Hi All, I've been reading and running into conflicting information so I thought I'd post here for some answers. I am wanting to move my sharepoint databases from a SQL 2005 server (with Server 2008) to a SQL 2008 server (with Server 2008 R2). Both are 64-bit and have different names. According to: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc512725.aspx it states that: "This is a procedure for moving all the databases in a Office SharePoint Server 2007 farm to a new database server that has a different name. The new database server must use the same version of Windows Server and SQL Server as the old database server ." It provides a link to Section 2 of the page where it mentions how to move the databases to a new server with the SAME name but not necessarily an upgraded version. First, is this move possible and second, which method is best for my scenario? Thanks in advance. I also have thought about just upgrading the server to Server 2008 R2 and SQL 2008 as a way to get around this. Would anyone advise this as a recommended approach?

Dear jwbrown, your operation is migrate your database from DB Server to another DB Server Not Moving because you are changing to a different version of SQL, so firstly,you should read the following article to understand the difference between moving and migrate http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc262370.aspx http://rehmangul.wordpress.com/tag/move-to-another-farm/ in your case you will need to migrate to another server, to do this operation read the following articles:- http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc263186.aspx http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc263299.aspx Best Regrads, Ahmed Madany

Hi,just to make it easy for, in your case you are going to do the following:- Create the environment for the new version (Winows 2008 R2 and SQL 2008)- Back up or copy the databases (Content Databases only), and then migrate the data to the new SQL Server 2008the follwing links may help you in both steps- http://www.keirgordon.com/post/Prepare-Windows-Server-2008-for-SharePoint.aspx- http://www.keirgordon.com/post/Installing-SharePoint-on-Windows-Server-2008-R2.aspx- http://www.keirgordon.com/2008/02/move-sharepoint-content-database.html?showComment=1207253580000by the way, I faced your situation and this was my solution Best Regards, Ammar MCT

The TechNet article "Move All Databases (SharePoint 2010)" is your main guide. As you correctly noted this article contains the following warning: The new database server must be running the same version of Windows Server and Microsoft SQL Server as the existing database server. This in NOT true! Both from my own experience in migrating SharePoint databases and talks I've had with Microsoft Primary Field Engineering, I can say this method also works when SQL Server versions differ. But only if you upgrade to higher SQL Server versions (i.e. SQL Server 2005 to SQL Server 2008 R2). I was told this scenario is also fully supported by Microsoft. Also, don't forget to update the database compatibility level for the migrated databases. This should future-proof your databases and enable advanced SQL Server optimization.