Introduction
Migrating Microsoft SQL Server from an older version can be considered as an issue if you didn’t consider the variances between both versions (especially if your Database uses some deprecated features), so how can we detect all these changes between SQL Server versions?
One way is to understand the different compatibility levels of each version and make sure to compare both features manually. On the other hand, Microsoft has provided SQL Server Upgrade Advisory Tool which can make your life much easier.
This post aims to guide you through a quick tour using the Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Upgrade Advisory Tool.
Walkthrough Scenario
To start you need to download the Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Advisory Tool which is part of the SQL Server 2012 Feature Pack (Microsoft® SQL Server® 2012 Upgrade Advisor (Feature Pack)).
Next you open the Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Advisory Tool, the Main Menu will appear as below
From the Main Menu you can choose one of two actions:
- Launch Upgrade Advisor Analysis Wizard
- Launch Upgrade Advisor Report Viewer
Let’s start by clicking on “Launch Upgrade Advisor Analysis Wizard”, after that the welcome screen will appear, read it and click next.
Then you will see the SQL Server Component Selection Screen, you can enter the SQL Server Name and click Detect button and the wizard will automatically detect the installed components (such SQL Server, Analysis Services, etc.)
Click next and you will see the Connection Parameter Screen, you need to provide the proper connection values to proceed
Note:
The below screen might have different parameter depending on the SQL Server Components chosen from the earlier screen.
Next you need to complete the SQL Server Parameters needed such as the Databases that you need to analysis
Next the Upgrade Advisor will start the analysis
Next the result screen will show up with warnings, errors … etc..
Note:
If the components are ready to upgrade then the result will show a message like no issues to resolve, however we choose to have a report with some issues to proceed with the next steps.
After that you can choose to Launch the Report to review the pending issues to resolve, a sample report is shown below
You can check additional information about each issue by expanding the details and fix the issues. In addition, you can rerun the test after fixing these issues to guarantee a smooth SQL Server Upgrade.
Note:
Also note that all the reports are stored locally on the machine and you can access them again from the Main Menu using the Launch Upgrade Advisor Report Viewer Link
Additional References
Below are some useful references that provides more information about the items mentioned in the above post: