Dario IT Solutions Blog

Only SQL 2008 SP1 is supported on Windows 2008 R2.

If you tried installing SQL 2008 from its DVD\ISO you surely got this error message:

In order to install SQL 2008 together with SP1, follow these Steps:

1. Install the prerequisites of SQL 2008:
   • .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 (from Server Manager –> Features –> .Net Framework 3.5.1 Features)
   • Windows Installer 4.5
2. Extract the service pack to a folder on the server using the following command:
   • SQLServer2008SP1-KB968369-x64-ENU.exe /x:C:\SQL2008SP1
3. Run the service pack to install the Setup files
   • C:\SQL2008SP1\x64\setup\1033\sqlsupport.msi
4. Run the Setup.exe file from the SQL 2008 source media by specifying the /PCUSource parameter:
   • Setup.exe /PCUSource=C:\SQL2008SP1

Please pay attention to the following guidelines:

1. Uninstall the SCOM SP1 agent from the SQL server before upgrading your RMS
2. To speed up the upgrade process, run the following query using SQL Management Studio:
   

   use OperationsManager

   exec sp_updatestats

   DBCC FREEPROCCACHE

3. Make sure the OperationsManager DB is configure to accept updates using the following command:
   

   exec sp_configure ‘allow updates’, 0

   RECONFIGURE WITH OVERRIDE

4. Note that if your database cannot accept updates you will get the following error during installation – “Error 25154.Failed to execute SQL script. Error Code: –2147217900”

That’s the main caveats we came across.

Good luck!

A new white paper has been published that compares the options to use multiple instances of SQL without Hyper-V with having multiple virtual machines with single instances of SQL Server. Not only it looks at the different pros and cons, but also provides interesting performance information.

Here’s are the topics covered in this 26-page white paper:

• Executive Overview
• Introduction
• Considerations for Consolidation and Virtualization
  • Identification of Underutilized Servers
  • Server temperature
  • Consolidation Approaches
  • Virtualization Platform: WSRM vs. Hyper-V
• Implementation of the SQL Utility
  • Service Offerings
  • Identification of Candidates for Migration
• Attributes of System Quality
  • Availability and Business Continuity
  • Environmental Sustainability
  • Manageability
  • Performance
  • Predictability and Repeatability
  • Reliability
  • Scalability
  • Security
  • Monitoring
  • Supportability
• Conclusion

Download the white paper from http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd557540.aspx

Microsoft has released a new document to help you create custom reports.

You can download it here.

Overview

Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 queries SQL Server views in the Configuration Manager site database when retrieving the information displayed in reports. The Configuration Manager site SQL database contains a large collection of information about the network, computers, users, user groups, and many other components of the computing environment. The database also contains objects that represent Configuration Manager 2007 items such as advertisements, software update deployments, configuration baselines, reports, and status messages. Configuration Manager administrators need to understand the different categories of the SQL views, what information is stored in each view, and how the SQL views can be joined to one another to create reports that return the desired information.

The Windows Installer CreatingCustomReportsByUsingSQLViews.msi package provides information that will help you to create custom reports, determine which Configuration Manager SQL views contain the information you need for your reports, and identify a path between the necessary SQL views and determine what columns can be used to join them. The download package includes the following files:

• Before You Use – Readme document (BeforeYouUse_Readme.doc)-
Provides information about how to use the other documents in the Windows Installer download package.
• Using Configuration Manager 2007 SQL Views to Create Custom Reports help file (CM2007CustomReports.chm)-
Provides an overview of the Configuration Manager 2007 SQL view schema and SQL views, an overview of the existing reports and associated reporting procedures, sample SQL statements for each Configuration Manager SQL view category, scenarios for creating custom reports, exercises for creating custom reports, an overview for writing report SQL statements, and an overview of the Configuration Manager Provider WMI schema. This documentation will be your main resource throughout the process of creating your custom report.
• Configuration Manager 2007 SQL View Schema Microsoft Visio document (CM2007SQLViewsSchema.vsd)-
Provides the Configuration Manager 2007 SQL views schema, organized by category.
• Configuration Manager 2007 SQL Views Excel spreadsheet (CM2007SQLViews.xls)-
Provides a list of the Configuration Manager 2007 SQL views with descriptions, a list of the SQL views and columns ordered by SQL view name, and a list of the SQL views and columns ordered by column name.

As promised, I’ve uploaded the presentations from the sessions I gave on December 18th at Microsoft Israel. Enjoy.

