Many Many moons ago... In a coastal town far away... I ran an internet café. Three C's Internet Café (Which stood for Coffee, Cocktails & Computers. Nobody got it, even though it was written in foot high letters across the front of the building!) Three C's had a web site (
www.threecs.net) which had many visitors!
I sold the internet café in 2010, they renamed it Karma Café and carried on in their own way. The website however continued, partly because I was lazy, partly because it still had many many visitors!
I decided today to migrate it off the old Rackspace hosting to Azure, this should be easy... or so I thought.
The Three C's website is very old-fashioned, a frames site using classic ASP to a little SQL Server Express database (migrated from Access) with a few JavaScript tricks and ASP hacks. Webmatrix let me migrate the site easily enough (whilst not telling me it was ignoring some of the web.config settings!) then came the joy of migrating the database.
As with all proper sites, the database server backs itself up every night (I have a series of very useful SQL Express automated backup scripts.) Normally to migrate servers I would restore one of these scripts to the server, reconnect the users and everything would be good.
Failure #1 - You cant restore a SQL database backup to Azure (bummer)
OK, try connecting from the the server using SQL Management Studio, success! Ah, but half the menu items are missing (mostly around data exporting and backups) and of course the version on my web server is SQL 2008 R2 Express, you need 2012 to get to all the toys.
Failure #2 - You need SQL Server 2012 to use all the toys.
OK, I have SQL 2012 on my local PC, restore the database locally an deploy/export it from there. Easy... Except it wont deploy, SQL Azure must have a clustered index on all tables, well it is more efficient, but it wasn't a requirement with on-prem SQL Server.
Failure #3 - You need clustered indexes on all tables with SQL Azure
This actually took me a while to solve, many solutions presented themselves.
- Exporting the data instead (same clustered index problem)
- Creating the tables with scripts, edited to have clustered indexes
Failure #4 - you cant have disk references in your scripts (Azure doesn't have disks in the same way as on-prem SQL Server)
- Create the tables with scripts, modifying the Primary Keys to be clustered in scripting, then export the data with identities switched off
Failure #5 - Importing data can muck up your referential integrity (Which I guessed, I was hoping that switching off identities would help... nope!)
Inevitably I had been a good boy and used proper referential integrity. Yes this complicates the database, no I didn't want to switch it off.
- Fix the database locally (making clustered indexes) then use the SQL 2012 Deployment wizard
Failure #6 - Exporting from access creates some read only columns (my own fault)
- Delete the Access specific fields
Failure #7 - SQL Azure doesn't like Extended properties
It would appear that the combination of upgrading from Access to SQL Server, and then updating whenever a new version came out (in combination to masochistic tendencies) creates many extended properties on a database, in many different places, all of which need deleting :(
I found a query online that would create another set of queries to delete the extended properties:
/*
This script will generate calls to sp_dropextendedproperty for every
extended property that exists in your database.
Actually, a caveat: I don't promise that it will catch each and every
extended property that exists, but I'm confident it will catch most of them!
It is based on this:
http://blog.hongens.nl/2010/02/25/drop-all-extended-properties-in-a-mssql-database/
by Angelo Hongens.
Also had lots of help from this:
http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Metadata/72609/
by Adam Aspin
Adam actually provides a script at that link to do something very similar
but when I ran it I got an error:
Msg 468, Level 16, State 9, Line 78
Cannot resolve the collation conflict between "Latin1_General_100_CS_AS" and "Latin1_General_CI_AS" in the equal to operation.
So I put together this version instead.
Use at your own risk.
