Autocad Plant 3D on SQL Express _ Process Design, From the Outside

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SQL Express for AutoCAD Plant 3D (Part 1)

(http://www.pdoteam.com/2012/01/sql-express-for-autocad-plant-3d-part-1/)

Posted on January 23, 2012 (http://www.pdoteam.com/2012/01/sql-express-for-autocad-plant-3d-part-1/)237 • by

Dave Wolfe (http://www.pdoteam.com/author/dave-wolfe/) 226 Posted in AutoCAD Plant 3D

(http://www.pdoteam.com/category/autocad/autocad-plant-3d/), Database (http://www.pdoteam.com/category

/database/), Setup (http://www.pdoteam.com/category/autocad/setup/) • 0 Comments (http://www.pdoteam.com

/2012/01/sql-express-for-autocad-plant-3d-part-1/#disqus_thread)

This entry is part 1 of 5 in the series AutoCAD Plant 3D on SQL Express (http://www.pdoteam.com

/series/plant3d-on-sql-express/)

Today I’m going to do a series of posts on migrating to SQL Express. Future posts will

cover installation and migration details, but today I wanted to lay some of the ground work

for why you would need to move to SQL Express and some of the general implementation

details.

Database, what database?Behind the scenes Plant 3D/AutoCAD P&ID run on a file-based database called SQLite.

While SQLite is extremely fast and small (it’s used in many smart phone applications), it

does not handle multi-user access well. The rule of thumb we are going by is that when

you have 6-10 people accessing the same project, you should look at moving to SQL

Server or SQL Server Express.

SQL Server Express?SQL Server Express, also called SQL Express, is a scaled down version of SQL Server,

an enterprise database offering from Microsoft.

Check out this links to compare SQL Server editions:

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Autocad Plant 3D On Sql Express | Process Design, from the Outside http://www.pdoteam.com/series/plant3d-on-sql-express/

1 of 12 24.7.2014. 21:28

http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/product-info/compare.aspx

(http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/product-info/compare.aspx)

SQL Express limits database sizes to 10 GB vs 524 PB (http://en.wikipedia.org

/wiki/Petabyte (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petabyte)).

SQL Express doesn’t have some of the advanced management tools (I don’t know what

most of those do).

SQL Express can’t mirror databases or do backup compression.

In a future post, I will show how to schedule backups to occur automatically and how to

maintain only the last X number days of backups.

Why switch?The issue is never file size (SQLite should be able to run up to 2 TB of data –

http://www.sqlite.org/whentouse.html (http://www.sqlite.org/whentouse.html)). The

problem is more of an issue with record locking. Plant3D doesn’t manage locking out who

has permission to write to the database. Rather, the program depends upon the

extremely fast read/write capabilities of SQLite.

When you have a bunch of users running the same project, your chances of people trying

to write to the database at the same time increase.

Typically the types of errors you may see will be data not be being save or something like

that. Sorry I can’t be more precise as we are still trying to find a way to document criteria

for moving to SQL Server Express. My goal is to make switching to SQL Express so

easy (and documented), that companies start using that ASAP.

Here is a list of some of the main benefits of using SQL Server Express:

Robust, multi-user environment.

Can easily automate project database backups.

FREE

Secure

Single source for project data.

Moves the data from out of the file structure.

SecurityAs with all data, security should be a primary concern. SQL Express provides two forms

of authentication (http://ezinearticles.com/?Computer-Security-Authentication&id=354191),

SQL Authentication and Windows Authentication.

The article below covers details on advantages of Windows Authentication versus SQL

Authentication.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms144284.aspx (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us

/library/ms144284.aspx)

From what I have come across on the web, Window Authentication is preferred for

security purposes. SQL Authentication appears to be easier to hack into since once you

locate the server you can start trying to guess passwords.

SQL authentication is easier to setup because you don’t have to worry about where SQL

Express is installed or about setting up the network domain.

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2 of 12 24.7.2014. 21:28

Single Source for Project DataSome companies find a need to connect their plant data to other applications. Because all

of project information being in one spot, the programs can access the data easier.

Data out of FilesWhen Plant 3D uses a SQL Server Express database, the files that used to store

database information hold the connection information. One side effect of this is that

document management solutions can be more effective. Document management solutions

can’t really handle databases, so SQL Express is ideal for combining multi-office solutions

like Plant 3D and Vault.

