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FEATURE

SQL Server 2008 hardware and software

requirements
Solutions providers can use this chapter excerpt to learn about the various hardware and
software requirements for SQL Server 2008 in 32-bit and 64-bit environments.

Published: 11 Nov 2009

u
Minimum Hardware Requirements


o Table 5.3 outlines SQL Server 2008 hardware requirements.

i Hardware Minimum Hardware Minimum Hardware Minimum Hardware

n Requirements 32-Bit Requirements x64 Requirements IA64
CPU Pentium III-compatible Any Intel EMT64 or Itanium processor.
processor or faster. 1GHz AMD x64 chip. Recommended 1GHz
minimum. Recommended Minimum 1.4GHz. or faster.
2GHz or faster. Recommended 2GHz
or faster.
Memory 512MB minimum, 2GB or 512MB minimum, 2GB 512MB minimum, 2GB
(RAM) more recommended. or more or more
Report Server will use a recommended. recommended.
 maximum of 3GB (with Maximum is the OS- Maximum is the OS-
/3GB switch in boot.ini). specified maximum. specified maximum.
Hard disk Total will vary depending Total will vary Total will vary
space on selected components. depending on selected depending on selected
See Table 5.2. components. See components. See
Table 5.2. Table 5.2.
Monitor VGA or higher resolution. VGA or higher VGA or higher
1024x768 recommended resolution. 1024x768 resolution. 1024x768
for SQL Server graphical recommended for SQL recommended for SQL
tools. Server graphical tools. Server graphical tools.
Pointing Microsoft mouse or Microsoft mouse or Microsoft mouse or
device compatible pointing compatible pointing compatible pointing
device. device. device.
CD/DVDROM CD or DVD drive as CD or DVD drive as CD or DVD Drive as
needed for given needed for given needed for given
installation media. installation media. installation media.

The following is the terminology used in relation to the 64-bit platform:

IA64 refers to Itanium-compatible hardware architecture. This architecture can run

IA64 software and 32-bit software using the Windows-On-Windows (WOW64)
software emulator. The Itanium CPU cannot natively run 32-bit x86-compatible
instructions and uses instruction emulation as a part of WOW64 processing.

x64 refers to Extended Memory Technology support-compatible architecture and

includes systems based on Opteron, Athlon 64, Intel Xeon EM64T, and Intel
Pentium EM64T. x64 architecture can run classic 32-bit x86-compatible
instructions natively on the CPU. One of the advantages of this architecture is an
ability to support both 32- and 64-bit code. To ease an adoption of the 64-bit
platform and optimize a hardware purchase, some companies might first deploy a
32-bit operating system and software on x64 hardware and then upgrade to 64-bit
software on the same hardware requirements.

About the book

This chapter excerpt on Reporting Services Deployment Scenarios (download PDF) is taken
from the book Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services Unleashed. This book can help
 solutions providers to use SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services to deliver business intelligence
services to customers, learn about new features in SQL Server 2008 R2, manage report data
sources and models and more.

NOTE
System Configuration Check blocks setup from running if the CPU type (Pentium III or
higher) requirement is not met. Setup issues a warning, but allows you to proceed, if the
CPU speed or minimum memory requirement is not met.

Software Requirements

We recommend installing Reporting

Services on Windows 2008. Although
Windows 2003 SP2 is a fully
supported platform, Windows 2008
reflects the latest technological
advances, including enhanced
coverage in the areas of security and
high availability.

Windows Server 2008 also provides the Hyper-V virtualization systems. SQL Server
2008 and all of its components, including SSRS, are supported in virtual environments
created using Hyper-V, provided of course sufficient CPU and RAM resources are
allocated to the virtual machine and that the virtual machine runs an operating system
supported by SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS).

Tables 5.4, 5.5, and 5.6 list operating system requirements and additional software
requirements for installation of Reporting Services on 32- and 64-bit platforms.

