.NET Framework 3.51 Archives

April 15, 2016

Ding, Dong – SQL Server’s Dependency on .NET Framework 3.5x is Dead

Hello everyone. I’ve been pretty heads down with a lot of customer work, teaching my Mission Critical SQL Server class (with Philly on the way in June), preparing for three upcoming conferences in Europe (including three pre- or post-conference sessions, one of which will have updated labs), and working on the book. Yes, I’ve really been working on it and you’ll see some things shortly. You may have noticed our site got hacked, and I’ll probably do a post about that at a later date, so that’s taken up some time as well. I did lose the post on Distributed Availability Groups which I will rewrite soon. Needless to say, blogging has not been my Number 1 priority. I would rather put that energy into my customers, the book ,and making sure my upcoming speaking appearances go off without a hitch.

Having said that, SQL Server 2016 RC3 was publicly released today and I felt this was important to put out there. There is a major change that actually came in with RC2 that no one seemed to notice. I already talked about how from a server perspective, SQL Server 2016 is 64-bit only and I had a lot to do with that. That was a massive change to SQL Server. This next one is also just as big. Many of us (not just me) have been asking to remove the reliance on the older version of .NET Framework (3.5x), and it’s finally happened. Starting with SQL Server 2016, it is no longer a requirement.

Let me give you a little bit of backstory. For every version of SQL Server from 2008 through 2014, SQL Server required that .NET Framework 3.5x was installed (or enabled as the case may be depending on your version of Windows Server). How to enable .NET Framework 3.5x on Window Server 2012 or later is not apparent to everyone. I even wrote two blog posts (one and two) on how to get this task done. There is also a lot of confusion on why the older .NET Framework version is needed if the later version in the 4.x tree is installed. The short answer is that 3.x (which is the same branch as 2.x and 1.x) is different than the 4.x branch. Parts of the engine still relied on the old .NET Framework so the SQL Server development team could not just rip it out easily.

Some of us knew this was coming, and when I pinged someone around the time of RC1, I was told it would definitely be in RTM. We got it a little bit earlier. This was some hard work on the dev team’s part. If you think this is a hoax, it is not. Figure 1 shows all of the SQL Server features selected but look at the highlighted section – the only dependency is .NET Framework 4.6.

Figure 1. All SQL Server features selected, no dependency

In Figure 2, the Command Prompt window is showing sqlcmd running a SELECT @@VERSION command with its output (RC3), and imposed on it, the output of showing that the older .NET Framework is not installed, yet SQL Server 2016 is running. Huzzah!

Figure 2. SQL Server RC3, no .NET Framework 3.5x

Couple that with the other changes to Setup introduced in the RCs by splitting out the tools install, installing a SQL Server instance is a more streamlined process … and much, much quicker. Getting an instance up and running is almost a pleasant experience. I have my issues with the new tools install, but I’ll take that as a first world problem.

June 1, 2012

Part 2: Windows Server 2012, SQL Server 2012, and .NET Framework – PowerShell

I’ve written about this topic in the past (Post 1 and Post 2).To quickly recap, .NET Framework 3.51 is not enabled by default in Windows Server 2012. In Post 1, I showed how to enable the payload using DISM. This time around, I’m going to show you how to enable .NET 3.51 using PowerShell. Now that Windows Server 2012’s Release Candidate is out (You mean you haven’t downloaded and installed it yet? Get to it!), you can see what the experience will pretty much look like by RTM.

The process is nearly identical as DISM. If your server is connected to the internet, it appears that the PS cmdlet will first try to grab the payload from there. This particular VM I was doing my tests in was not connected to the Internet, so I saw what is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Failing to install the payload with no connectivity

If you know you’re not connected and need to use the installation media (or just have it handy), Figure 2 shows that process.

