SQL Server
installation methods

1. Local/Standard Installation

2. Unattended Installation

3. Remote Installation

1. Local/Standard Installation

Before you begin installing SQL Server you must first log onto that machine with an account that belongs to the local administrators group.

When performing a standard installation you have three type of install to choose from, these are minimum, typical and custom. SQL Server selects the typical installation as a default if you want to amend your installation, add or remove component etc then you will need to perform a custom installation.

Types of Installation:

The minimum installation option installs the following components:

• Database Server
• Replication Support
• Client Connectivity
• Collation Settings

As part of the Typical installation the following components are installed:

• Database Server
• Upgrade Tools
• Replication Support
• Full-Test Search
• Client Management Tools
• Client Connectivity
• SQL Server Books Online
• Development tools (debugger only)
• Collation Settings

When using a custom install you can choose what components to install you can choose from:

• Database Server
• Upgrade Tools
• Replication Support
• Full-Test Search
• Client Management Tools
• SQL Server Books Online
• Development tools (choice)
• Collation Settings
• Code Samples (choice)
• Client Connectivity - Not an Option

2. Unattended Installation

Microsoft define an unattended installation as “installs several SQL Servers with identical configurations without using the interactive SQL Server setup.” This type of install executes a command file that makes a call to a setup file. The command file is able to determine the platform of the Server and runs the appropriate version of SQL Server setup; it specifies the setup parameters and calls an setup.ini file that specifies all the options a user may have chosen during and interactive setup.

3. Remote Installation

The SQL Server installation methods process allows you to install SQL Server on a remote computer.

How a Remote Installation is Performed

Microsoft describes the remote installation process as follows:

• SQL Server saves the information that you specify in the series of SQL Server dialog boxes to a setup file.
• SQL Server then starts remote setup process, which does the following:
  • Starts a remote service
  • Copies the files to the Admin$ folder
  • Then runs an unattended installation on the remote computer by using the options specified in the setup file

Remote Installation Requirements

In order to install SQL Server on a remote computer a user account must be specied that under which SQL Server Setup starts the setup process on the remote computer. This account must have the following attributes:

• Have administrative rights on the remote computer
• Have read access to the setup source files folder.

Conclusion

In conclusion there are several options available to you when installing SQL Server on your machine, this article has discussed all the options available to you with regards to various SQL Server installation methods. I would think that in 99 out 100 installs you would use the standard install, although in some cases, perhaps when installing SQL Server on a cluster some of the other options will be useful.

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