16
SQL Server 2012 Upgrade Technical Guide
Behavior Changes ........................................................................................................................................ 424
Running Upgrade Advisor ........................................................................................................................ 424
Upgrading from SQL Server 2005 ..................................................................................... 426
In-Place Upgrade.......................................................................................................................................... 429
Side-by-Side Upgrade ................................................................................................................................ 431
Post-Upgrade Tasks .................................................................................................................................... 432
Upgrading from SQL Server 2008 and 2008 R2 .......................................................... 440
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 442
Additional References ............................................................................................................ 443
Chapter 20: Other Microsoft Applications and Platforms ............................ 444
Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 444
Microsoft Lync Server 2010 .................................................................................................. 444
Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2010 ....................................................................... 445
Microsoft System Center ....................................................................................................... 445
Microsoft Dynamics ................................................................................................................. 446
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 446
Additional References ............................................................................................................ 446
Appendix 1: Version and Edition Upgrade Paths .......................................... 447
Appendix 2: SQL Server 2012: Upgrade Planning Checklist ........................ 450
17
SQL Server 2012 Upgrade Technical Guide
Introduction
To attain a smooth and trouble-free upgrade to SQL Server 2012, you must plan for the
upgrade and address the complexities of your application. Like all IT projects, planning
and then testing your plan gives you confidence that you will succeed. But if you ignore
the planning process, you increase the chances of running into difficulties that can
derail and delay your upgrade.
This document takes you through the essential technical details for planning and
testing an upgrade of existing SQL Server 2005, 2008, and 2008 R2 instances to SQL
Server 2012. You will be presented with best practices for preparation, planning, pre-
upgrade tasks, and post-upgrade tasks. All the SQL Server components are covered,
each in its own chapter.
This document is a supplement to SQL Server 2012 Books Online. It is not intended to
supersede any information in SQL Server Books Online or in the Microsoft Knowledge
Base articles. The reader will notice many links to SQL Server Books Online topics and
Knowledge Base articles. In all such cases, the information in this document is included
to provide the context you need to decide whether to spend the time to read the
linked article. If there are any discrepancies between this document and a linked article,
the linked article is assumed to be more accurate.
18
SQL Server 2012 Upgrade Technical Guide
Chapter 1: Upgrade Planning and Deployment
Introduction
This first chapter lays out the general guidelines for planning a successful upgrade to
SQL Server 2012. These guidelines include upgrade strategies, test and rollback
considerations, and upgrade tools. This chapter also introduces you to the SQL Server
2012 Upgrade Advisor, a tool that analyzes legacy instances of SQL Server 2005, 2008,
and 2008 R2, and flags potential problems that you must address before upgrading.
Note: The primary focus of this document is on upgrading only to SQL Server 2012.
See the “Preparing to Upgrade” section in this chapter for information about how to
upgrade from SQL Server 2008 to SQL Server 2008 R2.
The remaining chapters in this guide provide technical detail about how to upgrade
specific SQL Server components and scenarios.
Feature Changes in SQL Server 2012
SQL Server 20012 contains improvements and additional features in almost every area
of the product. In fact, any one of these improved features can be a compelling case for
upgrading, depending on your need for high availability, performance, and additional
functionality. Additionally, upgrading to the latest release of the product extends the
Microsoft support life cycle to the maximum degree possible, according to the software
support policy.
SQL Server 2012 new features and improvements fall into three categories:
Mission Critical Confidence: Enable mission critical availability and
performance at a low TCO.
Breakthrough Insight: Gives you pervasive data discovery across the
organization.
Cloud on Your Terms: Enables you to create and scale business solutions fact.
To better understand the SQL Server 2012 features that
make upgrading helpful, see
the
SQL Server 2012 Home page
(http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/default.aspx).