A few weeks ago, I let loose a rebel yell and issued a command directive: Death to Oracle!  Then I delivered the death knell as we migrated all of the data to SQL Server over Memorial Day weekend.  Today, I am proud to announce that after two weeks of the Finance SQL Servers being in production, the users are happy and productive.

Most would say that is how it should be, but the Oracle DBAs told me that the users would complain daily.  They were happy to rid themselves of those users and now I know why.

Hopefully I did not jinx myself but it looks like the domination plan is working!

Last week I let loose a rebel yell and issued a command directive: Death to Oracle! Today I am proud to announce that I dealt a death knell to one of our Oracle servers by migrating our finance applications from Oracle to SQL Server. This was a year-long project that culminated in one really, really long weekend of SQL Fun. I survived and Oracle bit the dust. My plan for SQL Server World Domination has completed phase one.

My part of the project included a 27-hour marathon involving migrating the data using SQL Server Migration Assistant and then numerous scripts and comparisons to day-zero databases from the vendor while upgrading the application across five different product upgrades using RedGate SQL Compare (which worked beautifully). It was a day full of Starbucks triple espressos and five-hour energy shots before I crashed and the testers took over. We then rounded out the weekend with a 33-hour ETL process which all completed successfully before the application went live at 7am this morning. Mission accomplished.

This project has great visibility in my organization and its success will open the flood gates to future migrations in showing our world that SQL Server is an enterprise level database. I am not stopping here, I want their 100 terabytes of production data! It will be mine, oh yes it will be mine.

Today signals the end and the beginning for a year-long project.  My project for SQL Server Domination.  Our shop is primarily an Oracle shop with dot net developers.  Although I do have almost 300 databases across all levels, the bulk of mission critical applications are written for Oracle.

A little over a year ago we began a plan to migrate our financial applications to SQL Server in order to retire the oldest Oracle servers on site and reduce our massive licensing footprint.  This was all part of my plan for SQL Server World Domination (said in a maniacal voice, imagine that).  We knew that if this mission critical migration was a success that we could leverage our product against the Oracle servers in-house and begin the destruction of their infrastructure in favor of my glorious SQL Servers!  (Hear the trumpets heralding the new king?)

This project, if successful, will be the Oracle death knell.  Over the last year I have prepared diligently with one goal in site:  this migration weekend.  The weekend of my birthday seems apropos to give me the present that I so desire, SQL Server Domination.  You may have noticed that the number of blog posts recently have been limited especially after blogging every day last year.  For the last few months, I have had one purpose and one purpose only:  ensuring the success of this migration!

Let the trumpets herald the coming of a new dawn.  Long live SQL Server.  I will blog again next week on the other side of this project to declare that the Queen is dead and a new King has ascended the throne!   Until then queue the Imperial March, hello Starbucks and massive four day working weekend with little sleep migration project here I come!