Zumero for SQL Server v2.0 - Release Notes
Zumero for SQL Server (ZSS) v2.0 is now available for download in the dev center.
ZSS v2.0 is a significant upgrade over previous ZSS releases. If you are upgrading from a ZSS v1.x release, please read the Upgrading from ZSS 1.x section below to ensure an easy and safe transition.
New Features in ZSS 2.0:
Schema Change Detection
ZSS will now detect and handle most schema changes made to synchronized SQL Server tables. Schema changes no longer need to be made within ZSS Manager (and in fact, no longer can be).
Changes that ZSS can adapt to include:
- Dropped columns
- Added columns
- Renamed columns
- Renamed tables
- Addition of foreign keys
- Removal of foreign keys
- Addition of unique indexes
- Removal of unique indexes
- Many column type changes
For safety and efficiency, newly-added columns are not synchronized by default. The new Overview page in ZSS Manager will alert you to any compatibility issues arising from schema changes. ZSS Server’s reporting of compatibility (and other) errors is now more detailed and robust, as well.
See the Database Schema Changes section of the ZSS Manager documentation for more detail.
Multi-DB Support
A single ZSS Server instance can now sync DBFiles from multiple SQL Server databases (including databases on other SQL Server instances). Multi-DB support requires a different license than single-DB usage; see the pricing page for details.
ZSS Manager has added features to make multiple-database support simple to manage; existing ZSS Server installations will function as before with no additional configuration required.
See the Multiple Database Configurations section of the ZSS Manager documentation for more detail.
Selective Column Synchronization
You can now choose for ZSS to essentially ignore certain columns. These columns will not be synchronized, nor is their history tracked. This is particularly helpful when you have either:
- large columns that don’t need to be sent across to mobile devices, or
- columns that are incompatible with ZSS, in tables whose other columns are needed by mobile apps
See the Including/Excluding Columns from Synchronization section of the ZSS Manager documentation for more detail.
Advanced Filtering
Rows may now be filtered based on their dates relative to the time sync occurs.
Arbitrary row filters may be applied, without the limitations imposed by ZSS 1.x.
See the Filters section of the ZSS Manager documentation for more detail.
WHERE filters can now block writes as well as reads.
Performance Enhancements:
Improved support for concurrent sync operations on SQL Azure.
Significant reduction in the growth rate of synchronized SQLite databases
Broader Platform Coverage
Zumero’s support for .NET platforms, including Xamarin and Windows Phone, is now distributed by the NuGet tool. You can find instructions for including Zumero in your project at nuget.org/packages/Zumero.
Added support for 64-bit Android builds (including Phonegap and Xamarin)
Added support for Windows RT 8.1
Upgrading from ZSS 1.x:
For a walk through of the steps needed to upgrade from ZSS 1.x to 2.0, view our Upgrade Tutorial.
Activation
ZSS Server licenses now require activation. Please visit the Activation page to activate any existing license keys for use with ZSS 2.0.
Upgrade Order
The recommended order for upgrading to ZSS 2.0 is:
- Upgrade ZSS Manager
- Connect to your SQL Server database with ZSS Manager, and follow the upgrade prompts (see Upgrading in the ZSS Manager documentation). If you have multiple databases, you may want to examine them all for upgrades.
- Upgrade your ZSS Server. The IIS Zumero web site should be stopped before running the ZSS Server installer to upgrade from v1.x.
- Replace the client libraries that you’re using. Rebuild your app and redeploy.
Compatibility
Older clients will work with ZSS 2.0 servers, but will not be able to take full advantage of the improved support for concurrent syncs on SQL Azure. Also, older clients will not support arbitrary row filters even when syncing with a 2.0 server, but are still subject to the previous restrictions. Thus it is strongly recommended that all Zumero clients synchronizing against a SQL Azure database or using a Row Inclusion WHERE Clause upgrade to 2.0 as soon as possible. Newer clients will not sync with ZSS 1.x servers.
The first time a newly-upgraded client application syncs, the sync may be more time- and bandwidth-intensive than usual as filtered data is fully refreshed.