SQL Server Express WebLog

Embedding SQL Server Express Survey

2009-09-08T22:03:21Z

Microsoft is committed to making the SQL Server the best database in the industry for embedding with your application. For us to achieve this goal, we need your candid feedback on your experience with embedding SQL Server Express. If you have used several different versions of SQL Server Express, focus on the latest version that you have used. When SQL Server 2008 Customer Technical Preview 3 is released, feel free to complete this survey again since several installation improvements have been made. This information will be used to improve our future releases including SQL Server 2008 R2 and SQL Server 11. This survey will be available until the end of November.

Instructions:

To register for the ISVs embedding SQL Express Survey, follow this link.* Once your registration is complete, click here and then click on “Respond to this Survey” to complete the profile.

*If you are already registered on Microsoft Connect, visiting the link will prompt you to login with the Windows Live ID e-mail address associated with your account (note that the email address we used to contact you regarding this invitation is not necessarily your account e-mail address). If you are not already registered on Microsoft Connect, visiting the link above will prompt you to register.

General SQL Server Express Survey

2009-09-08T21:58:19Z

Microsoft is committed to making the SQL Server Express installation experience the best in industry. For us to achieve this goal, we need your candid feedback on your experience with installing SQL Server Express. If you have used several different versions of SQL Server Express, focus on the latest version that you have used. When SQL Server 2008 Customer Technical Preview 3 is released, feel free to complete this survey again since several installation improvements have been made. This information will be used to improve our future releases including SQL Server 2008 R2 and SQL Server 11. This survey will be available until the end of November.

Instructions:

To register for the General Express Usage Survey, follow this link.* Once your registration is complete, click here and then click on “Respond to this Survey” to complete the profile.

ClickOnce bootstrapper for SQL Server 2008 Express with Tools

2009-09-03T22:02:00Z

I’d like to share the link to a blog post by Brock Weaver, where he explains how to add SQL Server 2008 Express with Tools to the list of prerequisites for ClickOnce packages:

http://youarenotexpectedtounderstandthis.blogspot.com/2009/08/vsnet-2008-prerequisite-for-sql-server.html

It is great to see people from the community extend our platform! Thanks Brock! That’s what we always hope for and that’s why we always try to design our software in an open and extensible fashion.

Disclaimer – this ClickOnce bootstrapper package is not supported by Microsoft. You are using it at your own risk. Any comments, complaints or suggestions should be directed to the author.

- Krzysztof Kozielczyk

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 August CTP

2009-08-14T07:42:28Z

The August CTP of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 is now published: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/ee315247.aspx. Give it a try and give us feedback!!!

This release does not have many changes around the Express when compared to SQL Server 2008. But the next CTP will contains several improvements as a result of your feedback. Here are some of the changes that will be in the SQL Server 2008 R2 Express product:

The Express runtime package is smaller
Setup UI Changes
- All user input defaulted (Vista and above): Therefore you can just click Next through the Installation Wizard. Less choices means better chance for success.
- All features selected by default:
- Number of clicks and screens: The number of steps or clicks to install have been reduced by 50%.
- Pre-reqs: Clearer messaging whether .NET or MSI needs to be installed before proceeding with the installation and a direct link to the download

Troubleshooting .NET 2.0/3.5 Installation errors

2009-08-11T01:36:16Z

The installation of .NET 3.5 can fail for several reasons. Sometimes the .NET 3.5 install fails and sometime SQL Server Setup fails to detect .NET is already on the machine.

If you view the %temp%\sqlsetup.log you can determine whether the .NET 3.5 installation failed or SQL Server Setup incorrectly detected .NET was already installed.

Here is an example were .NET 3.5 SP1 failed to install.

05/21/2008 07:32:55.750 ======================================================================
05/21/2008 07:32:55.765 Setup launched
05/21/2008 07:32:55.765 Attempting to determine media source
05/21/2008 07:32:55.765 Media source value not specified on command line argument.
05/21/2008 07:32:55.765 Setup is launched from media directly so default the value to the current folder.
05/21/2008 07:32:55.765 Media source: \\sqlbuilds\Improvements\clusterRefresh\10.00.1441.12\retail\SQLFULL_ENU\
05/21/2008 07:32:55.765 Attempt to determine media layout based on file '\\sqlbuilds\Improvements\clusterRefresh\10.00.1441.12\retail\SQLFULL_ENU\mediainfo.xml'.
05/21/2008 07:32:55.796 Media layout is detected as: Full
05/21/2008 07:32:55.796 Local setup.exe not found, so continuing to run setup.exe from media.
05/21/2008 07:32:55.796 /? or /HELP or /ACTION=HELP specified: false
05/21/2008 07:32:55.796 Help display: false
05/21/2008 07:32:55.796 Checking to see if we need to install .Net version 3.5
05/21/2008 07:32:55.796 .Net version 3.5 needs to be installed from media: \\sqlbuilds\Improvements\clusterRefresh\10.00.1441.12\retail\SQLFULL_ENU\
05/21/2008 07:32:55.796 Attempting to find media for .Net version 3.5
05/21/2008 07:32:55.796 Attempting to install .Net version 3.5
05/21/2008 07:35:36.725 Received exit code -1073741818 from installing .Net version 3.5
05/21/2008 07:35:36.725 .Net version 3.5 installation failed, so setup will close. Error code: -1073741818
05/21/2008 07:35:36.725 Setup closed with exit code: 0x84C40013
05/21/2008 07:35:36.725 ======================================================================

