Skip to main content

Notifications

Announcements

No record found.

News and Announcements icon
Community site session details

Community site session details

Session Id :
Dynamics 365 Community / Forums / Microsoft Dynamics AX (Archived) / Dynamics AX DB - SQL S...
Microsoft Dynamics AX (Archived)

Dynamics AX DB - SQL Server upgrade from 2008 R2 to 2012 or 2014

(0) ShareShare
ReportReport
Posted on by Manish Verma 75

Experts ,

Currently we running Dynamics AX 2012 (Feature pack + CU3) and SQL sever R2 as AX DB. As a part of performance improvement we are planning to upgrade SQL server , I am seeking for expert advice to take  a decision for which version(2012 or 2014)  we should go for SQL server upgrade ?  Which version will go well with Dynamics AX ? Do we required SQL DBA expertise to upgrade SQL server ? Or as a AX SME with limited SQL knowledge guy can perform SQL upgrade from SQL server installation media ? Please suggest exiting discussion in same context , looking for some advice and best practice to perform this upgrade. Any suggestions would highly appreciated .

Thanks in advance ,

Manish Verma

   

*This post is locked for comments

  • Suggested answer
    Vilmos Kintera Profile Picture
    Vilmos Kintera 46,149 on at
    RE: Dynamics AX DB - SQL Server upgrade from 2008 R2 to 2012 or 2014

    If you want to do it right, more work is expected. The typical approach we have followed in the past is to acquire a new hardware always, do a fresh install, and migrate only the components we need to the new platform. The old one could still host and support legacy components.

  • Manish Verma Profile Picture
    Manish Verma 75 on at
    RE: Dynamics AX DB - SQL Server upgrade from 2008 R2 to 2012 or 2014

    Thanks a lot Vilmos , I have checked the system requirement document and found that I can go with either version (2012 or 2014) but only one additional thing is suggested that we have to have SQL server 2008 r2 native client components on SQL prod box irrespective of SQL server installation. As you suggested that "SQL upgrade is not an upgrade, we should always do a clean install, then transfer your database with a full backup / restore procedure, then verify the database integrity with DBCC CHECKDB. SQL" but in our case SQL box not only having the AX Prod DB but its has couple of SSIS packages and SQL store procedure which runs periodically to support other interfaces and reporting(QV reporting) application so in case of fresh SQL server installation we have to move all these packages and sql store procedure into new SQL box and that will more work I believe.

    Any one has done this before ?  

  • Suggested answer
    Vilmos Kintera Profile Picture
    Vilmos Kintera 46,149 on at
    RE: Dynamics AX DB - SQL Server upgrade from 2008 R2 to 2012 or 2014

    You must check the AX 2012 System requirements documentation and the official Microsoft support blogs to check exact version compatibility. That means more recent service packs for a certain SQL Server version might not be officially supported for your specific AX version. Generally speaking, you need to be on at least AX 2012 R3 for the most broad support, for which you need to do an in-place code and data upgrade which will take months.

    Once you have verified which version you could go for, then there is not much difference between SQL Server 2012 and 2014 that AX 2012 could utilize to be honest. You should make use of the Enterprise Edition and consider creating an AlwaysOn high availability environment that is available from 2012 onwards, which could ensure your business continuity in case of a disaster.

    The SQL upgrade is not an upgrade, you should always do a clean install, then transfer your database with a full backup / restore procedure, then verify the database integrity with DBCC CHECKDB. Once you have done the restore, it is only a matter of switching the database compatibility level to a higher version. Once you do this, there is no stepping back to your previous SQL.

Under review

Thank you for your reply! To ensure a great experience for everyone, your content is awaiting approval by our Community Managers. Please check back later.

Helpful resources

Quick Links

Daivat Vartak – Community Spotlight

We are honored to recognize Daivat Vartak as our March 2025 Community…

Announcing Our 2025 Season 1 Super Users!

A new season of Super Users has arrived, and we are so grateful for the daily…

Kudos to the February Top 10 Community Stars!

Thanks for all your good work in the Community!

Leaderboard

#1
André Arnaud de Calavon Profile Picture

André Arnaud de Cal... 293,278 Super User 2025 Season 1

#2
Martin Dráb Profile Picture

Martin Dráb 232,011 Most Valuable Professional

#3
nmaenpaa Profile Picture

nmaenpaa 101,156 Moderator

Leaderboard

Featured topics

Product updates

Dynamics 365 release plans