Use the Copy Database Wizard

Applies to: SQL Server

The Copy Database Wizard moves or copies databases and certain server objects easily from one instance of SQL Server to another instance, with no server downtime. By using this wizard, you can do the following actions:

• Pick a source and destination server.
• Select one or more databases to move or copy.
• Specify the file location for one or more databases.
• Copy logins to the destination server.
• Copy supporting objects, jobs, user-defined stored procedures, and error messages.
• Schedule when to move or copy the databases.

Note

Considering a migration to Azure SQL? Review the following tools instead of the Copy Database Wizard:

• Migrate to Azure SQL guides
• Azure Database Migration Service
• Azure Data Migration Assistant
• Azure Migrate Service

Limitations

• The Copy Database Wizard is not available in the Express edition.

• The Copy Database Wizard cannot be used to copy or move databases that:

  • Are system databases (master,model,msdb,tempdb).
  • Are marked for replication.
  • Are marked Inaccessible, Loading, Offline, Recovering, Suspect, or in Emergency Mode.
  • Have data or log files stored in Microsoft Azure storage.

• When using FileTables, you can't use the Copy Database Wizard on the same server because the wizard uses the same directory name.

• A database cannot be moved or copied to an earlier version of SQL Server.

• If you select the Move option, the wizard deletes the source database automatically after moving the database. The Copy Database Wizard does not delete a source database if you select the Copy option. In addition, selected server objects are copied rather than moved to the destination; the database is the only object that is actually moved.

• If you use the SQL Server Management Object method to move the full-text catalog, you must repopulate the index after the move.

• The detach and attach method:

  1. Detaches the database
  2. Moves or copies the database .mdf, .ndf, .ldf files.
  3. Reattaches the database in the new location.

  For the detach and attach method, to avoid data loss or inconsistency, active sessions cannot be attached to the database being moved or copied. For the SQL Server Management Object method, active sessions are allowed because the database is never taken offline.

• Transferring SQL Server Agent jobs that reference databases that do not already exist on the destination server will cause the entire operation to fail. The Wizard attempts to create a SQL Server Agent job before creating the database. As a workaround:

  1. Create a shell database on the destination server with the same name as the database to be copied or moved. See Create a Database.

  2. From the Configure Destination Database page select Drop any database on the destination server with the same name, then continue with the database transfer, overwriting existing database files.

Warning

The detach and attach method will cause the source and destination database ownership to become set to the login executing the Copy Database Wizard. See ALTER AUTHORIZATION (Transact-SQL) to change the ownership of a database.

• Copy database fails if the model system database in the destination server contains a user account that also exists in the source database. This error is expected, as a new database automatically includes database objects, including users, from model. Then, the copy database steps fail to create the user of the same name on the target database. To prevent, make sure that the model database on the target server and the source database of the copy database wizard do not have any users of the same name.

Prerequisites

• Ensure that SQL Server Agent is started on the destination server.
• Ensure the data and log file directories on the source server can be reached from the destination server.
• Under the detach and attach method, a SQL Server Agent Proxy for the SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) subsystem must exist on the destination server with a credential that can access the file system of both the source and destination servers. For more information on proxies, see Create a SQL Server Agent Proxy.

Important

Under the detach and attach method, the copy or move process will fail if an Integration Services Proxy account is not used. Under certain situations the source database will not become re-attached to the source server and all NTFS security permissions will be stripped from the data and log files. If this happens, navigate to your files, re-apply the relevant permissions, and then re-attach the database to your instance of SQL Server.

Recommendations

• To ensure optimal performance of an upgraded database, run sp_updatestats (Transact-SQL) (update statistics) against the upgraded database.
• When you move or copy a database to another server instance, to provide a consistent experience to users and applications, you might have to re-create some or all of the metadata for the database, such as logins and jobs, on the other server instance. For more information, see Manage Metadata When Making a Database Available on Another Server Instance (SQL Server).

Permissions

You must be a member of the sysadmin fixed server role on both the source and destination servers.

Copy Database wizard

1. On either the source or destination SQL Server instance, launch the Copy Database Wizard in SQL Server Management Studio from Object Explorer and expand Databases.
2. Then right-click a database, point to Tasks, and then select Copy Database.
3. If the Welcome to the Copy Database Wizard splash page appears, select Next.

Select a source server

Used to specify the server with the database to move or copy, and to enter authentication information. After you select the authentication method and sign in, select Next to establish the connection to the source server. This connection remains open throughout the session.

• Source server

  Used to identify the name of the server on which the databases you want to move or copy is located. Manually enter, or select the ellipsis to navigate to the desired server. The server must be at least SQL Server 2005.

