Hi

I have 2 installers for my VB.NET app, one for the client app (exe, dlls,
config etc.), one for server components (shared data files, sql express db).
I have a few questions relating to the architecture of the deployment:

1. For the server install, I will be providing the mdf/ldf files. These
either need to be attached to an existing SQL 2005 installation (any version)
or SQL Express will need to be installed and the files attached to that. So
how do I best accomplish this? I thought of creating my own
bootstrapper-style app that asks what the user wants to do / have also been
reading a lot on bootstrapper SDK, however am a bit confused now!
Additionally, if SQL Express is to be installed, I will need to allow
remote connections, so will need to specify the options detailed on this page.
2. For the client install, I need to be able to modify the application's
config file to set the appropriate sql connection string. As far as I can
tell the best way to do this is via a custom action which launches an exe to
prompt for this information. Is this correct?
3. In many cases, the client install will be run remotely, via Microsoft
SMS or similar. How can I specify the info in (2) in this case?

I am using Installshield Express 12 to create my MSIs but it looks like I
need a Bootstrapper or something similar to link everything together.

thanks in advance for your replies - I hope this was the right place to post
these questions!

Richard