SBS 2008 Static IP Address

Remember back in the good ol’ days when you could just go into your NIC properties and set your IP address?  Then SBS 2008 comes along with wizard this and wizard that, and the next thing you know you get a “NO SOUP FOR YOU!” error and you can’t proceed.

Lucky for us, Philip Elder provided some concise instruction on how to set your address.

You can and should read his article here, but just in case the internet blows up at some point, here are the guts of the steps that I needed in a pinch:

The process is actually quite simple:

1. Start –> ncpa.cpl [Enter]
2. Right click on the server NIC and Properties.
3. Click Continue when the UAC prompt comes up.
4. Double click on Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)
5. Set the new IP address: 192.168.40.254 (in our example)
6. Click OK.
7. Click OK again.
8. Double click on the server NIC to bring up the Connection Status.
9. Click the Details button.
10. The IPv4 IP Address should be the new server IP.
11. Click the Close button twice.

The next step in this process is to run the Fix My Network wizard:

1. Open the SBS Console.
2. Click Continue on the UAC.
3. Click the Network tab.
4. Click the Connectivity tab.
5. Click the Fix My Network link.
6. Run through the wizard steps.

Once complete click Finish.

Installing Small Business Server 2008 and SQL 2005 Part 2

So now that SBS 2008 is installed, we move on to installing SQL 2005.  Note that a version of SQL 2005 is already installed for a SBSMonitoring, so you are actually installing a DEFAULT server instance.

Before you do the install, however, you need to make a registry change per this link:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc794697(WS.10).aspx

Installing SQL Server 2005

If you plan to install SQL Server 2005 on the original server running Windows SBS 2008, do the following before you run the installation.

1. Click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, and then click Run.
2. Type regedit, and then click OK.
3. At the User Account Control prompt, click OK.
4. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Machines.
5. Double-click OriginalMachineName, and then change the OriginalMachineName value name to the current server name.
6. Click OK.

On the Instance Name page of the original server, do not select SBSMonitoring or Microsoft##SSEE as the instance name because the setup will not upgrade existing instances, which could result in Windows SBS 2008 functionality issues.

Also, you need to keep in mind that if this is a Domain Server machine, you cannot use the local system account for SQL Server, you need to use another account.

Lucky for me, these “hints” helped.  However, I wasn’t able to install the client tools during the original install.

I tried installing the client tools on my machine – a CLIENT, and I was also unable to install.  It turns out that this has to do with the fact that I had VS 2008 installed on my machine, which also had installed SQL 2005.  There is a method for handling this:

First go to Add/Remove Programs in Windows XP or Uninstall a program in Vista and select to uninstal SQL Server 2005. It will start the uninstall process but will let you choose what you want to uninstall. So select only workstation components. Uninstall them and then reinstall them from whereever you want. I had the same problem running SQL Server Management Studio Express and wanted to install the fully functional SQL Server Management Studio from SQL DVD and it was blocked. Removed everything from SQL Native client to workstation components, leaving only SQL Server 2005 database on the computer because I had online databases there. Install went on without a problem.

via this link: http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/sqlsetupandupgrade/thread/117454be-67c5-4458-8429-08eccd6f82f6

This worked on the client workstation – I’ll try it on the server next.

Installing Small Business Server 2008 and SQL 2005 Part 1

I’m in the middle of an SBS 2008 premium installation – I say “in the middle”, but I’m actually about to start the fourth version of the install.  The first two fell over into the swamp.  The third caught on fire and THEN fell it he swamp – the fourth one – AH – it’s going to be right.  I looked all over the internet for “hints” about the install as Microsoft only provided me with the media.  I took said media and plowed forward much like the original adventurer in Zork I – but the troll just got me.  Something to do with SQL and Domain servers, etc – in any case, I can’t install the tools I need and I think it’s because I botched the install so I’ve decided to start documenting my endeavor just in case someone else might run into similar problems.  There is a LOT of information out there, it’s just not always easy to find.

So – to start off, I am going to install SBS 2008 Premium on a (as far as you know) generic computer.  This is actually the easy part, but there is one thing to remember – the good old “administrator” account gets disabled after the installation.  I take it that this is being done for security reasons – so during the process you will actually make your own “custom” administrator account.  Don’t lose the password, whatever you do.

I will report back after this step is complete.