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Change, Updates and Proactive Review of SQL Server Installations, Applications
David wrote in with some feedback on the question of proactive review – I think probably this approach applies to a huge number of SSWUG readers. I know in many aspects he talks about, from Access to SQL Server migrations to the difficulty in getting some applications certified on newer platform releases, it can make it challenging to be able to go back and review applications, let alone actually touch them.
"Our state agency is still on SQL-Server 2000. One reason we have not gone to a newer version is that applications will need to be tested and perhaps worked on in order to continue working after the upgrade. Users resist paying for testing and maintenance, especially when their application is working in an acceptable way right now.
There are four cases where we have limited ability to change the databases.
(1) Extensive maintenance
When the user business needs lead to maintenance and upgrades of an application, we can often introduce changes to the database that will help.
(2) MS-Access to SQL-Server upgrades.
We have thousands of applications that users have built using MS-Access. When the applications, built using Access, stop working acceptably, the back end data is moved to SQL-Server and the application code stays in MS-Access. At this time of change, there is great pressure to more the Access database directly to SQL-Server. But we have some SQL-Server standards that we enforce. We change some table and column names to make them meaningful and remove such things as embedded blank spaces and special characters. We also change the data types so the length is reasonable, and so that any field over 256 characters long is not automatically a blob. We also take the opportunity to clean up the data and put in referential integrity constraints.
(3) Changes in programming environment.
Some applications are written in environments that we no longer use. One is PowerBuilder. If an app built using one of these environments or tools need maintenance that can not be delayed any longer, the application needs to be re-written in a different language or with different tools. This time of maintenance allows us, as DBAs, to suggest improvements. Because work needs to be done anyway, some of these suggestions are approved.
(4) Changes to a new version of the database.
Mainstream support for SQL-Server 2000 has ended, and Extended Support will end in less than five years. So, we will need to complete an upgrade to a more recent version of SQL-Server within 5 years. Because we will need to test all applications on the new version, and probably make some changes because of the SQL-Server upgrade, there will be some money for database work on all applications. We take the opportunity to review the databases at this time. Some database improvements can be made quite simply when changing anyway. The more change an application needs in order to work on the new version of SQL-Server, the more opportunity we have to include even more improvements to the database
As DBAs, we try to be alert and notice things. We often notice things that could be changed to improve the data. Our opportunities to actually make the changes are almost always tied to major maintenance initiated by the business unit, or to maintenance required because of changes to the IT environment."
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