I am trying to use Copy Database Wizard to copy from my live server (shared hosting) to my local machine. Both the live and local servers are SQL 2008 R2.
I have used CDW for several years with perfect success when copying from a live SQL 2000 server to my local 2008 R2. But now that I have migrated my live database to SQL 2008 R2 the CDW is giving me this error:
Could not read metadata, possibly due to insufficient access rights.
I've learned that this error can be predicted before you even complete the CDW setup: On the page where the CDW asks you for your desired destination database name, it is SUPPOSED to populate the .mdf and .ldf files with their name-to-be and size (e.g. MB, GB).
But in my case these file names and sizes are not being shown (area is simply blank in the wizard) and then of course when I attempt to execute the package it gives me the error.
After much research I believe that reason for this error is due to the CDW requirement of "You must be a member of the sysadmin fixed server role on both the source and destination servers."
On my local server, my Windows Authentication login is listed as a Role Member for the sysadmin Server Role. However on my live server (keep in mind it is a shared SQL server with 250+ databases) the only Role Member listed is [sa].
Am I right in thinking that the only way to satisfy this requirement would be to add my specific SQL user to the live/source Server > Security > Server Roles > sysadmin role? I'm guessing that would never be done on a shared server right? Or is there some other way to make it work by messing with the specific database properties/users/roles?
I can't explain why CDW is working from the live SQL 2000 server and not the 2008 R2. I HOPE it is simply that something isn't set up right on the live database, but maybe it is due to changes that were made to SQL security over the years.
In case it matters, I must use the SMO method instead of detach/attach because it is a live database that I don't want to take down. Historically the CDW from SQL 2000 only takes 3 minutes with SMO method so speed isn't an issue anyway.
Here's my preference for a solution:
Find a way to get CDW to work, most likely by changing something on the live server. Is this possible? What would it be?
If that fails, then...
What about an idea of using CDW to create the package, but then going into to BIDS and manipulating something in the package to circumvent the sysadmin role requirement. (Does it really need the metadata? I don't need anything beside the actual data tables.) Is this possible?
UPDATE 6/14/2016: Editing a CDW package in BIDS won't work as it appears to simply use the .mdf and .ldf files, which of course I don't have access to on the shared server. I think an alternative is to use Import/Export Wizard to create a package, then edit in BIDS. The annoying part is that without access to metadata the Import/Export Wizard doesn't seem to be aware of Foreign Keys, and thus doesn't know what order to process the tables in.
If that fails, then...
Is there any other way to easily automate a daily copy from my live server to local machine? The reason I like CDW is because it is super simple to use (when it works), it can be scheduled to run daily as a SQL agent job, and requires no manual work on my part. Is there a "next best thing" if CDW can't be made to work?
You'd think that a very common scenario for all websites out there would be "how do I get a copy of my live database onto my local SQL server, daily, automatically"? But maybe I'm the weird one!
Another simple solution would be the Import/Export Wizard.
In SSMS right-click the database you want transferred and select 'Tasks' and then 'Export Data...'. It will open a wizard that is very similar to that of CDW. The difference here is that I could not find a sysadmin requirement to use it.
At the end it will give the option to run immediately and/or save the SSIS package. If you save the SSIS package (I prefer to save it to disk) you can then create a schedule via a SQL Agent job.
Related
My scenario is my live database is on Azure database name vlproduction and I am using SQL Server 2014 on my local machine, database name testvlproduction. For some reason, my testvlproduction database was deleted.
I want to generate testvlproduction to be the same as vlproduction but I found there is no way to take direct backup of live so I generate script with data but script is too big (300mb) whenever I'm trying to run script on my local it shows
System.OutOfMemoryException
Please tell me, what to do to fix this ? or is there another way to generate database same as live on local
Is there already built any such functionality in SQL Server?
May be this question repeated but still I have no solution for my issue.
Fill free to ask any query.
Thanks
This is a limitation of sql server,This happen because Management Studio is running out of memory, not the SQL Server service.
This is likely caused by the size of the result set that you are returning to Management Studio.
See https://support.microsoft.com/en-in/kb/2874903for more details.
