- Hands-Off Deployment of SQL Server
- Beginning Our Script
- Setting Up the Variables for Our Main Script
- Completing Our Script
- Summary
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Setting Up the Variables for Our Main Script
The next step in our script is to initialize the variables required for our subscript. Later on, you will see that we use the same variables again and again within other subscripts, so any common variables (ones used in more than one script that still persist the same values) we initialize first; then the other variables that the subscript requires, we initialize right before we call our script. Table 3.1 lists the common variables that we have (and I envision) so far.
Table 3.1 Common Shared Variables for All Script within the Program
| Variable Name |
Description |
| AppShare |
Tells the scripts where they can find the installation media. |
| DriveLetter |
Specifies the drive letter to map for the install process. |
| MainLogFile |
The log file for the Main.bat script. This is purposely kept separate from the other logs. |
| ScriptDir |
Specifies where the scripts are. |
| ScriptName |
The name of the script that is currently being executed. |
| SQLPath |
The path to where the SQL Server program files will be installed. |
| SQLCollation |
The collation order of the data pages of SQL Server. |
| CompanyName |
The company name that SQL Server is registered to. |
| InstanceName |
The named instance of SQL Server. We will use MSSQLSERVER, which is the default instance. |
As you can see, there are a number of variables we share among the different scripts, and you will probably spot some more when we install SQL Server 2000 SP2.
Okay, so now our script begins to look like Listing 3.2.
Listing 3.2 Initializing the Common Variables within our Main Script.
:Main
REM Set all the variables local to this script.
setlocal
REM Set up the parameters required to map a network drive to the
REM share that has the SQL Server installation media
set appshare=\\<machinename>\<dir>
set driveletter=Y:
REM Set up the logging for the script
REM NOTE: This log file is purposely kept separate from the other log files
set MainLogFile=%TEMP%\main.log
REM Set the directory that the scripts reside in
set scriptdir=%SYSTEMDRIVE%\Personal
set scriptname=main.bat
REM Set up the common parameters for all our scripts
set SQLPath=%PROGRAMFILES%\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL
set SQLCollation=SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS
set CompanyName=Microsoft
set InstanceName=MSSQLSERVER
Now we need to simply initialize the variables that are required just for our first script (InstallSQLServer.bat); your code should look similar to Listing 3.3.
Listing 3.3 Initializing the Specific Variables Required by InstallSQLServer.bat.
REM Set up the parameters required for our sub script
set SQLDataPath=%PROGRAMFILES%\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL\Data
set SvcActDom=MSFT
set SvcActName=ServiceSQL
set SvcActPwd=097f738fb19d058f27b5
set SQLsaPwd=password
set TCPPort=1433
set AppPath=%driveletter%\sql2k\x86\setup
set ISSDir=%TEMP%
set LogFile=%TEMP%\SQLInstall.log
Pretty simple so far isn't it? But that's the whole idea! The more complex the script(s), the harder it is to maintain them. Invest in a good script editor (I use EditPlus, a nice lightweight script editor); use comments well, and keep in mind the KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) principle.