• Use Windows Authentication

  Allows a user to connect through a Microsoft Windows user account.

• Use SQL Server Authentication

  Allows a user to connect by providing a SQL Server Authentication user name and password.

  • User name

    Name of the login. This option is only available if you have selected to connect using SQL Server Authentication.

  • Password

    Password. This option is only available if you have selected to connect using SQL Server Authentication.

Select a destination server

Used to specify the server where the database will be moved or copied to. If you set the source and destination servers to the same server instance, you will create a copy of the database. In this case, you must rename the database at a later point in the wizard. The source database name can be used for the copied or moved database only if name conflicts do not exist on the destination server. If name conflicts exist, you must resolve them manually on the destination server before you can use the source database name there.

• Destination server
  Used to identify the name of the server to which the databases you want to move or copy to is located. Manually enter the destination server name or select the ellipsis to navigate to the desired server. The server must be at least SQL Server 2005.

  Note

  You can use a destination that is a clustered server; the Copy Database Wizard will make sure you select only shared drives on a clustered destination server.

• Use Windows Authentication
  Allows a user to connect through a Microsoft Windows user account.

• Use SQL Server Authentication
  Allows a user to connect by providing a SQL Server Authentication user name and password.

  • User name
    Used to enter the user name to connect with. This option is only available if you have selected to connect using SQL Server Authentication.

  • Password
    Used to enter the password for the login. This option is only available if you have selected to connect using SQL Server Authentication.

Select the transfer method

Choose either the detach and attach method or the SQL Management Object method.

• Use the detach and attach method

  Detach the database from the source server, copy the database files (.mdf, .ndf, and .ldf) to the destination server, and attach the database at the destination server. This method is usually the faster method because the principal work is reading the source disk and writing the destination disk. No SQL Server logic is required to create objects within the database, or create data storage structures. This method can be slower, however, if the database contains a large amount of allocated but unused space. For instance, a new and practically empty database that is created allocating 100 MB, copies the entire 100 MB, even if only 5 MB is full.

  Note

  This method makes the database unavailable to users during the transfer.

  Warning

  If a failure occurs, reattach the source database. When a database is copied, the original database files are always reattached to the source server. Use this box to reattach original files to the source database if a database move cannot be completed.

• Use the SQL Management Object method
  This method reads the definition of each database object on the source database and creates each object in the destination database. Then it transfers the data from the source tables to the destination tables, recreating indexes and metadata.

  Note

  Database users can continue to access the database during the transfer.

Select database

Select one or more databases you want to move or copy from the source server to the destination server. See Limitations and Restrictions.

• Move
  Move the database to the destination server.

• Copy
  Copy the database to the destination server.

• Source
  Displays the databases that exist on the source server.

• Status
  Displays various information of the source database.

• Refresh
  Refresh the list of databases.

Configure destination database

Change the database name if appropriate and specify the location and names of the database files. This page appears once for each database being moved or copied.

• Source Database
  The name of the source database. The text box is not editable.

• Destination Database
  The name of the destination database to be created, modify as desired.

• Destination database files:

  • Filename
    The name of the destination database file to be created, modify as desired.

  • Size (MB)
    Size of the destination database file in megabytes.

  • Destination Folder
    The folder on the destination server to host the destination database file, modify as desired.

  • Status
    Status

• If the destination database already exists:
  Decide what action to take if the destination database already exists.

  • Stop the transfer if a database or file with the same name exists at the destination.

  • Drop any database on the destination server with the same name, then continue with the database transfer, overwriting existing database files.

Select server objects

This page is only available when the source and destination are different servers.

• Available related objects
  Lists objects available to transfer to the destinations server. To include an object, select the object name in the Available related objects box, and then select the >> button to move the object to the Selected related objects box.

• Selected related objects
  Lists objects that will be transferred to the destinations server. To exclude an object, select the object name in the Selected related objects box, and then select the << button to move the object to the Available related objects box. By default all objects of each selected type are transferred. To choose individual objects of any type, select the ellipsis button next to any object type in the Selected related objects box. This opens a dialog box where you can select individual objects.

• List of Server Objects

  • Logins (Selected by default.)
  • SQL Server Agent jobs
  • User-defined error messages
  • Endpoints
  • Full-text catalog
  • SSIS Package
  • Stored procedures from master database

Note

Extended stored procedures and their associated DLLs are not eligible for automated copy.

Location of source database files

This page is only available when the source and destination are different servers. Specify a file system share that contains the database files on the source server.

• Database
  Displays the name of each database being moved.

• Folder location
  The folder location of the database files on the source server. For example: C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL110.MSSQLSERVER\MSSQL\DATA.