For more sql-server-management-studio-cant-handle-large-files
Since your SSMS runs out of memory you should try it with the a new release. It should be compatible with SQL Server 2014.
If you have some idle time on your production database take a db backup and restore it locally - use Export Data Tier Application and select the proper version where you want to restore. If this is not an option for you I'd suggest to take #mohan111 's suggestion of committing your script in batches.
I believe you have two problems:
System out of memory exception - This usually happens while running big scripts in SSMS. One work around is to run it using command prompt using sqlcmd command (see the link - https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms180944.aspx)
Creating Test Database with the same schema as that of production - You can make use of SSDT tool in Visual Studio. This will help you to create a database project which mimics the production database and you can use the publish functionality to create database where ever required which will have the same schema
We have a SQL Server 2005 database on our local server.
Here it is (ofc i've to repeat the proceder for the other databases):
I've to transfer it to our SQL server 2012 instance on Amazon RDS.
I right clicked the database and selected Generate Scripts - All tables - Copy Schema and Data and saved everything as a sql file
At this point I attempted to use the SQL Azure MW v5.15 (in a question here I saw that it works with AWS too, way to go Microsoft!) to transfer the database on AWS.
However it crashes.
No problem, I try to use SQL Management studio to import the file but as soon the RAM consumed by the program reaches 1gb (as you can see that DB is 3,4gb) BOOM - out of memory error!
What should I do now?
You'll need to do part-by-part of your creation. I'd faced that problem some time before, my scripts reaches like 4 GB, only with the schemas, tables, etc. So, I think you should first of all, generate your scripts of creating schemas, users and logins. After that, tables, views and procedures. Then, another objects, like jobs, functions... To conclude, all the data you have, you should export to the RDS through the IMPORT/EXPORT Wizard in SSMS.
I've followed that steps and it worked for me.
Good luck!
I want to migrate a database completely or partially. Right now, I will do a complete database. Partial will be posted as a separate question.
Strategies I am considering:
copy database wizard
convert 2005 database to script. Run script on 2008
simple SQL query
My question - I want to use method 2. Is it even possible to do this? If yes, how to do it? Any limitations/risks ?
NOTE - The source server is a SQL Server 2005 database with one IP. Destination is a SQL Server 2008 instance with another IP.
I don't know if you need to be sysadmin to do this. I am not even sure if I am sysadmin. If yes, then how to check if I am a sysadmin ?
Just RESTORE it on the SQL2008 server and it will be automatically upgraded. And you can check if you're a sysadmin using IS_SRVROLEMEMBER.
My question - I want to use method (2). Is it even possible to do this ? (...) any limitations/risks ?
Option 2 could be a problem if database is too large. Worked for me with up to 2 GB databases.
any limitations/risks ?
You may need to increase SQL's buffer and/or run the script through command line, since a large script in SQL Manager eats up plenty of memory.
If yes, how to do it ?
To generate the script, simply right click and choose generate script. Select both data and model for whole database, and choose appropriate options for others.
As Pondlife said, Just backup the database at SQL 2005, restore as a new database at SQL 2008. You change the compatible mode to SQL 2005 which is version 9, or you can leave it to 2008 which is version 10 or 10.5. I think you want to keep the database as is, so you could set the compatible more to 9.0.xxxx and you all be done.
As usual grant access to users, create them as new if you have to, or migrate them from SQL 2005.
Generating script from 2005 and running on 2008 is a long route. There may be some possibilities for errors and TSQL compatibility.
Hope it helps !!
Most simple way to do this is to restore backup or copy MDF and LDF files to new server. If your servers are in the same network you can do this by creating shared folders on the second server and copying files there.
If that is not an option for any reason then you can zip the backup (make sure to add strong password) upload it to some online storage and then download it from second server.
Final option is to use third party comparison and synchronization tools from RedGage or ApexSQL (there are a lot of these on the market and they all have fully functional trials)
I have a typical dev scenario: I have a SQL 2008 database that I want to copy every so often to my local instance of 2008 Express so that I can do dev, make changes, etc. to the local copy. I have some constraints though: the source db is part of a live e-commerce site in shared hosting so I can't detach it and the hosting service wants me to pay $5 for each ad hoc back up I invoke.
