SQL Server 2008 Web edition - sql

My company is planning to migrate it's intranet/internet based ERP to the latest form of MS SQL Database available.
Presently we are using SQL Server 2000 Professional.
And we are planning to shift to SQL Server 2008 Web edition.
Please tell me whether this is the right step and whether it is feasible or not.
Thank you in advance.

"Please tell me whether this is the right step " - that's something you and your company need to decide.
It is feasible, and in the majority of cases straight forward.
Your first step should be to run the Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Upgrade Advisor
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Feature Pack contains the Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Upgrade Advisor
Formulate and test a rollback plan
Determine your upgrade window and acceptable downtime.
Ensure database consistency: Run DBCC CHECKDB on databases to be upgraded to ensure that they are in a consistent state before performing the upgrade.
Back up all important files: Back up all SQL Server databases from the instance to be upgraded (including master, model and msdb), data and transaction log files, as well as any application files, script files, extract files, etc. so that you can completely restore them in the event of a failure.

It's both feasible and easy. The path from one version of SQL Server to another is usually pretty simple. Do you have any special stored procedures or reports generated in SQL Server that need to be rewritten/re-imported?
As far as right step - the question is, Why? If it's working, do you really need to mess with it?

If it's for intranet (some app for your internal usage) then consider using SQL 2008 Express edition. It's free and you can use it as an instance running along the full 2000 version. That way you will have some extra features from the full version.
But you have to know that applications running on SQL 2000 may not work on 2008 and they are even more probable not to work on 2008 R2.

Related

Can I restore a backup which was on SQL Express to sql server server 2008 without any problems

I am going to do a customer SQL upgrade and they currently have SQL Express and I want to upgrade it to Microsoft SQL server 2008.
Will it be okay to restore the SQL Express backup to Microsoft SQL Server 2008?
First off, the comments seem to mention MySQL. I can see that you edited it to say SQL Express. If it is indeed MS SQL Express then yes, as SMM said it will work.
I have done this a few times before, and it worked just fine. Though rather than a backup/restore I would move the .mdf file.
This is done by detaching the DB from the Express instance and attaching it to the Server 2008 instance; this can be easily done via sqlcmd or the Studio Manager. The steps can vary based on systems(s) setup. As such, I did a google search to see if there existed a step by step guide for this rather than typing a bunch of scenarios as shots in the dark. There are a plethora of them:
I just Googled: move sql express .mdf to sql server 2008
I also found this and it would seem to be a good match for your situation and has good information:
http://www.mipsis.com/help/Moving%20SQL%20Express%20Database%20to%20SQL%20Server.pdf
Let me know how it goes, and if you need specific assistance with the process please follow up.
I have done SQL Express to SQL 2000 and SQL 2005 successfully in the (distant) past. I am sure this will work. I don't remember any specific caveats other than making sure that you don't try to go from a later version of Express to an earlier version of SQL.

How can I restore a database backup file (.bak) from SQL Server 2012 into SQL Server 2008 Express?

A database that was originally from SQL Server 2008, was restored into SQL Server 2012. A backup from SQL Server 2012 was made and I am trying to restore it on my local SQL Server 2008 Express. However I get an error 'Specified cast is not valid' (SQLManagerUI).
I have generated an SQL Script from 2012 and set it so that it will generate with compatibility to SQL Server 2008. However it is a large sql file, around 700mb.
I recall before that I had tried to run a script of that size before on my local SQLExpress and also got an error.
Is there a way I can get a "large" database from SQL Server 2012 into SQL Server 2008 Express?
Thanks to Marc and Aaron for providing the answers.
The quick answer is no, it's not possible to restore a backup file from a higher version to a lower version of SQL Server.
A work around would be to generate the scripts to create the database.
You can target the script generation to a lower version.
Please see comments above for more information.
Links:
Why an SQL Server Database from a higher version cannot be restored onto a lower version of SQL Server?
Create Database in SQL Server 2012, Script and Use in 2008?
Couple things to add that might be helpful to folks
When scripting large databases using scripting wizard in SSMS it’s really important to check the execution order and be willing to re arrange it manually. Older versions of SSMS had this problem because they (probably) relied on sp_depends that has a bug.
What I’ve found really useful in such cases are tools like ApexSQL Diff that you can use to read database backups and generate scripts that are in correct execution order.
SQL Server database backup restore on lower version
One thing that none of the methods will catch is the thing Aaron mentioned about using functions specific to higher version.
A better option than using the SSMS scripting wizard is to use a similar tool available on Codeplex called SQL Database Migration Wizard - http://sqlazuremw.codeplex.com/releases/view/32334. You want the latest version v4.x to work with SQL Server 2012.
The tool is originally intended to be used for migrating databases between SQL Server and Azure. However the tool works just as well as between SQL Server and SQL Server. The trick is to set SQL Server rather than Azure as the target in the advanced options.
The reason this is a better option than the SSMS scripting wizard is that it uses BCP for the data transfer rather than TSQL and so is much more efficient.

