StarQuest Technical Documents

Upgrading from a Prior Release of SQDR

Last Update: 07 February 2005
Product: StarQuest Data Replicator
Version: 3.x
Article ID: SQV00DR005

Abstract

This document demonstrates how to upgrade from a prior release of SQDR. These instructions were taken from the Introduction chapter of the StarQuest Data Replicator Help. Please read the entire document before upgrading.

Solution

If you are using StarQuest Data Replicator v2.0 or earlier you must obtain a new license key to run replications using v3. Contact StarQuest to obtain a valid license key for SQDR v3. Or, you can install the Data Replicator software and then use the online licensing feature of the License Configuration utility to request a license key.

Before you install the v3 Data Replicator software, back up your existing SQDR control database and the following key from the Windows registry.

  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\StarQuest\SQDRSVC (for SQDR v2.5)
  • HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MSSQLServer\SQDRSVC (for SQDR v1.6 or v2.01)

The installation program for SQDR v2.5 implemented the Microsoft Best Practices for installing Windows products. If you are upgrading from v2.5, the installation program for Data Replicator v3 automatically checks for a prior version of Data Replicator software and prompts for approval to remove it. If you are upgrading from v1.6 or v2.01, un-install the existing version before you install v3. To remove v1.6 or v2.01, select Setup.exe from the StarQuest Data Replicator program group and select the Remove option.

When you remove a previous version of Data Replicator, a prompt appears asking whether you want to remove the prior control tables (definitions of sources, destinations, and subscriptions) and replications that are scheduled to run automatically (scheduled SQL Server tasks). Select No in response to the question about removing these if you want to use the prior control database with the new release of Data Replicator.

From the last pane of the InstallShield Wizard for v3 you have a choice to run the Data Replicator Configuration Wizard when you click Finish. Even if you have an existing SQDR control database you must configure it for use with v3. If you wish to use your existing control database, choose the option "Use an existing control database and tables" during the Data Replicator Configuration Wizard. Specify the name of the database and the database owner (e.g. dbo). Complete the remainder of the Configuration Wizard as desired.

After you configure Data Replicator and start the Replicator Manager, review the Replicator Service properties. You may want to compare the values of the previous \SQDRSVC key that you backed up from the Windows Registry to the values that are set for the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\StarQuest\SQDRSVC key by SQDR v3. However, make changes to the values of this key only by running the Configuration Wizard or editing the Service Properties dialogs.

Be sure to upgrade all instances of Data Replicator. The Replicator Manager and Replicator Service must be of the same version release to communicate. You cannot manage v3 components using a prior release of Data Replicator.

As a result of the architectural changes implemented for Data Replicator v3, customers of prior versions should be aware of the following changes in functionality:

  • SQL Server v7 is no longer supported for use as a SQDR Control Database. Although you can replicate data to or from v7, you must use SQL Server 2000 or SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine (MSDE) as described in System Requirements. If you do not already have a SQL Server 2000 installation, you can obtain the Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine (MSDE 2000) free of charge from www.microsoft.com/downloads (search for MSDE) to use as a control database for the Data Replicator. See Technical Document Installing SQL Server for a Control Database, for more information.

  • Removing the dependency on the ODS Gateway, which Microsoft is no longer supporting, removes the ability to manage a Replicator Service from a remote computer. The Replicator Service and Replicator Manager must be installed on the same computer.

  • Implementation of the COM interface for v3 removes the ability to interface with Data Replicator using RPCs. You can still run scheduled subscriptions using stored procedure calls, as described in the Data Replication Manager help system.

  • You can no longer specify that a subscription use separate execution threads for fetch and insert operations. To improve the performance of replication operations, use the new Groups feature to run multiple subscriptions concurrently.

DISCLAIMER

The information in technical documents comes without any warranty. The author(s) or distributor(s) will not accept responsibility for any damage incurred directly or indirectly through use of the information contained in these documents. The information in technical documents may be gathered from various sources, including IBM, Microsoft, and other organizations.