Figure 2. Installing the payload successfully from media

May 14, 2012

An Update: Windows Server 2012, .NET Framework 3.51, and SQL Server

Back in March, I wrote a blog post entitled “Windows Server 8, SQL Server 2012, and .NET Framework” where I talked about the various versions of .NET Framework as they relate to SQL Server 2012, and how I encounteded that .NET 3.51 was not available by default in WIndows Server 2012 (then known as Windows Server 8). I filed a bug against this and the official word is out: it’s not changing (my bug was closed as “By Design”). Microsoft published a blog post today on this very topic – .NET 3.51 will be a Feature On Demand. And why are they still using Windows 8 and not Windows Server 2012? Arg.

I think this decision is myopic and boneheaded, considering that SQL Server is one of the biggest deployment scenarios for Windows Server 2012 (regardless of what version or versions of SQL will ultimately be supported on it). This adds complexity to a base Windows installation for a Windows Server 2012-based deployment. Yes, it’s just another check on a list to ensure is done, but a pretty major one.

While I showed you how to get the payload from the installation media and the new blog post walks through other ways to get it, in my opinion, it’s an even stupider assumption to make that servers will have internet connectivity. Many mission critical servers when installed do not and will not. That means Windows Update (aka WU) is an impossibility for many. So you’re back to my method of getting it from the install media.

Don’t like it? I know I don’t. Make your voice heard. I have already tried the official route and was shot down, but I say there’s strength in numbers. Maybe if there’s enough outcry Microsoft will change this by RTM … but don’t look for me to turn blue holding my breath.

EDIT: Here is a link to a Connect item. Please add your comments about your scenario and how it will affect you. Don’t just do a +1.

March 1, 2012

Windows Server 8, SQL Server 2012, and .NET Framework

Hello everyone. If you haven’t heard, the Windows Server 8 Beta dropped today and boy, am I excited! It’s like a kid in a candy store. I’ll be doing a few blog posts on some of the changes as well as their impact on SQL Server. The first one I’m going to look at is .NET Framework which we all know is required for SQL Server deployments.

.NET Versions

.NET 3.51

.NET 3.51 is still required by SQL Server 2012 – even under Windows Server 8.

.NET 4.0

.NET 4.0 is a new requirement for SQL Server 2012.While .NET 4.0 is out of band with Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (meaning it shipped after the release of those OSes, so you need to install them separately), it is in band for Windows Server 8 since it ships with an early version of .NET 4.5. This means that you do not need to install .NET 4.0 separately and is already installed by default (see Figure 1 below). This will cut down the installation time for SQL Server 2012.

Installing and Troubleshooting .NET 3.51 Installations for SQL Server 2012 on Windows Server 8

If .NET 3.51 is not installed, SQL Server will detect this during Setup as shown in Figure 1. As you can see, SQL Server knows it needs to be enabled (“Windows feature(s) to be turned on:”), and will attempt to do so during the installation process.

Figure 1. Setup showing .NET 3.51 needs to be installed, .NET 4.0 is already installed by default in Windows Server 8

Once you get through the configuration screens, Setup will start installing SQL Server. The status shown in Figure 2 is where .NET is attempted.

Figure 2. Setup attempting to install .NET 3.51

So far, so good – right? Wrong! I ran into this:

Figure 3. Houston – we have a problem.

Needless to say, this was not something I wanted to see. Delving into the verbose SQL Server Setup log file (detail.txt), I saw this:

[cc]

(01) 2012-03-01 01:19:48 Slp: Running Action: Install_DotNet35_Cpu64_Action
(01) 2012-03-01 01:19:48 Slp: Sco: File ‘D:x64setupx64dotNetFx35setup.exe’ does not exist
(01) 2012-03-01 01:19:48 Slp: Checkpoint: PREINSTALL_DOTNET35_CPU64_ACTION
(01) 2012-03-01 01:19:48 Slp: Enabling OS feature :NetFx3, Dism Command: Dism /Online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:NetFx3 /NoRestart /Quiet /All /LogPath:”C:Program FilesMicrosoft SQL Server110Setup BootstrapLog20120301_011037NetFx3.log”
(01) 2012-03-01 01:19:48 Slp: Running: Dism /Online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:NetFx3 /NoRestart /Quiet /All /LogPath:”C:Program FilesMicrosoft SQL Server110Setup BootstrapLog20120301_011037NetFx3.log”
(19) 2012-03-01 01:24:42 Slp:
(19) 2012-03-01 01:24:42 Slp: Error: 0x800f0906
(19) 2012-03-01 01:24:42 Slp:
(19) 2012-03-01 01:24:42 Slp: The source files could not be downloaded.
(19) 2012-03-01 01:24:42 Slp: Use the /source option to specify the location of the files that are required to restore the feature. The file location should be either the root directory of a mounted image or a component store that has the Windows Side-by-Side directory as an immediate subfolder.
(01) 2012-03-01 01:24:42 Slp: Process returned -2146498298
(01) 2012-03-01 01:24:42 Slp: Failed to enable OS feature :NetFx3, result: -2146498298
(01) 2012-03-01 01:24:42 Slp: Watson Bucket 1
Original Parameter Values

