Installing Windows Server Update Services 3.0 SP2 with SQL Server

Hi

I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this question, apologies if it
isn't.

I've been asked to install WSUS 3.0 SP2 on a Windows Server 2008 R2 box,
using a remote SQL Server 2008 as the backend database.

My question is: Can WSUS 3.0 SP2 use SQL Server 2008 as the backend
database, or does it have to be SQL Server 2005?

The documentation doesn't seem to be clear on this point. For example, the
download page for WSUS 3.0 SP2 (
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...8-3403a7d46e40 ) states:

You must have one of the following supported databases installed:
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Express, Standard, or Enterprise Edition SQL
Server 2005 SP2

?!? What does that mean? Only the Express Edition of SQL Server 2008 is
acceptable, along with SQL Server 2005 SP2 Standard or Enterprise Edition?
Or that SQL Server 2008 Express, Standard or Enterprise Edition is acceptable?

Cheers
Simon

[[ Right pew, wrong church. Forwarded to WSUS newsgroup
(microsoft.public.windows.server.update_services) via crosspost as a
convenience to OP.

On the web:
http://www.microsoft.com/communities...pdate_services

In your newsreader:
news://msnews.microsoft.com/microsof...pdate_services
]]


SimonDev wrote:
> I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this question, apologies if it
> isn't.
>
> I've been asked to install WSUS 3.0 SP2 on a Windows Server 2008 R2 box,
> using a remote SQL Server 2008 as the backend database.
>
> My question is: Can WSUS 3.0 SP2 use SQL Server 2008 as the backend
> database, or does it have to be SQL Server 2005?
>
> The documentation doesn't seem to be clear on this point. For example,
> the
> download page for WSUS 3.0 SP2 (
> http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...8-3403a7d46e40
> ) states:
>
> You must have one of the following supported databases installed:
> Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Express, Standard, or Enterprise Edition SQL
> Server 2005 SP2
>
> ?!? What does that mean? Only the Express Edition of SQL Server 2008 is
> acceptable, along with SQL Server 2005 SP2 Standard or Enterprise Edition?
> Or that SQL Server 2008 Express, Standard or Enterprise Edition is
> acceptable?
>
> Cheers
> Simon

> SimonDev wrote:

>> My question is: Can WSUS 3.0 SP2 use SQL Server 2008 as the backend
>> database

Yes.

SQL Server 2008 has been a supported platform since WSUS v3 SP1 was
released.

>> The documentation doesn't seem to be clear on this point.

Really!? :-D


> For example, the download page for WSUS 3.0 SP2
> (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...8-3403a7d46e40)
> states:

> You must have one of the following supported databases installed:
> Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Express, Standard, or Enterprise Edition
> SQL Server 2005 SP2
>
> ?!? What does that mean? Only the Express Edition of SQL Server 2008 is
> acceptable, along with SQL Server 2005 SP2 Standard or Enterprise Edition?
> Or that SQL Server 2008 Express, Standard or Enterprise Edition is
> acceptable?

The problem here is that a bullet is missing from the HTML,
The corrected display should be:

================================================== =======
||You must have one of the following supported databases installed:
||
||* Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Express, Standard, or Enterprise Edition
||* SQL Server 2005 SP2
||* Windows Internal Database
||
||If one of the supported versions of SQL Server is not installed, the WSUS
3.0 SP2
||Setup Wizard will install Windows Internal Database.
================================================== =======


The SQL 2008 editions are enumerated because Web Edition is not a viable
choice (due to licensing restrictions); although Workgroup Edition (not
listed, is a viable choice), and Express Edition (which is listed -- is a
Bad Choice IMNSHO).


You might also find it useful to refer to the actual Product Documentation,
rather than the download page:

From the Release Notes
[http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/l...6(WS.10).aspx], you'll
find the above statement with the bullet statements properly formatted.

And from the Deployment Guide, in the section "Choose the Database Used for
WSUS 3.0 SP2"
[http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/l...2(WS.10).aspx], you'll
find extensive text describing the options for database deployment, as well
as Appendix B: Configure Remote SQL
[http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/l...2(WS.10).aspx] which
provides explicit instructions for actually installing SQL Server 2008 on
the back-end server.




--
Lawrence Garvin, M.S., MCITP:EA, MCDBA
Principal/CTO, Onsite Technology Solutions, Houston, Texas
Microsoft MVP - Software Distribution (2005-2009)

My Blog: http://onsitechsolutions.spaces.live.com
Microsoft WSUS Website: http://www.microsoft.com/wsus
My MVP Profile: http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/pro...awrence.Garvin

Thanks Lawrence,

That was really helpful. Never occurred to me it was just a case of a
missing bullet point.

Cheers
Simon