What I'd like is some tool that I can invoke ad hoc to take a snapshot (complete, not incremental) of the live db that I can then import in my local one. I've tried the SSMS 2008 Copy Database Wizard but it gives me an error saying I can't do that with Express. I tried the Generate Scripts tool and thought that was going to make it - the export to my local disk worked but when I went to import using SQLCMD (the script was 1GB so SSMS errored when I tried to open it there), it told me there was a syntax error a few thousand lines in.
Coming from the MySQL world, this process is trivial. All I want is an analog of mysqldump and then a command-line way to import that file into a db. Surely there's an easy way to do this in the SQL Server world? This seems like the most basic use-case for developers.
[ Yes, I've seen a few other questions here that seem similar but I didn't think they had the same constraints. ]
Best answer: full backup, restore, pay $5. Anything else seems to me like it'd waste a lot more than $5 worth of time.
If they don't charge you to run queries against the database these tools may help. Granted these are not free tools, but are handy on so many fronts it would be worth buying one. These tools can diff your source db and target db both data and structure or just one or the other, and optionally sync the target database to be just like the source.
http://www.innovartis.co.uk/
http://www.red-gate.com/products/sql%5Fdata%5Fcompare/index.htm
Try SQL Dumper.
SQL Server Dumper enables you to dump selected SQL Server database tables into SQL INSERT statements, that are saved as local .sql files and contain all the data required to create a duplicate table, or to be used for backup purposes. You can choose to create an individual .sql file for each table, or combine all selected tables into a single file.
SQL Server Database Publishing Wizard and osql usually do the trick for me with large databases.
I have to move an entire database from a SQL Server 2008 machine to a SQL Server 2000 machine.
I created a backup using Management Studio 2008, copied it to the hard drive of the 2000 box, and from withing Management Studio 2008, I choose Restore Database to the 2000 box.
I get an error message stating, "The media family on device ... is incorrectly formed. SQL Server cannot restore this media family".
If I use Enterprise Manager 2000 I get the same error.
Is there a way to move a whole database from the newer SQL server to the older?
The only thing I can think of is to recreate the whole structure and then copy data from a live database. So, create scripts that will create the tables, views, and sp's, and then create scripts to copy the data from the existing database.
As others already said there is no default way to do this. It’s just not supported. Here are more extensive details on how to do this properly and avoid any migration issues.
You need to generate scripts for structure and data and then execute these on SQL 2000 (like others already said) but there are couple things to take into account.
Generate scripts in SSMS
Make sure to check option for scripting data for SQL 2000 to avoid issues when trying to create something like geography type column on SQL 2000.
Make sure to review execution order of scripts to avoid dependency based errors
This is a great option for small to medium size databases and requires some knowledge of SQL Server (dependencies, differences between versions and such)
Third party tools
Idea is to use third party database comparison tools such as ApexSQL Diff or Data Diff
Good side is that these will take care of script execution and differences between versions
Not so good is the fact that you’ll need to pay for these after trial ends
I’ve used these two tools successfully but you can’t go wrong with any other tool on the market. Here is a list of other tools in this category.
you can't move backups from a newer version to an older, in that case you can script your database, execute it in the 2000 box, then you can use the standard data transfer to transfer any data you want
Provided you have a network connection between the machines use SSIS. Much easier and a lot less messing around.
You can use Script Generator for your database and then select in the properties form : General-> Script for server version : SQL Server 2000.
The script generator will show you things which not compatible with your server version.
I've heard you can only do it by generating the SQL statement dump from the DB administrator tool and re-running those queries on the target older database.
You can generate a script that will recreate all the objects and transfer all the data...as long as everything in the db is valid in SQL 2000. So no ROW_NUMBER(), no PARTITION, no CTEs, no datetime2, hierarchy or several other field types, no EXECUTE AS, and lots of other goodness. Basically, there's a pretty good chance it's not possible unless your db is pretty basic.
We got a similar situation. A very low-tech but handy solution is:
backup and truncate the tables in SQL 2000.
create a LINKED server in SQL 2008, pointing to SQL 2000
run a select query at sysobjects to generate a query script for insert into LINKED SERVER.table select * from table
execute query script.