Why You Should Migrate SQL Server 2008 to the 2017 Version

Are you using Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and want to migrate SQL Server 2008 database to 2017? Then no need to look further. In this post, we are going to step through a reliable way to move SQL Server 2008 database to 2017.

Before we move on to the migration procedure, let's look at some reasons to migrate SQL Server 2008 to 2017.

Reasons to Migrate From SQL Server 2008

There are many incentives at both micro and macro level to migrate into the latest version of the SQL Server database. In this section, we will layout key features that are updated or brand new in Microsoft SQL Server 2017.

1. Supports Graph database structure that allows users to add graphs and nodes.
2. New integration of Python code in latest SQL Server 2017 database.
3. Introduction of a new security feature known as CLR Strict Security.
4. Microsoft introduces new functions such as STRING_AGG, TRIM in SQL Server 2017
5. Provide support for new hardware and storage features.

After understanding the benefits to migrate from SQL Server version 2008 to 2017, let’s look at the process.

Steps to Migrate Database From SQL Server 2008 Database to 2017

Users need to go through the following instructions to transfer the database from one SQL Server to the latest SQL Server. Let’s get started.

1. To initiate the process, first, open SQL Server Management Studio using Object Explorer. After that, connect it to the Source Server.
2. Next, right-click on the existing database, choose Tasks option. Now, select Generate Scripts option from the given list.
3. As soon as you click on Generate Scripts option, a wizard appears on the screen. Click Next to continue the process.
4. In the Generate and Publish Scripts Wizard, make sure that the Script entire database and all database objects option is selected. Once you have done with this, click the Next button.
5. In the Set Scripting options of the wizard, perform the following task;
   • Choose the Save scripts to a specific location option.
   • You need to mention whether database objects and data will be devoted (scripted) to single or multiple files. Besides this, also specify path and encoding of the generated scripts.
   • Next, click on the Advanced option.
6. In the Advanced Scripting Options window, follow the below steps;
   • You need to specify Schema and data under the Script for Server Version heading.
   • Set the below-mentioned value to be True:
• Script Logins
• Script Full-Text Indexes
• Script Triggers
7. Next, click on the Next button.
8. In the Summary step of the Generate and Publish Scripts wizard, click Next.
9. On the next page, click Finish to execute the generated scripts against the older version of SQL.

Migrate SQL Server 2008 to 2017 with SysTools SQL Server Database Migrator

1. It is evident from the above that manual procedure to upgrade SQL Server is a time-taking process. It consists of a lot of manual steps that are difficult to maintain by novice users. Also, any mishandling in a single instruction can terminate the entire migration task. So, to avoid a limitation of the manual procedure, users can take help of the automated solutions.
2. This write-up suggested SysTools SQL Database Migration Tool to transfer the Microsoft SQL Server 2008 database to the updated version. With the help of this utility, users can easily move their database from SQL Server 2008 to the latest SQL Server 2017 version. Moreover, the tool is enough capable to migrate all the database objects from one SQL Server to another.
3. Above all, the best part of the tool is a wide support to the Windows operating system. It can easily execute on Windows 10 and all in below versions.

Bottom Line

All we know is that Microsoft will end the extended support of SQL Server 2008 in July 2019. Further, no fix or support features are provided to SQL Server 2008. So, it is beneficial to migrate SQL Server 2008 database to 2017 version. This post describes step-by-step guidelines and an expert solution to migrate SQL Server 2008 database to 2017. Users can go with any method for the quick accomplishment of the migration task.