InstantForum.NET supports SQL Server 2000, 2005 & 2008 / 2008 RC2. All SQL Server Express editions are also supported. =
In this example we'll use SQL Server 2008 & the SQL Server 2008 Management Studio to create the InstantForum.NET database, tables & stored procedures. The process is very similar for SQL Server 2000 however you'll need to use the SQL Server 2000 Query Analyzer to execute our installation script against your database.
To create the various database tables & stored procedures required by InstantForum.NET you'll need to execute a SQL script provided within the download against your database.
This SQL script can be found within"InstantForum2010\DatabaseScripts\InstantForum2010Inhstall.sql".
You can use an existing database or create a new database to host the InstantForum.NET tables and stored procedures. Ideally you would create a separate database to host the InstantForum.NET tables and stored procedures. We appreciate however this can this is not possible for some users and we've designed our tables & stored procedures to use a unique naming convention allowing you to use an existing database without any naming conflicts.
At this time you will need a separate database for InstantForum.NET & InstantKB.NET. You cannot install both InstantForum.NET & InstantKB.NET into a single database however we are working to support this with the introduction on single sign on in future releases.
In this example we will be connecting to a local SQL Server 2008 instance using Windows Authentication. If you wish to add the InstantForum.NET tables and stored procedures to a remote database you should enter the connection details for your database. If your not sure how to connect to your SQL Server instance please consult the Authentication Modes section of your SQL Server documentation. If your using shared or dedicated hosting your hosting company should have sent you your SQL Server connection & login details via email.
- Connect to your SQL Server instance. You may need to provide your server address and if your using SQL Server authentication you'll need to provide your SQL Server username & password to connect...
- In this example we are going to create a new database called InstantForum2010 to host the InstantForum.NET tables and stored procedures. To create a new database simply right click your "Databases" node and choose "New Database" as shown below..
- Provide a name for your new database. In this example we'll call our database "InstantForum2010" as shown below...
- Once you've provided a name for your database click "OK". You'll see the new database appear within your database list as shown below...
- Now you'll need to open the InstantForum2010Install.sql file to execute against the new InstantForum2010 database, Open the file as shown below and navigate to the InstantForum2010 folder and open the "DatabaseScripts\InstantForum2010Install.sql" file.
- Once you've opened the InstantForum2010Install.sql file you'll see the script load as shown below.
- At this stage before executing the script against your database it's important to ensure you have selected the correct database from the database selection drop down list as shown below. The database you select within this list will determine which database the InstantForum.NET tables and stored procedures are created within.
- Once your sure you have selected the correct database simply click the "Execute" button as shown below. This may take a few minutes depending on your server and connection.
- Once the script has completed execution you'll see the results pane as shown below. You'll notice a number of warning messages with regard to "sysdepends". These can safely be ignored and won't effect your installation.
You've now populated the InstantForum2010 database with all the tables, stored procedures and default data required by InstantForum.NET.
By default the InstantForum.NET database connection string within the "Web.Config" file uses a trusted connection. This is intended to allow you to get up & running quickly with InstantForum.NET & avoids the need to create a SQL Server user account for local development.
To ensure the default trusted connection works you should added the Network Service Windows Account as a User of your database and provide this account with "db_owner" privileges.
When uploading InstantForum.NET into a production environment you will want to use a dedicated SQL Server user account with it's own username & password to access your database. This SQL Server user account should have at least "db_datareader" & "db_datawriter" privileges to your InstantForum.NET database.