| Author |
Topic |
|
zata20
Starting Member
16 Posts |
 Posted - 2009-04-28 : 15:20:22
|
| OK, i'm a newbie here and i was hoping someone could help me. My question is very basic. Background:We are in the process of migrating SQL Server 2000 to a new blade server. A few databases are already online, but we found out that on new destination server, the Service Pack level has not been updated. the old server is at SP3, and the current level is below:2000.8.00.194.0 SQL Server 2000 "gold" release, no SPWe are considering of applying the latest Service Pack, SP3a this weekend, on the production server (we don't have a test server).What suggestions could you give me to do this successfully?Thank you in advance! |
|
|
zata20
Starting Member
16 Posts |
Posted - 2009-04-29 : 10:07:56
|
| Can anyone help? Do you need any more info? I just want to know the basics, pre-installation checks and actual installation so that I can do this successfully.Any info would be appeciated! Thanks in advance. |
 |
|
|
tosscrosby
Aged Yak Warrior
676 Posts |
Posted - 2009-04-29 : 16:32:15
|
| Actually, sp4 is the latest and is what I'm running (plus a few hotfixes on top of that). Download it from microsoft and run it, it's pretty straightforward and should complete in minutes. It will stop and start the SQL services during the install. No issues from my end but I would highly recommend a test server for you at some point. I don't apply anything to production without some sort of test first, but that's me.Terry-- Procrastinate now! |
|
|
|
zata20
Starting Member
16 Posts |
Posted - 2009-04-30 : 10:20:23
|
| Thank you for your reply. Unfortunately, we don't have a test server, so we have to apply it to production. Would I need to stop applications? if so, how? Wouldn't the installation steps take care of stopping and starting services and applications?I forgot to mention that the operating system is Windows NT 5.0. According to the link below, it's not listed under "applies to.."http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=8E2DFC8D-C20E-4446-99A9-B7F0213F8BC5&displaylang=enSo I think I should go with SP3a, can anyone please confirm?Thank you in advance! |
|
|
|
zata20
Starting Member
16 Posts |
Posted - 2009-05-06 : 19:11:03
|
quote:
Originally posted by zata20
OK, i'm a newbie here and i was hoping someone could help me. My question is very basic. Background:We are in the process of migrating SQL Server 2000 to a new blade server. A few databases are already online, but we found out that on new destination server, the Service Pack level has not been updated. the old server is at SP3, and the current level is below:2000.8.00.194.0 SQL Server 2000 "gold" release, no SPWe are considering of applying the latest Service Pack, SP3a this weekend, on the production server (we don't have a test server).What suggestions could you give me to do this successfully?Thank you in advance!
|
|
|
|
zata20
Starting Member
16 Posts |
Posted - 2009-05-06 : 19:12:08
|
| But the Hotfixes are cumulative, correct? So you only need to apply the latest one?? But which one is the latest for 32-bit?? Thanks in advance! |
|
|
|
tkizer
Almighty SQL Goddess
38200 Posts |
|
|
zata20
Starting Member
16 Posts |
Posted - 2009-05-06 : 19:54:18
|
| OK, thank you. So just to confirm with you, the Hotfix that needs to be installed is just one, in 2100 range, correct? Thank you! |
|
|
|
zata20
Starting Member
16 Posts |
Posted - 2009-05-07 : 10:23:49
|
| Also, I am concerned about possible issues after installing SP4, such as below:1. "you may experience performance degradation, or output changes, in queries that involve decimal or numeric columns with different precision/scale. See KB #899976 for more information (including a trace flag that will allow you to revert to SP3 behavior in data type precedence evaluation). "http://sqlserver2000.databases.aspfaq.com/what-do-i-need-to-know-about-sql-server-2000-sp4.html2. "Before you apply the service pack, you must upgrade your SQL Server 2000 master/target server configuration. The enhancements introduced with SP4 are compatible only with servers on which SQL Server 2000 SP3 or later is running. You must select this check box before continuing Setup. For more information, see Section 5.3.2 Changes to Master/Target Server Configurations."http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=8e2dfc8d-c20e-4446-99a9-b7f0213f8bc5&displaylang=enAlso, if I were to install SP4 from (RTM), how long would it take? an hour?I could be a little paranoid about SP4... Since I'm going directly from (RTM) to SP3a or SP4... I don't have the luxury of testing this on a Test environment...Thanks! |
|
|
|
tkizer
Almighty SQL Goddess
38200 Posts |
|
|
zata20
Starting Member
16 Posts |
Posted - 2009-05-07 : 16:51:19
|
| We don't have a Test environment unfortunately... So I guess the only option is take full backups, then install SP4 from RTM on the Production environment.I've never installed Service Packs before, so could you give me a general idea of how long the installation might take? We have a very small maintenance window, even on Sunday. Thank you in advance. |
|
|
|
tosscrosby
Aged Yak Warrior
676 Posts |
Posted - 2009-05-07 : 17:06:03
|
| It's potentially more than just the database. It porbably updates some of the dll/exe files as well - registry too. Get a steady state backup and database backups. As stated a few times already, you really should test this before applying it. I realize you don't have that now but that should be the priority. Personally, I don't know that I'd totally trust the backup scenario I described in case of issues - unless of course I had tested in and proved I COULD restore back to where I was without issue. Just curious, how do you test package updates/upgrades? Please don't say they are applied directly to production.....If so, you folks are playing with fire.Terry-- Procrastinate now! |
|
|
|
zata20
Starting Member
16 Posts |
Posted - 2009-05-07 : 18:27:12
|
| I appreciate your expert comments... We are in the process of migrating from a Cluster to Blade...And I became the new SQL Server administrator. We will get an image backup which will help with the installation and registry, if something goes wrong. We'll have the full user database backups as well. We will prepare a VM environment soon. If you have any more advice for me, I'd appreciate it. Thanks! |
|
|
|
tkizer
Almighty SQL Goddess
38200 Posts |
|
|
zata20
Starting Member
16 Posts |
Posted - 2009-05-07 : 20:00:19
|
| wow that's great to know. I was concerned because it's from NO SP directly to SP4. Thank you very much! |
|
|
|
tosscrosby
Aged Yak Warrior
676 Posts |
Posted - 2009-05-08 : 08:28:10
|
quote:
Originally posted by zata20
We'll have the full user database backups as well.
Don't forget the system database backups as well....Terry-- Procrastinate now! |
|
|
|
|
How to apply latest SP