(01) 2012-03-01 01:24:42 Slp: Parameter 0 : SQL Server 2012 RC0@RC@

(01) 2012-03-01 01:24:42 Slp: Parameter 3 : Microsoft.SqlServer.Configuration.SetupExtension.OSFeatureEnableFailureException@1428@1

(01) 2012-03-01 01:24:42 Slp: Parameter 4 : Microsoft.SqlServer.Configuration.SetupExtension.OSFeatureEnableFailureException@1428@1

(01) 2012-03-01 01:24:42 Slp: Parameter 5 : Install_DotNet35

(01) 2012-03-01 01:24:42 Slp: Parameter 7 : Microsoft.SqlServer.Configuration.SetupExtension.OSFeatureEnableFailureException@1@-2146498298

(01) 2012-03-01 01:24:42 Slp: Parameter 8 : Microsoft.SqlServer.Configuration.SetupExtension.OSFeatureEnableFailureException@1@-2146498298

(01) 2012-03-01 01:24:42 Slp:
Final Parameter Values

(01) 2012-03-01 01:24:42 Slp: Parameter 0 : SQL Server 2012 RC0@RC@

(01) 2012-03-01 01:24:42 Slp: Parameter 3 : 0x681D636F@1428@1

(01) 2012-03-01 01:24:42 Slp: Parameter 4 : 0x681D636F@1428@1

(01) 2012-03-01 01:24:42 Slp: Parameter 5 : Install_DotNet35

(01) 2012-03-01 01:24:42 Slp: Parameter 7 : 0x2F26F1A4

(01) 2012-03-01 01:24:42 Slp: Parameter 8 : 0x2F26F1A4

(01) 2012-03-01 01:24:44 Slp: Sco: Attempting to write hklm registry key Microsoft SQL Server to file C:Program FilesMicrosoft SQL Server110Setup BootstrapLog20120301_011037Registry_SOFTWARE_Microsoft_Microsoft SQL Server.reg_
(01) 2012-03-01 01:24:44 Slp: Sco: Attempting to write hklm registry key Uninstall to file C:Program FilesMicrosoft SQL Server110Setup BootstrapLog20120301_011037Registry_SOFTWARE_Microsoft_Windows_CurrentVersion_Uninstall.reg_
(01) 2012-03-01 01:24:44 Slp: Sco: Unable to open hklm registry key SOFTWAREMicrosoftMSSQLServer, error The system cannot find the file specified.
(01) 2012-03-01 01:24:44 Slp: Sco: Attempting to write hklm registry key Microsoft SQL Server to file C:Program FilesMicrosoft SQL Server110Setup BootstrapLog20120301_011037Registry_SOFTWARE_Wow6432Node_Microsoft_Microsoft SQL Server.reg_
(01) 2012-03-01 01:24:44 Slp: Sco: Attempting to write hklm registry key Uninstall to file C:Program FilesMicrosoft SQL Server110Setup BootstrapLog20120301_011037Registry_SOFTWARE_Wow6432Node_Microsoft_Windows_CurrentVersion_Uninstall.reg_
(01) 2012-03-01 01:24:44 Slp: Sco: Unable to open hklm registry key SOFTWAREWow6432NodeMicrosoftMSSQLServer, error The system cannot find the file specified.
(01) 2012-03-01 01:24:47 Slp: Error while enabling Windows feature : NetFx3, Error Code : -2146498298 , Please try enabling Windows feature : NetFx3 from Windows management tools and then run setup again. For more information on how to enable Windows features , see http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=227143
(01) 2012-03-01 01:24:47 Slp: Watson bucket for exception based failure has been created
[/cc]

In other words, it failed because it couldn’t find the right “thing” to install .NET 3.51 from.

