I have been asked by my boss to find out the advantages of moving the Navision database to SQL.
I do not support Navision, an external company does. They have told my boss that moving to SQL is a big task, would require constant on-going SQL admin support etc etc.
Not being familiar with SQL myself, I was wondering if someone here could tell me if our navision support company is telling us the truth (or are they simply incapable of supporting SQL and/or lazy to do the job)
Is it a big task to migrate to SQL?
What are the advantages?
What are the disadvantages?
Would be require a SQL specialist to provide on-going support?
reason this has come up is because we are currently using Qlikview for reporting and are unable to get the reports that we want. The company helping us with reporting has told us its better if we move to SQL.
- Is it a big task to migrate to SQL?
Yes and No. Technically it is supposed to be easy: you install/configure the SQL Server properly, then take a backup from the old C/SIDE Server and restore it into a new SQL Server database. But actually there could be several tricky issues; e.g. certain special requirements/prerequisites have to be fulfilled for SQL (the details are explained in the “Upgrade Toolkit” documentation). Also, SQL SErver behaves differently regarding performance and blocking, thus optimizations have to be done after migration.
- What are the advantages?
SQL Server is THE database for NAV. C/SIDE DB will not be available with NAV 7. SQL SErver is an open database with almost endles capabilities to interact and exchange with other systems, featuring state-of-the-art technology. SQL Server is highly scalable and provides excellent features for backups, failaover and high-availability. The performance of a SQL Server is basically much much better than with C/SIDE, and less blocking issues will occur. Again: as NAV was designed for the native Server some tuning IS required on SQL Server - once this has been done sufficiently your system will “fly high”.
- What are the disadvantages?
Of course SQL Server has different “price tag” - just server hardware and software licenses are remarkable higher. While the old native box was just up & running forever, SQL Server needs certain maintenance to keep up & running good (actually we are talking about few things which are fairly simple to implement).
As mentioned above: you have to perform some tuning. Which is - on the other hand - an advantage, too: with SQL Server you CAN improve things. If you’re encountering problems wIth the native box, you’re often just screwed, no chance to fix it …
- Would be require a SQL specialist to provide on-going support?
Well, you should have an administrator in your company who takes care about the system. SQL Server is more complex than C/SIDE, but finally we are not talking about rocket-science here.
The standard migration should/could be accomplished by your Dynamics partner; if they are not capable to do this, then you might contact an “Upgrade Center” (=NAV partners specialized on Update & Migration) near to you.
For the performance optimiztaion & troubleshooting - well, it depends - there’s several things you could do yourself; if you search this forum for "SQL Performance"you’ll get plenty of advices and recommendations (this is a permanently discussed issue).
If things are getting tough you could contact specialists who have many years of experience with this “NAV/SQL Performance Optimization” - you’ll also find those guys here in the forum [H]
My humble, personal opinion is: if you have a chance to switch to SQL Server you should do it. The sooner the better. C/SIDE Server will vanish within the next 1-3 years anyway.