Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Bible

Data-Tier Application (DAC)

Data-Tier Applications (DAC) were first introduced in SQL Server 2008 R2. A DAC defines all the database objects (such as tables and views) as well as instance objects associated with a database (such as logins).

This feature enables developers to build their database projects and encapsulates all the necessary database resources into a DAC package deployment file. The DAC file can then be deployed by administrators.

To begin creating and deploying DACs, you must first register a database as a DAC and then register that DAC definition to the instance. Follow these steps to register a database as a DAC:

1. Right-click the database, and from the context menu, choose Tasks → Register as Data-Tier Application.

2. At the Introduction menu, click Next.

3. The DAC instance name is automatically the name of the database you register.

4. You can customize the Application name. If the database is associated with a particular application, you may want to use that name here so you can easily refer to it for a particular application.

5. Version level is set to 1.0.0.0 by default but can be manually incremented as needed.

6. In the description field, supply a quick description of what the database is and what application is associated with it. Click Next to proceed.

7. The DAC Wizard then validates all the objects in the database. When complete, you see a summary of your options selected as well as the validation checks. Click Next to proceed.

8. The DAC is ...