So how did I troubleshoot? It’s simple. There are a few ways to configure features in Windows. One of the easiest is to use the command line tool dism.

I first checked what was enabled (or not), and saw this:

Figure 4. There’s definitely a problem!

Note the state of NetFx3 (the feature you want to install) – “Disabled with Payload Removed”. Don’t panic – the fix is pretty simple. dism allows you to specify where to find that file if for some reason it isn’t in the OS. Assuming you have access to the installation media,use the /source option of dism to specify where to find the file. In this case, I was given a clue in detail.txt in this part “a component store that has the Windows Side-by-Side directory as an immediate subfolder”. In looking at the Windows Server 8 installation media, there was a sourcessxs folder. I plugged that in and viola! Success!Figure 5. Successful installation of .NET 3.51 by explicitly pointing to the source

Now when I run SQL Sever 2012’s Setup again, it reflects that .NET 3.51 is installed. I was able to get the instance installed and configured with no problems.

Figure 6. .NET 3.51 installed – SQL Server should install just fine

So if you run into this issue with SQL Server 2012 and Windows Server 8, you’ll be able to fix it easily. Hope this helps some folks out there!

October 18, 2010

Adding .NET Framework to Windows Server 2008 R2 Part One – Command Line and PowerShell

Something which I don’t think I covered before but if I have, it bears repeating. I’m updating the chapter I wrote for the SQL Server 2008 upgrade guide for SQL Server 2008 R2, and finally got around to documenting how to properly install .NET Framework 3.51 on Windows Server 2008 R2 so you can install SQL Server 2008 or SQL Server 2008 R2. This blog post will cover how to install it using a command prompt and Part Two will cover the GUI, and you’ll see why the command line are PowerShell ways are better and less confusing. These instructions will also help you create deployment scripts, which will help you automate the entire process.

You should not need to reboot to install .NET 3.51 under normal conditions.

Note: The instructions assume the user executing have the right permissions to install features.

Why are things different on Windows Server 2008 R2? If you try to run the standalone installer package that ships with SQL Server 2008 or SQL Server 2008 R2, you will see this message:

Error when trying to install .NET using the package

It’s not the best written message as the tool it tells you to use is wrong, but that’s OK. Don’t worry about that. You’ll see what I mean in Part Two.

Normal Command Prompt
The first method I’m going to show you on how to install .NET Framework 3.51 is using the dism command, which can be done in any Command Prompt window. The command you want to enter is:

dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:NetFx3

Below is a sample execution:

Installing .NET 3.51 using dism

If you’re wondering why I got the reboot prompt, it’s probably because I had just done the PowerShell way (see below) and didn’t reboot yet.

PowerShell
If you haven’t hear me say it before, I’ll say it again: learn PowerShell. It’s the way of the future for command line-based administration and tools. You’ll be using two cmdlets: Get-WindowsFeature and Add-WindowsFeature.

First, you will execute the command:
Get-WindowsFeature NET*

This will show you the status of whether or note what you want is installed. Note that in the sample execution below, there is no X next to any of the .NET-related features. Now, also note that there are multiple options for .NET features. For SQL Server, you only need the .NET Framework. As you will see in Part Two, if you try to install everything, you’ll get things you may not want nor should you install in most SQL Server installs (especially on a cluster).

Once you verify that .NET 3.51 has not been configured, you will execute this command:
Add-WindowsFeature Net-Framework-Core
Note that the Net-Framework-Core is the name Windows uses internally; don’t try to use the friendly name (the Display Name column) from the output of Get-WindowsFeature. Use the value from the Name column.

Finally, re-run Get-WindowsFeature NET* and you will see everything is configured.

Below is a sample execution:

Installing .NET 3.51 Using PowerShell

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