Side-by-Side Upgrade
SQL Server 2012 can coexist on the same servers as any existing SQL Server2005, 2008, or 2008 R2 instances. This means you can install one or more instances of SQL Server 2012 without performing an in-place upgrade of any pre-2012 instances. You don’t have to worry about whether you’re breaking existing functionality. Side-by-side migration is therefore an easy option to investigate, especially if you don’t have a spare server available to install SQL Server 2012 on its own separate server and perform a server-to-server upgrade.
Note
If you are performing a side-by-side installation on the same server, be sure your server has sufficient resources (CPU, memory, disk space) to support running multiple instances of SQL Server. ...
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