Installing and Configuring SQL Server 2008

Reporting Services
System Requirements

1. Windows Server 2003 / Windows 2000 Server/ Windows vista /

Windows XP/ Windows Server 2008
2. IIS 5.0 or later is required for Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Reporting
Services (SSRS) installations.
3. ASP.NET 2.0 is required for Reporting Services. When installing
Reporting Services, SQL Server Setup will enable ASP.NET if it is not
already enabled.
4. SQL server 2008 with SP1(In case you need to reinstall reporting
services its advised to reinstall full SQL server rather then just
reporting services).
5. SQL Server Setup requires Microsoft Windows Installer 3.1 or later and
Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) 2.8 SP1 or later

Hardware and Software Requirements

The following requirements apply to all SQL Server 2008 R2 installations:

Componen Requirement
t
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 R2 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 Network software requirements for the 64-bit versions of SQL Server 2008 R2 are the
Software 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.

Note
The VIA protocol is deprecated. This feature will be removed in a future version of
Microsoft SQL Server. Avoid using this feature in new development work, and plan to
modify applications that currently use this feature.
Virtualization SQL Server 2008 R2 is supported in virtual machine environments running on the Hyper-
V role in Windows Server 2008 SP2 Standard, Enterprise and Datacenter editions. The
virtual machine must run an operating system supported for the specific SQL Server 2008
R2 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 R2 instance. Requirements are listed later in this
topic.3

Within the Hyper-V role on Windows Server 2008 SP2, a maximum of four virtual
processors can be allocated to virtual machines running Windows Server 2008 SP2 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 computers
that host other operating systems, a maximum of one virtual processor can be allocated to
virtual computers.

Notes:

• Itis recommended that SQL Server 2008 R2 be shut down before shutting down
the virtual machine.
• For more information about the Hyper-V role in Windows Server 2008 SP2, see
the Windows Server 2008 Web site.

• Guest failover clustering is supported in SQL Server 2008 R2. 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 Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 SP1 or a later version is required for all installations of
Software SQL Server 2008 R2. 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 R2 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 R2 graphical tools require Super VGA or higher resolution: at least
800x600 pixel resolution.
Other Devices Pointing device: A Microsoft mouse or compatible pointing device is required.

1
The following .NET Framework versions are required:

• SQL Server 2008 R2 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 R2 — .NET Framework 3.5 SP1

Installation of .NET Framework requires a restart of the operating system. If Windows

Installer installation also requires a restart, Setup will wait until .NET Framework and
Windows Installer components have installed before restarting.

Note
Installing .NET Framework 2.0 SP2: .NET Framework 2.0 SP2 is not available as a separate
download. You will need to install .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 which includes .NET Framework 2.0
SP2.

2
SQL Server Setup will not install the following required components for SQL Server
Express ,SQL Server Express with Tools, and SQL Server Express with Advanced
Services. You must install these components manually before you run SQL
Server Setup:

• SQL Server Express — .NET Framework 2.0 SP2 and Windows installer 4.5. On
Windows Vista SP2, use .NET Framework 3.5 SP1.
• SQL Server Express with Advanced Services — .NET Framework 3.5 SP1,
Windows Installer 4.5, and Windows PowerShell 1.0.
• SQL Server Express with Tools — .NET Framework 3.5 SP1, Windows Installer
4.5, and Windows PowerShell 1.0.

3
As with all virtualization technologies, SQL Server 2008 R2 running in a Windows
Server 2008 SP2 Hyper-V virtual computer will be slower than on a physical computer
with the same physical resources.

Processor, Memory, and Operating System

Requirements
• Reporting Services
 Starting in SQL Server 2008 R2, the Reporting Services component no longer
supports Itanium-based servers running Windows Server 2003 or Windows
Server 2003 R2. Reporting Services continues to support other 64-bit operating
systems, including Windows Server°2008 for Itanium-Based Systems and
Windows Server°2008°R2 for Itanium-Based Systems. To upgrade to SQL
Server 2008 R2 from a SQL Server 2008 installation with Reporting Services on
an Itanium-based system edition of Windows Server 2003 or Windows Server
2003 R2, you must first upgrade the operating system.

