Slipstream Installations in SQL Server 2008

With the release of SQL Server 2008 SP1, Microsoft provides the capability to create Slipstream installations of SQL Server 2008. Slipstreaming is a method of integrating a SQL Server 2008 update with the original installation media so that the original media and update are installed at the same time. This capability can be a huge timesaver over having to manually run a service pack and possible cumulative update installations after running a full SQL Server install, especially if you have to repeat the installation in multiple environments. Slipstreaming is supported in the following scenarios:

• Installing the original media and a service pack
• Installing the original media, a service pack, and a cumulative update to the service pack

Note Slipstreaming a cumulative update for SQL Server 2008 with the original media but without a service pack is not supported because slipstreaming wasn’t supported until SQL Server 2008 SP1 was released. Also, a Slipstream installation cannot be performed to update a SQL Server 2008 instance to SQL Server 2008 R2.

If you are doing a single install of SQL Server 2008 and at the same time want to apply SP1 and possibly a cumulative update as well, you can run the Slipstream installation by performing the following steps:

1.

If they are not installed already on the target machine, install the required prerequisites for the SQL Server 2008 Installer (.NET Framework 3.5 SP1 and Windows Installer 4.5). You can install them manually from the SQL Server install disk (the installers are located in the Drive_Letter:platformredistWindows Installer folder). Alternatively, after you extract the service pack files, run the sqlsupport.msi file from within the folder where the service pack files have been extracted. For example, if you extracted the Service pack to the C:sql2k8xp1 folder on an X86 platform, this file would be found in the C:SQL2K8SP1x86setup1033 folder.

Note To confirm whether the setup support files are installed, search for the Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Setup Support Files entry in the Programs and Features Control Panel (or the Add or Remove Programs Control Panel in operating systems prior to Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008).

Note On the IA-64 platform, the .NET Framework 3.5 is not supported. The .NET Framework 2.0 SP2 is required instead. The .NET Framework 2.0 SP2 is located in the Drive_Letter:ia64redist2.0NetFx20SP2_ia64.exe folder on the source media.

2. If not done already, download the Service Pack (PCU) package that matches your system architecture and, if desired, the cumulative update (CU) package you want to install. 3.

For each package you want to include in the Slipstream installation, extract the contents to a folder on the local drive by running a command similar to the following at the command prompt from within the folder where you downloaded the package(s):

   Name_of_the_PCU_or_CU_package.exe /x:Root_of_path_to_extract_to<PCU | CU>

4.

Now things get a bit tricky. Because Slipstream support is introduced with SP1, the setup.exe program that shipped with the original SQL Server 2008 installation media doesn’t support the /PCUSource or /CUSource options that allow you to specify the locations of the service pack and cumulative updates to be slipstreamed. Instead, you need to run the SQL Server 2008 Setup program for Service Pack 1 and specify the action as INSTALL, and the file paths for the original media, as well as service pack and cumulative update files. These are specified using the /ACTION, /MEDIASource, /PCUSource, and /CUSourceD: drive with SP1 extracted to the C:SQLServer2008SP1 folder: parameters. The following example shows how to run a slipstream install of SQL Server 2008 from the install CD in the

C:SQLServer2008SP1>setup.exe /PCUSource=C:SQLServer2008SP1 /ACTION=INSTALL

 /MEDIASOURCE=D:

This command runs the SQL Server installation in the normal GUI mode, requiring you to specify and confirm all settings. If you want, you can also choose to run the install in a limited interface or automated mode, as described previously in this chapter in the section describing how to use a configuration file. However, the first time you run a Slipstream installation, you should at least use an interface that allows you to view the Ready to Install page before running the installation so that you can verify whether the desired Slipstream installation is being performed. If the setup utility is running a Slipstream installation, it is indicated in the Action field, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Verifying a Slipstream installation on the Ready to Install page.