Deploying DAC to SQL Server 2014

The acronym DAC in SQL Server has many different meanings as in the following bullet list:

• DAC - Data-tier Application
• DAC - Dedicated Administrator Connection
• DAC - Data Access Components
• DAC - Data Application Component

This post describes deploying a Data-tier Application extracted from SQL Server 2012 Express database to SQL Server 2014 CTP1 (should work with CTP2 as well). The two servers are on two partitions on a x64 bit Windows laptop, with SQL Server 2012 on Windows 7 Partition and CTP1 on Windows 8 Preview partition.

There are no issues for this deployment and the next few images shows the stages of deployment wizard while deploying to SQL Server 2014 CTP1. We start with a .dac file created on Windows 7 partition and copied over to the desktop on Windows 8 partition.

 

The steps are very clear and you may also review the following for more detailed discussion of DAC with earlier versions on older OS.


https://www.packtpub.com/article/working-with-data-application-components-sql-server-2008-r2
http://hodentekmsss.blogspot.com/2010/07/sql-server-2008-r2-and-data-tier.html

Some problems to install SQL Server 2014 CTP1 on a computer with older versions

My previous post showed that although SQL Server 2012 was uninstalled many of the related programs still stayed in the memory.

http://hodentekmsss.blogspot.com/2013/09/uninstalling-sql-server-2012.html

In addition to SQL Server 2012 the HodentekWin7 computer also had two versions of Visual Studio 2012 and Visual Studio 2013 Preview.

SQL Server 2014 CTP1 cannot be installed on such a computer. In order to install SQL Server 2014 CTP1 all these needed removing. The messages from the setup support rules shown in this image from SQL Server 2014 Setup program.

 

Read the Hardware and Software requirements here:

Hardware and Software requirements here:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms143506(v=sql.120).aspx

Solution:

This is a very labor intensive process and therefore SQL Server CTP1 will be installed on the Windows 8 partition on the same computer. Windows 8 partition has no SQL Server although it has a Windows 8 Phone CTP. The partition does not have a RTM version of Windows 8 but a Windows 8 Preview.