Which Red Gate tool should I use?

Question

I need to export/update schema without loosing existing data. I found that there are two Red Gate tools which you are probably have heard about:

• SQL Compare;
• SQL Data Compare;

Which one of them could help me to solve migration?

Answer 1

You need SQL Data Compare, because SQL Compare is only synchronizes the schema not the data.

Answer 2

It depends on the nature of the change. SQL Compare will preserve your data when it makes a schema change, even if a change that requires a table rebuild.

However, if you make a change such as a table rename, or a table/column split, SQL Compare won't understand the 'intent' and may produce a script that isn't as you would expect.

The solution to that would be to use SQL Compare in conjunction with SQL Source Control and its migration scripts feature, which makes it highly customizable.

Answer 3

SQL Compare would be sufficient, If the warning is a result of a table rename, you can simply use the table mapping tab in the 'project settings' to tell SQL compare that they are the same table. P.S. I know this post is ancient, but it's best to use the right tool :)