Migrating Notification Services 2.0 Instances to SQL Server 2005

The version of a Notification Services instance and its databases much match. Instances of Notification Services 2.0 must use the Microsoft SQL Server 2000 databases. Instances of Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Notification Services must use the SQL Server 2005 databases.

SQL Server 2000 databases are upgraded by upgrading the Database Engine or by moving the databases to a SQL Server 2005 database server. SQL Server 2005 Notification Services is installed side by side with Notification Services 2.0. Instances of Notification Services are not automatically upgraded when you run Setup. Instead, you must migrate Notification Services instances to SQL Server 2005 by performing the following steps:

• Upgrade the Database Engine.
• Install SQL Server 2005 Notification Services.
• Upgrade Notification Services instance metadata.
• Update the Notification Services instance.

Migration Matrix

The following table shows possible migration paths from Notification Services 2.0 to SQL Server 2005 Notification Services. "Yes" indicates that you can migrate from the version in the left column to the version at the top of the column. "No" indicates that the migration fails.

1  SQL Server 2005 Evaluation Edition has a time limit. When the time limit expires, the instance of Notification Services will not start.

2  Note the license restrictions with SQL Server 2005 Developer Edition.

Note   Notification Services does not support SQL Server 2005 Express Edition and SQL Server Workgroup Edition.

Preparing to Migrate Instances

Before upgrading an existing instance of Notification Services to SQL Server 2005, perform the following tasks:

• Recompile custom event providers, content formatters, and delivery protocols using the SQL Server 2005 Notification Services assemblies and Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0. Custom components compiled with the Notification Services 2.0 assembly and .NET Framework 1.1 are not compatible with SQL Server 2005 Notification Services.
  The SQL Server 2005 assemblies for Notification Services are located in the %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft SQL Server\90\NotificationServices\n.n.nnn\bin folder, where n.n.nnn is the build number.
• Uninstall the Notification Services 2.0 sample applications.
  Unmodified Notification Services 2.0 samples will not run against SQL Server 2005. The syntax of the rules have changed; rules that use the Notify() function are not supported in SQL Server 2005.
  Also, some sample applications use the same names in Notification Services 2.0 and SQL Server 2005; therefore, you must remove the Notification Services 2.0 samples before using SQL Server 2005 samples of the same name.
  Run the RemoveSamplesDB.cmd utility, which is located in the v2.0.NNNN.0\Samples folder, to remove the 2.0 sample applications.
• Ensure that applications do not have multiple distributors on the same server. This is not allowed with SQL Server 2005. If necessary, update the ADF to move one of the distributors and then update the application before migrating to SQL Server 2005.
• Determine the best time to perform the upgrade.
  Upgrade instances during periods of low activity to minimize the impact on event collection, notification generation and distribution, and subscription management. You should also try to avoid upgrading during a scheduled vacuuming interval, which often occurs during periods of low activity. The vacuuming schedule is defined in each application definition file (ADF) in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
• Prepare a backup device for the instance and application databases.
  During upgrade, you are instructed to back up your instance and application databases. Having backup devices defined will reduce the time required to perform upgrades.

How to Migrate Instances

You can migrate Notification Services instances to SQL Server 2005 using SQL Server Management Studio or command prompt utilities:

• How to: Migrate Notification Services 2.0 Instances to SQL Server 2005 (SQL Server Management Studio)
• How to: Migrate Notification Services 2.0 Instances to SQL Server 2005 (Command Prompt)

See Also

Concepts

Migrating Notification Services Instances
Installing SQL Server Notification Services
How to: View Notification Services Version Information

Help and Information

Getting SQL Server 2005 Assistance