I am finally finding the time to perform the upgrade from LDMS 9.0 SP3 to 9.5. I had thought I would simply install the upgrade over the original, but then I ran into a problem. We have a fairly small client base and as such, we are running the core and database on the same server. The OS is Win 2008 R2 64 bit, the database is SQL 2005 Express. After reading the requirements, I realize that I have a problem in that SQL 2005 is no longer supported. I cannot recall why we went with 2005 during the original install, but here we are. As I see it, I have two options:
1. Upgrade the database on the current server from 2005 to 2012 and then perform the upgrade
2. Perform a side by side upgrade using sql 2012 on the new server.
I am having a bit of a problem deciding which direction to go here. From what I have seen, it seems that documentation on performing a side-by-side install leaves a lot to be desired. I spent a great deal of time with software packaging and provisioning, so I absolutely cannot lose all that work. I know much of it I can export from the old core and import to the new, but it seems like I am in for a long road doing this.
On the other hand, how much trouble will I run into with the sql upgrade. My thought process is to backup the database, then uninstall SQL 2005 and install SQL 2012. Then re-attach the databases. I imagine I will need to resolve any authentication issues between LDMS and SQL, but am I forgetting anything else?
The one advantage I have is that I have a VMware lab environment with a copy of my LDMS core/db server, Domain Controller, and the server that handles my PXE Rep functions. So I can test without impacting my production system. I just thought I would run it by the community in the hopes of preventing some frustration.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Rob