Projects that refused to cooperate? Last May I started on a SQL Server migration from SQL2000 to SQL2012 and it has been kicking my rear end because the software that connects to it is as old as SQL2000 and migrating database software that far apart in age isn’t recommended.
November of last year after getting all of our ducks in a row, I built the server, got the OS and SQL all set up but that was the easy part. We made the first attempt and nothing seemed to work, we kept getting errors and huge CPU spikes that didn’t make sense. Then each month thereafter we made new attempts, this drove my boss batchit and frustrated, you can imagine how it made me feel.
I refused to move forward unless certain issues could be over-come, it either works like it should or we can’t move forward. Finally while working on another project which happened to include the very person who wrote the software we were using (not SQL) I asked him for help and he thankfully said yes. The problem wasn’t in the migration, itself complicated enough for sure, nope, the problem was with the license files the equipment uses to make sure these systems are paid for and it turns out we had some with faulty code in the license files. 
Considering the newest server I built with these license files is now going on 7 years old who would have thunk it would be a license file?? Sure enough he found the problem and fixed it and today after working an all nighter and now on my 2nd pot of coffee we are almost done with the migration. There are several jobs that have to be modified to work with the new DB but we’ll get there…
Finally… the monkey is off my back, irritating little bugger….
4 comments:
So, is this a home brewed license server or a Windows Licensing Server?
The server uses a USB dongle to license the software. I built the boxes and installed the custom keys as they were provided by our vendor. They coded the keys wrong so they were looking for a "proto fax" database where there wasn't one.
It was drving us mad because the databases contained the same info but got errors for this DB we didn't have.
Congratulations, on your success... No one understands the load on an IT person's shoulders when things that should be straight forward hop the tracks for no apparent reason.... The license dongle must have some vindictive codes to send the CPU on merry goose chases if it perceives violations... Can the license folks be held accountable for some of your overwhelming costs...? Might make your CEO or CFO more amiable...
Rod - I wish they could be held accountable, the company is no longer in business so I got lucky getting help from the original code writer, very lucky indeed!
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