How do I upgrade a version 5.5 database to version 11?

[Breck_Carter]

(the title says it all)

[Breck_Carter · Accepted solution]

The short answer is run the version 11 dbunload.exe utility on your version 5.5 database file.

The following Windows command script shows how to upgrade the version 5.5 sademo.db into a brand-new ddd11.db file.

There is often a lot more to upgrading across 6 major releases, but this is a starting point...

REM If you're a command-line kinda guy, here is my template Windows 
REM batch file run_dbunload_upgrade_v5_to_v11.bat. It does the 
REM unload-reload-all-in-one-dbunload-step, then starts dbeng11 
REM and dbisql so you can make sure the new database is up and running.

REM Be sure to stop *all* database engines on the computer you're using, 
REM before starting the upgrade.

REM dbunload...
REM -an ...  where to put new database
REM -ap ...  new database page size
REM -c ...   old database startup connection string
REM -o ...   where to put unload console display text file
REM -v       verbose mode for console display

PAUSE MAKE SURE YOU DO NOT HAVE ANY ENGINES RUNNING.

"%SQLANY11%\\bin32\\dbunload.exe"^
  -an ddd11.db^
  -ap 4096^
  -c "DBF=sademo.db;UID=dba;PWD=sql"^
  -o dbunload_log_sademo.txt^
  -v

PAUSE dbunload/reload done...

REM dbeng11...
REM -c ...    initial RAM cache size
REM -o ...    where to put server console display text file
REM -os ...   when to rename and restart server console display text file
REM ddd11.db  new database to start

"%SQLANY11%\\bin32\\dbspawn.exe"^
  -f "%SQLANY11%\\bin32\\dbeng11.exe"^
  -o dbeng11_log_ddd11.txt^
  ddd11.db

PAUSE dbeng11 started...

REM dbisql...
REM -c ...   new database connection string

"%SQLANY11%\\bin32\\dbisql.exe"^
  -c "ENG=ddd11;DBN=ddd11;UID=dba;PWD=sql"

PAUSE dbisql running...

[VolkerBarth · Accepted solution]

Is this anything different from upgrading (aka rebuilding) a version 6 - 9 database? (Or are you preparing a Q&A for a current NG thread?)

[Breck_Carter · Accepted solution]

Actually, no, there is nothing different about the commands... and yes, it is a Q&A for a current newsgroup thread. However, the commands are just the starting point... upgrading from 5.5 is significantly different, the leap from 5.5 to 6 was quite large.

[reimer_pods · Accepted solution]

@Breck: the leap from 5.5.04 to 6.0.0 was indeed large, we had trouble getting the charsets right (850 -> 1252). For one client we had to revert to 5.5, 6.0.0 GA was too early (but I'll stop babbling about old times).

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

I've ported this script over to Solaris and when I try to run it I get the following message:

* SQL error: Unable to start specified database: autostarting database failed

Any ideas on how to debug that to get a more specific error message?

[Breck_Carter · Accepted solution]

@Binh: Have a look at http://sqlanywhere-forum.sap.com/questions/1443/how-do-i-upgrade-my-sqla-database-from-v9-to-v11