Re: Self Contained SQL Database
- From: "goof" <u50202@uwe>
- Date: Sun, 08 Mar 2009 14:49:08 GMT
Hey Richard,
I Have a small windows application that use the sqlserver express engine with
windows authentication.
Can i use the setup project of the Visual Studio 8 to install my application
and the sqlserverExpress [as a prerequisit ]? if not, how can make an msi
that will first check all the prerequisit of my app - .net framework ,
windows installer and sqlserverExpress and just after installing it will
install my app?
Thanks alot .
Richard Mueller [MVP] wrote:
I have a full database system that I market that includes connection to SQL[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
Server, so it can work with the full version or SQL Express, MSDE, etc...
be running. Any great install products that can manage a self contained
version of SQL Express or MSDE?
I've decided that it cannot be done in one setup. With MSDE you could use a
merge module that combined your database and app with MSDE, but it had two
serious downsides. First, Windows Update could not recognize your customized
MSDE installation, so no security updates or SP's were applied. Second, if
you ever upgrade the first step is to un-install, which blows away the
database. I believe this option (a merge module) is no longer available with
SQL Express.
I reluctantly decided that a two step process was necessary. First have the
user install a customized version of MDSE, which installs our instance name
and allows networking. Then run another setup that attaches our database and
also deploys some utilities for the server part of our app. This gives the
customer two entries in Add/Remove programs, one for MDSE and one for our
database app. The client install is separate. If the customer already has
SQL Server, our MSDE install simply adds our instance to the existing
server.
If anything, the situation is worse with SQL Express because it requires so
many things: .NET 2.0, MDAC 2.8, Windows Installer 3.1, etc. I've decided
the only way to deploy SQL Server Express is with an InstallShield setup
program. The new versions can also install SQL Server Express, and also .NET
2.0, MDAC 2.8, etc., if needed. Doing that myself, or asking the customers
to do it, seemed too much. We will then have another setup program that will
attach our database and copy the utilities onto the server (using custom
actions in the InstallShield setup). We cannot do this in a custom action of
the SQL Server Express setup because the database would get blown away if we
ever deploy an upgrade. We need to be able to upgrade the server app without
affecting the SQL Server Express instance.
In the past I have found that after MSDE is installed, the instance is not
running (until the computer is restarted). I'm not sure about Express. In
the database install setup I always have a custom action that starts the
instance before the part of the setup where the database is attached (in a
later custom action).
Note, the database files, *.mdf and *.ldf, include all the tables, stored
procedures, etc. A backup also includes all of this, so you could have a
custom action restore a single backup file instead of attaching the *.mdf
and *.ldf files. In either case you have to know where to put the database
files. I hope this makes sense.
.
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