Upgrading SQL Server 2000/2005 Databases to SQL Server 2008

jbasilico — Fri, 30 May 2008 18:19:00 GMT

Here at the NY Microsoft Technology Center (NY MTC), we recently ran a series of SQL Server Upgrade/Application Compatibility Labs with various customers and ISVs.

To learn more about the labs, watch this video blog entry shot during one of the actual labs: http://blogs.msdn.com/mtcny/pages/sql-server-2008-upgrade-lab-april-2008.aspx.

The two tools used in these labs were SQL Server Upgrade Advisor and SQL Server Upgrade Assistant.

SQL Server Upgrade Advisor helps you prepare for upgrades to SQL Server 2008. Upgrade Advisor analyzes installed components from earlier versions of SQL Server, and then generates a report that identifies issues to fix either before or after you upgrade. Additional information on the Upgrade Advisor can be found here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms144256(SQL.100).aspx.

SQL Server Upgrade Assistant (SSUA) is a tool made available as a free download from Scalability Experts. The tool can be downloaded at the following link: http://www.scalabilityexperts.com/default.asp?action=article&ID=43 . SSUA uses traces to allow an IT professional to evaluate the behavior of an application on different versions, service pack levels, editions, or configurations of SQL Server. The tool can even be used to test the behavior of different version of an application release when a hotfix or service pack is installed on SQL Server. SQL Server Upgrade Assistant currently supports upgrading SQL Server 7.0 and SQL Server 2000 to SQL Server 2005, as well as supports SQL Server 2000 and SQL Server 2005 to SQL Server 2008.

Analyze DW/DM Performance Activity with Performance Dashboard Reports

jbasilico — Fri, 09 May 2008 16:29:00 GMT

Are you a DBA tasked with keeping a SQL Server 2005 based data warehouse/datamart performing properly? Are you looking for a no-cost method to analyze performance metrics of your server(s)? If so, the SQL Server 2005 Performance Dashboard Reports are for you!

The SQL Server 2005 Performance Dashboard Reports are Reporting Services report files designed to be used with the Custom Reports feature introduced in the SP2 release of SQL Server Management Studio. The reports allow a database administrator to quickly identify whether there is a current bottleneck on their system, and if a bottleneck is present, capture additional diagnostic data that may be necessary to resolve the problem. For example, if the system is experiencing waits for disk IO the dashboard allows the user to quickly see which sessions are performing the most IO, what query is running on each session and the query plan for each statement.

Common performance problems that the dashboard reports may help to resolve include:

- CPU bottlenecks (and what queries are consuming the most CPU)

- IO bottlenecks (and what queries are performing the most IO).

- Index recommendations generated by the query optimizer (missing indexes)

- Blocking

- Latch contention

The information captured in the reports is retrieved from SQL Server's dynamic management views. There is no additional tracing or data capture required, which means the information is always available and this is a very inexpensive means of monitoring your server.

Reporting Services is not required to be installed to use the Performance Dashboard Reports.

To download the performance reports, you can find the install files here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/info.aspx?na=90&p=&SrcDisplayLang=en&SrcCategoryId=&SrcFamilyId=1d3a4a0d-7e0c-4730-8204-e419218c1efc&u=http%3a%2f%2fdownload.microsoft.com%2fdownload%2f0%2f6%2fe%2f06ebef2e-2cc0-4b7a-a81a-deb4eec607d7%2fSQLServer2005_PerformanceDashboard.msi

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Upgrading SQL Server 2000/2005 Databases to SQL Server 2008

Analyze DW/DM Performance Activity with Performance Dashboard Reports