Solving the Provisioning Problem in Database Development using Clones

When database development is described, the details often get vague when the data gets beyond spreadsheet-size. There is 'hand-waving' talk of providing databases for each developer, but little detail of how you would provision all the databases that would be needed, at the correct version and with the correct development data, and then keep them all in sync with the source code, as developers commit changes. This article explains the requirements, and how SQL Clone can meet them. Read more

Database Development with GitHub

How can you use GitHub to do team-based database development? This article proposes a process that splits development work into task-based GitHub branches, incorporates daily database builds and integration testing, and uses Redgate tools to automate tasks such as provisioning, database scripting, and testing. Read more

SQL Change Automation: Adding SQL Clone to the Mix

Tony Davis explores how SQL Change Automation is increasingly providing ways of working with SQL Clone, to improve the quality of testing for database changes. With SCA v4.3, developers can now use the SSMS plugin to create a clone of the target database, to be used as a reference database, or baseline, for the deployment project. Read more

Getting Started with Automatic Database Branch Switching

Alexander Diab demonstrates how a team of developers can work on and test features in different branches of a SQL Server database development project, while their local development database automatically remains 'synchronized' with the current branch in version control. Read more

How to create and refresh development and test databases automatically using SQL Clone and SQL Toolbelt

A PowerShell automation script to build a SQL Server database from source control, seed it with dummy data, document it, and then deploy copies to any number of test and development servers. Read more

Database Continuous Integration with SQL Clone and SQL Change Automation

Phil Factor provides the basis for a Database Continuous Integration process, using SQL Change Automation to build the latest database, and then SQL Clone to distribute it to the various team-based servers that need it. Having honed the process, you can run it every time someone commits a database change. Read more