When .NET failed to install, your next step is to look at the .NET log files. The logs produced by the .NET Framework 3.5 setup wrapper:

%temp%\dd_dotnetfx35install.txt
%temp%\dd_dotnetfx35error.txt
%temp%\dd_depcheck_netfx*.txt

You should review these log to determine the cause for failure. If you still need help look at these resources:

http://blogs.msdn.com/astebner/archive/2007/07/31/4156781.aspx
Post the error to http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/netfxsetup/threads
How to: View SQL Server Setup Log Files: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms143702.aspx
Troubleshooting an Installation of SQL Server: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms143698.aspx

Installing SQL Server Express through the Web Platform Installer

2009-08-04T01:07:19Z

This topic will be expanded in the near future, but currently is a placeholder.

SQL Server 2008 Express Edition will be updated through Automatic Update

2009-07-31T01:20:35Z

Starting in September, we are considering automatically updating SQL Server 2008 including all Express Edition to Service Pack 1 (SP1). See http://blogs.msdn.com/petersad/archive/2009/07/30/sql-server-2008-service-pack-sp-1-on-microsoft-update-as-a-required-automatic-update.aspx for details.

Provide us feedback on this change.

“Embedding SQL Server 2008 Express in an Application” technical Article

2009-07-09T06:40:40Z

We recently published a technical article on how to embed and run SQL Server 2008 Express in unattended mode. The article is at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd981032.aspx. We expect to revise this article at a later point in time. To ensure we continually improve the Express embedding experience, please provide us feedback. You can provide your feedback through this blog site or through the Microsoft connect site at https://connect.microsoft.com/SQLServer/Feedback. It is preferable to submit through https://connect.microsoft.com/SQLServer/Feedback to ensure we capture and track the feedback.

How should I Install SQL Server 2008

2009-06-16T01:54:38Z

There are two options for installing SQL Server 2008 Express.

1. Basic: Choose this option to install SQL Server Express with minimal effort by using the Web Platform Installer and a pre-defined defaults. Visit SQL Server Express download page to perform a basic install.

The Microsoft Web Platform Installer will only perform an installation will all features with an Instance Name called “SQLExpress”.

2. Customize: If you need to customize the installation or install on a Domain Controller, you can obtain SQL Server Express from the Microsoft Download Center.

Here are the Express editions available for manual download:

Express Package
If your system is? If your system is? If your system is?

Microsoft® SQL Server® 2008 Express Edition with Service Pack 1

X86

X64

WOW64

Microsoft® SQL Server® 2008 Express with Tools

X86

X64

.

Microsoft® SQL Server® 2008 Express with Advanced Services

X86

X64

.

Microsoft® SQL Server® 2008 Management Studio Express
X86

X64

.

More details on when I need to perform a customized installation

It is only necessary to perform a customize install under the following scenarios:

What if I want to customize the installation:

If you need to install differently than the defaults provided in option #1, you will need to perform a custom install. Here are the defaults that are used in option #1.

Option Description

Features Installs the Database Engine, Reporting Services, and Management Tools if available

INSTANCE NAME Installs a named instance called “SQLExpress”

Database Engine Service Account Configures the Database engine Service account to run under Network Service. This account is not supported on a Domain Controller, therefore it is necessary to perform an custom install on a Domain Controller.

Reporting Services Service Account Configures the Reporting Services Service account to run under Network Service, if available. This account is not supported on a Domain Controller, therefore it is necessary to perform an custom install on a Domain Controller.

SQL Server Database Admin Account Gives the user that installed SQL Server the ability to connect to the database engine.

ENABLE RANU Enabled User Instances

Upgrading

If you are upgrading from SQL Server 2000 or SQL Server 2005 to SQL Server 2008 a custom/advanced installation is required.

