Microsoft SQL Server Express 2016 Installation Instructions

Background

Sentinel Visualizer uses data stored in industry standard, open, Microsoft SQL Server databases. Microsoft SQL Server can be hosted on a dedicated server in your organization or in a cloud host like Microsoft Azure or Amazon Web Services (AWS).

You can also install a free copy of Microsoft SQL Server Express on your PC. It is part of your product download. These are the installation instructions after you've downloaded SQL Server Express 2016.

System Requirements

• Windows Operating System
  • Windows 8, 8.1, and Windows Server 2012 R2
  • If you have Windows 10, Server 2016 or later, you should install SQL Server Express 2019. Download that setup file and use the SQL Server Express 2019 installation instructions.
• Processor
  • Processor speed of 1.4 GHz or more
• RAM
  • Minimum 1 GB
• Hard Disk Space
  • 5 GB of Disk Space, plus space for your databases and checkpoints.

Limitations: Microsoft SQL Server Express supports 1 physical processor, 1 GB memory, and databases less than 10 GB each.

For more details visit SQL Server Hardware and Software Requirements.

Instructions

These are the installation instructions after you download the Sentinel Visualizer SQL Server Express 2016 setup with your copy of Sentinel Visualizer.

The installation instructions are straight forward, and generally require pressing the [Next] button through each screen.

1. Download and run the Sentinel Visualizer SQL Express 2016 setup using this link:
   
2. After downloading the setup program, run it. The file self-extracts and begins the SQL Express setup process. Please be patient as the process may take a few minutes to start.
   
3. You may be prompted for an extract location. Use the default folder or specify an alternative.
4. The first SQL Express setup screen is the License Terms. Check "I accept the license terms." and press [Next]:
   
5. The Global Rules screen appears. If there are any errors, they are displayed on this screen. If there are no errors, this screen appears. Press [Next]:
   
6. The Microsoft Update screen appears. We recommend checking "Use Microsoft Update to check for updates (recommended)", then press [Next]:
   
7. If there are any updates available they are displayed. Check "Include SQL Server product updates" at the top of the screen and press [Next]:
   
8. The Install Setup Files screen appears. Press [Next]:
   
9. The Install Rules screen appears. Press [Next]:
   
10. The Feature Selection screen appears. Keep the default options and press [Next]:
    
11. The Instance Configuration screen appears. Keep the default options and press [Next]:
    
12. The Server Configuration screen appears. Keep the default options and press [Next]:
    
13. The Database Engine Configuration screen appears. Keep the default options and press [Next]: Do not change the password!
    
14. The Installation Progress screen appears. This step takes a while. Please be patient. Do not cancel this process:
    
15. When finished, the Complete screen appears:
    
    Press [Close]. The installation of the Sentinel Visualizer instance of SQL Express is successful. You should now be able to run Sentinel Visualizer with local databases.

Install Document Searching

If Word, Excel, and PDF documents are uploaded for your entities and relationships, Sentinel Visualizer can search the text in those documents. Follow these steps to add this functionality to your SQL Server installation.

• Add Text Search in Saved Documents