Installing SQL Server Express

(http://www.pdoteam.com/2012/01/installing-sql-server-express/)

Posted on January 25, 2012 (http://www.pdoteam.com/2012/01/installing-sql-server-express/)227 • by Dave Wolfe

(http://www.pdoteam.com/author/dave-wolfe/) 226 Posted in AutoCAD Plant 3D (http://www.pdoteam.com/category

/autocad/autocad-plant-3d/), Database (http://www.pdoteam.com/category/database/), Setup

(http://www.pdoteam.com/category/autocad/setup/)



In our initial post on using SQL Server Express with Plant 3D (http://www.pdoteam.com

/2012/01/sql-express-for-autocad-plant-3d-part-1/), we discussed some background on

what SQL Express is and when you need to use it. Today’s post is going to be about

installing SQL Server Express. Due to the complexity of setting up computer’s and such, I

am only going to address a basic install. Your setup will vary based on your server setup

and hardware availability.

Here is an outline of the procedure this post will cover:

Download SQL Express 2008 R2

Install Computer

Install options

Firewall Steps

In the next post we will cover connecting to SQL Express from a remote computer.

Download SQL Express 2008R2

Select Category

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Database (http://www.pdoteam.com/tag/database/) Setup (http://www.pdoteam.com/tag/setup/)

SQL Server Express (http://www.pdoteam.com/tag/sql-server-express/)

sqlite (http://www.pdoteam.com/tag/sqlite/)


3 of 12 24.7.2014. 21:28

Other versions of SQL Express will work; 2008 R2 is the latest available version. SQL

Express 2005 has a 4 GB database size limit.

http://www.microsoft.com/betaexperience/pd/SQLEXP08V2/enus/

(http://www.microsoft.com/betaexperience/pd/SQLEXP08V2/enus/)

Install ComputerThe simplest practice is to install SQL Server Express on a computer that is not a domain

controller. The computer should be always accessible however. On my setup, I have a

virtual machine (vm) domain controller running Windows Server 2008 and my SQL Server

is setup on another vm running Windows 7 64-bit. The fact that I’m running virtual

machines isn’t important right now. Everything installs/interacts the same way as a

regular computer; I don’t have to clutter up my desktop with more computers though.

The main reason not to have SQL Express (Ok, from now on SSE) on the domain

controller is for security (http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&

id=15066533&linkID=9261340 (http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl

/item?siteID=123112&id=15066533&linkID=9261340), http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us

/library/ms143506.aspx (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms143506.aspx)).

Install OptionsOnce you have download and started the installer, click New Installation.

(http://www.pdoteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/SNAGHTML10af146.png)

Accept the license terms and click Next.

Check the features you want to install. For the server, choose the Database Engine

Services and the Management Tools – Basic at a minimum. The SDK isn’t really

necessary, and you probably won’t be doing anything with replication. You can always

come back and add additional features. Click Next to proceed.


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(http://www.pdoteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/SNAGHTML10e0cd1.png)

The next screen lets you choose the name for your SSE instance. You may customize the

name of your instance if you wish (just remember what it is called). I use the default

SQLEXPRESS name.

The next page is the Service Configuration page. Services are basically programs that

get run in the background whenever the computer starts up. Because SSE has to handle

users connecting at any time, it runs on a service.

We have two types of services that we are configure. The Database Engine is the actual

program that users are working with. The Server Browser is a service that lets users

connect without specifying port information.

(http://www.pdoteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/SNAGHTML116ee2a.png)

PortsFor those of you new to IT speak, we are going to take a brief moment to talk about

ports. A port is basically a connection point to each computer. By default Windows


5 of 12 24.7.2014. 21:28

Firewall (or your other firewall products) control port access. Think of ports like a

telephone number. Anybody can call the number. In this example, Windows Firewall

would be similar to a personal answering service. If it recognizes the person (program)

calling, the Firewall lets the call through to you (the database engine).

The Server Browser basically makes it easier for users to make connections by letting

them use any phone number (port) to connect to the database. So, it’s less secure, but

easier to set up.

