SIMS SQL 2005

[steve]

A technical roadmap has been published on the CapitaES site.

 

SQL2005 migration will be available in August 07.

 

All updates from August 07 on will only run on SQL 2005 / Express

SQL 2005 will need .net 2 framework

Support for Win2000 Pro is being dropped Feb 2008

And of course Office 2003 is now needed for SIMS

 

Plus the version of Veritas I have doesn't backup SQL 2005 either.

 

Lucks like I'll be busy in the summer again :-)

[StevenEdgar]

what fun ....... thats why most of our schools have gone for SIMS being centrally hosted. leaves them to do whatever they like locally within the schools and we provide the infrastructure to run SIMS on. Best of both worlds.

 

Steve Edgar

[sahmeepee]

Just to add to Steve's comments, the versions of SIMS prior to August *won't* run on SQL Server 2005 according to (newbie EduGeek!) Toby Belfield.

 

This means you will need to wait until the August release comes out, upgrade your SQL server to 2005, upgrade SIMS to August 07.

 

They've done us a favour in doing this for August so we can do it in the holidays, but if it does overrun and become very late August I doubt we'll be doing any SIMS updates for some time.

[Norphy]

This is a good thing all things considered. There are no performance limitations with SQLEE like there are with MSDE (aside from the 1 CPU restriction) and the maximum database size doubles in size to 4GB. I'm very pleased Capita are making this move.

[Toby.Belfield]

All,

 

Just to let you know - I am completely committed to ensuring that the releases are delivered on time. Especially something as important as the August Main Release - given the impact that it will have on schools. The plans are to make it available before Wednesday 1st August - before 10 am.

 

Thank you for your kind comments - I am hoping that planning our upgrade to SQL 2005 to meet our August Release will give schools a window to carry out the upgrade.

 

That being said, however, I am also well aware that many schools have really embedded SIMS into their school - in such a way that they find it difficult to live without it. So - any "inconvenience" is big. I will do everything I can to minimise this inconvenience.

 

As you will know, my responsibilities also extend to Examinations Organiser - and even though there are plans to enhance the product as part of the August Release, these enhancements are not necessary for the Results sessions mid-August. There are no plans to change any part of the Performance Tables this year.

 

I will be mindful of the importance that there must be no disruption in the Examinations area in August.

 

Regards,

 

Toby Belfield

Capita

[amacken]

Hi Toby,

 

Thanks for making your comments on here

 

I also noted your post on Support Net, but the following statement is confusing (or perhaps it's just the way I'm reading it)

 

"We anticipate schools upgrading to SQL Server 2005/Express from the beginning of August onwards - and once it is installed, immediately applying the most recent release (which could be August, September, November or even December".

 

What you appear to be saying is that nobody should be installing SQL 05 until Aug, when the SIMS upgrade is ready. But then you say that it should be installed at the beginning of Aug before the SIMS upgrade (which could be Aug/Sep....etc).

 

Are you saying that, in a nutshell, SQL 05 should not be installed until immediately before the SIMS upgrade, but the upgrade could be delayed ?

 

Sorry if that sounds a bit thick, it just doesn't read right.

 

Additionally, for my twopenneth worth, August is a seriously bad time to be making major upgrades like this, particularly if there is to be a delay. As well as the normal (and very busy) summer installations/upgrades etc, we have staff in over most of August doing timetables/curriculum planning etc. Surely this should have been projected to July to allow for "mishaps"?

[NetworkGeezer]

I think Ausgust was chosen with the idea that you can afford to have down time during the holidays.

 

I would have been nice to have a satellite version of Exams Organiser just in case

[Toby.Belfield]

I appreciate the concern about August - and several schools/Support Units have contacted me with concerns that schools are actually shut in August.

 

However, in my view, there is never going to be a "good time" for this sort of thing.

 

The SQL Server 2005 upgrade needs to be done immediately prior to a SIMS upgrade. This is why schools should not do it before August. However - after August (but before, say December - when January census dates loom), should be fine.

 

A BETA version of Examinations Organiser will be possible - and thanks for suggesting this. I will remember to make this happen.

 

Our Release schedule - which means that Main Releases are delivered on the first of February, May, August and November, means that July is not really an option.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Please do not hesitate to contact me directly ([email protected]) - where I hope to be able to continue to answer queries. Regrettably - I do not always have time to monitor these forums - but will do the best that I can.

 

Regards,

 

Toby Belfield

Capita

[NetworkGeezer]

Hey! What's David Cameron doing on the EduGeek MIS forum

 

Thanks for the email address but I hope you have a good spam filter

[Toby.Belfield]

I am trying to work out whether your reference to David Cameron is my picture - or my posting!

 

As for the good spam filter - Capita is quite good at that sort of thing. However - I am currently receiving around 150-200 emails per day, so would appreciate only serious queries, so that I can concentrate on getting things done!

 

Regards,

 

Toby Belfield

Capita

[NetworkGeezer]

I am trying to work out whether your reference to David Cameron is my picture - or my posting!

 

Just the picture. A true conservative would have stuck with SQL 2000

 

[qoute]As for the good spam filter - Capita is quite good at that sort of thing. I hope so as there lots of web crawlers out there.

