Providing Comparison Resources

After invoking the new comparison screen , providing the appropriate resources to be compared is the next step. DBChangeManager supports 2 types of comparison resources as discussed under Resources for Schema Comparison section which includes Live Databases and SQL Script files. You could provide any of these resources for doing the comparison. Two valid SQL Server database resources are required for doing a schema comparison, labeled hereafter as Resource 1 and Resource 2.

Providing Live Database
Providing SQL Scripts

Providing Live Databases

If you are going to compare a live SQL Server database, Click on the 'Database' tab in the 'New Comparison' screen. Provide the following connectivity details:

Server: Provide the Machine name (Host name) in which the SQL Server live database is running. If the SQL Server instance is running a Port other than 1433, specify the same along with the Machine name and a colon. e.g. <machine_name>:<port_number>. Instance name if any can be specified in <machine_name>\<instance_name> format.
Connection Settings: You can login to the SQL Server database either with Windows Authentication or SQL Server Authentication. Choose the appropriate radio button based on the authentication type that you want to use.
- SQL Server Authentication (default): If you choose SQL Server authentication then provide the appropriate SQL Server user name and password to login. You cannot use this option if you do not have a separate SQL Server login account present in the database. (Refer SQL Server manual to know about creating a separate SQL Server login)
- Windows Authentication: If you choose Windows authentication, DBChangeManager would use the credentials of the machine in which the DBChangeManager Server is running and would pass it to the SQL Server for authentication. The machine in which DBChangeManager Server is running should have a windows authentication account in the SQL Server database that is to be connected for successful login.
- Test Connection: Once you choose the appropriate authentication type and have provided the required details, click on 'Test Connection' to test whether DBChangeManager server could connect to the SQL Server database with the provided connection details. If there is an error in connection you will be appropriately notified about it. You need a valid database connection to further proceed with the comparison.
Database: Choose/Type the SQL Server database that is to be compared in the 'Database' field. You could fetch the existing databases present in the machine by clicking on the 'Refresh' link.

If you had already used some databases as a resource it will be listed under the 'Registered Database' area on the left. You could drag and drop any of the the listed registered databases to the right for autofilling under either Resource 1 or Resource 2.

Providing Script file

If you have your schema objects definitions available in SQL Server SQL script files you can choose this option. The Script files could have been hand written residing in the System or which were exported from the database using the "Export Database" utility. Click on the 'Script' tab in the 'New Comparison' screen and provide the following details:

Script File: Choose the script file that is to be compared, present in your local machine, using the 'Browse' option. The Script file could be in any one of the following formats:
1. A Single SQL File : If the database Schema to be compared, resides in a single SQL Script file in text format, you can browse and load the same as such for comparison
2. A Database Folder : This option should be used in connection with the "Export Database" utility. When you export a live database into "Multiple SQL Script Files", DBChangeManager outputs the exported content into multiple files (one file per database object) in a pre-defined folder structure. Folders are created for grouping the various objects based on its type (for example, all table object definitions are exported as files under "Tables" folder). Along with the object definition, a meta-data file named after the database name with .dbinfo extension is also generated in the root folder where the export is done. You should browse and specify this .dbinfo for comparison if you wish to load all the exported script files in various directories for comparison. Refer "Export Database" to know more
3. A Zip file : This option also works only in connection with the "Export Database" utility. When you choose to save the exported contents in a different location or machine using the "Export Database" utility, the tool outputs a Zip file which is a Zip of all the exported contents (as folders and files in the same format as described above #2). Once you save, extract and make modifications to the scripts, you can Zip the files and folders in the same format and load it for comparison. This option is more useful when you are working from a machine which is different from the one that is running the DBChangeManager server. Refer "Export Database" to know more

Important Note: The script file could contain the definitions of any number of schema objects all separated with a GO SQL Server delimiter statement. Even if you have a single object definition it should contain a GO statement at the end.

Comparison Combination

You can compare any resource type against any other i.e. A live database could be compared against script files, and similarly we could have any resource combinations used for comparison.

Once you specify the required comparison resource, next you could set the necessary comparison options discussed in the next chapter.