Installing and Configuring SharePoint 2010 and FAST Search 2010–Part 1

I am attempting to install/configure SharePoint 2010 and FAST Search in my virtual environment. We will walk through step-by-step in the process and we will also configure FAST Search as a default Search for SharePoint 2010.

This post is a little background on the preparation steps in creating the environment.

Server Identification:

NOTE: It is highly recommended that you don’t have your DC and SQL Server on the same machine. I am doing so because my DC will be most of the time inactive and my laptop doesn’t have enough memory to host a separate VM for the DC.

SQL Configuration:

Let us now step through the installation process of SQL Server 2008 R2.

1. Insert the SQL Server 2008 R2 installation disc. This will launch the SQL Server Installation Center.
2. Click Installation–> click New installation or add features to an existing installation
   
   
   
3. The setup runs the check and lists if the setup passes the required OS, Hardware and Software requirements
   
   
   
4. Enter the Product Key
5. Agree to the License Terms
6. Click Install to the Setup Support Files
7. The System Configuration Check returns with the failure points it has detected that you will need to address before the setup continues. I have couple of warnings i.e. the system has DC and Firewall is enabled. I am OK with it and we will continue. Check the bootstrap log  located at C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\100\Setup Bootstrap\Log\20100925_143310\SystemConfigurationCheck_Report.htm for more information.
   
   
   
8. Click Next.
9. We will select SQL Server Feature Installation–> click Next
   
   
   
10. Select the Features you wish to install. I will select everything by clicking on Select All–> click Next
    
    
    
11. Setup runs the Installation Rules–> click Next
    
    
    
12. I will install SQL using Default Instance and the Instance root directory will be default –> click Next
    
    
    
13. Setup checked the Disk Space Requirements–> click Next
    
    
    
14. I have an OU (Service Accounts) created in AD and created accounts such that I can remember them.
    
    
    
15. In the Server Configuration screen you can choose to run all SQL Services in different accounts or as Local System. I choose the run all of them under separate domain account. I have also left the Collation to default i.e. Latin1_General_CI_AI. Click Next
    
    
    
16. Under Database Engine Configuration, I choose to select Mixed Mode and added Administrator and SQL Admin domain account as the SQL Server administrators –> click Next
    
    NOTE: You will not be installing SQL Server with an account who is a domain admin, but you will be an Administrator or part of Administrators group on the local machine. Also the SQL Admin account is a domain user who will be an Administrator for SQL Server.
    
    
    
17. Under Analysis Services Configuration, I choose to add Administrator and SQL Admin –> click Next
    
    
    
18. Under Reporting Services Configuration, I choose Install the native mode default configuration–> click Next
    
    
    
19. Under Error Reporting–> click Next
20. Under Installation Configuration Rules, make sure everything is Passed –> click Next 
    
    
    
21. Ready to Install will display a complete Summary of the features that will be installed –> click Install
    
    
    
22. The Installation Progress will show the components that are getting installed
    
    
    
23. Finally Complete

Next we will install SharePoint 2010

Hope this helps,
Vivek Kumbhar