SP 1 for System Center Data Protection Manager 2007 will be available on December 8th 2008. Along with the roll up update this release enhances many of the core features of DPM 2007. The key among them being

1. Protection of Hyper-V� virtualization platforms
2. Enhanced SQL Server 2008 protection
3. Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
4. Protection for Exchange Server 2007 Standby Cluster Replication (SCR)

In addition to enhancing the protection of each of the core Microsoft application workloads, additional capabilities have also been introduced with the release of DPM 2007 SP1, such as:

1. Provision for a Client DPML answers customer demand for a more cost-effective way to protect Windows XP and Windows Vista clients using the same DPM 2007 infrastructure that protects their servers
2. Disaster Recovery capabilities within DPM 2007 SP1 now include the ability to leverage a 3rd party vaulting partner via the cloud (SaaS) powered by Iron Mountain.

MAP is a scalable and agent-less assessment platform designed to make it easier for you to adopt the latest Microsoft technologies.

In this version, MAP has expanded its assessment capabilities to include SQL Server 2008, Forefront/NAP, and Microsoft Online Services migration, as well as providing a Power Savings assessment to help you "go green."

In summary, MAP 3.2 assessment areas now include:

• SQL Server 2008 Migration Proposals and Reports (NEW!)
• Forefront/NAP Readiness Proposals (NEW!)
• Microsoft Online Services Migration Surveys, Proposals, and Reports (NEW!)
• Power Savings Proposals (NEW!)
• Server Migration Reports and Proposals (Windows Server 2008 and "virtualized guests by hosts" reporting) (NEW!)
• Server Consolidation Reports and Proposals (Virtual Server 2005 R2 and Hyper-V)
• Desktop Security Assessment to determine if desktops have anti-virus and anti-malware programs installed and up-to-date, or if the Windows Firewall is turned on
• Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007 Hardware Assessment Reports and Proposals

Based on hypervisor technology, the Hyper-V™ virtualization feature in the Windows Server® 2008 operating system is a thin layer of software between the hardware and the operating system that allows multiple operating systems to run, unmodified, on a host computer at the same time. Hyper-V is a powerful virtualization technology that can be used by corporate IT to consolidate under-utilized servers, lowering total cost of ownership (TCO) and maintaining or improving quality of service (QoS). Hyper-V opens more potential development and test environment types that otherwise might be constrained by hardware availability.

It is challenging enough in general to right-size the hardware to consolidate current workloads and provide headroom for growth. Adding virtualization to the mix increases the potential capacity planning challenges. The goal of this document is to help address these by focusing on two key areas of running Microsoft® SQL Server® in a Hyper-V environment:

• System resource overhead imposed by running SQL Server in a Hyper-V environment

• How well Hyper-V scales running SQL Server 2008

This white paper describes a series of test configurations we ran, which represented a variety of possible scenarios involving SQL Server running in Hyper-V. The paper discusses our results and observations, and it also presents our recommendations. Our test results showed that SQL Server 2008 on Hyper-V provides stable performance and scalability. We believe Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V is a solid platform for SQL Server 2008 for the appropriate workload. It is practical to run production workloads under a Hyper-V environment, as long as the workload is within the capacity of your Hyper-V guest virtual machine.

For more information, please refer to the whitepaper Running SQL Server 2008 in a Hyper-V Environment – Best Practices and Performance Recommendations.

How Microsoft IT Implements System Center Operations Manager 2007 (Level 300)

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?culture=en-US&EventID=1032322478&CountryCode=US

Assure the Availability and Performance of Your SharePoint Environments (Level 300)

http://msevents.microsoft.com/cui/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032368298&EventCategory=4&culture=en-US&CountryCode=US

Client Monitoring with System Center Operations Manager 2007 (Level 300)

http://msevents.microsoft.com/cui/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032348673&EventCategory=4&culture=en-US&CountryCode=US

Client Monitoring with System Center Operations Manager 2007 (Level 200)

http://msevents.microsoft.com/cui/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032341228&EventCategory=4&culture=en-US&CountryCode=US

Client Monitoring with System Center Operations Manager 2007 (Level 100)

http://msevents.microsoft.com/cui/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032340080&EventCategory=4&culture=en-US&CountryCode=US

End-to-End Service Monitoring with System Center Operations Manager 2007 (Level 200)

http://msevents.microsoft.com/cui/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032345599&EventCategory=4&culture=en-US&CountryCode=US

Installation and Management Pack Migration of Operations Manager 2007 (Level 200)

http://msevents.microsoft.com/cui/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032369730&EventCategory=4&culture=en-US&CountryCode=US