Sql Server 2005 Express Edition Question

We have a Sql Server 2005 Standard Edition running on a Production website. We'd like to move to a cloud hosting but they only offer Sql Server Express Edition on there.
My question is, will there be any problems in moving over? We only use tables, views, stored procedures and a few user defined functions. And we also have a Backup Maintenance Plan in place. Will any if this change?
WHat other limitations/problems (if any) can we expect to have? And is it a good idea to run on Express in Production?
And I would like to add, will it be OK if we moved from SQL server 2005 Standard to Sql Server 2008 Express - what possible problems there could be with this move?
There are limitations for SQL Server 2005 Express as listed here
These include:
- max 1GB RAM only
- max DB size of 4GB
- 1 CPU
Theses restrictions may cause you a problem. See the full list in the link.
With regrd to moving from 2005 Standard, to 2008 Express, then I expect the limitations of Express Edition may be the main factor when you consider if it really is an option. The limitations for 2008 Express are similar, see here.
Hope this helps
The migration im unsure.
Express does not support triggers (fully), nor SQL scheudling.
Its size is limited to 4GB.
You can only ever have one instance with express.
It does however support Full Text and Reporting Services (in the express advanced edition)
We have plenty of clients running SQL Express due to cost. Only small pain has been the need to write a windows service for a job that could be easily run in proper SQL scheduling in the paid for the version.
Im sure there are many more differences but these are the ones im aware of, hope this helps.
I've used SQL Server Express for simple data persistence in production with no issues.
From the looks of your situation the only feature that will not be supported is backup maintenance. However, if you're hosted on a cloud, your ISP should take care of backup for you.

Will Problems Arise from Using SQL2008 to Interact w/ a SQL2005 DB on another machine?

I have SQL2008 installed on my local machine and need to view/alter/select rows and tables from a DB on a remote server running SQL 2005. Will I have any problems doing this. I have seen some people talk about setting compatibility for certain things, but this seems to only be when using new terms for SQL 2008 that don't exist in SQL 2005 is this correct?
Thanks for any help.
I assume that you're talking about using SSMS 2008 to connect to 2005 databases. You shouldn't have any problems with this at all - and in fact you'll get some benefits. SSMS 2008 has search capabilities that weren't around in the SSMS 2005 version. You won't get the intellisense when connecting to 2005 databases, but most of the other improvements in 2008 will still work.
The 2 biggest reasons for me personally to upgrade to the 2008 SSMS from 2005 are the Search feature, and also the missing-index suggestions when viewing estimated query plans.
This will work with no issues. My entire development team is setup this way currently. You will lose some features (i.e. intellisense) but other than that, it will work.

Partial import of Sql server 2005 database for local developement

So at work, my team is using a central SQL server 2005 database server for integration testing and I want to move to testing on my local database. The only problem is that the central database is in excess of 10 Gb.
I am interested in importing the data objects and a rows for each table to ensure I can be up and running. Can you guys advise me on how I can do this?
I have VS 2008 professional and SQL Server management studio express. Would I need VS 2008 database edition?
Thanks
-Venu
EDIT : I will try logging into the central database server and seeing if the host machine has better tools. Thanks kpollock, I didn't think of that.
Both 2005 and 2008 Express editions have 4 gb limitation.
Have you thought about making a db copy on central server and dealing with it (just restore it into new db with other name)?
See also BACKUP and RESTORE in SQL Server -- Full Backups
Looks like an SSIS job to me - which I think Express version of Management Studio doesn't have.
Or you could do it in C# calling Stored procs on the source database to extract the data if that's where your skills lie. (this is how I would do it as I think it's more widely comprehensible - but that's just my opinion).
If the database is live and new data comes in all the time perhaps you could set up the schema and reference data only then use replication to get the new data as it comes in (if you think that will get you a representative sample).
You will have to code up the sample extraction based upon an understanding of the schema - i.e. ensure you get a full set of linked records (e.g detail records for orders and all lookups e.g. customer, addresses, etc.).