Ryan R. Donovan's Microsoft WebLog : R2

Data Migration to CS2009 from Prior Versions

rdonovan — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 02:20:00 GMT

A question got asked to me today about how to migrate data from Commerce Server 2002. It was obvious from reading it, that at least one person doesn't know that there is a data migration tool.

It will take data from all versions prior, specifically:

Commerce Server 2000
Commerce Server 2002
Commerce Server 2002 FP1
Commerce Server 2007

and migrate it to Commerce Server 2009. What's the catch? Some of the old catalog entities that got dropped in lieu of Catalog Sets and Virtual Catalogs in CS2002 (when migrating from CS2000) will be flattened. Other than that, everything will migrate with full integrity - ASSUMING that there were no unsupported changes made to Commerce Server's schemas (e.g. - you did not edit SQL Server directly and went through the provided schema editing tools).

THe best practices are, of course:

Backup your source data
Don't run the migration on the live source - do it on a copy

But with that - you should be good to go! Hope this helps...

"R2" TAP and the ROI of Life on the Bleeding Edge

rdonovan — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 00:19:00 GMT

Recently, we have launched the Technology Adoption Program (TAP) for Commerce Server 2009 Code Name "R2" - which is the next version of Commerce Server. This is highlighted in the team blog at http://blogs.msdn.com/commerce/archive/2009/06/22/the-next-version-of-commerce-server-codename-r2-is-on-its-way.aspx - where you can get the full details.

If you sign up, you will get:

One-on-One briefing
Early access to next-generation bits
Direct interaction with the product group

The obvious question is what's in it for me? If I sign-up to be on the bleeding edge - surely I'll have a bumpier road than if I went with a released version. Although that is true, you will also get at least 1-2, possibly more years less lifespan out of the solution.

Investments required in an eCommerce deployment, like Point-of-Sale (POS), are typically large and complex. The goal is to get as long of a runway as possible out of an investment. For POS, it is typically 7+ years, with 10 being idea. For eCommerce, it should be at least 5 years, with more being ideal. TAP helps you achieve just that. By deploying early, you will be live in production before the start of the 5-year standard support lifecycle clock starts. Deploying on a previous version can mean that you will get less than 5 years, some cases considerably so. Above the 5-year standard support lifecycle, Microsoft products enter what is known as extended support - see http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifepolicy. At that point, support options become considerably more limited - and potentially costly. So, a little up front bleeding edge roughness...can save a whole lot downstream if you want to use your deployment for a long time!

Something to consider! Hope this helps!

A Bit About the CS2009 “R2” June CTP

rdonovan — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:30:37 GMT

Life has been busy. Busy working on the next version of Commerce Server, that is. A few weeks back we posted the June CTP of CS2009 code name “R2”. This is the first CTP of the next version of Commerce Server, which will be available by 1st Quarter 2010. Some key changes in this CTP versus the released version of Commerce Server 2009 include:

Commerce Server is now x64-only
Setup is now integrated into a single install/configuration experience
The Template Pack site is now the out-of-box default experience
Products and categories can now be updated (as opposed to just queried) through the Commerce Foundation API
Business Administration Toolbar and Cross-Sell/Up-Sell Manager are now included – as the start of delivering the product’s next-generation business user experience
The Commerce Foundation can now be run as a service for full 3-tier deployments

For more details and to get this, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=dfaca6d6-6e1a-4067-8857-61ff1300bf6b&displaylang=en.

Enjoy!