This is a FREE two-day SQL Server 2008 Upgrade and Application Compatibility Lab (AppCompat) event (a $1500 value). AppCompat labs are being conducted at the Microsoft Technology Centers and are being offered to select customers who are considering upgrading to SQL Server 2008.
This special AppCompat lab event will give you the chance to migrate your SQL Server 2000 / 2005 database to SQL Server 2008 in order to help you proactively identify upgrade compatibility issues before SQL Server 2008 is commercially available and to work with our SQL Architects in order to resolve upgrade issues. See the attached document for additional information.
Overview and Benefits
Participation in a SQL Server 2008 Upgrade and Application Compatibility Lab (a.k.a AppCompat lab) offers the following benefits:
- Learn the technical advantages of upgrading your SQL Server 2000/2005 database application to SQL Server 2008
- Learn critical tools and methodologies used to test applications for compatibility with and plan upgrades for SQL Server 2008
- Interact directly with members of the lab team to troubleshoot upgrade and compatibility issues
- Identify specific deployment and application related compatibility issues you may encounter when upgrading your existing SQL Server 2000/2005 applications to SQL Server 2008 so they may be addressed
- Compare the baseline behavior and performance characteristics of database operations performed by your SQL Server 2000/2005 application with the same operations performed on SQL Server 2008
- Brainstorm ways to exploit new features and capabilities in SQL Server 2008
Prerequisites
The following prerequisites must be met in order to participate in an AppCompat lab:
- Participants must have an existing SQL Server 2000/2005 database application running in production (a.k.a. target application)
- Participants must have basic operational familiarity with SQL Server Management Studio and SQL Server Profiler
- Participants must create a workload (a.k.a. playback) of your existing application exactly according to the specifications defined in the document entitled “SQL Server 2008 Upgrade and Application Compatibility Lab Prerequisite Guide”. Adherence to these specifications is crucial to ensuring a successful lab engagement.
- Participants are encouraged to bring a functional installation of the target application pre-installed on either a laptop or virtual machine
- Participants are encouraged to bring a functional development environment and source code of the target application pre-installed on either a laptop or virtual machine
Participants will be sent instructions on how to download the tools and documentation necessary to complete the participant pre-requisites.
Who Should Attend
The AppCompat lab is designed for the following technical roles.
- Service / Testing Professionals responsible for planning upgrades of the target application
- Database and Application Developers responsible for the target application source code
- Database Administrators and/or Database Architects responsible for certifying platforms for the target application
The AppCompat lab is just one of many opportunities available to customers and partners to enhance technical readiness for SQL Server 2008. Please contact your Microsoft representative if you want to learn more about these other opportunities.
The AppCompat lab is not designed for sales, marketing and management professionals. Companies with a target application that meet the following criteria may not benefit from participating in an AppCompat lab.
- Target application is already natively designed for SQL Server 2008
- Target application does not currently support SQL Server 2000/2005
- Target application was recently included in the SQL Server Playback Test Program
- Target application has no direct dependency on SQL Server 2000/2005 relational database engine
Upgrade Scenarios Covered
The AppCompat lab provides testing tools, methodologies and guidance for the following upgrade scenarios:
- Analysis of database operations generated by your SQL Server 2000/2005 application for compatibility with SQL Server 2008 syntax and metadata
- Simple database upgrade of your SQL Server 2000/2005 database to SQL Server 2008
- Analysis of query behavior and performance characteristics of your SQL Server 2000/2005 application after it has been upgraded to SQL Server 2008
Due to technical and resource constraints, testing for the following upgrade scenarios are not performed at the AppCompat lab:
- Upgrade of SQL Server 2000/2005 SQL Agent Jobs to SQL Server 2008 SQL Agent Jobs
- Upgrade of SQL Server 2000/2005 Maintenance Plans to SQL Server 2008 Maintenance Plans
- Upgrade of SQL Server 2000/2005 Replication installations to SQL Server 2008
- Upgrade of SQL Server 2000 Data Transformation Services or SQL Server 2005 Integration Services to SQL Server 2008 Integration Services
- Upgrade of SQL Server 2000/2005 Analysis Services to SQL Server 2008 Analysis Services
- Upgrade of SQL Server 2000/2005 Reporting Services to SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services
- Upgrade of SQL Server 2000/2005 Notification Services
- Due to technical and resource limitations, certain playbacks are not well suited for testing in an AppCompat lab environment. Please see the document entitled “SQL Server 2008 Upgrade and Application Compatibility Lab Prerequisite Guide” for details on how to capture a quality playback.
AGENDA:
Day 1 Agenda
- 09:00 – 09:30: General Session: Welcome and Logistics
- 09:30 – 12:00: Breakout: Upgrade Testing
- 12:00 – 13:00: Lunch
- 13:00 – 16:00: Breakout: Upgrade Testing
- 16:00 – 17:00: General Session: Status and Results Comparison
Day 2 Agenda
- 09:00 – 12:00: Breakout: Upgrade Testing
- 12:00 – 13:00: Lunch
- 13:00 – 16:00: Breakout: Upgrade Testing
- 16:00 – 17:00: General Session: Submit Results
Questions and Contact Information
If you have questions regarding participation in an AppCompat lab event, please use the following email address: sqlapplb@microsoft.com
Date/Time:
Sept 25-26th 8:30AM-5:00PM (2 days)
Location:
Microsoft Technology Center
3 Park Plaza
Suite 1800 Irvine California 92614
Registration:
If you are interested in participating and you are a customer of mine, please let me know and I will send you registration information. Note: This is an invite-only event for our named Enterprise customers. Individuals registering that are not a Enterprise customer supported directly by Microsoft will be bumped off the list if the class is full.
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