DB Consultant to Advise MIgration Path

Completed Posted Nov 2, 2009 Paid on delivery
Completed Paid on delivery

Persons responding to this bid must:

-Be a U.S. citizen

-Have experience in SQL Server 2000 and 2005 database administration

We prefer:

-Someone with knowledge of servers/server administration

-Knowledge of C#

Small company needs advice on best choices for migration from a shared server environment to cloud/virtual/physical server environment and specific companies and/or server configurations, backup options, database configuration options within the recommended environment, compatibility of application with the new environment, obstacles which might be encountered when moving from SQL Server 2000 to 2005/08, and other issues related to such a move.

No actual coding is requested in this bid request although some may be requested/required in new bids later.

## Deliverables

Company Overview

Our company is a five year old internet-based company that is growing rapidly. From one small user in 2005, it now provides services to 60 groups nationally.

The system allows persons to track the comings and goings of employees at remote sites via a virtual time clock feature. It also allows for creation of various evaluations/surveys among different groups within the system. For instance, employers can evaluate employees, and employees can evaluate locations. A newly created module will allow groups to create unlimited types of evaluations, using their own items and their own scoring systems.

Additionally, things that are done at locations are reported by employees in a “daily report ,?? which is highly configurable for each user group.

The .NET 2 application is currently hosted on a shared server and is driven by a SQL Server 2000 database of about 700 meg in size, and we expect several hundred megabytes growth yearly .

The Problem

Our company’s growth has caused us to re-evaluate our current state of security, data backup capability, and the increasing demands on the current server and database. We can sometimes experience several hundred persons attempting to clock in on our site within a 10 minute period in the morning, for instance, leading us to be concerned that at some point our use will overwhelm the shared server environment. In addition, the recent addition to our system for users to create unlimited numbers of surveys/evaluations will greatly increase both the demand on the database/server for report display and also begin to slow report generation. Further, nightly backups are no longer sufficient, so more frequent backup strategies are needed.

Therefore, we wish to become proactive in addressing all of the above issues before we find our system overwhelmed or our hosting provider demanding that we leave.

Because our knowledge of the technologies involved are informed but not expert, we are requesting assistance in the evaluation of such options with recommendations for the optimal configuration for hosting our system with an eye toward budgetary constraints.

Specifically, we would like to know:

**-Can our system be integrated into a “cloud hosting?? solution? Or is a dedicated server a better option?**

**- What SQL Server type (workgroup/standard) would be the best fit for our needs? Purchase or rent?

**

**-How will upgrading to SQL Server 2005/08 affect our current applications (database now hosted on SQL Server 2000)**

**-Our understanding is that native backup would not be available to us in a cloud environment, so if this environment were recommended we would need a secondary backup solution. Offsite is one option. We have spoken with some offsite backup vendors. Are there other solutions that would not involve a monthly payment and be easily used by non-experts in the event of a need to restore a database or set of server apps? What is optimal for a virtual server environment or for a dedicated server environment?**

**--Will the email client function within our application? That is, our .Net application can generate emails, so we will need to have a client that works with our system in the same way as we currently do on our shared server environment.

-If we went with a cloud or dedicated server solution, would additional data charges likely be incurred with our current or future usage anticipated patterns? How will database costs scale?**

**-If a physical server is recommended, what is the recommended physical server environment, company and server related software/hardwared configuration?**

**How many gig of RAM are recommended in a cloud/physical environment? How will this impact database costs?**

**What new supporting software, such as email apps or backup utilities, monitoring software, etc. are recommended for the new environment?**

The consultant should make appropriate inquiries with vendors in this discovery process and keep us informed of the discussions. All issues related to a move should be addressed ??" physical server/cloud/virtual environment, configuration options, etc. We are not looking for a long written document; most recommendations and the reason behind them can be made verbally or via email, but final recommendations should be summarized formally with any salient related reasoning for the choices explained. The current bid is limited to the gathering of information and recommendation of solutions to our current growth issues.

However, assistance in moving all pieces of our system to the new server (including our website, databases, server/app configurations, SSL certificates, .and our .net application) may be requested as a new project bid. A test setup will be required and used prior to making an actual move. We may also have need of a security audit and database optimization recommendations.

An ongoing consultant/DBA relationship is a distinct possibility.

Engineering MySQL PHP Software Architecture Software Testing SQL

Project ID: #2946139

About the project

3 proposals Remote project Active Nov 12, 2009

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