Denali UI on top of SQL Server 2008 R2?

Question

Hi,

I am implementing Master Data Services (SQL Server 2008 R2 version) at a client right now and this client is not very happy with the User Interface (UI) and the performance. The UI and performance is improved significantly in SQL Server Denali and I heard in the TechEd presentation of John McAllister that it's possible to use the Denali UI on top of SQL Server 2008 R2.

• Is it possible to install the Denali Master Data Services component on top of SQL Server 2008 R2?
• Do you have to buy a full license of SQL Server Denali wherein Master Data Services is included or is it possible to get the Denali Master Data Services separately and install it on your existing SQL Server 2008 R2 instance? How will it be provided?
• Do you have to take into account any changes "behind the scenes" to make the Denali UI work on an existing MDS database that has been built in SQL Server 2008 R2?

Thank you in advance.

Regards,

Johan Machielse
Business Intelligence Consultant

Answer 1

Hi,

I have tried to install Master Data Services (Denali CTP-3) on top of SQL Server 2008 R2 (running on Windows Server 2008 R2), but it seems to fail the installation.

 

• During the installation of Denali I only checked "Master Data Services". All rules are checked successfully, but the installation fails and shows the following errors:
  - "Error writing to file: "Microsoft.MasterDataServices.Common.dll. Verify that you have access to that directory."
  - "The installer has encountered an unexpected error installing this package. This may indicate a problem with this package. The error code is 2350."
• I also tried to install Denali on the same clean Windows Server 2008 R2, which works perfectly.

It seems that only checking Master Data Services is not enough to install it properly... Does anyone has a solution for this one?

Regards,

Johan Machielse
Business Intelligence Consultant

Answer 2

Hi there,

Are you an admin on the machine where you're getting the access error?

It is not supported to run Denali MDS against the KJ engine, though that error should occur in MDS Configuration Manager...

Here is more information on upgrade: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg488708(SQL.110).aspx

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Suzanne Selhorn [MSFT]

Answer 3

Hi Suzanne,

Thank you for your reply.

I am an administrator when I install Denali MDS, so that doesn't solve the problem.

So, if I get this right, it's not possible to install only "Denali Master Data Services" on top of an installed SQL Server 2008 R2 (KJ). Regarding the MSDN article, you have to fully install Denali on the same/other server and using the Denali Configuration Manager you can use an existing SQL Server 2008 R2 MDS database, which will be converted to the Denali format.

So, when my client wants to make use of the Denali MDS possibilities (Excel add-in, Master Data Manager GUI), they have to fully (database engine, MDS, etc.) install Denali and use the Denali configuration manager to point to the SQL Server 2008 R2 MDS database. The client just rolled-out SQL Server 2008 R2 to all of their servers, and to make use of the new MDS possibilities, they have to roll-out Denali, which will probably not happen.

Am I right about this?

Regards,

Johan Machielse
Business Intelligence Consultant
http://johanmachielse.blogspot.com/

Answer 4

Sorry for the long response time. I finally figured out how this works. Please let me know if this doesn't answer your questions.

SQL Server Installation
When you run Denali SQL Server setup and choose Master Data Services, the Denali files are installed in a different directory than the 2008 R2 files were installed. So you can have both versions of MDS installed on the same machine.

MDS Database
To continue working in 2008 R2 MDS and start working in Denali, you will need two databases.
1)    Your 2008 R2 database.
2)    A backed-up and restored copy of your 2008 R2 database, also running on 2008 R2.

Note: You cannot backup and restore a 2008 R2 database directly to Denali. You must back it up and restore it in 2008 R2. Then, if you decide you want to upgrade the engine from 2008 R2 to Denali, you can. This should not harm your 2008 R2 database (#1 above), or any MDS web applications that are pointing to it.

For database #2, open MDS Configuration Manager and choose Upgrade. This updates the database schema to work with Denali. IMPORTANT: After upgrade, this database can no longer be used with the 2008 R2 web application, web service, etc.

MDS Web Site/Application
With MDS Configuration Manager, create a new Denali web application and point it at the upgraded database.

Your 2008 R2 web application will remain pointed at the 2008 R2 database.

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Suzanne Selhorn [MSFT]

Answer 5

Hi Suzanne,

Thank you for your research.

The reason that Denali Master Data Services did not install was because of the fact that .NET Framework 4.0 was not installed. The installation contains a rule to check for .NET Framework 3.5, but somehow it requires 4.0. Everything is installed as expected, but I now face another problem.

Let me explain the steps I took:

• Created a database in SS2008R2 using the Configuration Manager.
• Selected the database in Denali Configuration Manager and pushed the "Upgrade database..." button.
• In the first dialog I get the following error:
  "The upgrade from the version of the Database is not supported or the SQL scripts for the upgrade is missing."

Any ideas how to solve this problem?

Regards,

Johan Machielse
Business Intelligence Consultant
http://johanmachielse.blogspot.com/

 

Answer 6

This could be because you don't have Cumulative Update 6 or later installed on the R2 machine.

Here is a link to the latest CU: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2534352

Can you install this and try again?

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Suzanne Selhorn [MSFT]

Answer 7

I'm sorry for all the confusion. CU8 is not supported. Use CU6: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2489376 or CU7: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2507770

 

Thanks

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Suzanne Selhorn [MSFT]

Answer 8

Hi Suzanne,

Thank you again for your help.

Although you suggested not to install CU8, I already did and it works perfectly!

I have written a nice blog article, which summarizes all steps I took to install Denali's Master Data Services on top of SQL Server 2008 R2: http://johanmachielse.blogspot.com/2011/08/master-data-services-denalis-master.html

Regards,

Johan Machielse
Business Intelligence Consultant
http://johanmachielse.blogspot.com/

Answer 9

That's great. I actually hadn't restarted IIS and so thought CU8 wasn't upgrading properly. : )

And thanks for the blog post!

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Suzanne Selhorn [MSFT]