How To Copy DB Between Servers

  • Hi,

    I usually use DTS or Detaching DB to move it to another server, but then I'd like to try Copy Database Wizard (something I never touched). However, it always failed stated that the SQL Service Account, (which is Local system account) must have a right to copy file over network.

    How to apply such that right to my Local System account, under which my SQL Service runs.

    Thanks for any help

    Hendry

  • Actually you can't. The only way of accesing resources on the network is by using a DOMAIN USER as your service account.

    [font="Verdana"]Markus Bohse[/font]

  • You can, but it involves a BIG security hole. Let me explain something first.

    Since the dawn of NT, NT out of the box was VERY wide open. MSFT took the view

    that the administrator would prefer locking down what they considered non-

    essential, only problem was most NT administrators did not either know how, or

    did not have time (etc..., etc....) to lock down their server to an appropriate

    level of security. This is one of the big reasons why so many NT networks get

    hacked versus other networks. Its not that they are necessarily more secure

    (they all have holes), their manufacturers took the other point of view and made

    the default install for their products totally locked down, and then the

    administrator had to unlock what he wanted to expose. BTW NT 2003 is going to

    use this paradigm.

    OK, now that I am off my soap box, NT by default locks the guest account

    which disables remote anonymous access to a server. I went through my earlier

    rant so that it would ram home the fact that even with the unsecured install

    they DISABLED the guest account. I am hoping this is an indicator to you

    of how dangerous this is. IF you enable the guest account, then the

    service running as local system will be able to access the other system, but you

    will have effectively opened that server wide open to hacker attack. Also this

    will still not enable you to use the copy database wizard as it needs to be able

    to create UNC shares on the remote machine, and unless you grant the guest

    account that right it will still not work. (My mind is doing agonizing back

    flips at the thought of this....)

    See :

    INF: Understanding and Troubleshooting the Copy Database Wizard in SQL Server 2000

    http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb%3ben-us%3b274463

    Sooooo, in summary I would agree with MarkusB, even though you could, you should't.

    Some things even though they can be done should be avoided, like staring at the

    sun, leaving the toilet seat up(according to my wife), and driving a car

    withought oil (according to me, but not according to my wife :().

    Tim C.

    //Will write code for food


    Tim C //Will code for food

  • I too have faced the same problem when I tried using Copy Database Wizard. You can try using "Import Data" or "Export Data" wizard. These worked fine with me when I copied my databases between servers.

  • OK, Thanks all for your great feedback 🙂

    Hendry

  • You can take the Backup of the Database and RESTORE onto the new server as well....

    Murali.

    .

  • As an aside, I worked through the MS XML SQL Server programming book and having got through lots of interesting and useful stuff on updategrams etc the book finally said "don't do this on a production server because there are security issues".

  • If the DB is small in size, prob easiest to perform a network backup to the server you want to restore on and then restore the DB there.

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