• File share on source server
  The file share containing the database files on the source server. Manually enter the share, or select the ellipsis to navigate to the share. For example: \\server_name\C$\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL110.MSSQLSERVER\MSSQL\Data.

Configure the package

The Copy Database Wizard creates an SSIS package to transfer the database.

• Package location
  Displays to where the SSIS package will be written.

• Package name
  A default name for the SSIS package will be created, modify as desired.

• Logging options
  Select whether to store the logging information in the Windows event log, or in a text file.

• Error log file path
  This option is only available if the text file logging option is selected. Provide a path for the location of the log file.

Schedule the package

Specify when you want the move or copy operation to start. If you are not a system administrator, you must specify a SQL Server Agent Proxy account that has access to the Integration Services (SSIS) Package execution subsystem.

Important

An Integration Services Proxy account must be used under the detach and attach method.

• Run immediately
  SSIS Package executes after completing the wizard.

• Schedule
  SSIS Package executes according to a schedule.

  • Change Schedule

    Opens the New Job Schedule dialog box. Configure as desired. Select OK when finished.

• Integration Services Proxy account Select an available proxy account from the dropdown list. To schedule the transfer, there must be at least one proxy account available to the user, configured with permission to the SSIS package execution subsystem.

Note

To create a proxy account for SSIS package execution, in Object Explorer, expand SQL Server Agent, expand Proxies, right-click SSIS Package Execution, and then select New Proxy.

Complete the wizard

Displays summary of the selected options. Select Back to change an option. Select Finish to create the SSIS package. The Performing operation page monitors status information about the execution of the Copy Database Wizard.

• Action

  Lists each action being performed.

• Status

  Indicates whether the action as a whole succeeded or failed.

• Message

  Provides any messages returned from each step.

Examples

Common steps

Regardless of whether you choose Move or Copy, Detach and Attach or SMO, the five following steps are the same. For brevity, the steps are listed here once, and all examples start on Step 6.

1. In Object Explorer, connect to an instance of the SQL Server Database Engine and then expand that instance.

2. Expand Databases, right-click the desired database, point to Tasks, and then select Copy Database...

3. If the Welcome to the Copy Database Wizard splash page appears, select Next.

4. Select a Source Server page: Specify the server with the database to move or copy. Select the authentication method. If Use SQL Server Authentication is chosen, enter your credentials. Select Next to establish the connection to the source server. This connection remains open throughout the session.

5. Select a Destination Server page: Specify the server where the database will be moved or copied to. Select the authentication method. If Use SQL Server Authentication is chosen, enter your credentials. Select Next to establish the connection to the source server. This connection remains open throughout the session.

Note

You can launch the Copy Database Wizard from any database. You can use the Copy Database Wizard from either the source or destination server.

A. Move database using detach and attach method to an instance on a different physical server. A login and SQL Server Agent job will be moved as well.

The following example will move the Sales database, a Windows login named contoso\Jennie and a SQL Server Agent job named Jennie's Report from a 2008 instance of SQL Server on Server1 to a 2016 instance of SQL Server on Server2. Jennie's Report uses the Sales database. Sales does not already exist on the destination server, Server2. Server1 will be reassigned to a different team after the database move.

6. As noted in Restrictions, a shell database will need to be created on the destination server when transferring a SQL Server Agent job that references a database that does not already exist on the destination server. Create a shell database called Sales on the destination server.

7. Back to the Wizard, Select the Transfer Method page: Review and maintain the default values. Select Next.

8. Select Databases page: Select the Move checkbox for the desired database, Sales. Select Next.

9. Configure Destination Database page: The Wizard has identified that Sales already exists on the destination server, as created in Step 6, and has appended _new to the Destination database name. Delete _new from the Destination database text box. If desired, change the Filename, and Destination Folder. Select Drop any database on the destination server with the same name, then continue with the database transfer, overwriting existing database files. Select Next.

10. Select Server Objects page: In the Selected related objects: panel, select the ellipsis button for Object name Logins. Under Copy Options select Copy only the selected logins:. Check the box for Show all server logins. Check the Login box for contoso\Jennie. Select OK. In the Available related objects: panel, select SQL Server Agent jobs and then select the > button. In the Selected related objects: panel, select the ellipsis button for SQL Server Agent jobs. Under Copy Options select Copy only the selected jobs. Check the box for Jennie's Report. Select OK. Select Next.

11. Location of Source Database Files page: Select the ellipsis button for File share on source server and navigate to the location for the given Folder location. For example, for Folder location D:\MSSQL13.MSSQLSERVER\MSSQL\DATA use \\Server1\D$\MSSQL13.MSSQLSERVER\MSSQL\DATA for File share on source server. Select Next.

