Complicated Database Migration - sql

I have a database that I need to move and I need to meet the following goals:
I have to change the collation
I need to upgrade it from a 2005 DB to a 2008 DB with all keys and constraints intact.
I would think this would be a rather simple procedure, but it appears to be hugely complicated. Mostly I am sure I don't understand the complexities I am dealing with. Here is what I have attempted to accomplish what I am doing:
A. I have used the SQL Manager to import from one database to another. While this works great for fixing the collation, I lose all the keys.
B. I scripted the table creation so I get all the keys and constraints, but then can't import the database because of them.
I am not any SQL expert by any means, but I love learning. I have been working on this for weeks and just want to get it done at this point. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Some other notes: I am running MS SQL Server. A 2005 as default instance. A 2008 as a named instance. Both of these run on the same server.

Found a blogpost with a script that alters all collation on database objects. Haven't tried it out myself so use with caution!. Always make a full backup or even better use a non production server to try it out.
Alter the :SETVAR variables to correspond with your database and collation.
Once the collation is set right you can create a backup on SQL server 2005 and restore the database on the SQL server 2008 instance. There should be no need to import the database.

Related

is a generic query for verifying and fixing table possible?

Is it possible to build a generic query that verifies and if needed corrects a whole table schema?
Example:
On my dev machine i have a sql server with some tables. I, and others, make changes to the tables and sometimes misses to notify the others about them. :/
I want to build a query that reads the dev sql tables and creates a query that i can run one another sql server and updates that table there so that they are equal.
I cant drop the table and recreate it unfortunately. I dont want to change any of the data.
If this is to hard with sql syntax is there some tools that can do this for me? The sql tables are almost always on different machines and most likely i cant connect directly to them from the same place. So tha fixing/verifying needs to be done "offline".
Time is not of the essence, it can be a very slow query as long as it works.
update: I want to verify the sql schema and not the content of the table
update2: We are using SQL Server 2008 R2
It is possible, but not easy. This kind of tool is called a Data Dictionary, and you can write one yourself (see advice from the Database Programmer) or you can buy a commercial one, for example RedGate's SQL Compare.

importing data from one database to other when schemas are different

I have this SQL Server 2005 DB and we are upgrading to a new DB in SQL Server 2008. The schemas would be slightly different between the databases. What would be a best option to copy data from the old DB to the new DB.
Define "slightly different". Integration Service is probably the way to go.
Since the schemas are only slightly different, I would suggest making a full backup of the SQL2005 DB and restoring it on the SQL2008 server. Once you have the direct copy, use a script to migrate the data on the few tables where the schema is different.
It really depends on the definition of slightly.
Use Integration Service to design a whole package, or you can connect to the 2005 instance from within 2008 SSMS and right click on the tables and select "Import Data". This will bring up an Wizard that will do the work for you (through SSIS) and let you copy the data right over.
Another option is to use SQL Server Data Tools, which is a new tool from MS that has a schema compare tool where you can actually generate the scripts to create the tables and related objects.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/data/gg427686

Clone entire database with a SP

I'm trying to find out if this is possible, but so far I haven't found out any good solutions. What I would like to achieve is write a stored procedure that can clone a database but without the stored data. That means all tables, views, constraints, keys and indexes should be included but without any data. Can it be done?
Sure - your stored proc would have to read the system catalog views to find out what objects are in the database, determine their potential dependencies, and then create a single or a collection of SQL scripts which re-create the database, and execute those.
It's possible - not very nice and easy to do. Especially the dependencies between objects might cause more headaches than first meets the eye....
You could also:
use something like SQL Server Management Studio (if you're on SQL Server - you didn't specify) and create the scripts manually, and just re-execute them on a separate server
use a "diff" tool like Redgate SQL Compare to compare two servers and have the second one brought up to date
I've successfully used the Microsoft SQL Server Database Publishing Wizard for this purpose. It's pretty straightforward, no coding needed. Here's a sample call:
sqlpubwiz script -d DatabaseName -S ServerName -schemaonly C:\Projects2\Junk\ DatabaseName.sql
I believe the default is to create both data and schema, but you can use the schemaonly parameter.
Download it here
In SQL Server you can roll through the system tables (sys.tables, sys.columns, etc.) and construct things one at a time. It's going to be very manual and error prone at the beginning, but it should become systematic pretty quickly.
Another way to do it is to write something in .Net using SMO. Check out this link:
http://www.sqlteam.com/article/scripting-database-objects-using-smo-updated

How can I replicate a table from SQL 2000 to SQL 2008?

