ACM Database Connection

Important

It is important to close the ACM Configuration client and stop the ACM services before making changes to an existing database.

To create a new database, update an existing database or change the database the ACM Configuration client utilizes, click the Manage Database... button on the Database tab. The following form will appear to enable you to establish your database connection.

Server name

The name of the SQL server the database will reside in.

Database name

The name of the database to be used for ACM Configuration.

Provider

The database provider used by the ACM Services to connect to the database. Supported providers are MSOLEDBSQL19.1, MSOLEDBSQL.1, SQLNCLI.1, SQLNCLI10.1, SQLNCLI11. If no items appear in the list, download and install one of the following providers: MSOLEDBSQL19.1, MSOLEDBSQL.1 or SQLNCLI11 (only suggested for use with SQL Server 2012). The installers for the providers may prompt for a Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio. More information can be found on the Installing Database Providers page.

While ACM supports the SQL Native Client providers SQLNCLI.1 and SQLNCLI10.1, they have reached their End of Life and are no longer available for download.

Authentication/User name/Password:

The authentication information required for secure access to the database. Supported authentication methods are Windows Authentication and SQL Server Authentication. When using Windows Authentication, ACM will connect under the user account for each service. If opting to use SQL Authentication, passwords must not contain a semi-colon.

Custom Setting

Default = blank. If a custom setting needs to be appended to the connection, e.g. "MultiSubnetFailover=Yes", enter it here. If multiple custom settings are entered, they must be separated by a semi-colon.

Azure SQL Database:

Default = Not selected. This must be selected if the database is an Azure SQL database. For more information: Understanding the Azure SQL Database Checkbox.

Duplicate Connection for Reports

Default = Not selected. Select this to use the same connection and authentication for running reports. This information can be later modified in the Reports section of the ACM Monitor if necessary.

Encryption Settings

Microsoft OLE DB Driver 19 for SQL Server. (MSOLEDBSQL19.1) provides additional options for encryption and these fields are only available for that database provider. For more information: Encryption Settings.

Create/Update Database

Click the "Create/Update" Database button to either create a new database or update an existing database. This will bring up the Create/Update Database Wizard.

Test Connection

Use this to confirm that the authentication information is correct. To test the connection with Windows Authentication, asiData must be started.

View Connection String

Click to view the connection string generated by the settings. The value displayed is never stored in plain text in ACM.

Safe Mode Options

Run from backup if connection fails (safe mode)

Default = Not selected. Select this to run ACM from a backup Microsoft Access database if the connection to SQL Server were to fail during the startup of ACM. This provides a way for ACM to load the last backed up configuration so polling can take place. Any modifications to the configuration while in Safe Mode are temporary and will not be saved.

Note

For installations that make use of the Safe Mode operation, ACM versions 8.0 and later require the "Microsoft ACE OLEDB 12.0" database driver for the safe mode database. The older "Microsoft Jet OLEDB 4.0" driver used by ACM versions 7.1 and earlier is no longer supported. The new database driver can be downloaded from Microsoft here.

Backup now

Click this button to backup the database to a Microsoft Access database that is used when in Safe Mode. The backup is stored with the ACM system files; the default location is "C:\ProgramData\AutoSol\Communication Manager\7". More instructions can be found here: Backup the ACM database to an emergency Microsoft Access database.