Installing SQL Server 2012 : The Installation Process (part 3) - Installing SQL Server 2012 Through the Command Line, Installing SQL Server 2012 Through PowerShell

3. Installing SQL Server 2012 Through the Command Line

In addition to installing SQL Server using the Setup Wizard , SQL Server can also be installed via the command line. Command-line installations of SQL Server enable you to install, upgrade, or remove SQL Server instances with little or no user interaction by specifying silent, basic, or full user interface.

Every option available in the graphical user interface using the Setup Wizard can also be configured via command-line parameters. Sixty-eight parameters are available when running Setup.exe from the command line to configure SQL Server features and services. You can find the complete list of command line parameters at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms144259(v=SQL.110).aspx.

Table 7 lists commonly used parameters for SQL Server Engine Services command-line installations.

Table 7 Commonly Used SQL Server 2012 Setup Command Line Parameters

Only a handful of these command-line parameters are required to complete a SQL Server 2012 installation. Errors may generate for required configuration options if no value is specified for the corresponding parameter. For some parameters, default values are automatically set when a value is not explicitly defined. You can use the following script to install a standalone SQL Server 2012 instance with all Database Services components:

Setup.exe /q /ACTION=Install /FEATURES=SQL /INSTANCENAME=MSSQLSERVER
/SQLSVCACCOUNT="<<DomainName\UserName>"
/SQLSVCPASSWORD="<MyPassword>" 
/SQLSYSADMINACCOUNTS="<DomainName\UserName>" /AGTSVCACCOUNT="NT
AUTHORITY\Network
 Service" /IACCEPTSQLSERVERLICENSETERMS

Command-line installations can also use configuration files to reduce the number of command-line parameters and standardize SQL Server deployments. Configuration files are created during the installation process using the SQL Server installation wizard. The path where the configuration file is specified in the bottom section of the Ready to Install screen as shown in Figure 13, under the “Installing SQL Server 2012 Through the Installation Center” section.

Use the following script to execute an unattended installation of SQL Server:

Setup.exe /ConfigurationFile="<MyConfigurationFile.INI>"

4. Installing SQL Server 2012 Through PowerShell

You can also use PowerShell to perform unattended installs. Simple PowerShell scripts can be written to execute SQL Server 2012 Setup through its command-line interface. For example, you can execute the command-line script used in the previous section from the command line as follows:

$cmd = "d:\setup.exe /ACTION=install /Q /INSTANCENAME="MSSQLSERVER"
/IACCEPTSQLSERVERLICENSETERMS 
/FEATURES=SQLENGINE,SSMS 
/SQLSYSADMINACCOUNTS="YourDomain\Administrators"; 
Invoke-Expression -command $cmd | out-null;

More complex PowerShell scripts can be written for larger SQL Server 2012 deployments. A common approach is the use of PowerShell functions that accept the setup parameters necessary to perform unattended installations. These PowerShell functions are then executed in batches or inside a process that loops through a list of server names with corresponding parameters.

For example, a PowerShell function can be saved in a PowerShell script file and called along with setup parameters to perform a large scale unattended deployment of SQL Server 2012. Listing 1 provides an example of a PowerShell function that you can use for SQL Server 2012 unattended installations.

Listing 1 Install-Sql2012.ps1

The PowerShell function contained in the Install-SQL2012.ps1 script file is as follows:

