 2008 installation

Step by Step guide to installing SQL Server 2008

 Step by Step guide to installing SQL Server 2008 in this article I plan to cover the installation of SQL 2008 std edition. The initial idea behind this article was to only integerate this article with the SCCM 2007 step by step guide but than I thought this can help others who dont need SCCM at all, hence a entirely independant article for anyone who needs any help with installing SQL 2008.
 

What's new in SQL 2008

Component	Requirement
Framework2	SQL Server Setup installs the following software components required by the product: ·.NET Framework 3.5 SP11 ·SQL Server Native Client ·SQL Server Setup support files
Software2	SQL Server Setup requires Microsoft Windows Installer 4.5 or a later version After installing required components, SQL Server Setup will verify that the computer where SQL Server 2008 will be installed also meets all the other requirements for a successful installation. For more information, see Check Parameters for the System Configuration Checker.
Network Software	Network software requirements for the 64-bit versions of SQL Server 2008 are the same as the requirements for the 32-bit versions. Supported operating systems have built-in network software. Stand-alone named and default instances support the following network protocols: ·Shared memory ·Named Pipes ·TCP/IP ·VIA Note   Shared memory and VIA are not supported on failover clusters.
Virtualization	SQL Server 2008 is supported in virtual machine environments running on the Hyper-V role in Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2008 Standard, Enterprise and Datacenter editions. The virtual machine must run an operating system supported for the specific SQL Server 2008 edition listed later in this topic. In addition to resources required by the parent partition, each virtual machine (child partition) must be provided with sufficient processor resources, memory, and disk resources for its SQL Server 2008 instance. Requirements are listed later in this topic.3 Within the Hyper-V role on Windows Server 2008, a maximum of four virtual processors can be allocated to virtual machines running Windows Server 2008 32-bit or 64-bit editions. A maximum of 2 virtual processors can be allocated to virtual computers that are running Windows Server 2003 32-bit editions. For virtual computer that host other operating systems, a maximum of one virtual processor can be allocated to virtual computers. Notes: ·It is recommended that SQL Server 2008 be shut down before shutting down or the virtual machine. ·For more information about the Hyper-V role in Windows Server 2008, see the Windows Server 2008 Web site. ·Guest failover clustering is supported in SQL Server 2008. For more information about the supported versions of SQL Server and operating systems for guest failover clustering, and the support for virtualization, see Support policy for Microsoft SQL Server products running in a hardware virtual environment.
Internet Software	Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 SP1 or a later version is required for all installations of SQL Server 2008. Internet Explorer 6 SP1 or a later version is required for Microsoft Management Console (MMC), SQL Server Management Studio, Business Intelligence Development Studio, the Report Designer component of Reporting Services, and HTML Help.
Hard Disk	Disk space requirements will vary with the SQL Server 2008 components you install. For more information, see Hard disk space requirements later in this topic.
Drive	A CD or DVD drive, as appropriate, is required for installation from disc.
Display	SQL Server 2008 graphical tools require VGA or higher resolution: at least 1,024x768 pixel resolution.
Other Devices	Pointing device: A Microsoft mouse or compatible pointing device is required.

¹The following .NET Framework versions are required:

• SQL Server 2008 on Windows Server 2003 (64-bit) IA64 — .NET Framework 2.0 SP2
• SQL Server Express — .NET Framework 2.0 SP2
• All other editions of SQL Server 2008 — .NET Framework 3.5 SP1

For a detailed breakdown of Hardware & Software requirments for relevant version on SQL 2008 (please click here)Now we will start by installaing SQL 2008 step by step including screenshots to assist you all the way in this process.

Before you start the installation, you’ll need to install the .Net 3.5.1 Framework. This comes pre-installed on Windows 2008 R2 Server, but for earlier versions of Windows, you’ll need to install it first. This is a straightforward pre-requisite and is usually included as part of the SQL Server 2008 installation. You can perform a Windows update and install this if it is not part of your Operating system.




When installation of .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 is complete, click close.

Windows Installer 4.5 is also required, and might be installed by the Installation Wizard. If you are prompted to restart your computer, restart it, and then restart SQL Server 2008 setup.exe.

Reboot your server before starting your install of SQL 2008 SP1.




Create a copy of you SQL media to your local partition of your server, if your media is damaged and a file won’t copy, you get to find out now, rather than halfway through the installation.

From the root folder, double-click setup.exe. To install from a network share, locate the root folder on the share, and then double-click setup.exe. If the Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Setup dialog box appears, click OK to install the prerequisites, then click Cancel to exit SQL Server 2008 installation.







Click on the Configuration Checker to ensure you meet the requirments.




All my tests have passed as indicated above so we will move on further.




Click on the Installation hyperlink on the left hand side of the screen >

Click on the "New Server stand-alone installation" link on the right side of the screen as indicated above.

When the prerequisites are installed, the Installation Wizard will run the SQL Server Installation Center. To create a new installation of SQL Server 2008, click New Installation or Add Features to an Existing Installation.




The System Configuration Checker will run a discovery operation on your computer. To continue, click OK. Setup log files are created for your installation. For more information, see How to: View and Read SQL Server Setup Log Files.
If any checks have failed, click on the Show details button or "View detailed report link" to find out the cause, correct it, then click on the Re-run button to perform the checks again.




Note that the product key box may already be populated, depending on which edition you have.

Note: I have removed the key from the above screenshot. :) Type your product key if it is not pre-populated. Basically this information is picked automatically from the ini file which is located under the root of this installation media.





Click in the "I accept the license terms" check box, then click on the Next button again.




Click on the Next button again

Feature Selection >

Select the components for your installation. A description for each component group appears in the right pane after you select the feature name. You can select any combination of check boxes.

You can also specify a custom directory for shared components by using the field at the bottom of the Feature Selection page. To change the installation path for shared components, either update the path in the field at the bottom of the dialog box, or click Browse to move to an installation directory. The default installation path is C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\100\.





Click on the Next button




Instance ID — By default, the instance name is used as the Instance ID. This is used to identify installation directories and registry keys for your instance of SQL Server. This is the case for default instances and named instances. For a default instance, the instance name and instance ID would be MSSQLSERVER. To use a nondefault instance ID, select the Instance ID check box and provide a value.


For most installations, keep the default settings.

Click on the Next button >





The Disk Space Requirements page calculates the required disk space for the features that you specify. Then it compares the required space to the available disk space.

This screen just tells you if you have sufficient disk space on the drive you’re installing to, and what’s going to be installed where.






On the Server Configuration — Service Accounts page, specify login accounts for SQL Server services. The actual services that are configured on this page depend on the features that you selected to install. You can assign the same login account to all SQL Server services, or you can configure each service account individually. You can also specify whether services start automatically, are started manually, or are disabled. Microsoft recommends that you configure service accounts individually to provide least privileges for each service, where SQL Server services are granted the minimum permissions they have to have to complete their tasks.

For more informationhttp://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc281953.aspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms143504.aspx






Note: If this install is only being used for SCCM on the SCCM server kindly change the Authentication in the screenshot above to only windows authentication as SCCM 2007 will complain at the time of the installation pre req checks.