• WOW64

WOW64, a feature of 64-bit editions of Windows that enables 32-bit

applications to run natively in 32-bit mode. Applications function in 32-bit
mode, even though the underlying operating system is running on the 64-bit
operating system. WOW64 is supported only for stand-alone instances of SQL
Server. WOW64 is not supported for SQL Server failover cluster installations

For SQL Server 64-bit Edition installations on 64-bit supported operating

systems, Management Tools are supported in WOW64. For more information
about supported operating systems, select an edition of SQL Server 2008 R2
from the sections below.

On a supported 64-bit operating system, SQL Server 32-bit Edition installations

can be installed to the Windows on Windows (WOW64) 32-bit subsystem of a
64-bit server.

• Other operating system notes

SQL Server 2008 R2 is not supported on Windows Server 2008 SP2 Server Core
or Windows Server 2008 R2 Server Core installations.

Operating systems listed in the SQL Server Standard sections are also
supported for SQL Server Standard for Small Business

SQL Server editions that are supported on Windows Server 2008 R2 64-bit x64
Standard are also supported on Windows Small Business Server 64-bit x64.

2 Install the SQL server reporting services

Important Changes for Report Server Installation
SQL Server 2008 introduces fundamental changes to the prerequisites and server hosting
environment of Reporting Services. If you are familiar with previous versions of Reporting Services
and installing SQL Server 2008 R2 Reporting Services for the first time, review the following points:

• The prerequisite check for Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) and ASP.NET is
removed. Reporting Services uses a native hosting environment and the SQL Server
common language runtime in this release. For more information, see What's New
(Reporting Services).

• Setup supports installation options for default configuration (native mode), default
configuration (SharePoint integrated mode), and a files-only installation option so that you
can specify all report server configuration after Setup is finished. The default configuration
options for Reporting Services require that the SQL Server Database Engine be installed
with Reporting Services.
 The default configuration for SharePoint integrated mode is new in SQL Server 2008. It
provides a way to install the report server database in a format that supports integrated
operations. Additional configuration steps will still be necessary. You must still install the
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services Add-in for Microsoft SharePoint Technologies
and specify report server integration settings and permissions on the SharePoint site. In
addition, if the report server is on a different computer, you must install and configure a
Web front end to join the report server to a SharePoint farm. For more information about
these installation options, see Default Configuration for a Native Mode Installation
(Reporting Services) and Configuring Reporting Services for SharePoint 2010 Integration.

Default Configuration for a Native Mode Installation (Reporting Services)

Default configuration for native mode refers to a Reporting Services installation where Setup
both installs and configures a report server instance. After Setup is finished, the report server is
running and ready to use. A native mode report server runs as a stand-alone application server.
Native mode is the default mode.
Setup installs the following Reporting Services features when you select the default configuration for
native mode option: Report Server service (which includes the Report Server Web service,
background processing application, and Report Manager), Report Builder, the Reporting Services
Configuration Manager, and the Reporting Services command line utilities (rsconfig.exe,
rskeymgmt.exe and rs.exe). This option does not apply to shared features such as SQL
Server Management Studio or Business Intelligence Development Studio, which must be specified
as separate items if you want to install them.

Setup configures the following for a native mode report server installation:

• Service account for the Report Server service.

• Report Server Web service URL.

• Report Manager URL.

• Report Server database.

• Service account access to the report server databases.

• DSN connection for the report server databases.

Setup does not configure the unattended execution account, report server e-mail, back up the
encryption keys, or a scale-out deployment. You can use the Reporting Services Configuration tool
to configure these properties. For more information, see Reporting Services Configuration Tool.

When to Install the Default Configuration for Native Mode

A default configuration installs Reporting Services in an operational state so that you can use the
report server immediately after Setup is finished. Specify this mode when you want to save steps by
eliminating any required configuration tasks you would otherwise have to perform in the Reporting
Services Configuration tool.

Installing the default configuration does not guarantee that the report server will work after Setup is
finished. The default URLs might not register when the service starts. Always test your installation
to verify that the service starts and runs as expected.