Function Install-Sql2012
{
param
(
[Parameter(Position=0,Mandatory=$false)][string] $Path,
[Parameter(Position=1,Mandatory=$false)][string] $InstanceName = 
"MSSQLSERVER",
[Parameter(Position=2,Mandatory=$false)][string] $ServiceAccount,
[Parameter(Position=3,Mandatory=$false)][string] $ServicePassword,
[Parameter(Position=4,Mandatory=$false)][string] $SaPassword,
 [Parameter(Position=5,Mandatory=$false)][string] $LicenseKey,
[Parameter(Position=6,Mandatory=$false)][string] $SqlCollation =
 "SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS",
[Parameter(Position=7,Mandatory=$false)][switch] $NoTcp,
[Parameter(Position=8,Mandatory=$false)][switch] $NoNamedPipes
)
#Build the setup command using the install mode
if ($Path -eq $null -or $Path -eq "")
{
#No path means that the setup is in the same folder
$command = ‘setup.exe /Action="Install"'
}
else
{
#Ensure that the path ends with a backslash
if(!$Path.EndsWith("\"))
{$Path += "\"
}
$command = $path + ‘setup.exe /Action="Install"'
}
#Accept the license agreement - required for command line installs
$command += ‘ /IACCEPTSQLSERVERLICENSETERMS'
#Use the QuietSimple mode (progress bar, but not interactive)
$command += ‘ /QS'
#Set the features to be installed
$command += ‘ /FEATURES=SQLENGINE,CONN,BC,SSMS,ADV_SSMS'
#Set the Instance Name
$command += (’ /INSTANCENAME="{0}"’ -f $InstanceName)
#Set License Key only if a value was provided,
#else install Evaluation edition
if ($LicenseKey -ne $null -and $LicenseKey -ne "")
{
$command += (’ /PID="{0}"’ -f $LicenseKey)
}
#Check to see if a service account was specified
if ($ServiceAccount -ne $null -and $ServiceAccount -ne "")
{
#Set the database engine service account
$command += (’ /SQLSVCACCOUNT="{0}" /SQLSVCPASSWORD="{1}"
/SQLSVCSTARTUPTYPE="Automatic"’ -f
$ServiceAccount, $ServicePassword)
#Set the SQL Agent service account
$command += (’ /AGTSVCACCOUNT="{0}" /AGTSVCPASSWORD="{1}"
 /AGTSVCSTARTUPTYPE="Automatic"’ -f
$ServiceAccount, $ServicePassword)
}
else
{
#Set the database engine service account to Local System
$command += ‘ /SQLSVCACCOUNT="NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM"
/SQLSVCSTARTUPTYPE="Automatic"'
#Set the SQL Agent service account to Local System
$command += ‘ /AGTSVCACCOUNT="NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM"
 /AGTSVCSTARTUPTYPE="Automatic"'
}
#Set the server in SQL authentication mode if SA password was provided
if ($SaPassword -ne $null -and $SaPassword -ne "")
{
$command += (’ /SECURITYMODE="SQL" /SAPWD="{0}"’ -f $SaPassword)
}
#Add current user as SysAdmin
$command += (’ /SQLSYSADMINACCOUNTS="{0}"’ -f
 [Security.Principal.WindowsIdentity]::GetCurrent().Name)
#Set the database collation
$command += (’ /SQLCOLLATION="{0}"’ -f $SqlCollation)
#Enable/Disable the TCP Protocol
if ($NoTcp)
{
$command += ‘ /TCPENABLED="0"'
}
else
{
$command += ‘ /TCPENABLED="1"'
}
#Enable/Disable the Named Pipes Protocol
if ($NoNamedPipes)
{
$command += ‘ /NPENABLED="0"'
}
else
{
$command += ‘ /NPENABLED="1"'
}
if ($PSBoundParameters['Debug'])
{
Write-Output $command
}
else
{
Invoke-Expression $command
}
}

After you download Listing 1 from the companion website, save it to a folder, for example c:\scripts. Because this is a file that you download from the Internet, you may be required to right-click the file and unblock it. When downloaded, execute this function by following these steps.

 Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned

 c:\scripts\Install-Sql2012.ps1

get-command Install-Sql2012

Install-Sql2012 -Param1 Param1Value -Param2 Param2Value 

For example, the following command invokes the Install-Sql2012 function and sets the SQL Server service account and password along with the Instance Name and initiates a SQL Server 2012 installation.

Install-Sql2012 -Path d:\ -ServiceAccount "winserver\Administrator"
-ServicePassword "P@ssword"
-SaPassword "P@ssword"
-InstanceName "MyInstanceName"

Figure 15 shows the PowerShell command-line window with the steps necessary to invoke the Install-Sql2012 function.

Figure 15 PowerShell command line.