 

However - I am currently receiving around 150-200 emails per day, so would appreciate only serious queries, so that I can concentrate on getting things done!

 

Sleep is for wimps

 

Anyway nice of you and Phil to show your face on EduGeek.

[dlanor]

I am concerned with the scope of this update. If anything does go wrong then with the results season upon us anything that screws that up is going to make life a misery, guess who will get the blame. No doubt half the Capita staff will be on holiday at that time.

 

Just for Capitas benefit we techies don't spend the whole of the summer hols sitting around waiting to accomodate SIMs upgrades, we already have planned a large range of updates, enhancements and changes for this time.

 

Whilst I agree with Steve Edgar that schools in Oxfordshire on the central hosting won't have to worry about that side they will still have to update workstations and at a recent technicians those representing schools that are hosted centrally were knashing their teeth over various problems.

[Greg]

dlanor, oxfordshire schools do not have to do anything for the upgrades, they simply log onto a session on one of our servers, there is no local sims install so there are no ws's to upgrade.

[NetworkGeezer]

@dlanor

 

To be fair this change would have to be made sometime and is forced by Microsoft's insistence on dropping support for MS SQL Server 2000 imminetly.

 

I think people should seriously consider having a standalone setup (with all the info needed for results) just in case.

[dlanor]

Just goes to show that senior moments get us all at times, Greg is right the workstation updates would be done on the terminal services computers.

 

Don't get me wrong I am more than happy that SQL will be updated, about time too. What concerns me is the timing, it is simply adding another job when I have got a large program of work planned already (I would like a week off during the summer).

 

Is a standalone setup practical as a backup, after all that is going to add yet more work apart from preparing another SQL server we would have to transfer a copy of the SIMs db at the last minute, and as we have several office staff working through the holidays using SIMS it starts to get complicated.

 

Toby is right that there is no easy time for such a change I just hope that it does not slip like the Feb update as that will really complicate matters! :drinkers:

[GrumbleDook]

As long as it does not happen a) just before exam results, b) just before a major return (CENSUS) or c) just before one of our major reporting schedules then is will all be ok.

 

Won't it?

[bossman]

Greg: well bully for Oxfordshire schools who don't have to do anything, but what if they lose their internet conection eh!

We up t'north don't have government pandering to our every whim we just get told what to do and when to tug our forelock.

 

dlanor: your gonna have a heart attack if you stress too much over this, just wait to see what Capita come up with and if your LEA gets it's act together. Chill man.

[robert.mabbutt]

Right this may seem a really basic question but I don't have anything much to do with Sims at our place.

 

From what i have read in this post there will be a fairly major upgrade for Sims because its moving to SQL 2005. Does that mean all schools are currently running SQL 2000 and therefore all are required to upgrade?

 

Robert

[NetworkGeezer]

Yes. Schools will either being SQL Server 2000 ord MSDE which is a cut down version of 2000.

 

As from August onwards schools should be startmigrating to SQL Server 2005 or 2005 Express if they can't afford the full 2005 experience.

 

All SIMS.net client PCs must be running .Net Frameworks 2 & 3.

 

Installing 3 also gives you version 2.

[robert.mabbutt]

Thanks NetworkGeezer!

 

I shall have to have a word with the bursar just to let her know and get her to check things out. I don't want it being a surprise to her (I know I'm such a nice guy! lol) even though we don't manage to Admin network but i still prefere a smoother running school! lol

 

Robert

[NetworkGeezer]

It's OK. At least you understood what I said depsite the typos :oops:

[thom]

We currently use SQL 2000

Do we need to get the full SQL 2005 edition (just before they bring out SQL 2008 in January)

Our SIMS.mdf is 1.17gb

We have about 75 teachers that will be using sims lesson monitor plus 30 admin staff. They all have the client on their laptops/PCs

Can anyone advise

[enjay]

I will be mindful of the importance that there must be no disruption in the Examinations area in August.

Can I ask how you define "disruption"? As you are no doubt aware, timings are very tight on the morning of results day and our exams officer simply doesn't have the time to learn ANYTHING new during that time. So, if even one function is accessed in a different way, then I would say that was an unacceptable level of disruption to the exams area.

 

I fully accept that there is no "good" time for an upgrade, partly because every school has different work schedules, for example, in response to the person who said August is busy with timetabling, I will say that our timetables have been done since the end of June and won't see any changes until September when "niggles" are found. BUT, August 10th is a universally bad day on which to introduce any change - however small - to the Exams Organiser module.

[CyberNerd]

We currently use SQL 2000

Do we need to get the full SQL 2005 edition (just before they bring out SQL 2008 in January)

yes, capita are an MS partner company - Just as they forced an upgrde from office2000 they force an upgrade for SQL server

[Toby.Belfield]

Nick,

 

There are no changes to the Examinations Organiser module, in the August Release, that will have any impact on the import or processing of Examination Results.

 

Therefore - you should not find any disruption to your use of Examinations Organiser in August.

 

It is important, however, that your SIMS system is up and running on the days that the results become available - so timing the implementation of the August Release is what is important.

 

Regards,

 

Toby Belfield

Capita