Requirements
This installation option uses default values to configure the core settings required to make a report
server operational. It has the following requirements:

• Reporting Services and SQL Server Database Engine must be installed together in the same
instance. The Database Engine instance hosts the report server database that Setup creates
and configures.

• The user account used to run Setup must be a member of the local Administrators group
and have permission to access and create databases on the Database Engine instance that
hosts the report server databases.
 • Setup must be able to use the default values to reserve the URLs that provide access to the
report server and Report Manager. These values are port 80, a strong wildcard, and the
virtual directory names in the
formatReportServer_<instance_name> and Reports_<instance_name>.
• Setup must be able to use the default values to create the report server databases. These
values are ReportServer and ReportServerTempDB. If you have existing databases from a
previous installation, Setup will be blocked because it cannot configure the report server in
the default configuration for native mode. You must rename, move, or delete the databases
to unblock Setup.

If your computer does not meet all requirements for a default installation, you must install
Reporting Services in files-only mode and then use the Reporting Services Configuration Manager to
configure it after Setup is finished.

Do not try to reconfigure your computer only to allow a default installation to continue. Doing so
could require several hours of work, effectively eliminating the time-saving benefit the installation
option provides. The best solution is to install Reporting Services in files-only mode and then
configure the report server to use specific values.

Default URL Reservations

URL reservations are composed of a prefix, host name, port, and virtual directory:

Part Description

Prefix The default prefix is HTTP. If you previously installed a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate, Setup
will try to create URL reservations that use the HTTPS prefix.

Host The default host name is a strong wildcard (+). It specifies that the report server will accept any HTTP
name request on the designated port for any host name that resolves to the computer, including
http://<computername>/reportserver, http://localhost/reportserver, or
http://<IPAddress>/reportserver.

Port The default port is 80. If you install Reporting Services on 32-bit Windows XP SP2, the default port is
8080. Note that if you use any port other than port 80, you will have to explicitly add it to the URL
when you open a Reporting Services Web application in a browser window.

Virtual By default, virtual directories are created in the format of ReportServer_<instance_name> for the
directory Report Server Web service and Reports_<instance_name> for Report Manager. For the Report Server
Web service, the default virtual directory is reportserver. For Report Manager, the default virtual
directory is reports.
An example of the complete URL string might be as follows:

• http://+:80/reportserver, provides access to the report server.

• http://+:80/reports, provides access to Report Manager.

If you install Reporting Services on a computer that has IIS installed, you might encounter
interoperability issues that can be difficult to detect if you are not aware of them. See Deploying
Reporting Services and Internet Information Services Side-by-Side for details.
Deploying Reporting Services and Internet Information
Services Side-by-Side
You can install and run SQL Server 2008 R2 Reporting Services and Internet Information Services
(IIS) on the same computer. The version of IIS that you are using determines the interoperability
issues you must address.

IIS
version Issues Description

IIS 6.0 Requests intended for one application are
and 7.0 accepted by a different application.
HTTP.SYS enforces precedence rules for URL
reservations. Requests that are sent to
applications that have the same virtual
directory name and that jointly monitor port
80 might not reach the intended target if
the URL reservation is weak relative to the
URL reservation of another application.
Under certain conditions, a registered endpoint that
supersedes another URL endpoint in the URL reservation
scheme might receive HTTP requests intended for the other
application.
Using unique virtual directory names for the Report Server
Web service and Report Manager helps you avoid this
conflict.
Detailed information about this scenario is provided in this
topic.

IIS 5.1 Port conflict By default, IIS 5.1 reserves port 80 for its exclusive use. If
you install SQL Server 2008 R2 Reporting Services on 32-bit
Windows XP (SP2), the default port for the Reporting
Services URLs will be port 8080:
http://<servername>:8080/reportserver
http://<servername>:8080/reports
On the 64-bit platform, the default port for Reporting
Services URLs is port 80. IIS 5.1 uses HTTP.SYS in the 64-
bit version of Windows XP SP2, allowing port 80 to be
shared by both applications.
Precedence Rules for URL Reservations
Before you can address interoperability issues between IIS and Reporting Services, you must
understand URL reservation precedence rules. Precedence rules can be generalized into the
following statement: a URL reservation that has more explicitly defined values is first in line to
receive requests that match the URL.

