February 17, 2010 at 12:14 pm
Dear Experts,
I have 2 node sql2k cluster in my production enviornment. Our management has decided to migrate all the databases to the new sql2k8 platform. I have the following question on the same
1) Is it possible to do side by side installation of sql2k with sql2k8 in cluster enviornment. I dont want to upgrade sql2k to sql2k8.
2) What are the exact steps to do the same in cluster enviornment?
3) Also i would like to know if the sql2k8 cluster setup fails will i be able to run my databases on sql2k cluster setup again or i'll have to uninstall the sql2k8 setup?
My os is windows server 2003 r2 sp2
Experts pls guide me on this. This is my new project and a critical one.
Thank you,
Dev
Thank you,
Regards,
Dev
email id :- dev_programmer@yahoo.co.in
February 19, 2010 at 1:43 pm
Dear Experts,
Stil there is no reply on the above topic. pls reply on the same. This is very important.
Awaiting your reply
Thank you,
Regards,
Dev
email id :- dev_programmer@yahoo.co.in
February 24, 2010 at 5:03 am
Firstly, have a look at some the existing publications on migrating from SQL2000 to SQL2008. The Microsoft Upgrade Guide and Dell Migration Guide are both good at outlining what's involved.
A side-by-side migration (from one server/cluster to another) tends to avoid most of the in-situ upgrade issues.
If you are doing this in a clustered environment, you need to create a new cluster and ensure that it is working properly at an OS level before you install SQL2008 and the appropriate service packs/cumulative updates. Test the clustering resilience as you go along and before you migrate from the existing SQL2000 databases to SQL2008.
If you are creating a new cluster, will you be using Windows 2003 as an OS, or Windows 2008? 32bit or 64bit?
February 24, 2010 at 11:37 am
Dear Expert,
Thank you for the reply. I would like to clear one thing that i am not going to create another cluster. I want to install sql2k8 on the same cluster where sql2k is installed. The OS is win2k3 sp2 r2 32 bit enterprise edition. Can u help me on this.?
Thank you,
Regards,
Dev
email id :- dev_programmer@yahoo.co.in
February 24, 2010 at 12:33 pm
To do a side by side install, SQL Server 2008 will most like need to be a named instance if SQL Server 2000 is installed as the default instance.
February 24, 2010 at 4:02 pm
Perhaps also consider using SQL 2008 with compatibility mode 80. You don't get full SQl 2008 functionality, but you can get some improvements over sql 2000, with much less risk than a true upgrade. I won't say that you can't put them both on there, but 2000 is a kind of touchy, and I wouldn't, unless absolutely necessary, try to run both versions on the same box, especially a cluster.
February 25, 2010 at 4:33 am
I agree with both Lynn and Tim's points.
If you choose to install SQL Server 2008 on the same server, you will need to create a separately named instance for the SQL 2008 install.
However, I would advise you not install SQL Server 2008 in parallel with SQL Server 2000 on the same cluster.
For starters, SQL 2000 installs on a cluster in a different way to SQL 2005 or SQL 2008.
If you really have to install SQL 2008 on the same server (because your managers won't give you the budget for the extra hardware, for example) then please consider the following:
1. Using a test server practice installing SQL Server 2008 and any pertinent service packs/cumulative updates. This does not have to be a clustered server, although practicing a full clustered installation would be very helpful and you should always try to test your installation on hardware that is as similar as possible to your final production system.
2. Once you are happy with with your SQL 2008 installation, take an existing backup of the databases you wish to migrate and and restore those backups to the test server. Leave the restored databases as Compatability Mode 80.
3. Test all processes that currently interact with the SQL 2000 databases by pointing the development versions of these processes at your test server.
4. Make sure you have timings for the SQL 2008 install, the restore of the affected databases and the post-migration checks. You will need these to convince the management about the downtime you need on the production environment. Add 10% to the total timings and use that as your downtime figure.
5. Announce the downtime to the business.
6. At the appropriate maintenance slot, stop users accessing the SQL 2000 instance.
7. Take a final backup of all databases that you want to migrate.
8. Store those backups in a different location, one that is not linked in any way to the cluster you wish to upgrade to SQL 2008.
9. Completely remove the SQL 2000 installation from your clustered server. This may involve rebooting the node(s). Check that SQL 2000 is not present on either node.
10. Check the cluster can still fail over from one node to another.
11. Install SQL Server 2008. Check the cluster fails over properly.
12. Install the service packs/cumulative updates. Check the cluster fails over properly.
13. Restore the affected databases from the final backups. Leave in Compatability Mode 80.
14. Test all processes that interacted with the SQL 2000 databases and make sure they all work.
15. Notify the users that the databases have been migrated.
16. Using the test server, upgrade one database at a time to full SQL Server 2008 mode (if the management want that done) and test thoroughly before applying those changes to the production environment.
17. DOCUMENT EVERYTHING. 😉
February 25, 2010 at 7:05 am
Dear Experts,
Thanks so much for the detailed explanation. This is of great help. Yes even i agree that the SQL2k8 installation would be a named instance and not the default one. The only thing i want to disagree with is the uninstall of the SQL2k cluster.
If at all anything goes wrong with installation of the SQL2k8 cluster than atleast i have the SQL2k cluster. This is the reason i wanted to do a side by side install. Pls tell me if this is feasible or not.
Also, I am testing the cluster environment on the VMware server. I would write about my experiences.
I also wanted to know that the migration of the database of the SQL2k databases to full SQL2k8 database would be the normal steps that we follow right?
Thank you,
Regards,
Dev
email id :- dev_programmer@yahoo.co.in
February 25, 2010 at 2:42 pm
The best way to determine what will work in your environment is to test thoroughly before deploying the changes to your live server.
If your preferred solution is to deploy a named instance of SQL 2008 on the same cluster as SQL 2000, then please set up your VM Ware environment to exactly mirror the production environment before testing the parallel installation of these two SQL Server versions.
Do you have any DTS packages that are currently being used in your SQL 2000 environment? If so, you need to decide whether you are going to migrate/upgrade those to SQL 2008, or whether you are going to continue to use them in DTS mode. There is useful information here, here, and here.
February 25, 2010 at 11:12 pm
Dear Experts,
Thanks again for the reply and drawing my attention for DTS. Well i feel i am lucky or may be not that my databases have no dts packages. Hoping that the login and the job migration would not pose any problems to me.
Thanks again.
Also would request you to draw my attention to any other details like these which could be a bottleneck during the whole process.
Thanks once again.
Thank you,
Regards,
Dev
email id :- dev_programmer@yahoo.co.in
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