December 18, 2014 at 7:28 am
So we're ordering new servers to install new instances. We're planning on using Windows and SQL Clustering. We've done previous upgrades before. SQL 2000 to 2005 then 2005 to 2008 (though we didn't install 2008. It was installed for us). This time around (like for 2005) we are installing SQL 2012 on already set up Windows Server 2012 servers.
Any thoughts on install-related stuff (besides Upgrade Advisor) that we should take into consideration? Has anyone run into scary moments or little bugs that require special attention or install order?
December 18, 2014 at 8:45 am
It /should/ work very well. However, here are some "oh yeahs" rather than "gotchas" to help you along your way.
A) Make sure you have all of your service account permissions right. With 2012, I always run into issues where the agent can't start post-install.
B) 08 slipstream is gone and can royally trash your binaries. There is now the UpdateSource parameter that can and should be issued. You can stick it into the \x64\configurationfile.ini or simply issue it with the setup.exe command line. Bonus: place your Service Pack and desired Cumulative Update files into a folder on the root of your install media. You can reference it from the configuration file as "configurationfile="..\updates". You cannot directly reference the files you want it to suck up for updates; you just give it a folder.
C) The unattend process was written in 2008; it works very, very well for 2012. I build ALL of our servers/instances with configuration files to minimize redundancy, increase documentation, and simplify all of our installs / make them consistent. To make life easier, you can work through all of the steps in the GUI on a VM or what not, then, right before hitting INSTALL to actually commit your choices, there is a nice path provided for a pre-written configuration file. It leaves out allllll passwords including the service, agent, and SA password, as well as the command "IACCEPTSQLSERVERLICENSETERMS=Y"
All of the other "normal" parameters - lock pages in memory, logon as a service, etc. that you would use in 05/08 are generally valid still.
Viewing 2 posts - 1 through 1 (of 1 total)
You must be logged in to reply to this topic. Login to reply