CS2304 - Intro to Databases and SQL

For this course you will need to install several pieces of software, primarily Pulse Secure VPN & Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio. If you are running on a Mac you may need to run Virtual Box or VMWare to Install Windows 10. The instructions for the recommended installation of each can be found below.

Installing Needed Software

Installing Pulse Secure VPN

Pulse Secure VPN is provided by Virginia Tech and they have several pages dedicated to information about using and install the software one of which can be found at 4help Knowledgebase - Pulse Secure.

Key Tips:

1. You must use VT-All Traffic Over SSL VPN
2. Installation can be performed in the VM or on the host machine.

Installing Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)

Microsoft Provides SSMS for free. The software and installation instructions can be found at Microsoft Documentation - SSMS.

The page linked above also features a number of How-To topics and tutorials for SSMS.

1. Download SSMS
2. Start the installer
3. If prompted, Allow it to make changes to your device
4. Choose an install Path, (or use the default), Click Install.
5. Provided there are no errors the installation should finish.

Installing Oracle VirtualBox (Only needed for Mac installations)

Note: VirtualBox and VMware Player have essentially the same functionality. Please choose which ever is to your preference. Instructions for VMware can be found below.

VirtualBox - Download Page

Installing Windows

1. Download the latest version of Windows from your Software Page or the Microsoft Evaluation Page
2. Start VirtualBox
3. Click New (Or Command-N)
4. Name your VM, Select a folder where it will be stored and select Windows 10 (64-bit)
5. Select an Appropriate amount of RAM, 2-4GB should suffice but if you have more I would go as high as 8GB
6. Create a virtual Hard disk (Any Type), Dynamically Allocated, I recommend choosing a size around 50GB
7. You should now have a VM in the Manager, Select it, Under storage on the right side, Click [Optical Drive] Empty, and select your Windows ISO. It should say the name of the ISO now.
8. Click Start, to Start the Machine with the Windows ISO.
9. The Windows Installer should start automatically.
   1. Select your language, click next, click Install Now
   2. If prompted for windows version select windows 10 Enterprise
   3. Accept the License, Select Custom: Install Windows Only
   4. Select Your Virtual Hard disk, click next.
   5. Installation should complete itself at this point and reboot the VM
10. Go through the post install setup to select region, keyboard, and create your account (If you don't want to sign in with Microsoft select domain join in the bottom left.)
11. The rest of the options are personal preference. After you finish this you should be in windows.

Installing VMWare Fusion Player (Not Currently Recommended)

Note: This software requires registering an account with vmware to download. The player version is free to Students. It just adds a layer of complexity. You can use either VirtualBox or VMware Fusion Player, its your preference.

VMware Sign-up

1. Follow the link above and Register an account.
2. Once your account is created and Activated. Visit this page: Product Evaluation
3. Log in with your VMware id/password, and register for this download. Note: At the time of writing this, their site wouldn't let me download this software. You could possibly try an evaluation copy of fusion Pro but that has a 30 day expiration.