SQL Server 7.0 Installation Procedures

Before you install Microsoft SQL Server 7.0, you should already have installed Windows 2000 Server, Win2K Advanced Server, or Windows NT Server 4.0 with Service Pack 4 (SP4) or later, as well as Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) 4.0 SP1 or later. If you're installing SQL Server 7.0 Enterprise Edition, you should have NT Server 4.0, Enterprise Edition (NTS/E) or Win2K AS installed. The following instructions are for installing SQL Server 7.0 Standard Edition on any of these Windows versions.

To begin SQL Server 7.0 installation, insert the SQL Server 7.0 CD-ROM in your computer's CD-ROM drive. If you haven't disabled the Autorun feature on your computer, you'll see the initial dialog box for the setup. If you have disabled Autorun, open Windows Explorer and click the autorun.exe file in the root directory of the CD-ROM.

You already have the prerequisite software installed, so click Install SQL Server 7.0 Components to begin the installation process. Make sure that you click only once. If you double-click, the installation process will apply the second click to the next dialog box.

The next dialog box you see should have four options: Database Server - Standard Edition, Database Server - Desktop Edition, SQL Server 7.0 OLAP Services, and English Query. (If you don't see the four options but instead immediately see a dialog box asking you to choose between local and remote installation, you inadvertently double-clicked the Install SQL Server 7.0 Components option on the first dialog box and the second click selected Database Server - Desktop Edition on the second dialog box. Click Cancel, and start over.) Click Database Server - Standard Edition.

Your next choice is whether to install SQL Server 7.0 locally or on a remote server. Choose the local option.

The next dialog box welcomes you to the setup process, suggests that you shut down all running programs before continuing, and presents the copyright notice. Then, you must accept the License Agreement and supply a name and optional company name. You must enter a CD-ROM key unless you're installing the 120-day evaluation version of SQL Server.

SQL Server 7.0 offers three installation choices—Typical, Minimum, and Custom—in a Setup Type dialog box that looks similar to the one in Figure 2 in the main article. You can go with the Typical installation unless you need to install development tools, code samples, or Full Text Search, or specify a collation other than the default. The Minimum option installs the basics needed to run SQL Server; the option doesn't install the documentation or client tools that the Typical and default Custom options install. The Custom option starts with the same set of choices as the Typical option, but the Custom option lets you modify the defaults. If you want a detailed account of what each of the options installs, click Help.

The Setup Type dialog box also lets you choose the folders for SQL Server's program files and system-database data files. SQL Server 7.0 builds the data folder below whatever path you specify for the system-database data files. In SQL Server 7.0, the location you specify for the system-database data files becomes the default location for any other databases you build—you can't specify a separate default folder for your own databases later, as you can in SQL Server 2000. I use the default directory mostly for development, creating and deleting test databases as needed. I take a little more care placing production databases. In particular, the log should always be on a physical disk different from the disk containing the data files.

If you choose the Custom option at the Setup Type dialog box, the next dialog box, which Figure A shows, lists the components you can install. The Typical and Minimum installations skip this dialog box and the subsequent dialog boxes that let you choose character set, sort order, and Network Libraries.

Regardless of the type of installation you choose, you must supply at the next dialog box—the Services Accounts dialog box—a user account name and password for the SQL Server service. Use the name and password of the dedicated account that I advised you to establish at the beginning of the main article. You can separately configure the SQL Server and SQL Server Agent services, but typically you should use the same account for both.

All that remains now is to select the licensing mode (per server or per seat), then click Finish to let the SQL Server installation begin copying files. After the installation is complete, you need to start the SQL Server and SQL Server Agent services. Rebooting the computer is probably the safest way to restart the SQL Server service. However, in SQL Server 7.0, you can manually start both services from Service Manager to avoid a reboot. To start Service Manager, click Start, click Programs, select Microsoft SQL Server 7.0, and click Service Manager. The Auto-start service when OS starts check box should already be selected for the SQL Server service. Click the green arrow to start the SQL Server service. Start the SQL Server Agent service and select its autostart box. The Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (MS DTC) service needs to run only if your applications update more than one server at a time (e.g., if an application updates personnel and payroll databases that are on different servers). Your programmers should be able to tell you whether you need the MS DTC service. If in doubt, start this service and set its autostart option. If you installed the Full Text Search, you will have a fourth service, the Microsoft Search service. Presumably, if you installed Full Text Search, you want it to run, so start it and set its autostart option if you want. If you need to remove SQL Server 7.0, you can do so with the Add/Remove Programs utility.

SQL Server 7.0 Configuration
Like SQL Server 2000, SQL Server 7.0 requires less configuration than earlier versions of SQL Server because the installation process sets more parameters. However, you might still need to make a few adjustments. To configure SQL Server 7.0, click Start, click Programs, select Microsoft SQL Server 7.0, and click Enterprise Manager. If you're logged on to your domain as an administrator, you'll be able to connect to the SQL Server system because all Win2K and NT 4.0 administrators are by default SQL Server administrators.

If you plan to stay with Windows and SQL Server authentication (aka mixed-mode authentication), the SQL Server 7.0 installation process leaves a major security hole that you should close immediately. The default password for the system administrator (sa) account is blank. In Enterprise Manager, expand the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) hierarchy until you see Security, expand Security, and click Logins. In the right pane, right-click sa, select Properties, then enter a password. Alternatively, you can select Windows-only authentication. For a discussion of the different SQL Server security options, see "Introducing SQL Server Security," October 2000.

If you change the SQL Server 7.0 security setting, you must stop and restart the SQL Server service. In Enterprise Manager, expand the MMC hierarchy until you see the SQL Server system name. Right-click the name, then click Stop. Wait a few seconds, then click start. You'll also have to restart the SQL Server Agent service, which you can find under Management in the MMC hierarchy.

You can now exit Enterprise Manager, unless you need to add SQL Server users. For instructions about how to add users, see "Introducing SQL Server Security" (October 2000).