Jamie Thomson
2012-03-25
*/
/*Are there any extended properties? Let's take a look*/
select *,OBJECT_NAME(major_id) from sys.extended_properties xp
/*Now let's generate sp_dropextendedproperty statements for all of them.*/
--tables
set nocount on;
select 'EXEC sp_dropextendedproperty
@name = '''+xp.name+'''
,@level0type = ''schema''
,@level0name = ''' + object_schema_name(xp.major_id) + '''
,@level1type = ''table''
,@level1name = ''' + object_name(xp.major_id) + ''''
from sys.extended_properties xp
join sys.tables t on xp.major_id = t.object_id
where xp.class_desc = 'OBJECT_OR_COLUMN'
and xp.minor_id = 0
union
--columns
select 'EXEC sp_dropextendedproperty
@name = '''+sys.extended_properties.name+'''
,@level0type = ''schema''
,@level0name = ''' + object_schema_name(extended_properties.major_id) + '''
,@level1type = ''table''
,@level1name = ''' + object_name(extended_properties.major_id) + '''
,@level2type = ''column''
,@level2name = ''' + columns.name + ''''
from sys.extended_properties
join sys.columns
on columns.object_id = extended_properties.major_id
and columns.column_id = extended_properties.minor_id
where extended_properties.class_desc = 'OBJECT_OR_COLUMN'
and extended_properties.minor_id > 0
union
--check constraints
select 'EXEC sp_dropextendedproperty
@name = '''+xp.name+'''
,@level0type = ''schema''
,@level0name = ''' + object_schema_name(xp.major_id) + '''
,@level1type = ''table''
,@level1name = ''' + object_name(cc.parent_object_id) + '''
,@level2type = ''constraint''
,@level2name = ''' + cc.name + ''''
from sys.extended_properties xp
join sys.check_constraints cc on xp.major_id = cc.object_id
union
--check constraints
select 'EXEC sp_dropextendedproperty
@name = '''+xp.name+'''
,@level0type = ''schema''
,@level0name = ''' + object_schema_name(xp.major_id) + '''
,@level1type = ''table''
,@level1name = ''' + object_name(cc.parent_object_id) + '''
,@level2type = ''constraint''
,@level2name = ''' + cc.name + ''''
from sys.extended_properties xp
join sys.default_constraints cc on xp.major_id = cc.object_id
union
--views
select 'EXEC sp_dropextendedproperty
@name = '''+xp.name+'''
,@level0type = ''schema''
,@level0name = ''' + object_schema_name(xp.major_id) + '''
,@level1type = ''view''
,@level1name = ''' + object_name(xp.major_id) + ''''
from sys.extended_properties xp
join sys.views t on xp.major_id = t.object_id
where xp.class_desc = 'OBJECT_OR_COLUMN'
and xp.minor_id = 0
union
--sprocs
select 'EXEC sp_dropextendedproperty
@name = '''+xp.name+'''
,@level0type = ''schema''
,@level0name = ''' + object_schema_name(xp.major_id) + '''
,@level1type = ''procedure''
,@level1name = ''' + object_name(xp.major_id) + ''''
from sys.extended_properties xp
join sys.procedures t on xp.major_id = t.object_id
where xp.class_desc = 'OBJECT_OR_COLUMN'
and xp.minor_id = 0
union
--FKs
select 'EXEC sp_dropextendedproperty
@name = '''+xp.name+'''
,@level0type = ''schema''
,@level0name = ''' + object_schema_name(xp.major_id) + '''
,@level1type = ''table''
,@level1name = ''' + object_name(cc.parent_object_id) + '''
,@level2type = ''constraint''
,@level2name = ''' + cc.name + ''''
from sys.extended_properties xp
join sys.foreign_keys cc on xp.major_id = cc.object_id
union
--PKs
SELECT
'EXEC sys.sp_dropextendedproperty @level0type = N''SCHEMA'', @level0name = [' + SCH.name + '], @level1type = ''TABLE'', @level1name = [' + TBL.name + '] , @level2type = ''CONSTRAINT'', @level2name = [' + SKC.name + '] ,@name = ''' + REPLACE(CAST(SEP.name AS NVARCHAR(300)),'''','''''') + ''''
FROM sys.tables TBL
INNER JOIN sys.schemas SCH
ON TBL.schema_id = SCH.schema_id
INNER JOIN sys.extended_properties SEP
INNER JOIN sys.key_constraints SKC
ON SEP.major_id = SKC.object_id
ON TBL.object_id = SKC.parent_object_id
