I was recently working on building a test environment for myself while I was studying for the MCITP-Database Administration exams. SQL Server 2008 supports creating a slipstream install for service packs and cumulative updates so you can install to the latest SP or cumulative update in one step.
The problem with a slipstream install is that you need to set it up first, so for a single install I'm not sure how much time you actually save, but for multiple installs or for creating media it is great. I followed the instructions Peter Saddow's blog on msdn. I'm not going to duplicate those instructions here, as they are easy to follow and worked.
Once I finished setting up the slipstreamed install location, I downloaded ISO Recorder and used it to create an ISO image of the install directory. ISO Recorder adds "Create ISO image file" to the right-click menu. I did the ISO image as I was installing SQL Server on some virtual machines and didn't want to have to share the install location and I also wanted to be able to easily burn it to DVD. The only issue I had was that Virtual PC would not successfully mount the created ISO image. Fortunately I had already downloaded Virtual Clove Drive, which would allow me to mount the ISO image. I'm not sure why Virtual PC would not allow me to mount it. Once I got the ISO image mounted I was able to install SQL Server 2008 + SP1 without issue on a couple of VM's. It was definitely worth the time to create the slipstream.
Anyone else have any experiences to share or issues they encountered?
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