I was the host this month for T-SQL Tuesday #147 and here is a look at the people who blogged (that I know about). If I’ve missed anyone, let me know.
Rob Farley wrote about updates, not only with version upgrades, but also CUs and the need for automated testing.
Deepthi Goguri talks about her first job and the requirement to move off SQL Server 2000. This was after her schooling was on SQL Server 2012. I like the emphasis on fear as a reason not to change, and the use of tools to find potential problems that could occur during the upgrade.
Kevin Chant writes that he uses upgrade events as chances to improve the way a system works. He also uses the Data Migration Assistant to move, but do so carefully. Don’t jump across too many versions.
Damien Jones asks us if we can avoid upgrades in the cloud. That’s an interesting perspective, and one I don’t see often. It is legitimate, as every time something changes, we need to test, and if there are issues, what do we do? Avoiding change is something that I find important in the short term but highly detrimental in the long term.
Greg Moore writes about the challenges of convincing a client to upgrade.
Glenn Berry gives us a way to make a case for upgrades, working against those that don’t want to change, and some thoughts on related tech changes that might help you decide to upgrade.
Marcin Gminski talks about https://sqlwatch.io/blog/t-sql-tuesday-147-sql-server-upgrade-strategies/
Alex Stuart notes that if it isn’t broken, why fix it? Don’t upgrade for no reason, but there are some reasons to upgrade and Alex lists them.
Reitse Eskens gives us a basic process to follow when upgrading. These aren’t detailed steps, but these are the things I look at when upgrading.
Gethyn Ellis talks about why we wait to upgrade and why we might rethink that.
The first upgrade, from Todd Kleinhans, looks at the problems he had an how we got past an Access to SQL Server upgrade. I’ve been in this exact situation, back in the early 90s. It was a mess and very stressful, but I learned a few things. Including to avoid Access for years.
Lastly, but not least, Martin Catherall provides some general thoughts on how he would approach an upgrade, with some tool suggestions to help.