SQL Server Database Migration

There are plenty of reasons why more and more businesses are migrating on-prem databases to the cloud. Cloud databases can offer faster retrieval and a more scalable solution for expanding or contracting with the needs of your business. Cloud databases also provide the possibility to save money over time compared to on-prem databases because cloud storage is bought in increments, meaning you won’t have to deal with the sunk costs of an on-prem database with excess storage.

The process of moving an on-prem SQL database to the cloud requires a careful approach. Without proper testing and documentation, you could lose time, money, and data. Once you’ve decided to migrate to the cloud, you’ll need to approach migration with a tried and true incremental plan.

SQL database migration takes time, a challenge for any business’s bottom line. The aim of database migration is to save enough money with your cloud database to offset the money lost due to migration downtime. Many businesses find this cost-benefit analysis yields excellent results, which is why cloud migration is growing at lightning speed.

SQL database migration poses several difficulties you must keep in mind before migrating. Once you’ve decided to migrate your on-prem SQL database to the cloud, you’ll need a migration plan accounting for potential problem spots.

First and foremost, migrating your SQL database to the cloud requires understanding cloud technology, database security, and database automation. Before you migrate, you’ll also need to thoroughly understand how your database application is running—which means thorough documentation of your database architecture, latency networks, and performance metrics. Because migration aims to address the inefficiencies of your on-premises database, identifying and addressing your highest-latency networks is an effective way to determine which parts you should migrate first.

Drafting an effective migration plan requires taking an informed, precise approach. Successful cloud migrations happen in four distinct steps: discovery, testing, migration, and finally, management and support.

The following SQL database migration checklist is a helpful way to organize your approach to and understand the steps necessary for successful cloud migration results.

1. Discovery: Discovery refers to the documentation of your SQL data systems, so you can understand the precise operations of your on-prem database before migrating to AWS or Azure. Discovery requires research into the data systems the migration target uses for data consumption and the systems receiving data from your target database. The discovery process will also require you to identify the software used by your SQL database and performance metrics like CPU utilization, memory, and storage.
   
2. Testing: Database testing aims to simulate how your SQL database will behave after it’s migrated to the cloud. Your database could lose efficiency and data during migration without a careful testing procedure. Effective testing involves running automated tests, recording performance regressions and degradations, and identifying improvements in your tests.
3. Migration: Once you’ve planned your migration with documentation and testing, the migration itself should be straightforward. Effective migration will be an automated process. Before moving your SQL database to AWS or Azure cloud systems, documentation and testing can ensure minimal uncertainty in the migration process. The resulting cloud database will be more efficient and less costly than your SQL Server database, and once you set a timeline with automated decision gates, you can migrate to the cloud with ease.
4. Management and Support: Managing your new cloud database is a crucial final step in migration. Once you’ve completed the cloud migration process, database management with AWS or Azure will require monitoring and tuning similar to your SQL Server monitoring process. Continuing to manage your cloud database, and providing support when necessary, helps you make sure your database maintains efficiency well into the future.
   

Testing can be one of the more troublesome steps for SysAdmins, but it doesn’t have to be.

With SQL Sentry, you can engage with visualized testing data from the Test Web Portal. The portal is designed specifically with cloud migration in mind, allowing you to gather data from remote agents for testing in your Visual Studio. From the control center, view data regressions and improvements for each test you perform.

While manually performing tests is possible, it’s not recommended. Manual tests run a high risk of human error and create costly downtime with complicated testing procedures. Combining automation with a user-friendly dashboard, SQL Sentry allows you to test migration with minimal manual effort.

Migration testing includes helpful features like automated highlighting of testing errors, scheduled tests, and historical analytics of past tests. With SolarWinds, you can rest assured your database migration runs as smoothly as possible—so you won’t be surprised by errors in your actual migration process.

While it can be time-consuming, it’s ultimately beneficial to the business. Here are some common business reasons for migrating SQL Server databases:

• Cost-savings: Migrating the database from costly legacy DBMSes like DB2, Oracle, or SQL Server on-premises to
  the cloud can significantly reduce spend on DBMS licenses, resources, maintenance, and real estate costs.
• Business growth: Over time, the amount of data you manage or the number of people accessing your database
  might outgrow your SQL Server instance. Users will complain about poor performance, and DBAs will be overworked
  trying to address those complaints. Migrating the database to a new platform capable of handling the increased
  workload will help solve the problem. Some new platforms, especially cloud-based ones, can alter resources in
  real-time when demand rises and as the organization grows.
• Business continuity: SQL Server databases can be migrated to platforms such as Azure and AWS that facilitate backup, failover, and disaster recovery. SQL
  Server database migration in these use cases helps improve an organization’s day-to-day operations by
  ensuring databases are available to users 24 hours a day.

For most organizations, the main goal of a SQL Server database migration is to move the database from one platform to another as effectively as possible with minimal input. There are four important best practices for SQL Server database migration.

1. Outline your goals for the new database and the migration process itself. Prioritize these goals and adjust
   your plan accordingly. Assess this migration plan before implementation and then keep testing during every step
   of the execution process to ensure the migration is going according to plan to avoid costly mistakes and
   minimize downtime.
2. Clean up your existing data. Do away with anything taking up unnecessary space to start fresh with only
   high-quality data.
3. Make a meticulous map of your existing data to ensure valuable system documents aren’t lost in the migration.
   Create notes around where your data has already been, from inception through extract, transform, load (ETL)
   processes.
4. Make sure you’re testing every step of the way. The testing process includes building performance baseline
   reports, monitoring the new system, and further testing for any possible future-occurring issues instead of
   simply focusing on the initial migration.

SQL Sentry and Database Mapper work together to help you plan your SQL Server database migration, archive your data, and monitor performance metrics before, during, and after the database migration process, to prevent business interruptions. Here are a few ways SQL Sentry can help as your data migration assistant:

Better visibility: SolarWinds helps ensure fast performance for your migrated SQL Server database before and after migration by providing unmatched visibility into key performance metrics.

Discovery and scope definition: After your team has identified the systems involved in the migration process, a comprehensive discovery of those systems is needed to gather all the data necessary to make informed decisions about the best path for performing the migration. SQL Sentry enables your team to archive your data while mapping your migration process.

For example, suppose you’re working with a clearly-defined scope, and the data platform has online transaction processing (OLTP), ETL, and reporting layers. Your team should still perform adequate due diligence to ensure you haven’t omitted any necessary systems or data and there aren’t any departmental applications in use you aren’t aware of. Using SQL Sentry archival capabilities helps ensure you aren’t overlooking any critical data in the migration process.

Documentation: Documenting a collection of SQL Server systems and producing a cohesive library of information often takes valuable time and resources. However, SolarWinds Database Mapper can help speed up the process. Database Mapper easily creates a solution containing the database, ETL, and reporting servers you want to analyze. Afterward, this information is stored in a SQL Server database accessible via the Database Mapper interface, allowing for more efficient collaboration among team members. Once the system scan is complete, review all the configuration data about the servers and the databases they contain in one convenient location. Better visibility into the data flowing through each server, database, and SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) package you’ll be migrating helps your understanding of the upstream and downstream impact of the changes. This information can also be documented and analyzed to ascertain business risk during the migration.

Other SolarWinds Tools:

• Database Performance Analyzer (DPA)
• Server & Application Monitor (SAM)

Other Features:

• Performance Analysis Dashboard
• SQL Server Deadlock Analysis