• A URL reservation that specifies a virtual directory is more explicit than one that omits a
virtual directory.

• A URL reservation that specifies a single address (by way of an IP address, a fully qualified
domain name, a network computer name, or a host name) is more explicit than a wildcard.

• A URL reservation that specifies a strong wildcard is more explicit than a weak wildcard.

The following examples show a range of URL reservations, ordered from most explicit to least
explicit:

Example Request

http://123.234.345.456:80/reports Receives all requests that are sent to http://123.234.345.456/reports or

http://<computername>/reports if a domain name service can resolve the IP
address to that host name.

http://+:80/reports Receives any requests that are sent to any IP address or host name that is
valid for that computer as long as the URL contains the "reports" virtual
directory name.

http://123.234.345.456:80 Receives any request that specifies http://123.234.345.456 or

http://<computername> if a domain name service can resolve the IP
address to that host name.

http://+:80 Receives requests that are not already received by other applications, for
 any application endpoints that are mapped to All Assigned.

http://*:80 Receives requests that are not already received by other applications, for
application endpoints that are mapped to All Unassigned.
One indication of a port conflict is that you will see the following error message:
'System.IO.FileLoadException: The process cannot access the file because it is being used by
another process. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80070020).'

URL Reservations for IIS 6.0 and 7.0 and SQL Server 2008 Reporting
Services
Given the precedence rules outlined in the previous section, you can begin to understand how URL
reservations defined for Reporting Services and IIS promote interoperability. Reporting Services
receives requests that explicitly specify the virtual directory names for its applications; IIS receives
all remaining requests, which can then be directed to applications that run within the IIS process
model.

Application URL reservation Description Request receipt

Report http://+:80/ReportServer Strong wildcard Receives all requests on port 80 that specify the
Server on port 80, with report server virtual directory. The Report Server
report server Web service receives all requests to
virtual directory. http://<computername>/reportserver.

Report http://+:80/Reports Strong wildcard Receives all requests on port 80 that specify the
Manager on port 80, with reports virtual directory. Report Manager receives all
Reports virtual requests to http://<computername>/reports.
directory.

IIS http://*:80/ Weak wildcard on Receives any remaining requests on port 80 that are
port 80. not received by another application.
Side-by-Side Deployments of SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2005
Reporting Services on IIS 6.0 or 7.0
Interoperability issues between IIS and Reporting Services occur when IIS Web sites have virtual
directory names that are identical to those used by Reporting Services. For example, suppose you
have the following configuration:

• A Web site in IIS that is assigned to port 80 and a virtual directory named "Reports".

• A SQL Server 2008 R2 report server instance installed in the default configuration, where
the URL reservation also specifies port 80 and the Report Manager application also uses
"Reports" for the virtual directory name.

Given this configuration, a request that is sent to http://<computername>:80/reports will be

received by Report Manager. The application that is accessed through the Reports virtual directory
in IIS will no longer receive requests after SQL Server 2008 R2 report server instance is installed.

If you are running side-by-side deployments of older and newer versions of Reporting Services, you
are likely to encounter the routing problem just described. This is because all versions of Reporting
Services use "ReportServer" and "Reports" as virtual directory names for the report server and
Report Manager applications, increasing the likelihood that you will have a "reports" and
"reportserver" virtual directories in IIS.

To ensure that all applications receive requests, follow these guidelines:

• For Reporting Services installations, use virtual directory names that are not already used
by an IIS Web site on the same port as Reporting Services. If there is a conflict, install
Reporting Services in "files-only" mode (using the Install but do not configure the server
option in the Installation Wizard) so that you can configure the virtual directories after
Setup is finished. One indication that your configuration has a conflict is you will see the
error message: System.IO.FileLoadException: The process cannot access the file because it
is being used by another process. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80070020).
 • For installations that you configure manually, adopt the default naming conventions in the
URLs that configure. If you install SQL Server 2008 R2 Reporting Services as a named
instance, include the instance name when creating a virtual directory.

