Database Migration from SQL Server 2008 Express to SQL Server 2008 R2 Enterprise - sql

The production server in my company is currently running on SQL Server 2008 Express Edition. Now we want to change the version to SQL Server 2008 Enterprise R2. The server is currently running on Windows Server 2008 Enterprise OS.
We want to first uninstall the Express Edition on the Server & Install the 2008 R2 Enterprise on it. We don’t prefer the DATABASE UPGRADE option.
Please suggest how can I go ahead with the installation.

To preserve the same server name and instance name (or default, i.e. MSSQLSERVER), you will need to remove the Express instance first.
There are many configuration settings to keep track of - custom listening ports, surface area configuration, master-db collation, logins, roles, permissions, schemas, installed CLR modules etc. This is not something you will want to attempt with just an answer from ServerFault or StackOverflow. I sincerely and strongly urge you to hire a consultant for this task.
Of course if you have a very small company running just 1 express database on SQL Server defaults, by all means
detach the databases
uninstall express
install enterprise (using defaults for everything)
attach the databases
I cannot but re-stress, please hire a consultant

Related

Microsft SQL Server Developer Free Edition is a local database?

I was wondering if the Microsoft SQL Server the Free Edition is a SQL server than i can connect to from any other PC even if i shutdown the main PC which has the SQL server installed on, or it is just a local SQL server and the PC should always be online to allow other connections to?
You can have either a server installation like the free Express edition. It can be installed on a server or any other machine (even the client machine itself). It also bring the SQLLocalDB which is a light version of the Express Edition. In all cases the computer that hosts the database needs to be available for access (in your case as mentioned turned on).
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=101064
If you have the need that the database should be available without having to turn on a computer, you want to take a look at the Azure SQL database versions which are the cloud based versions of SQL Server. Depending on the needs you can pick from different flavours like the serverless tier:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-sql/database/serverless-tier-overview?view=azuresql

SSRS and SQL Server database on different server

Is it possible to install SSRS and SQL Server database on separate servers, or should these two be installed on the same server?
Thanks
In order to have Reporting Services on your application server, you would have to use a SQL-Server license. You can install just the Reporting Services section of SQLServer, but it is still technically part of the SQL Server application and requires a license for use on that processor(s).
So yes, you can install it on another server.
Yes, you can install only the advanced services, but that still counts as full server., so it requires a full license.
Yes, you can install an Express Edition (with advanced services) on another server for free.
But... the express edition SSRS can't access a non-localhost database (technical limitations of express & web edition).
You can try to circumvent that with linked-servers, but you need to duplicate every used stored procedure, view, table etc., so it's an impractical mess.
The answer to your question is thus: Technically, yes - but actually NO, not without another license.
That extra-installation is gonna cost USD 1'000+ per month.
Yes, you can install SSRS and a SQL Server database on different servers. While the default installation tries to install both, you can select to install them separately.
MSDN links:
Considerations for Installing Reporting Services
Installing SQL Server Reporting Services
From MSDN article Considerations for Installing Reporting Services:
Select Database Engine Services in the Feature Selection page to host
the report server databases. Reporting Services requires a local or
remote instance of SQL Server 2005 or SQL Server 2008 Database Engine
to host the report server databases. If you install an instance of the
Database Engine concurrently with Reporting Services, you can
eliminate a post-Setup task by installing the default configuration,
which creates and configures the report server databases
automatically. In addition to hosting the report server databases, SQL
Server relational databases can also be a source of data for reports
and models.
You could install SSRS in a new server, but to do so you would need a new license for this other server.
From Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Licensing Guide:
"The software components of a single SQL Server 2014 license cannot be separated for use in more than one OSE. If these components are running on a server other than the main database server, then an additional license is required for each additional OSE in which they are installed. For example, if the SQL Server DB is deployed in one OSE and SQL Server RS is deployed in another, both OSEs must be fully licensed for SQL Server 2014 accordingly."
Link to download the guide:
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=230678

Will SQL Server Express work with a database made in regular SQL Server?

