Installing SQL Server independently of Security Center - Security Center 5.10.0.0

Security Center Installation and Upgrade Guide 5.10.0.0

Applies to
Security Center 5.10.0.0
Last updated
2021-08-13
Content type
Guides
Guides > Installation guides
Language
English
Product
Security Center
Version
5.10

Depending on your deployment requirements, you might have to install SQL Server before you install Security Center. The most common reasons are to install SQL Server on a drive that is separate from the system drive (typically the C: drive), or on a server that is separate from all Security Center servers.

Before you begin

If you are installing SQL Server Standard or Enterprise edition, you must purchase it from Microsoft, and download the installation package. The installer for SQL Server Express is included in the Security Center installation package. SQL Server Express only works on 64-bit operating systems.

What you should know

There are many reasons why you must install SQL Server yourself. The most obvious one is when SQL Server Express does not satisfy your database requirements. Even when SQL Server Express is all you need, you might still have to install it yourself for the following reasons:
  • You plan on setting up a role failover. In this case, install SQL Server on a server that is different from all servers hosting the Security Center role.
  • Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) is enabled on your server. In this case, install SQL Server on a drive that is separate from the system drive, and make sure that VSS only takes snapshots of the system drive.
    CAUTION:
    Do not disable VSS. Disabling VSS interferes with the operation of Windows System Restore.

Procedure

  1. Do one of the following:
    • If you are installing SQL Server Standard or Enterprise:
      1. In Windows, navigate to the SQL installation package folder.
      2. Double-click Setup.exe.
    • If you are installing SQL Server Express:
      1. In Windows, navigate to the Security Center installation package folder.
      2. Open the folder SC Packages\SQLExpress.
      3. Double-click SQLEXPRADV_x64_ENU.exe.
  2. On the SQL Server Installation Center page, click New SQL Server stand-alone installation or add features to an existing installation.
    NOTE: The screenshots shown in the following steps are for SQL Server 2019. The screens you see might look slightly different.
  3. Read the software license terms, select I accept the license terms, and then click Next.
  4. On the Feature Selection page, select Database engine services and any other features you want to install.
    For additional information on these features, consult the Microsoft SQL Server documentation.
  5. In the Instance root directory field, select where to install SQL Server and all role database files.
    This is where you need to change the default path to C: drive if you want your databases to be stored on a different drive. You can type a path, or browse for a folder.
  6. In the Shared feature directory field, select where to install the SQL Server shared features.
  7. Click Next.
  8. On the Instance Configuration page, select a name for the SQL Server.
    NOTE: The database server name is not case-sensitive, but it must meet all of the following criteria:
    • It cannot be the same name as an existing SQL instance on your server.
    • It cannot match any of the SQL Server reserved keywords, such as DEFAULT, PRIMARY, and so on.
    • It cannot be longer than 16 characters.
    • The first character of the instance name must be a letter or an underscore (_). Acceptable letters are defined by the Unicode Standard 2.0, including Latin characters a-z and A-Z, and letter characters from other languages.
    • Subsequent characters can be letters defined by the Unicode Standard 2.0, decimal numbers from Basic Latin or other national scripts, the dollar sign ($), or an underscore (_).
    • It cannot contain spaces or the following characters: \ , : ; ' & # @
  9. On the Server Configuration page, select "NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM" for the SQL Server Database Engine Account Name, unless your database administrator instructed you to do otherwise, and click Next.
  10. On the Database Engine Configuration page, select the authentication mode for accessing the Database engine, and click Next.
    Windows authentication mode
    Windows credentials. Specify "NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM" plus any other account that must have permission to make configuration changes, such as the "BUILTIN\Administrators" user group.
    Mixed mode
    Windows administrators can access the database engine using either their Windows credentials, or the password you specify here.
  11. On the Consent pages, read the consent criteria and click Accept > Next.
  12. Wait for the installation to complete. This can take several minutes.
  13. Click Close.
    SQL Server can now be used as your Security Center database server.
  14. If you installed SQL Server Express, do the following:
    1. Open the folder SC Packages\Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio - 18.5.1.
    2. Double-click SSMS-Setup-ENU.exe.

After you finish

Install Security Center on the main server, and use the new SQL Server as your database server.