From my perspective, my SQL Server is running on a local network behind my main

firewall, so I’m not concerned about port access for security. If you are running a different

setup and connecting to the outside world, you should not run the browser service and

force specifying a port. In those situations, your best option is to higher a networking

professional examine your set up and make sure it is secure.

(http://www.pdoteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image8.png)

So enable the Server Browser and have the startup set to Automatic. The browser can

be configured as a local service.

Account ProvisioningThe account provisioning page specifies login authentication options for SQL Server. For

testing you may choose mixed, but in a production environment Windows authentication is

more secure.

Click Next through Error reporting and Install.

ManagingTo manage SSE, go to Start > All Programs > Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 and select


6 of 12 24.7.2014. 21:28

SQL Server Management Studio. You should be able to login using

COMPUTERNAME\INSTANCENAME and choosing Windows Credentials.. On my server

the login is WIN-SC-SRV3\SQLEXPRESS.

(http://www.pdoteam.com

/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/SNAGHTML13d79b7.png)

Your Object Explorer will open and provide information about the available databases.

(http://www.pdoteam.com/wp-content

/uploads/2012/01/image9.png)

By way of disclaimer, I’m not a network security expert or even a database expert. The

information presented is content that I’ve run across in reading articles and trying to figure

out how to do this stuff. Please give feedback if you have other ideas of best practices.

Thanks!

Creating Backups for SQL Express

(http://www.pdoteam.com/2012/02/creating-backups-for-sql-express/)

#Plant3D (http://www.pdoteam.com/tag/plant3d/)

SQL Express (http://www.pdoteam.com/tag/sql-express/) sqlite (http://www.pdoteam.com/tag/sqlite/)


7 of 12 24.7.2014. 21:28

Posted on February 1, 2012 (http://www.pdoteam.com/2012/02/creating-backups-for-sql-express/)230 • by Dave

Wolfe (http://www.pdoteam.com/author/dave-wolfe/) 226 Posted in AutoCAD Plant 3D (http://www.pdoteam.com

/category/autocad/autocad-plant-3d/), Database (http://www.pdoteam.com/category/database/), Setup

(http://www.pdoteam.com/category/autocad/setup/)



Once you have your database server up and running and connected to user computers,

you have to figure out a way to do backups.

While you can manage backup through Management Studio, I was able to find and modify

some scripts that suit our purpose – maintaining 2 week backup of all of the projects.

(http://www.pdoteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/image10.png)

Here is a screen shot of the backup options for a database. You can set the backup type

to full or database and indicate whether the backup should expire.


8 of 12 24.7.2014. 21:28

(http://www.pdoteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/SNAGHTML15ca04b.png)

I was able to find some scripts to automate the process.

http://www.codecapers.com/post/How-to-Backup-a-SQL-Express-Database.aspx

(http://www.codecapers.com/post/How-to-Backup-a-SQL-Express-Database.aspx)

I got help from another link for the 7 day purge, but I can’t find where that was.

Anyhow let’s look at the relevant parts.

The BACKUP_DIR is the share folder where the backups should be stored.

SERVER is the server name.

The script gets the current day and will create files like YYYY-MM-DD – HHMM

Databasename-Full.bak


9 of 12 24.7.2014. 21:28

@echo off

::SET BACKUP_DIR=C:\SQL\ServerBackups

SET BACKUP_DIR=\\WIN-SC-SRV1\Downloads\SQLData

SET SERVER=localhost

for /f "tokens=2" %%d in ('echo %date%') do (

for /f "tokens=1-3 delims=/" %%j in ('echo %%d') do (

set month=%%j

set day=%%k

set year=%%l

))

set /a day=%day%-1

if %day% lss 10 (

set day=0%day%

)

::set year=%year:~2,3%

::set year=20%year%

set mydate=%year%-%month%-%day%

for /f "tokens=1-2 delims=: " %%a in ('time /t') do set XTime=%%a%%b

sqlcmd -S %SERVER% -d master -Q "exec sp_msforeachdb

'BACKUP DATABASE [?] TO DISK=''%BACKUP_DIR%\%mydate% - %XTIME% ?-F

ull.bak'''"

The next script deletes the .bak files from the backup folder. You set the hold length in

days, the folder to cleanout (purgedir) and the extension to clear out (purgeext).