WHERE SKC.type_desc = N'PRIMARY_KEY_CONSTRAINT'
union
--Table triggers
SELECT
'EXEC sys.sp_dropextendedproperty @level0type = N''SCHEMA'', @level0name = [' + SCH.name + '], @level1type = ''TABLE'', @level1name = [' + TBL.name + '] , @level2type = ''TRIGGER'', @level2name = [' + TRG.name + '] ,@name = ''' + REPLACE(CAST(SEP.name AS NVARCHAR(300)),'''','''''') + ''''
FROM sys.tables TBL
INNER JOIN sys.triggers TRG
ON TBL.object_id = TRG.parent_id
INNER JOIN sys.extended_properties SEP
ON TRG.object_id = SEP.major_id
INNER JOIN sys.schemas SCH
ON TBL.schema_id = SCH.schema_id
union
--UDF params
SELECT
'EXEC sys.sp_dropextendedproperty @level0type = N''SCHEMA'', @level0name = [' + SCH.name + '], @level1type = ''FUNCTION'', @level1name = [' + OBJ.name + '] , @level2type = ''PARAMETER'', @level2name = [' + PRM.name + '] ,@name = ''' + REPLACE(CAST(SEP.name AS NVARCHAR(300)),'''','''''') + ''''
FROM sys.extended_properties SEP
INNER JOIN sys.objects OBJ
ON SEP.major_id = OBJ.object_id
INNER JOIN sys.schemas SCH
ON OBJ.schema_id = SCH.schema_id
INNER JOIN sys.parameters PRM
ON SEP.major_id = PRM.object_id
AND SEP.minor_id = PRM.parameter_id
WHERE SEP.class_desc = N'PARAMETER'
AND OBJ.type IN ('FN', 'IF', 'TF')
union
--sp params
SELECT
'EXEC sys.sp_dropextendedproperty @level0type = N''SCHEMA'', @level0name = [' + SCH.name + '], @level1type = ''PROCEDURE'', @level1name = [' + SPR.name + '] , @level2type = ''PARAMETER'', @level2name = [' + PRM.name + '] ,@name = ''' + REPLACE(CAST(SEP.name AS NVARCHAR(300)),'''','''''') + ''''
FROM sys.extended_properties SEP
INNER JOIN sys.procedures SPR
ON SEP.major_id = SPR.object_id
INNER JOIN sys.schemas SCH
ON SPR.schema_id = SCH.schema_id
INNER JOIN sys.parameters PRM
ON SEP.major_id = PRM.object_id
AND SEP.minor_id = PRM.parameter_id
WHERE SEP.class_desc = N'PARAMETER'
union
--DB
SELECT
'EXEC sys.sp_dropextendedproperty @name = ''' + REPLACE(CAST(SEP.name AS NVARCHAR(300)),'''','''''') + ''''
FROM sys.extended_properties SEP
WHERE class_desc = N'DATABASE'
union
--schema
SELECT
'EXEC sys.sp_dropextendedproperty @level0type = N''SCHEMA'', @level0name = [' + SCH.name + '] ,@name = ''' + REPLACE(CAST(SEP.name AS NVARCHAR(300)),'''','''''') + ''''
FROM sys.extended_properties SEP
INNER JOIN sys.schemas SCH
ON SEP.major_id = SCH.schema_id
WHERE SEP.class_desc = N'SCHEMA'
union
--DATABASE_FILE
SELECT
'EXEC sys.sp_dropextendedproperty @level0type = N''FILEGROUP'', @level0name = [' + DSP.name + '], @level1type = ''LOGICAL FILE NAME'', @level1name = ' + DBF.name + ' ,@name = ''' + REPLACE(CAST(SEP.name AS NVARCHAR(300)),'''','''''') + ''''
FROM sys.extended_properties SEP
INNER JOIN sys.database_files DBF
ON SEP.major_id = DBF.file_id
INNER JOIN sys.data_spaces DSP
ON DBF.data_space_id = DSP.data_space_id
WHERE SEP.class_desc = N'DATABASE_FILE'
union
--filegroup
SELECT
'EXEC sys.sp_dropextendedproperty @level0type = N''FILEGROUP'', @level0name = [' + DSP.name + '] ,@name = ''' + REPLACE(CAST(SEP.name AS NVARCHAR(300)),'''','''''') + ''''
FROM sys.extended_properties SEP
INNER JOIN sys.data_spaces DSP
ON SEP.major_id = DSP.data_space_id
WHERE DSP.type_desc = 'ROWS_FILEGROUP'
It returns a series of rows that you simply copy and paste into another query window then run, which deletes all the extended properties.
Finally, run the deployment wizard - preferably with your fingers crossed!
It does run, I now have my cocktails database installed on a free instance of SQL Azure, and it is very quick! It was also very painful, I probably would have been better off re-writing from scratch and importing the data as cut and paste for this small data-set. But I've done it now, I've recorded it here and I can now do it again... Right up until Microsoft change their minds on how it works!