TABLE 5.4 Operating Systems That Can Run 32-Bit Versions of Report Server

Enterprise Enterprise Developer Standard Workgroup

Edition Evaluation Edition Edition Edition
Edition
Windows XP No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Professional SP2
Windows XP SP2 No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Media Center
 Edition
Windows Vista No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Ultimate
Windows Vista No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Business
Windows Vista No Yes SearchYes Yes Yes
9 Enterprise
IT Channel g
Windows Vista No Yes Yes No No
Home Premium
Windows 2003 SP2 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Standard
Windows 2003 SP2 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Enterprise
Windows 2003 SP2 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Data Center
Windows 2008 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Standard
Windows 2008 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Enterprise
Windows 2008 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Data Center

NOTE
Systems that are not explicitly listed in Table 5.4 are not supported by Reporting
Services. For example, Reporting Services 32-bit is not supported on Windows 2003 64-
bit Itanium.

For situations with heavy memory or I/O requirements, such as heavy graphics and
PDF rendering, customers can benefit from deploying SSRS on a 64-bit platform. Table
5.5 outlines SSRS support on a 64-bit platform.

TABLE 5.5 Operating System Requirements, 64-Bit

Enterprise Standard Workgroup Web Express

x64 x64 x64 x64 x64
Windows XP Pro x64 No Yes Yes Yes No
Windows Server 2003 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Standard x64
Windows Server 2003 Data Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Center x64
Windows Server 2003 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Enterprise x64
Windows Vista x64 No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Ultimate
Windows Vista x64 Home No No Yes No Yes
Premium
Windows Vista x64 Home No No Yes No Yes
Basic
Windows Vista x64 No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Enterprise
Windows Vista x64 No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Business
Windows Server 2008 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Standard x64
Windows Server 2008 Data Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Center x64
Windows Server 2008 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Enterprise x64

More on SQL Server hardware requirements

Buying hardware for SLQ Server

Top 10 resources for SQL Server 2008 R2 editions and requirements

Buying hardware for virtual hosts running SQL Server

The following operating systems are supported by SQL Server Enterprise/Developer

Edition IA64:

Windows Server 2008 64-bit Itanium

 Windows Server 2003 SP2 64-bit Itanium Data Center

Windows Server 2003 SP2 64-bit Itanium Enterprise

Note that with any 64-bit operating system, management tools may be supported in
WOW64. WOW64 allows native 32-bit code to execute natively on non-32-bit systems.

NOTE
Development tools such as Business Intelligence Development Studio (BIDS) are neither
installed nor supported on the IA64 platform. For IA64 deployments, use development
tools installed on a separate 32-bit or x64 workstation.

Table 5.6 outlines additional software requirements for both 32- and 64-bit platforms
and optional software that can be installed to benefit Reporting Services.

TABLE 5.6 Additional Software Requirements, 32- and 64-Bit

Sofware Requirement Notes

.NET Framework Windows 2003 IA63 requires .NET Framework
2.0 SP1.
Every other version of requires the .NET
Framework 3.5.
Microsoft Data Access Components All versions require MDAC 2.8 SP1 or higher.
(MDAC)
Windows Installer All versions require Windows Installer 4.5 or
later.

SQL Server Reporting Services deployment scenarios

SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services for high-availability deployment
SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services for Internet deployment
SQL Server 2008 hardware and software requirements
Key features in SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services edition

About the authors

Michael Lisin has more than 12 years experience in the software industry with
expertise in SQL Server and .NET technologies. Lisin is a regular speaker on SQL
Server at various events, including SQL Server PASS and SQL Server User Group
meetings.

Jim Joseph is the co-author of Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services and is
currently employed by Continental Airlines as a SQL Server DBA.

Amit Goyal is the lead program manager for Microsoft's Reporting Services team and
is a known expert on SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services.

Printed with permission from Sams Publishing. Copyright 2009. Microsoft SQL Server
2008 Reporting Services Unleashed by Michael Lisin, Jim Joseph and Amit Goyal. For
more information about this title and other similar books, please visit Sams Publishing.

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