I was wondering if we could backup the database that we currently host on regular SQL Server, and put it onto our clients computer when we setup SQL Server Express for them.
Is this possible?
Thanks,
Matt
Yes, it's possible to restore a database backup from the Standard edition to the Express edition. It's not possible to restore a SQL Server 2008 to a SQL Server 2005 version, though.
However, there a some minor differences between versions. I've noticed an issue in SQL Server Express 2005 when calling .NET SQL CLR functions across databases, so your mileage may vary. I haven't been able to find a good overview of the exact differences between the various SQL Server editions.
It's always best to keep the development platform as close as possible to the release platform. I can only recommend that you use the Express edition of SQL Server for development as well; and re-test your application.

Do I have both SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2008 installed?

When in 'SQL Server Configuration Manager' I see, under 'SQL Server Services', 2 items that look like SQL Server's:
SQL Server (sqlexpress)
SQL Server (mssqlserver)
Does that mean I have 2 versions installed at the same time? The 'SQL Server (mssqlserver) is currently stopped).
You have two instances. They might or might not be the same version (meaning 2005/2008).
Express is just an SKU / edition from the myriad of different editions.
You can have the same version or multiple versions/SKUs installed as different instances on the same machine.
So unless someone wittingly set up a new instance with the name "sqlexpress", you probably have two kinds of products installed (both can be 2008 or both can be 2005 or they can be different - it is just that one of them is presumably the Express SKU while the other is say Standard.)
You can get more information on the instances by using ##VERSION.
It looks like you got SQL Server Express installed with Visual Studio and then later installed SQL Server 2008. I've done this before and the best solution I found was to completely uninstall SQL Server Express and SQL Server 2008. Remove all the files in the Microsoft SQL Server directory in Program Files, then reinstall SQL Server 2008. If you still have problems getting the 2008 instance to be the default, you may also need to uninstall Visual Studio.
In the future, if you're going to install the development (or other) version of SQL Server locally, I suggest making sure you install it before Visual Studio. The VS install won't install SQL Server Express if it detects an existing SQL Server instance on the system.
BTW, you can verify if this is true by using the Add/Remove Programs Control Panel item.
SQLExpress is the light/free edition, usually used for developers or very lightweight applications.
MSSQLServer is the full blown SQL install.
So yes you have 2 "SQL Server" installs, but they are different products, I can't say which versions based on your provided data.
You have two SqlServer instances installed on your system. One is SqlServer Express Edition and the other one a Sql Server. I can't say which version or edition.
Maybe you can find some more information in the registry (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft).
I'd vote against removing either one--SQL server does fine with multiple instances and they are good for different things. For example, lots of open source projects presume a local copy of sql express at .\SQLEXPRESS for development use. Whereas you can't write analysis service stuff with SQL Express.
Or, its not a problem. Those aren't the droids your looking for. Move along.

Can SQL Server Express be used to effectively administrate a SQL Server Standard/Enterprise installation?

We have a number of MS SQL Server 2005 installations (both Standard and Enterprise editions) on our webservers. From time to time I need to administrate them from home. Right now I'm using Remote Desktop to connect to my work machine, but I'd prefer to install SQL Server Management Studio on my home machine so that I can work more efficiently. I don't have a spare license, so I was wondering... if I installed MS SQL Server 2005 Express on my home machine, could I use it to effectively administrate the higher-end installations on our servers?
See this question:
What's the difference between SQL Server Management Studio and the Express edition?
Also, if you have any trouble doing anything from Managment Studio Express, there are third-party tools out there that have no trouble connecting to SQL Server.
Personally, I've noticed a few things missing out of the box:
Import/Export
Activity Monitor
Job monitor
However, the question I linked to indicated you may be able to restore most of that for use when you connect to a full sql server edition.
If you do a client tools only install of the standard edition (ie. just SSMS) and don't install the database, agent, etc. then I'm pretty sure you don't need another license and won't be violating the EULA. If you want a full install the SQL Server developer edition is only $49 and comes with everything.
http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2005/en/us/developer.aspx
I'm not sure if you can create backup schedules and maintenance plans in Management Studio Express.