Comparing databases on unconnected SQL Servers
Published 13 December 2022
You can compare databases on unconnected SQL Server instances by creating SQL Compare snapshots or scripts folders from the databases.
Using snapshots
To compare databases on unconnected SQL servers using snapshots:
- Create a snapshot of the database(s).
For more information, see: Working with snapshots.
- Copy the snapshot to the required location.
- Do one of the following:
- Create a project that compares the snapshot with a database
- Create a project that compares the snapshot with another snapshot, or with a scripts folder.
- Run the comparison on the project.
- Select the database objects you want to include in the deployment.
- Use the deployment wizard to generate the deployment script.
When a snapshot is the target, the deployment creates a script to update the database from which the snapshot was created. Snapshots cannot be modified directly.
Using scripts folders
To compare databases on unconnected SQL servers using scripts folders:
- Create a scripts folder from the database(s).
For more information, see: Working with scripts folders.
- Copy the scripts folder to the required location.
- Do one of the following:
- Create a project that compares the scripts folder with a database
- Create a project that compares the scripts folder with another set of scripts
- Run the comparison on the project.
- Select the database objects that you want to include in the deployment.
- Use the deployment wizard to update the database schema, object script files or generate a deployment script.