Master Data Services is removed in SQL Server 2025 and supported on SQL Server 2022 and earlier, so the database platform's next upgrade ends the free hub.
| Microsoft MDS | Lima master data |
|---|---|
| Model and entity | domain in the catalogue |
| Derived hierarchy | hierarchy over foreign keys |
| Explicit hierarchy and collection | versioned hierarchy with validity |
| Business rule | column, row or business rule |
| Version | hierarchy and configuration versions; point-in-time reads |
| Subscription view | SQL door over the golden views |
| Transaction log | the audit trail, loaded with history |
A mid-size distributor with six MDS models (customers, products, sales territories, chart of accounts, cost centres, units) moved them in three weeks. Subscription views were replaced by SQL views with the same names, so the BI reports kept working; the Excel add-in users moved to the grid's spreadsheet-style editing.
They move behind a router one at a time: SOAP consumers get a generated WSDL, SQL readers get views with the same names, API consumers get REST with the same shapes.
Yes, read-only, for as long as your retention policy needs; its history is already searchable in Lima.
The inventory: the count of domains, sources, rules, hierarchies and consumers, written before the work starts.
Bring two systems that hold the same customers, suppliers or materials. In one working day we connect them, run the match on live rows, review the queue with your steward and publish the first golden view with its API.