I have a table on a SQL Server 2000 database, which I want copied verbatim to a 2008 server.
I tried to do it manually with INSERT/UPDATE triggers, but this technique runs in a distributed transaction, which does not work because I apparently have to enable MSDTC and the firewall; I don't want to do any of that.
Are there any other ways to replicate that table (in real-time) to the 2008 server?
My first question would be do you really need it to be replicated?
If you want to reference it real-time in Sql 2008, just do a linked server with a Synonym. This will make the table act like it is part of your schema, with minor limitations.
Have you tried to create a scheduled DTS/SSIS package to do the work?
Is it copying or replication? Copying implies a one-time action while replication implies an open-ended period of time during which these tables will be synchronized.

Any good SQL Anywhere database schema comparison tools?

Are there any good database schema comparison tools out there that support Sybase SQL Anywhere version 10? I've seen a litany of them for SQL Server, a few for MySQL and Oracle, but nothing that supports SQL Anywhere correctly.
I tried using DB Solo, but it turned all my non-unique indexes into unique ones, and I didn't see any options to change that.
If you are willing to download SQL Anywhere Version 11, and Compare It!, check out the comparison technique shown here:
http://sqlanywhere.blogspot.com/2008/08/comparing-database-schemas.html
You don't have to upgrade your SQL Anywhere Version 10 database.
The new kid on the block is Qwerybuilder. It supports SQL Server, Sybase ASE, Sybase SQL Anywhere and Oracle. I've used it successfully with SQL Anywhere to track schema changes.
Two I've come across that support SQL Anywhere:
Upscene Database Workbench - http://www.upscene.com/products.dbw.sqlanywhere.php
Aquafold - http://www.aquafold.com/index-sybaseany.html
Each one appears has a schema comparison tool, however I have not used either to compare schemas.
SQLDelta is awesome. It is for SQL Server. I've used it with SQL 2000 and 2005. It will compare stored procedures, tables, views, permissions, indexes, etc. It can also compare data between tables I believe. You can sync the changes or generate SQL Scripts for later use. I use it often to script out db changes in development to production.
Ah...missed the Sybase remark. Not sure if SQLDelta can talk to it..but I'd probably give it a shot since Sybase is similar.
Try erwin (CA AllFusion ERwin Data Modeler). It supports quite a lot of different DBs, including SQL Anywhere, and is quite good in reverse/forward engineering and schema comparison. However, you may find it a bit too complex to use for the comparison...
I use SQL Data Compare from Red Gate along with SQL Compare the data compare allows you to Compare the contents of two databases and Automatically synchronize your data.
SQL compare allows you to do the same but with the database tables. Nice GUI on each and very easy setup. they also work on a remote database.
There not cheap but each has a 30 trail so you can get a feel if you like it or not.
Sybase PowerDesigner can also Compare or Merge your Database Schema.
It can also Load the Schema from various Databases by ODBC if you have Schema generation Scripts you can also load them into a Model.
Its an expensive tool but great to document and develop you schema changes IMHO.
Breck Carter's idea is a good one. For quick scans, I have an old product that is called DBDelta. I have it installed on an old Windows 2000 machine because the install I have will not work on an XP machine. It's a very small app that compares two SQL Anywhere databases across an ODBC connection.
I've done some searches to try and find a later copy, but have not been able to. The developer was Charles Butcher. I think he supported it for a while and then stopped back in 2002 or so.
I'll continue to look for a link. If I find something I will post it here.
QweryBuilder 5.5.0 will allow you to compare all procedures, functions, views, tables and triggers in one shot. This release is scheduled for mid May, 2010.
It hasn't been finalized yet but we are also looking at adding an option to turn the diff results into a script that can be executed on a target database.