For more information, see “How to identify your SQL Server version and edition”.

Specifying an Instance Name other than SQLEXPRESS

SQL Server 2008 Express uses the default instance name of “SQLEXPRESS”. Changing the instance name or installing additional instances requires a custom installation. You cannot change instance names once the installation is complete. There are several scenarios of when you would to provide your own instance name.

The default instance name has already been used (installing multiple instances)
Your environment (application or standards) requires the use of an alternate instance name. For example, you may use instance names to segment groups or organizations within the company, i.e. Sales, Operation, Finance, etc.
You want to provide a higher level of abstraction from the underlying database software.

Embedding

If you develop software applications that embed SQL Server 2008 Express, custom installations are typically required. For more information, see Embedding SQL Server 2008 Express in an Application.

Installation on a Domain Controller

If you would like to install SQL Server Express on a Domain Controller, you need to perform an advanced installation since the default account (Network Service) specified by the Web Platform Installer is not supported on a Domain Controller. See SQL Server support on a Domain Controller for more information.

Further Setup Customization

Some SQL Server configuration settings can only be set during install. Once the installation is complete, you cannot change these settings. Any change to the configuration settings would require a new installation of the product. Some settings directly impact how data is stored and organized so changing the configuration setting would require significant data manipulation work in order to preserve the data.

Setting the non-Default Collation

Collations effect how characters (data) for a language or alphabet are recognized and sorted. A majority of SQL Server installations use the default collation. There are some situations where the use of a collation other than the default collation setting would be required.

Select a BINARY2 collation if binary code point based ordering is acceptable.
Select a Windows® collation for consistent comparison across data types.
Use new 100 level collation for better linguistic sorting support. For more information, see Collation and Unicode Support.
If you plan to migrate a database to the upgraded instance of ssNoVersion, select the collation that matches your existing collation of the database.

For more information, see Collation Settings in Setup.

Enabling Filestream

The Filestream configuration setting specifies where to store unstructured data such as text documents, images or videos. You can store this unstructured data inside the database or outside the database in the NTFS files system. The default setting is to store the data inside the database. Storing outside the database can cause data management complexities. You should consider enabling FILESTREAM if:

Objects being stored are, on average, larger than 1 MB.
Fast read access is important.
You are developing applications that use a middle tier for application logic.

For smaller objects, storing unstructured data in the database often provides better streaming performance.

For more information, see FILESTREAM Overview and FILESTREAM Storage in SQL Server 2008.

Enabling Error Reporting

Enabling the Error Reporting setting allows you to report Windows and SQL Server errors to Microsoft via the internet. Microsoft uses these error reports to improve future releases of SQL Server. Error reports contain only technical data. All error reports are confidential and anonymous.

Customizing Installation Directories

Installation directories are unique folder locations used for placement of:

Program software
System database
User databases and logs
Temp DB and log
Backups

During installation, you have the option to changing the default directories for some or all of the folders. Business requirements or environmental factors may dictate specifying directories other than the default.

Configuring SQL Server Service Accounts

SQL Server includes many services ranging from tools such as SQL Server Browser service to major product components such as Analysis services and Reporting services. During installation, you can specify which services to install and the account in which they run under. By default, most SQL Server services run under the Network Service account during initial setup. For better manageability and a more secure environment, it is recommended you:

Use separate accounts for each SQL Server service.
Configure service accounts to use the lowest possible permissions. This can reduce surface area for attacks.
Associate SQL Server services with low privileged Windows local user accounts, or domain user accounts.

For more information, see Setting Up Windows Service Accounts.

We need your Express Setup FeedBack

2009-06-10T09:32:31Z

In the next release of SQL Server, called SQL Server 2008 R2 we are working on addressing issues that complicated the installation of SQL Server Express. As the timeframe to address these issues is tight for this release we won’t be able to address all issues. However, still take the time to file your issue at http://connect.microsoft.com/. If we can’t address in SQL Server 2008 R2, we will consider addressing in the next major release.

Thanks,

Peter Saddow

Program Manager

SQL Server Setup Team

SQL Server 2005 Express edition, SP3 update for Windows 7

2009-06-04T22:04:50Z

On June 23rd, we will publish the Express SQL Server 2005 SP3 updates for Windows 7 through Microsoft Update. This is just a change in the detection logic to offer to a Windows 7 system. The SQL Server 2005 SP3 packages that have already been released to Microsoft Update and the Microsoft download center are unchanged.

These Express updates are affected:

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition Service Pack 3 (KB955706)
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition with Advanced Services Service Pack 3 (KB955706)
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition Toolkit Service Pack 3 (KB955706)

As usual, these updates will be available through Windows Automatic Update.

