Planning a SQL Server Installation

To install SQL Server 2008, follow these steps:

• Review installation requirements, system configuration checks, and security considerations for a SQL Server 2008 installation.

• Run SQL Server Setup to install or upgrade to SQL Server 2008.

• Use SQL Server utilities to configure SQL Server.

Regardless of whether you use the SQL Server Installation Wizard or the command prompt to install SQL Server, the following topics document the SQL Server planning process.

Note

You may need to apply cumulative updates to the original media before you install SQL Server 2008, if you are affected by a known issue in the setup program.  For more information about known issues and detailed instructions, see How to update SQL Server 2008 Setup by running a newer version of the SQL Server 2008 Setup support files.

In This Section

• Hardware and Software Requirements for Installing SQL Server 2008
  Describes SQL Server hardware and software requirements, operating system support, network and Internet considerations, and hard disk space requirements.

• Check Parameters for the System Configuration Checker
  Describes requirements for the SQL Server System Configuration Checker.

• Security Considerations for a SQL Server Installation
  Describes security considerations for a SQL Server installation.

• Editions and Components of SQL Server 2008
  Describes SQL Server editions and components.

• Upgrading to SQL Server 2008
  Describes options for upgrading to SQL Server.

• Migrating to SQL Server 2008
  Describes options for migrating to SQL Server.

• Configuring SQL Server 2008
  Describes SQL Server configuration tools.

Related Sections

• Considerations for Installing the SQL Server Database Engine
  This section describes how to install and configure the SQL Server Database Engine.

• Considerations for Installing Analysis Services
  This section describes how to install and configure SQL Server Analysis Services.

• Considerations for Installing Reporting Services
  This section describes how to install and configure SQL Server Reporting Services.

• Considerations for Installing Integration Services
  This section describes how to install and configure Integration Services.

• Considerations for Installing SQL Server Replication
  This section describes how to install and configure SQL Server Replication.

• Getting Started with SQL Server 2008 Failover Clustering
  Describes scenarios for SQL Server failover clustering.

• Considerations for Installing SQL Server Management Tools
  This section describes how to install and configure SQL Server management tools.

• Considerations for Installing SQL Server Samples and Sample Databases
  This section describes how to install AdventureWorks samples.

Stay Up to Date with SQL Server Install, and Upgrade information For the latest downloads, articles, videos and troubleshooting information from Microsoft, as well as selected solutions from the community, visit the SQL Server Setup page For automatic notification of these updates, subscribe to the RSS feeds available on the page.

See Also

Tasks

How to: Upgrade to SQL Server 2008 (Setup)

Concepts

Quick-Start Installation of SQL Server 2008

How to: Install SQL Server 2008 from the Command Prompt

Before Installing Failover Clustering

Other Resources

High Availability Solutions Overview

Change History

Updated content
A note about applying cumulative updated has been added to the introduction section.