In this blog I will be installing Microsoft SQL 2014 in a Standalone configuration. I needed to setup a SQL server for my home lab so thought i’d document the installation process.
Before You Start:
- For a complete list of hardware and software requirements:
- Recommended Hardware Requirements: 4 GB Memory, 2 vCPU, and at least 6 GB of free space for SQL installation.
- .NET Framework 3.5 needs to be installed, for two install methods click here and here.
- PluralSight has courses about SQL that you should check out. Pluralsight is an amazing service and I personally recommend it!
Installing SQL Server Standalone Installation:
Mount/Extract the SQL 2014 ISO and run Setup.exe. On the Installation Center window click Installation then New SQL Server stand-alone installation:
If you have a SQL Product Key enter it now. Otherwise you can continue using evaluation mode. Click Next:
You must accept the license agreement before being able to proceed. Click Next:
Optional: There is a box to participate in the Customer Experience Improvement Program.
Microsoft advises to select the box to check Microsoft Update for updates. Click Next:
Installation will run through downloading updates and run through some preinstall tests. If everything checks out click Next:
Feature Selection this will vary depending on your environment. The selection I made should cover the majority of your needs. If you want the Analysis and Reporting Services I would advise putting those on a separate server so it doesn’t consume resources that SQL should have.
Default Instance: You can have multiple SQL Server instances on a single server but only one instance can be the default instance. All others must be a named instance.
Instance ID: Here you can name this SQL instance and give a instance ID name.
Click Next:
You can leave the default usernames but I like to run my services with a service account that I have added into the local admin group. Microsoft recommends having different accounts for each service, since this is my lab i’ll use the same account. Change the SQL Server Agent startup type to Automatic. Click Next:
You have two options for authentication mode, Windows and Mixed Mode. Some applications you have may not supported Windows authentication. This can be changed after installation. To proceed leave on Windows Activation and add a AD Group or User to be a SQL Server Administrators. Click Next:
If everything is correct click Install:
Complete! Click Close:
Enable SQL on Network IP:
This step will enable the default SQL port of 1433 to listen for requests. Without this step your application would never be able to connect to your SQL server. Open the Start menu, you will now see quite a few new SQL applications. Find the one named SQL Server 2014 Configuration Manager and launch it:
Drill down to SQL Server Network Configuration -> Protocols for MSSQLSERVER -> right click TCP/IP then Properties:
On the IP Addresses tab look for your IP address of the SQL Server. You will want to change the drop down menu from No to Yes. Click Apply:
You will get a prompt requesting the services be restarted. To make it easy click Ok then reboot the SQL server. This will let everything come up clean and fresh.
SQL Server 2014 Management Studio:
Once your SQL Server comes back up from rebooting login and let’s launch the SQL Server Management Studio. This program is where you will create databases and perform SQL administration.
Login using a account you have SQL Administrator permissions during the installation.
Once logged in you are ready to create a database! I won’t go into creating a database in this post as it was meant to document the SQL installation process. For a example of database creation check out my post VMware Horizon View 7 – Events Database Creation (link coming soon).
Change SQL Authentication Modes:
If you have a application that does not support Windows Authentication then you will need to switch SQL Authentication modes. To do this login to Management Studio, right click your SQL Server Name -> then click Properties:
On the Security page there is a Server Authentication section. Change it to mixed mode by changing the radio button to SQL Server and Windows Authentication mode then click Ok:
Now you will be able to create SQL login accounts and use Windows AD users and groups.
Additional Resources: Check out the Microsoft TechNet Blog on Installing SQL Server 2014 Tutorial
You now have Microsoft SQL Server 2014 installed and ready to serve your application databases!