Configuration of Microsoft SQL Server Express for DNA
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Configuration of Microsoft SQL Server Express and DNA installation requirements
If installing Microsoft SQL Server Express on Windows Server 2003, please ensure that you have applied the latest updates using Windows Updates.
SQL Server 2005 / 2008 / 2012 / 2014 / 2016 / 2017 Express configuration
Note: The screen shots below are taken from a Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Express installation, but the method and configuration are also applicable when using SQL Server 2005, 2008, 2014, 2016 or 2017 Express.
- During the installation of SQL Express, you will be prompted to select the authentication mode that the SQL Server will use for incoming connections.Select the Mixed Mode Authentication option and enter a password for the SQL Server administration (sa) user account.
Note: This password must be complex, i.e. it must contain both uppercase and lowercase letters and a numeric character.
- Once the SQL Server installation has completed successfully, open the SQL Server Configuration Manager. Select, Start – All Programs – Microsoft SQL Server 2012 – Configurations Tools – SQL Server Configuration Manager.
- Click SQL Server Services and double click SQL Server Browser. Select the Service tab and, using the arrow next to Start Mode, change the setting to Automatic. Click OK.
- Right click on SQL Server Browser and click Start to start the service.
- Click the arrow next to SQL Server Network Configuration and then click Protocols for SQLEXPRESS. Double click on Named Pipes and use the down arrow to change the Enabled setting to Yes.
Note: A message will appear informing you that the settings will not be saved until the SQL Server services are restarted. Click OK.
- Double click on TCP/IP and use the down arrow to change the Enabled setting to Yes.
Note: A message will appear informing you that the settings will not be applied until the SQL Server services are restarted. Click OK.
- Click on SQL Server Services and right-click on SQL Server (SQLEXPRESS). Click Restart.
- Open the SQL Server Management Studio. Select Start – All Programs – Microsoft SQL Server 2012 – SQL Server Management Studio.
- On the Connect to Server window, ensure the Login is set to sa, and then enter the complex password you created. If you do not want to be prompted to enter the sa user password each time you open the SQL Server Management Studio, check the Remember Password Click Connect.
- The Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio window will appear showing the SQL Server installation running on the machine. The SQL Server has now been configured for use with a DNA software installation.
DNA installation requirements
During the DNA installation process, you will be required to enter the name of the SQL Server that you wish to use to host the DNA database. When prompted to enter the SQL Server details, please ensure that you use the [SQLServerMachineName] SQLEXPRESS format as shown in the screen shot to the right. Use sa as the Login ID and enter the complex password that you created when installing the SQL Server. Part of the DNA installation process is to create a user on the SQL Server that is used by the DNA Server software component to access the DNA SQL database.
It is a requirement of SQL Server Express that the password used for this connection is also complex, i.e. it contains both uppercase and lowercase letters and a numeric character. If a non-complex password is used at this point, the DNA installation will continue but will subsequently fail when it attempts to write data into the SQL database.
Note: Any machine that has the DNA Console software component installed on to it will also need the Microsoft SQL Server Native Client software installed. This is required to allow the DNA Console to connect to the DNA SQL database on the SQL Express Server.
The SQL Server Native Client software component can be downloaded free of charge from the Microsoft website: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=50402