It’s a New Year, and time for some new actions. I don’t do resolutions, but I’m all about starting new things, and January is a great time for that. So, I’m going to attempt to blog at least once a week about what I’m working on, or things that intrigue me each week. By stating this out loud, now I feel like I have extra pressure to stick to it!! So hopefully this is the first of at least 52 blog posts from me this year. I can’t promise they will all be about work – I do love my off time – but I suspect they will mostly be about SQL, BI, and tools I use in my job as a Senior Database Consultant for Pragmatic Works. I’m hoping that readers will respond to some of these posts, so that I can get an idea of what people might want to know more about.

For this week, I’m tackling Oracle SSMA – SQL Server Migration Assistant – the tool that helps you migrate an Oracle installation to SQL Server. It has been a few years since I used SSMA, so I need to take a look at it before I start my new engagement on Monday. Originally I had thought I would create my own virtual machine, find a demo copy of Oracle, and see if I could test the SSMA tool on my laptop. Instead, I am going to try using a Virtual Machine on Microsoft Azure. I’m fortunate that my company allows me to create these virtual machines when I need to improve my skills in a specific area.

I’m also fortunate to work with some awesome people who are brilliant and have previously blogged ways to make this work! Today I’m going to be reading Steve Hughes’ blog post on this: Oracle Tips for MSBI #5. He actually has a series of posts on using Oracle, you can search his blogsite for more. With Steve’s post as guidance, I should be able to figure out how to install the tools, connect to the Oracle server, and test the SSMA tool.

Setting up the Oracle server on Microsoft Azure Virtual Machines turned out to be pretty straight forward. I am using the Oracle 11g template because that is the version my user is using. My plan is to use the Azure VM, and then find a sample db from Oracle that I can install. Then I can try converting it with the SSMA tool to make sure I’m up to date on the SSMA tool. It looks like there are sample Schemas (i.e. Databases in Oracle-speak) that I can install, so I’ll start with that. I’m hoping I can get my laptop to connect to the remote Azure Oracle system, and do a test conversion.

Wish me luck! I’ll follow up with how this all worked after I get it running!

Picture of the day: The sun was coming up on New Year’s Eve in my backyard through some fog. Love this image in relation to my new year!