Creating a SQL Server 2008 Management Studio Express Slipstream drop

2009-05-29T07:19:31Z

I have put together steps for you to build an Express Management Studio with Service Pack 1. See these steps at http://blogs.msdn.com/petersad/archive/2009/05/29/creating-a-sql-server-2008-management-studio-express-slipstream-drop.aspx

Installing SQL Server Express on Windows 7 Release Candidate

2009-05-14T21:39:00Z

When installing SQL Server 2005 RTM/SP1/SP2 and SQL Server 2008 RTM on Windows 7 RC it presents you with a warning message. The message says that this SQL Server version has a known compatibility issues with Windows 7 RC. This warning is genuine and applies to all SQL Server editions, including all Express editions. The incompatibility was fixed in SQL Server 2008 Service Pack1 and SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 3.

You can safely continue the installation by clicking "Run program" button and apply the latest service pack afterwards. In some cases you may be presented with this warning message multiple times during the installation process.

Once the installation is complete please apply the latest SQL Server service pack. You can use Windows Update to do so. Just be sure to click "Get updates for more Microsoft products" to start obtaining updates for SQL Server. SQL Server service packs should show up on the list of optional updates. You may need to kick-off the scan for updates manually if not - you can do it by clicking "Check for updates" link on the left pane of main Windows Update window.

If for some reason Windows Update doesn't work for you, please download and install latest service pack manually.

Download SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 3

Download SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 1

If you're installing SQL Server 2005 Express (any Express edition) or SQL Server 2008 Express (Runtime Only) you can just download the SQL Server Express package containing the latest service pack. This may seem counter-intuitive if you already have some Express package, but installing it and then downloading and applying service pack is going to take longer than downloading a package already containing the latest service pack and installing it. Plus, in case of SQL Server 2008 Express the service pack package is actually bigger than the SQL Server Express package, since the service pack is shared with all SQL Server 2008 editions.

Download SQL Server 2005 Express Edition SP3

Download SQL Server 2005 Express Advanced Edition SP3

Download SQL Server 2005 Express Toolkit Edition SP3

Download SQL Server 2008 Express SP1

If you need to install SQL Server 2008 Express edition other than Runtime Only on Windows 7 RC and need to avoid the warning dialogs, you can create SQL Server 2008 with Service Pack 1 package yourself. Please follow steps described by Peter Saddow here.

Creating a merged (slipstreamed) drop containing SQL Server 2008 RTM + Service Pack 1

- Krzysztof Kozielczyk

I have SQL Server Express installed and I want to upgrade to Service Pack 1

2009-05-11T08:17:13Z

The easiest way to upgrade to Service Pack 1 is to search for the update through Microsoft Update. The service pack 1 update will not be NOT be automatically installed to your system.

If getting the update from Microsoft Update is not an option you must obtain the update from the download center from here.

Peter Saddow

service Pack 1 for SQL Server Express 2008 is Available

2009-05-08T09:56:28Z

The SQL Server 2008 Express package with Service Pack 1 is now available. The simplest location to install from is here, select “Download and Install” now. (Currently the other links on this package point to the original media. This will be revised soon). This tool will determine if the pre-requisites are installed and if not will install them for you. Next, the tool will install the edition that you have selected. This tool allows you to install SQL Server 2008 Express Advanced and SQL Server 2008 Express with tools, but only the Express package includes Service Pack 1.

For information on how to apply the SQL Server 2008 Service Pack to the Express Advanced and Express with Tool package see here.

Peter Saddow

Sr. Program Manager on SQL Server Development Team

Express Package	If your system is?	If your system is?	If your system is?
Microsoft® SQL Server® 2008 Express Edition with Service Pack 1	X86	X64	WOW64
Microsoft® SQL Server® 2008 Express with Tools	X86	X64	.
Microsoft® SQL Server® 2008 Express with Advanced Services	X86	X64	.
Microsoft® SQL Server® 2008 Management Studio Express	X86	X64	.

Option	Description
Features	Installs the Database Engine, Reporting Services, and Management Tools if available
INSTANCE NAME	Installs a named instance called “SQLExpress”
Database Engine Service Account	Configures the Database engine Service account to run under Network Service. This account is not supported on a Domain Controller, therefore it is necessary to perform an custom install on a Domain Controller.
Reporting Services Service Account	Configures the Reporting Services Service account to run under Network Service, if available. This account is not supported on a Domain Controller, therefore it is necessary to perform an custom install on a Domain Controller.
SQL Server Database Admin Account	Gives the user that installed SQL Server the ability to connect to the database engine.
ENABLE RANU	Enabled User Instances