Where is my SQL Server 2008 R2 for Small Business Product Key?
[Today’s post comes to us courtesy of Moloy Tandon from Commercial Technical Support]
Windows Small Business Server (SBS) 2011 Premium Add-on includes Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Standard Edition for Small Business. If the product was purchased via Microsoft Open License – Volume Licensing program, the product key is pre-keyed when you run the setup as illustrated in the below screen shot. When you are on the Product Key page, all you need to do is click Next and proceed with the installation.
If the product was purchased through other channels such as Retail, OEM, etc. they will include the product key with the media for this product and you are required to use this key while installing SQL 2008 R2 Standard Edition for Small Business.
To install this edition of SQL server, the server must be joined to a Windows Small Business Server 2011 domain or a domain that has Active Directory configured in the way as explained in the blog post: Requirements for Installing SQL 2008 Standard Edition for Small Business. The requirements documented in the post also apply for SQL 2008 R2 Standard Edition for Small Business.
If you install this edition of SQL Server on a server which does not meet the above criteria, the SQL server setup will fail. To diagnose the problem please refer to the following blog post, which is also applicable for SQL 2008 R2 Standard Edition for Small Business.