Migrating SQL Data Warehouse to Fabric: Compatibility Matters

• Although they share a codebase, SQL Server and Fabric have differences that impact migration.
• SQL Server data warehouse customers likely will have to change database schema and modify queries to migrate to Fabric.
• These are not impossible changes but can be significant enough that migration should be treated like a new deployment.
• A migration assistant, available in preview in early April, may help automate part of the process.

Although Fabric supports many of the same functions as Microsoft’s SQL Server data warehouse and analytic products, its architecture is quite different. It shares some code with SQL Server but supports only a subset of data types and query language capabilities of SQL Server. Migrating to Fabric may require schema changes to any migrated database as well as query changes to applications that interact with the database. The specifics will depend on the database being moved, but the changes can be so wide-reaching that the work more closely resembles a new deployment instead of a migration.