Because forfiles doesn’t work for share names, the script uses PushD to map the share

to an open drive letter and then runs the purge via the command line.

::change holdlength to match hold long you want to keep your backups

set holdlength=7

set purgedir=\\WIN-SC-SRV1\Downloads\SQLData

set purgeext=bak

PushD %purgedir% &&(

forfiles /s /m *.%purgeext% /c "cmd /c del @path " /d -%holdlength%

) & PopD

Backup SQL Databases (7 downloads) (http://www.pdoteam.com/download/backup-

sql-databases/)

To run these files, use Windows Tasks Scheduler.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/schedule-a-task

(http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/schedule-a-task)

http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/Working-Windows-Server-

2008-Task-Scheduler-Part1.html (http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials

/Working-Windows-Server-2008-Task-Scheduler-Part1.html)

http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/Working-Windows-Server-

2008-Task-Scheduler-Part2.html (http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials

/Working-Windows-Server-2008-Task-Scheduler-Part2.html)


10 of 12 24.7.2014. 21:28

My recommendation is to set the trigger daily for 11:00 pm or so. For Action, choose

start a program and navigate to where you have saved the batch files. I created a folder

C:\SQL\ and saved the .bat files in there.

Next we will look at migrating a project to SQL Server.

Connecting to SQL Server (http://www.pdoteam.com

/2012/01/connecting-to-sql-server/)

Posted on January 30, 2012 (http://www.pdoteam.com/2012/01/connecting-to-sql-server/)222 • by Dave Wolfe

(http://www.pdoteam.com/author/dave-wolfe/) 226 Posted in AutoCAD Plant 3D (http://www.pdoteam.com/category

/autocad/autocad-plant-3d/), Database (http://www.pdoteam.com/category/database/)



Now that we have our SQL Server instance setup, we need to configure it for remote

connections. Microsoft disables remote connections out of the box for security purposes.

They don’t want people connecting to servers that were not intended to be available

remotely.

In our previous post, I displayed a network map showing that my server is not connected

to the internet in anyway. In a local network scenario, you don’t have to worry about ports

as much since typically your firewall is turned off between computers.

I used these articles to learn how to connect to a SQL Server instance:

http://www.linglom.com/2009/03/28/enable-remote-connection-on-sql-server-

2008-express/ (http://www.linglom.com/2009/03/28/enable-remote-connection-on-sql-

server-2008-express/)

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/sqlexpress/archive/2005/05/05/415084.aspx

(http://blogs.msdn.com/b/sqlexpress/archive/2005/05/05/415084.aspx)

Here’s a Microsoft article on the topic of enabling tcpip:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb909712(v=vs.90).aspx

(http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb909712(v=vs.90).aspx)

If you do need to enable access through Windows Firewall, here’s an article on the topic:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms175043.aspx (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us

/library/ms175043.aspx)

Honestly, most of my difficulty comes in from not entering computer name right –

COMPUTER\INSTANCE or WIN-SC-SRV3\SQLEXPRESS. Inevitably I keep trying to

enter \\WIN-SC-SRV3\SQLEXPRESS\ or something similar.

Our next post will deal with how to manage backups.



11 of 12 24.7.2014. 21:28

SQL Server Whitepapers (http://www.pdoteam.com

/2012/02/sql-server-whitepapers/)

Posted on February 6, 2012 (http://www.pdoteam.com/2012/02/sql-server-whitepapers/)220 • by Dave Wolfe

(http://www.pdoteam.com/author/dave-wolfe/) 226 Posted in Database (http://www.pdoteam.com/category

/database/)



I ran across these white papers on the forums and thought I’d host them here too. They

cover configuration of SQL Server and migrating a project from SQLite to SQL Server.

SQL Server Whitepapers (73 downloads) (http://www.pdoteam.com/download/sql-server-

whitepapers/)

© 2014 Process Design, from the Outside

#Plant3D (http://www.pdoteam.com/tag/plant3d/) Database (http://www.pdoteam.com/tag/database/)

Setup (http://www.pdoteam.com/tag/setup/)


Database (http://www.pdoteam.com/tag/database/)


sqlite (http://www.pdoteam.com/tag/sqlite/)


12 of 12 24.7.2014. 21:28

Autocad Plant 3D on SQL Express _ Process Design, From the Outside

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