Interoperability with IIS 5.1 on Windows XP SP2

Windows XP SP2 provides the HTTP.SYS component that is required by Reporting Services.
However, even though HTTP.SYS is available on the operating system, IIS 5.1 does not use it.
Instead, IIS 5.1 accepts all requests on port 80 or on whatever port it is configured to use. Because
there is no URL reservation for IIS 5.1 in HTTP.SYS, there is no central management of the request
queue that allows the Reporting Services Web applications to receive requests on the same port.

For this reason, the default configuration for a report server that is installed on 32-bit Windows XP
SP2 is to use port 8080 for the Report Server Web service and Report manager. The following table
shows the URL reservations for the Web service and Report Manager:

• http://+:8080/reportserver

• http://+:8080/reports

Using a non-default port on the URL reservation for Reporting Services applications means that
there is no URL conflict for side-by-side scenarios with older versions of Reporting Services.

If you have an older and newer report server instances installed on the same computer, the default
URLs will be http://<servername>/<reportserver> for the Reporting Services 2005 report server
that is accessed through IIS, and http://<servername>:8080/<reportserver> for the SQL Server
2008 R2 Reporting Services report server.

• If you install SharePoint Server 2010 and Reporting Services, there might be a conflict with
the default Report Center URL in SharePoint. This is because Report Center and Reporting
Services Report Manager use the same default URL of http://computer_name/reports. You
should use the Reporting Services Configuration tool to configure the report server and
Report Manager to use a different port or virtual directory than SharePoint.
If you have a deployment of an earlier version of Reporting Services and are installing SQL Server
2008 R2 to try out new features, be sure to backup your report definition files and report server
databases. After you install SQL Server 2008 R2, the report server database version will be
upgraded automatically when the Report Server service starts. The report server content will be
upgraded automatically when you first run the report against a SQL Server 2008 R2 report server
instance.

How to Install SQL Server 2005 Reporting

Services
Commerce Server 2007
For the latest version of Commerce Server 2007 Help, see the Microsoft Web site.

Follow these steps to install Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services.

To install SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services

1. Insert the Microsoft SQL Server 2005 product CD into the CD Drive.
2. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
3. In Control Panel, double-click Add or Remove Programs.
4. In Add or Remove Programs, click Microsoft SQL Server 2005, and then
click Change.
5. On the Component Selection page, expand SQL Server 2005 instances,
select MSSQLSERVER, and then clickNext.
 6. On the Feature Maintenance page, select Reporting Services, and then
click Next.

The Microsoft SQL Server Installation Wizard starts.

7. On the Welcome to the Microsoft SQL Server Installation Wizard page,

click Next.
8. On the System Configuration Check page, click Next.
9. On the Change or Remove Instance page, click Change Installed
Components.
10. On the Feature Selection page, make sure that Reporting Services will be
installed on the local hard disk drive, and then click Next.
11. On the Ready to Update page, click Install.
12. On the Setup Progress page, click Next.
13. On the Completing Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Setup page, click Finish.

3 Post Installation Configuration

On the report server computer, follow these steps after setup is finished to complete
the deployment:
1. Open port 80 in Microsoft Windows Firewall to enable incoming requests over
port 80. If you installed Reporting Services on Microsoft Windows XP with
Service Pack 2 or Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack, HTTP requests
over port 80 are blocked by default. To open port 80, do the following:
a. Click Start, point to Control Panel, click Windows Firewall, click
Exceptions, and then click Add Port.
b. In Name, type Web Server (TCP 80).
c. In Port number, type 80.
d. For the protocol, select TCP.
e. Click OK.
2. Modify Windows Firewall settings to enable remote administration.
a. Log on as a local administrator to the computer for which you want to enable
remote administration.b. Open a command line window, and then run the following
command: netsh.exe firewall set service type=REMOTEADMIN mode=ENABLE
scope=ALL c. Verify that remote administration is enabled. You can run the following
command to show the status: netsh.exe firewall show state
3. Add InetInfo.exe to the Windows Firewall Exception List
a. Click Start, point to Control Panel, and click Windows Firewall.
b. Click Exceptions.
c. Click Add Program.
d. Click Browse.
e. Select %windir%\system32\inetsrv\inetinfo.exe
f. Click Change Scope to set the scope.
g. Click OK.
h. Reboot the computer.
4. Enable remote connections to the SQL Server instance that hosts the report
server database
 a. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Microsoft SQL Server 2005,
point toConfiguration Tools, and click SQL Server Surface Area
Configuration Tool.
b. Click Surface Area Configuration for Services and Connections.
c. Open the folder for the SQL Server instance that hosts the report
server databases.
d. Click Remote Connections.
e. Click Local and Remote Connections.
f. Click Using both TCP/IP and named pipes.
g. Click OK, and then restart the service.
5. Run the Reporting Services Configuration tool, connect to the report server
instance you just installed, and review the status indicator for each setting to
verify that it is configured. Make sure that it’s all green ticks.

