Installation Options for SQL 2005 Workgroup Edition in SBS 2003 R2 Premium

As more and more people are installing SQL 2005 WE, we wanted to refresh and clarify a few points and concerns. These are most likely addressed here and there, scattered around the Internet, so hopefully we can provide a quick way of getting to all of them.

The first thing we want to address is the lack of in-place upgrades from SQL 2000 Standard to SQL 2005 Workgroup Edition, if you need an instance to be SQL 2005 WE, you will need to migrate it. This is a limitation of SQL 2005 WE.

The upgrade matrix for SQL products is found here: https://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms143393.aspx

In order to migrate your instances, you will need to consult the line of business vendor for proper migration steps (and to confirm support for SQL 2005 WE). From a technical perspective the steps are pretty straightforward, but there are always gotchas. Make sure you test the migration in your test environment before deploying in production.

High Level Overview of Migration Process:

1. Backup the databases
2. Record any logins under security and other relevant configurations
3. Uninstall the instance you want to migrate to SQL 2005 WE
4. Address the issues described in the following 2 KB articles:
   1. https://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;920899
   2. https://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;918767
5. Install the new version of SQL 2005 WE using same instance name you just removed
6. Re-attach databases
7. Correct/add logins that we removed before and any other security needs for the LOB application

Please note that this overview is not designed as a comprehensive walk-through of the migration process. Your particular line-of-business application may require additional steps.

Migration of your SharePoint v2 (WSS v2) instance is described in this document: https://download.microsoft.com/download/4/0/8/40860507-c351-4308-a876-e1b83ee4e77a/sqlinstallsteps.htm

This document also discusses (with different levels of detail) the following topics:

• Migrate the SHAREPOINT instance of WMSDE
• Migrate a SHAREPOINT Instance of SQL Server 2000
• Install a new instance of SQL Server 2005 Workgroup Edition
• Migrate a SQL Server 2000 instance to SQL Server 2005 Workgroup Edition
• SQL Server collation settings

Finally, you might want to use all of the SBS 2003 R2 features but still keep your SQL 2000 STD instance, for information on your downgrade rights please see the SBS 2003 SQL FAQ: https://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/sbs/evaluation/faq/bizsolutions.mspx