Data Transfer Method

You can perform an upgrade using either of the following data transfer methods:

• Named pipe (if you have ample disk space)

  A direct pipeline enables the SQL Server Upgrade Wizard to transfer data in memory from Microsoft® SQL Server™ version 6.x to SQL Server 7.0. This data transfer method is the most reliable and provides the best performance. However, when performing a one-computer upgrade, you cannot reuse the disk space occupied by the SQL Server 6.x devices until the version upgrade process is complete.

• Tape (if you are low on disk space)

  The SQL Server Upgrade Wizard backs up to tape all of the SQL Server 6.x databases you have selected to upgrade. The SQL Server Upgrade Wizard then optionally deletes all of the SQL Server 6.x devices, freeing disk space before the SQL Server 7.0 data files are created.

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  Important The SQL Server Upgrade Wizard deletes all of the SQL Server 6.x devices, not just the ones that are being upgraded. You should upgrade all databases if you choose to delete the SQL Server 6.x devices.

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  The tape backup option should be used only when you want to upgrade on a single computer but there is not enough space on the hard disk to install SQL Server 7.0 alongside SQL Server 6.x and perform the version upgrade.

Note The SQL Server Upgrade Wizard always uses a named pipe, even when performing a tape backup upgrade. SQL Server 6.x and SQL Server 7.0 must be set to listen to the default named pipe, \\.\pipe\sql\query.

To perform a version upgrade using a direct pipeline

To perform a version upgrade using a tape drive