6. Assign write permissions to the temporary ASP.NET folder to reporting service

account (<domain or computer name>\reportingsvc).
4 Verify Reporting Services Installation
 4.1 Verify that the report server is installed and running
1. Run the Reporting Services Configuration tool, connect to the report server
instance you just installed, and review the status indicator for each setting to
verify that it is configured.
2. Open the Services window and verify that the Report Server Windows service
is running. To view the status of the Report Server Windows service,
click Start, point toControl Panel, double-click Administrative Tools, and
then double-click Services. When the list of services appears, scroll
to Report Server (MSSQLSERVER). The status should be Started.
3. On the instance of SQL Server that is hosting the report server database,
verify that the SQL Server Agent service is running. SQL Server Agent must
be running before users define subscriptions and other scheduled operations.
Use the SQL Server Surface Area Configuration tool to enable SQL Server
Agent.
4. In a browser window,
type http://localhost/reportserver (http://<computer
name>/ReportServer<instance name>).The URL will be different if you
installed the report server as a named instance. You can also go and try
running report server directly through IIS.
 5. Run reports to test report server operations. For this step, you can install and
publish the sample reports if you do not have any reports available. For more
information, seeAdventureWorks Report Samples in SQL Server Books Online.
4.2 Verify that Report Manager is installed and running
1. In a browser window, type http://localhost/reports (http://<computer
name>/Reports<instance name>) this is the virtual directory for Report
Manager.
You can also go and try browsing report manager directly through IIS.
2. Use Report Manager to create a new folder or upload a file to test whether
definitions are passed back to the report server database. If these operations
are successful, the connection is functional.

A Step by Step guide to installing SQL Server 2008 simply and successfully
with no prior knowledge
Developers and system administrators will find this installation guide useful, as will
seasoned DBAs. It will teach you the basics required for a typical, problem-free
installation of SQL Server 2008, allowing you to add other components later if you
wish.

Remember to install the .Net Framework 3.5

Before you start the installation, you’ll need to install the .Net 3.5 Framework. This
comes pre-installed on Windows 2008 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. However, if you don’t know how
to do this, or for some reason you need to download it, check out the guide Installing
.Net Framework 3.5 for SQL Server 2008.

Once this Framework in installed you can commence the installation of SQL Server
2008.

STEP 1 : Copy the installation files

First off I’d recommend you copy the entire directory structure from the SQL Server
2008 installation disc to the C: drive of the machine you are going to install it on.

Although this means you need to grab a cup of coffee whilst it’s copying, this has
three advantages:

• It makes the installation process much faster than running it from CD/DVD
once it gets started.

• It allows you to easily add or remove components later, without having to

hunt around for the CD/DVD.

• If your media is damaged and a file won’t copy, you get to find out now,
rather than halfway through the installation.

Here’s what my system looks like after the copy:

STEP 2 : Setup.exe

Double click on the setup.exe file.

After a few seconds a dialog box appears:

This will disappear from the screen and then the main installation page appears:
STEP 3 : SQL Server Installation Center

Click on the Installation hyperlink on the left hand side of the screen:
STEP 4 : SQL Server Installation Center

Click on the "New Server stand-alone installation" link on the right side of the
screen:

The following dialog appears on the screen whilst the install program prepares for
installation:

After a minute or so (the timing will vary according to your system), the following
screen appears:
STEP 5 (optional) :

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.

