Migrating from ArcServer 9.3.1 to ArcServer 10.3.1

[PaulHuffman]

I have ArcServer 9.3.1 running on Windows Server 2003 R2 with Sql Server 2000.  Have a new Windows Server 2012 R2 with ArcServer 10.3.1 on a new virtual server with SQL 2012 running on a different virtual server.  We were hoping that we might be able to make a connection between ArcServer 10.3.1 and Arc Server 9.3.1 and pipe the compatible data to the new server.  The compatibility matrix at Client and geodatabase compatibility—ArcGIS Help | ArcGIS for Desktop seems to say I can connect to the 9.3.1 geodatabases to upgrade.  But we haven't been able to make a gis server connection in Catalog to the old server. 

Even though we could make a connection with SQL 2012 Management Studio to our SQL 2000 database, and I can establish an OLE DB connection in Catalog to old geodatabases,   the ESRI database group has us restoring from the SQL 2000 backups.  However, SQL 2012 couldn't restore from the old backups. The database group told us to restore to SQL  Server 2005, 2008 or 2008 R2 first, change the compatibility, then back it up from there, then restore the new backup on SQL Server 2012.  We found a license for SQL 2008, but found we couldn't install it on Windows Server 2012 R2.  Now we are installing on an older server to see if this will work.  Did I wait too long to upgrade? 

The database group told us that we couldn't use the Management Studio connection, or the OLE DB connection to import files because that would only give us access to the DB tables, not the feature classes and image sets.

But isn't the restores from SQL backups just going to give us the same tables?

[DerekLaw]

Hi Paul,

Please see my reply to you other similar post in this thread,

The Import XML Workspace Document tool with my enterprise goedatabase.

Hope this helps,

[PaulHuffman]

Thanks.  Now I won't have to keep beating my head against this wall.  Above, Asrujit SenGupta suggested I try the Export/Import XML Workspace Document tool for my remaining troublesome geodatabase.

The route from Enterprise 9.3 to Enterprise 10.3.1 that worked best for me was backup and restore to SQL 2008 at another agency's SQL 2008 instance,  then bring the backup home and restore to SQL 2012.  But for just this one geodatabase,  someone in the chain of custody seems to have changed the database name from lidar09 to lidar.

I'm going to have to ask the DBAs involved to repeat the process or track down where the name change occurred.

[PaulHuffman]

It works!  We just had to go back one step: took the SQL 2008 backup and restored to a SQL 2013 geodatabase I had already created named lidar09.  Now all my data is moved off the old server and is safely on the new server. And the real work of re-organizing and  publishing services begins.

Asrujit was really on the right path when he suggested the database name was wrong.