Start-DbaMigration for SQL Server Migrations

Server migrations don’t happen overnight. They take a ton of time to plan, test, and test some more. I haven’t had a migration project in a few years but am, dare I say excited, for the next one because I really want to take Start-DbaMigration for a spin.

Start-DbaMigration, part of dbatools, offers an easier way to migrate a SQL Server environment from one server to another. It doesn’t only handle migrating databases. It handles other areas like logins, jobs, and more. The description for Start-DbaMigration says to think of it as an “easy button” and that’s a pretty accurate description of what it is.

While I’d read about it in the past, I hadn’t seriously experimented with it until recently, and so far, I’m a big fan.

While it can be regarded as an “easy button” that doesn’t mean there aren’t options to choose from. Perhaps you want to use the most recent backup when running Start-DbaMigration instead of taking brand new backups. Or maybe you want to make sure to disable jobs on the source or destination so that jobs aren’t needlessly running when they shouldn’t be. Those are just a few options to consider.

If you have a migration coming up or just want something to play around with, take a look at Start-DbaMigration and see what you think. It might be able to fit your needs and help make your next migration go smoothly.. Just to emphasize how a short script can be so powerful, here’s a short video showing it in action.

I’ll probably be using it this summer and will plan on reporting back on any gotchas I run into.

Thanks for reading!