STEP 6 : Product key

If all checks have passed, click on the OK button. After a few moments, the option to
select the edition and to enter the license key (or “product key”) will appear. Note
that the product key box may already be populated, depending on which edition you
have. Don’t enter the product key we’ve shown here, it won’t work on your system!:

STEP 7 : License Terms

Enter the product key into the box, or choose the free edition if you're evaluating
SQL Server 2008, and click on the Next button:

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

STEP 8 : Setup Support Files

The following screen appears; click on the Install button:

The following screen will appear whilst Windows Installer prepares itself for the
installation. This will take a short while:
After 30 seconds or so the dialog appears again:

STEP 9 : Setup Support Rules

If all is well, the following screen appears:

Click on the Next button again.

STEP 10 : Feature Selection

Select the features you want to install.

At a minimum, the following are useful (I'd argue essential), but what you need will
depend on your needs:
Click on the Next button.

STEP 11 : Instance Configuration

After a short while the following screen appears:

For most installations, keep the default settings.
Click on the Next button.

STEP 12 : Disk Space Requirements

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.
Click on Next

STEP 13 : Server Configuration

This step allows you to set up the service accounts that will be used to run SQL
Server. If you have created Windows NT or Active Directory accounts for use with
services, use these.

If not, then just to get the installation up and working, use the built-in Network
Service account for all three services listed (this account does not require a
password).

This allows SQL Server to start up after installation. However, it can be easily
changed later to another account through the Services applet (Control Panel ->
Administrator Tools -> Services):
In addition, remember to change the Startup Type to Automatic, for all three
services. This automatically starts the SQL Server database engine, SQL Agent and
SQL Browser services when the server is re-booted.

The first service runs the SQL Server database engines executable process. The
other two services allow scheduled jobs to run after installation (and after a re-boot),
and allow the SQL Server to be found by clients on the network.

Do not worry about changing the collation tab, unless there is a specific requirement
for anything other than the default collation sequence. Finally, click on Next.

STEP 14 : Database Engine Configuration – Account Provision

This screen allows you to set up database engine security.

Change the Authentication Mode to Mixed Mode unless you are certain you only
need Windows-only authentication.

• Many third party applications rely on SQL Server logins to operate

correctly, so if you are setting up a server for a third party
application, rather than one developed in-house, enabling Mixed Mode
authentication is a good idea.

If you pick Mixed Mode security, you must also enter a password for the sysadmin
account (sa).

Enter and confirm a secure password for the sa account and keep it somewhere safe.
Do not give it to any one you do not want to have access to the SQL Server.

Note that you MUST also provide a Windows NT account on the local machine as a
SQL Server administrator. If you do not want Windows system administrators to be
able walk up to the box and login to SQL Server, create a new, local, dummy
Windows user and add this account instead. Otherwise, add in the local administrator
account, or your own Windows account on the domain in which the SQL Server will
reside.
STEP 15 : Database Engine Configuration – Data Directories

Click on the Data Directories tab.

Change the directories to specify which drives in your system will be used for the
various types of database files.

Generally it’s advisable to put the User database directory and User log directory on
separate physical drives for performance, but it will depend on how Windows has
been configured and how many disk drives you have available.

If you are installing on a single drive laptop or desktop, then simply specify:
Data root directory C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server
User database directory C:\Data
User log directory C:\Logs
Temp DB directory C:\TempDB
Temp Log directory C:\TempDB
Backup directory C:\Backups

Do not click on the FILESTREAM tab unless you know you need to change these
options, as it is not generally required for most installations, but can easily be
changed by using sp_configure 'filestream_access_level', ''after SQL Server has been
installed. Click on Next.

STEP 16 : Error Usage Reporting

This screen simply asks if you want to send error information to Microsoft and can
safely be skipped if you do not want to share any information.

Click boxes if you want to help Microsoft help you.