Monitoring with System Center Operations Manager 2007 (Level 200)

http://msevents.microsoft.com/cui/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032343631&EventCategory=4&culture=en-US&CountryCode=US

Planning a Successful Microsoft Operations Manager 2007 Deployment with Microsoft System Center Capacity Planner 2007 (Level 300)

http://msevents.microsoft.com/cui/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032348510&EventCategory=4&culture=en-US&CountryCode=US

Reporting with System Center Operations Manager 2007 (Level 200)

http://msevents.microsoft.com/cui/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032338857&EventCategory=4&culture=en-US&CountryCode=US

Security and Enterprise Features of System Center Operations Manager 2007 (Level 200)

http://msevents.microsoft.com/cui/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032343649&EventCategory=4&culture=en-US&CountryCode=US

SQL Server 2008: New Performance Monitoring and Troubleshooting Using Management Studio (Level 300)

http://msevents.microsoft.com/cui/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032349947&EventCategory=4&culture=en-US&CountryCode=US

System Center Operations Manager 2007 Installation and Management Pack Migration (Level 200)

http://msevents.microsoft.com/cui/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032341254&EventCategory=4&culture=en-US&CountryCode=US

System Center Operations Manager 2007 Technical Overview (Level 200)

http://msevents.microsoft.com/cui/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032340808&EventCategory=4&culture=en-US&CountryCode=US

System Center Operations Manager 2007: Install and MP Migration (Level 200)

http://msevents.microsoft.com/cui/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032345595&EventCategory=4&culture=en-US&CountryCode=US

SQL Server 2008 is now supported on Configuration Manager 2007 RTM and SP1

System Center Configuration Manager 2007 (RTM and SP1) now supports the use of SQL Server 2008 as a site database.  In order to upgrade a site-server database to SQL 2008 there are 2 hot fixes required:

• ConfigMgr 2007 RTM customers must apply hot fix KB955229
• ConfigMgr 2007 SP1 customers must apply hot fix KB955262

The following are requirements when performing a clean install on a SQL Server 2008 database:

• A clean install of ConfigMgr 2007 RTM on a SQL Server 2008 database is not supported.  You must first install SQL Server 2005, upgrade to SQL Server 2008 and then apply hot fix KB955229
• A clean install of ConfigMgr 2007 SP1 on a SQL Server 2008 database is supported, but should apply hot fix KB955262

Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V is now supported for Configuration Manager 2007 RTM and SP1

Support will be provided for client management, site server roles, and the administrator console running within a Hyper-V environment.   There are no hot fixes required for the release to support configuration scenario.  This applies to customers running Windows Server 2008 with Hyper-V RTM installed.

Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) 5.0.03 is now supported on Configuration Manager 2007 RTM and SP1 with the ACT Connector

Customers leveraging the ACT Connector may download ACT 5.0.3 which released on September 2, 2008.  The following is a summary of the Application Compatibility Toolkit Connector:

Update Compatibility Evaluator: Update Compatibility Evaluator Now Supports Vista and Server �08 in addition to Win2K, XP and Server �03 that were previously supported.

Windows Internet Explorer 8 Support: We now support Windows Internet Explorer 8. The Internet Explorer Compatibility Evaluator as well as the Internet Explorer Compatibility Test Tool are capable of identifying issues on websites and web applications when they are run on IE8.

Major Bug Fixes:

SUA:

• SUA Crashes if AppVerifier Log Entry is Badly Formed
• Failure to Create Shim Database Entry if Product Name Contains Special Characters: SUA was unable to create a shim database entry for an application if the application name contained special characters. This issue has been resolved in ACT 5.0.3.
• CorrectFilePaths Shim Fix: There was a bug in the Standard User Analyzer because of which the CorrectFilePaths shim (used to redirect the path to which files created by the application are written) was only shimming a single file-path relocation even if multiple files needed to be redirected. This has been fixed in the current version of ACT.

ACM:

• The Application Compatibility Manager no longer requires elevation of user privileges to run in Vista.

.NET Framework 3.5 SP1 is now supported on Configuration Manager 2007 RTM and SP1

The .NET Framework 2.0 is a dependency for the Admin Console and the Desired Configuration Manager (DCM) feature of the client.  Typically the .NET Framework is a side-by-side (SxS) installation so compatibility is not a concern.  However, the .NET Framework 3.5 install performs an upgrade to the .NET Framework 2.0 and .NET Framework 3.0 behind the scenes, this is now fully supported.