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Steve2507
VP-CART Expert
590 Posts |
Posted - August 27 2010 : 05:52:34
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Hi Guys,
Okay – a long winded and a slightly complicated question so I apologise about that from the start.
We are having problems with our host and to move to a new server with the same host is going to cost a fortune (don’t ask why - it’s an even longer story). The hosts we would like to go over to do not support MSSQL Express which is what we currently use, they only support full MSSQL. But as we use VP 6.5 we would therefore need to upgrade to V7.
So this is how I want to carry out this upgrade and I wanted others input on it.
We have 13 sites all running off the one database, we also have loads of additional fields already added to the tables in the database and loads of modifications to the front end files.
Question 1: If I upgrade does the database changes add in extra fields? I.e. does it remove fields that it doesn’t recognise?
Question 2: I cannot upgrade all 13 sites in one go with all the modifications we’ve made, this would be logistically impossible, so I propose to upgrade only the database at first thus meaning the sites will have V6.5 front end files but the database will have all the fields suitable for V7. As I see it this shouldn’t make any difference as the front files will still be able to see the tables and fields they need.
Then I can go through each site, create a test sub domain, make any changes to the V7 files and when it is working move the new files over to the full domain.
Does anyone see any problems with this method or am I being stupid for thinking this can be done?
Thanks.
Steve Sex toys from a UK sex shop including vibrators and dildos. |
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support
Administrator
4679 Posts |
Posted - August 28 2010 : 01:12:52
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Hi Steve,
Why do you need to upgrade to version 7.0 because of the database change?
Version does handle it better but if you post a ticket in the helpdesk our developers can walk you trough what you need to update to fix any issues with 650.
Thank you.
Cam Flanigan VP-ASP Cart Support
Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/vpasp |
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Steve2507
VP-CART Expert
590 Posts |
Posted - August 28 2010 : 04:58:58
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Hi Cam,
We are looking at moving hosts, but the new host doesn't support MSSQL Express which is what we are using. They only support the latest version of MSSQL for new customers.
So I need to upgrade to the latest version of MSSQL.
But I've heard of loads of problems with V6.5 and the latest versions of MSSQL, so it looks as though to move hosts I need to upgrade to V7 which then means I can then move hosts.
Steve Sex toys from a UK sex shop including vibrators and dildos. |
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Steve2507
VP-CART Expert
590 Posts |
Posted - August 28 2010 : 15:08:45
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quote: Originally posted by support Version does handle it better but if you post a ticket in the helpdesk our developers can walk you trough what you need to update to fix any issues with 650.
What sort of issues are there?
I just want to get an idea what work is involved before I make the move.
Thanks
Steve Sex toys from a UK sex shop including vibrators and dildos. |
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support
Administrator
4679 Posts |
Posted - August 29 2010 : 00:49:21
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The main issue is when your text fields are not last in the list in the database table.
So for earlier versions what you need to do is open each database table and move the text fields so they are last on the list such as the cdescription and extendeddesc fields.
This will fix 99% of issues.
If you open a helpdesk for any other problems you hit the guys in support can walk you through as we have applied a number of updates to version 700 to ensure there are no issues with any version of SQL.
Normally I would say upgrade however I know your sites and how big and customised they are and unless you have a lazy weekend or 2 handy I would probably stay with 650 and update it so it works with SQL 2008.
Thanks.
Cam Flanigan VP-ASP Cart Support
Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/vpasp |
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Steve2507
VP-CART Expert
590 Posts |
Posted - August 29 2010 : 09:08:07
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quote: Originally posted by support
The main issue is when your text fields are not last in the list in the database table.
So for earlier versions what you need to do is open each database table and move the text fields so they are last on the list such as the cdescription and extendeddesc fields.
This will fix 99% of issues.
If you open a helpdesk for any other problems you hit the guys in support can walk you through as we have applied a number of updates to version 700 to ensure there are no issues with any version of SQL.
Normally I would say upgrade however I know your sites and how big and customised they are and unless you have a lazy weekend or 2 handy I would probably stay with 650 and update it so it works with SQL 2008.
Thanks.
Cam Flanigan VP-ASP Cart Support
Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/vpasp
Thanks Cam, I have to say there aren't many businesses that would advise against upgrading to new software and so get a new sale.
I think what I'm going to do is sign up with the new hosts, get them to move the database across then set up a test site to read from the new database. Get everything fixed then move the sites over (updating any database changes along the way).
Thanks again.
Steve Sex toys from a UK sex shop including vibrators and dildos. |
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support
Administrator
4679 Posts |
Posted - August 30 2010 : 01:00:29
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Hi Steve,
Normally it would not be a problem but I know how much work you have done on your sites and I just don't think the pay off to upgrade would be worth it in your case to be honest.
Most sites will benefit from an upgrade however with sites like yours and a number of other customers who I have given the same advice to I just don't think the advantages are there to warrant the amount of work that will be involved.
What an option for you is to possibly cherry pick functionality from the 7.0 version and apply it to your version 650 site.
Good luck with the move and if you get stuck let our team know through the help desk and we will try to get things sorted for you.
Thanks.
Cam Flanigan VP-ASP Cart Support
Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/vpasp |
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Steve2507
VP-CART Expert
590 Posts |
Posted - September 08 2010 : 10:52:27
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Hi Cam,
We are about to start the move to SQL 2008 and I'm about to start with moving the fields so the varchar are at the end.
Is it that the largest varchar need to be at the end?
For example this order would be good: varchar(10) varchar(15) varchar(250)
but this wouldn't work: varchar(250) varchar(10) varchar(15)
Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question.
Steve Sex toys from a UK sex shop including vibrators and dildos. |
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devshb
Senior Member
United Kingdom
1904 Posts |
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Steve2507
VP-CART Expert
590 Posts |
Posted - September 08 2010 : 11:39:48
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Hi Simon,
This is where I'm getting confused "text/ntext"?
All our fields are varchar apart from the cdescription and extdescription (in the produts table). So are these the only 2 I have to move?
Thanks
Steve Sex toys from a UK sex shop including vibrators and dildos. |
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devshb
Senior Member
United Kingdom
1904 Posts |
Posted - September 08 2010 : 12:06:36
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if those are the only 2 text/ntext columns, then yes, those are the only ones that you'd need to make sure are at the end of the column list.
Whether other columns in other tables are ntext/text or varchars will depend which version of vpasp you started-off with and the upgrade path taken.
Moving a column is harder than it looks sometimes though; quite often you have to create a renamed column at the bottom of the list, populate those with a copy of the existing columns, drop the old columns, then rename the new ones. Enterprise manager does allow you to drag and drop columns, but from what I've seen in the past the database itself often stops that from being allowed due to permissions and other checks.
I usually have to run some sql statements to create/populate/drop/rename etc.
Simon Barnaby Developer [email protected] www.BigYellowZone.com www.BigYellowKey.com Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/bigyellowzone Web Design, Online Marketing and VPASP addons |
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Steve2507
VP-CART Expert
590 Posts |
Posted - September 08 2010 : 12:42:16
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Thanks Simon for clearing that up.
I've got EMS SQL Manager and there's a function in that for changing the order of the fields. So hopefully it can be done fairlly smoothly.
Steve Sex toys from a UK sex shop including vibrators and dildos. |
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