Click on Next again…

STEP 16 : Installation Rules

This screen simply checks if there are any processes or other installations running
which will stop the installation of SQL Server 2008.
Click on Next again – you’re almost ready to install:

STEP 17 : Ready to Install

This screen summarises what you are about to install and gives you a last chance to
cancel or change anything that’s wrongly configured:
Check that what’s being installed is what you want and then click on Install when
you’re sure you want to start the installation process:

Installation Progress

SQL Server 2008 will now install. How long it takes depends on the speed of your
machine, what load it’s under, the installation media (CD is slower) and what you’ve
chosen to install.
…More Installation Progress
... and Finally
Finally, the installation will complete:
...and the following dialog box will appear:

Click on OK, the machine will NOT reboot.

The following will appear:

…followed by:
Click on the Next button again...

STEP 18 : Installation Complete

The following screen appears:

It may be worth clicking on the installation log at the top of the screen to check
everything’s gone as expected. Not that this is MUCH smaller than the usual SQL
Server installation log files of old.

Finally, click on the Close button. The following dialog will appear:

Click on OK – your server will NOT re-boot at this point.

The dialog box will disappear and you will be returned to the Installation Center:
Click on the Close button (the “x”) in the top right of the screen.
Finally, manually reboot your machine to complete the SQL Server 2008 installation.

Top Tips :

How to check that SQL Server 2008 has installed correctly

Here are a short number of post-installation checks which are useful to perform after
re-booting your new SQL Server. You don’t have to run these, and there are other
ways to check, but they are very useful for non-DBAs to be sure that the installation
is basically sound and a connection can be made to the new SQL Server before
handing it over to someone else.

Check 1: Has the SQL Server Service Started?

Check SQL Server 2008 has started.

Check 2: Does Management Studio Work?

Check Management Studio works by firing it up.

Click on NO when you see this dialog box:

Check 3: Can you run a basic query against the new SQL Server?

Check SQL Server works by running a simple query from Management Studio:
Enter the query shown below and hit F5 to run it:

Check 4: Is SQL Server Agent Running?

Check SQL Server Agent is running for scheduled jobs. There should be a green
arrow next to the SQL Server Agent database symbol (it’s small, you might have to
look hard):

Check 5: Can SQL Server be seen from the Network?

Check that the new SQL Server can be seen from another SQL Server on the same
domain by running isql –L (or osql –L):

If you can’t see the new SQL Server in this list, check that the SQL Server Browser
service is started on the machine where you have just installed SQL Server.

Check 6: Has the TCP/IP network protocol library been enabled on the
server?

If the browser service is started but you still cannot connect to the server, click
on Start ->Programs -> SQL Server 2008 -> SQL Server Configuration
Manager (on the server where SQL Server’s just been installed)
The SQL Server Configuration Manager window opens.
Click on the SQL Server Network Configuration node and expand it.

In the example below, we have MSSQLSERVER (a base instance of SQL Server), and
SQLEXPRESS showing as installed.
If in doubt, click on Protocols for MSSQLSERVER.

In the above screenshot, the TCP/IP network protocol library is disabled. We need to
enable it in order that remote servers can talk to the newly installed SQL Server.

• A word of explanation : In most installations, Named Pipes can be ignored,

unless there is a requirement for it. In virtually all environments, VIA can also
be ignored as this protocol requires a special network card. Shared memory is
the “local” protocol that SQL Server uses when talking to a client application
on the same server as itself, for example when SQL Server Management
Studio connects to it. It is usually best to leave this enabled.

You will need the TCP/IP protocol enabled if you need to connect to your new SQL
Server from a remote client or another server via TCP/IP, which is what most
networks use.

If it shows as DISABLED (above), double click on the TCP/IP protocol line, and
the following window will appear:
Ensure that Enabled is set to Yes, and click on OK.
The following warning will appear:

Click on OK, and you will be returned to the Configuration Manager window, where
TCP/IP will now be shown as enabled:
Go back to the Services applet, and re-start the MSSQLSERVER service so that the
TCP/IP protocol can be used to connect to your new SQL Server.

Then try to connect to it again from a remote machine.

If you have experienced problems with the previous connectivity tests, you should
now be able to repeat at least some of them successfully.

Some useful links:

http://www.sqlserverclub.com/pdfs/how-to-install-sql-server-2008-a-step-by-step-
guide.pdf
http://www.smartergeek.info/2010/07/how-to-install-sql-server-2008-on-windows-server-
2008-r2/