12. Configure the Package page: In the Package name: text box, enter SalesFromServer1toServer2_Move. Check the Save transfer logs? box. In the Logging options drop-down list, select Text file. Note the Error log file path; revise as desired. Select Next.

    Note

    The Error log file path is the path on the destination server.

13. Schedule the Package page: Select the relevant proxy from the Integration Services Proxy account drop-down list. Select Next.

14. Complete the Wizard page: Review the summary of the selected options. Select Back to change an option. Select Finish to execute the task. During the transfer, the Performing operation page monitors status information about the execution of the Wizard.

15. Performing Operation page: If operation is successful, select Close. If operation is unsuccessful, review error log, and possibly Back for further review. Otherwise, select Close.

16. Post Move Steps Consider executing the following T-SQL statements on the new host, Server2:

    ALTER AUTHORIZATION ON DATABASE::Sales TO sa;
    GO
    ALTER DATABASE Sales 
    SET COMPATIBILITY_LEVEL = 130;
    GO
    
    USE [Sales]
    GO
    EXEC sp_updatestats;
    GO
    

17. Post Move Steps Cleanup Since Server1 will be moved to a different team and the Move operation will not be repeated, consider executing the following steps:

• Delete SSIS package SalesFromServer1toServer2_Move on Server2.
• Delete SQL Server Agent job SalesFromServer1toServer2_Move on Server2.
• Delete SQL Server Agent job Jennie's Report on Server1.
• Drop login contoso\Jennie on Server1.

B. Copy database using detach and attach method to the same instance and set recurring schedule.

In this example, the Sales database is copied and created as SalesCopy on the same instance. Thereafter, SalesCopy, will be re-created on a weekly basis.

6. Select a Transfer Method page: Review and maintain the default values. Select Next.

7. Select Databases page: Select the Copy checkbox for the Sales database. Select Next.

8. Configure Destination Database page: Change the Destination database name to SalesCopy. If desired, change the Filename, and Destination Folder. Select Drop any database on the destination server with the same name, then continue with the database transfer, overwriting existing database files. Select Next.

9. Configure the Package page: In the Package name: text box, enter SalesCopy Weekly Refresh. Check the Save transfer logs? box. Select Next.

10. Schedule the Package page: Select the Schedule: radio button and then select the Change Schedule button.

    1. New Job Schedule page: In the Name text box, enter "Weekly on Sunday".

    2. Select OK.

11. Select the relevant proxy from the Integration Services Proxy account dropdown list. Select Next.

12. Complete the Wizard page: Review the summary of the selected options. Select Back to change an option. Select Finish to execute the task. During the package creation, the Performing operation page monitors status information about the execution of the Wizard.

13. Performing Operation page: If operation is successful, select Close. If operation is unsuccessful, review error log, and possibly Back for further review. Otherwise, select Close.

14. Manually start the newly created SQL Server Agent Job SalesCopy weekly refresh. Review job history and ensure SalesCopy now exists on the instance.

Follow up: After upgrading a database

After you use the Copy Database Wizard to upgrade a database from an earlier version of SQL Server to SQL Server, the database becomes available immediately and is automatically upgraded. If the database has full-text indexes, the upgrade process either imports, resets, or rebuilds them, depending on the setting of the Full-Text Upgrade Option server property. If the upgrade option is set to Import or Rebuild, the full-text indexes are unavailable during the upgrade. Depending on the amount of data being indexed, importing can take several hours and rebuilding can take longer.

When the upgrade option is set to Import, if a full-text catalog is not available, the associated full-text indexes are rebuilt. For information about viewing or changing the setting of the Full-Text Upgrade Option property, see Manage and Monitor Full-Text Search for a Server Instance.

After the upgrade, the database compatibility level remains at the compatibility level before the upgrade, unless the previous compatibility level is not supported on the new version. In this case, the upgraded database compatibility level is set to the lowest supported compatibility level.

For example, if you attach a database that was compatibility level 90 before attaching it to an instance of SQL Server 2019 (15.x), after the upgrade the compatibility level is set to 100, which is the lowest supported compatibility level in SQL Server 2019 (15.x). For more information, see ALTER DATABASE Compatibility Level (Transact-SQL).

Post copy or move considerations

Consider whether to perform the following steps after a Copy or Move:

• Change the ownership of the database when the detach and attach method is used.
• Drop server objects on the source server after a Move.
• Drop the SSIS package created by the Wizard on the destination server.
• Drop the SQL Server Agent job created by the Wizard on the destination server.

Related content

• Upgrade a Database Using Detach and Attach (Transact-SQL)
• Create a SQL Server Agent Proxy
• SQL Server Integration Services