Moving the BE db from sql express 2005 to full sql server on the same machine (BE 12,5)

[mniechcial]

Hello,

On one of my media server with SSO (Tape library accessible via SAN) has full sql server 2005 and during the BE standard installation process sql 2005 express has been installed also. Can I move the BE db from sql express version to full and next uninstall sql 2005 express? This machine is not a primary server, so it contains only job history and selection lists, policies and jobs configuration (I don't have CASO). Thank You for any help.

[fredouille]

Hi,
You should encounter problems if you run SQL Server and SQL Server Express at the same time on the same machine.

Verify your server is working fine and, first, do a full system backup of your BE server (with BESR or Ghost for example).
With BEUtility stop the BE Services and uninstall SQL Server Express.
Install or run the services of SQL Server, import the instance of BE in the new SQL Server (default path is in C:\Program Files\Symantec\Backup Exec\Data)
Change the DB path wiht BEUtility (DB Tasks / new location -> you should find the new SQL server in the list)
Start the BE Services with BEUtility
If no errors appear -> close BEUtility & start BE console.

I've not tested this procedure but the key is in the import of the BE DB in the SQL Server and the use of BEUtility to change the path to the SQL Server.

Good Luck,
Fred.

[MitchR]

I can attest, first hand, that attempting to run SQL Express & SQL Server on the same box will cause problems.  In my case, we had serious problems installing SQL patches - they just kept failing with strange errors.

[mniechcial]

That situation exists from about 3 weeks, and I didn't notice any problem with any sql instance. Probably today i will pass the procedure from fredouille. I will keep You inform.

[mniechcial]

Hello again,

I moved the bede database via BEUtility to "full" SQL Server and next I uninstalled the SQL Express instance. After this i can't start the Job Engine service (Error 1075: The dependency service does not exist or has been marked for deletion). I found only one solution to this issue - repair the Remote agent  via Add / remove programs, but during the Backup Exec installation, SQL Express is installed automatically and i can do nothing. What should I do or how should I install the Backup Exec agent on server which has already SQL server?

[Hemant_Jain]

First of all, you need to make database standalone, as this is a secondary SAN server. So, make it standalone. You can make it standalone, by using beutility. From beutility, right click on the server and click on "Make standalone". Once it is standalone, use "change Backup Exec database location" to change the location of database to the SQL server instance. Once this is done, verify all the services are started. Then go and use "set primary" option to join it back to SAN. Once done, verify that services are started. And then you can go ahead with uninstalling SQL express instance.

The mistake that you did in the last try was that you did not make it standalone before moving database. Please note that when you intend to carry out any operation on a secondary SAN server, which involves database, first make it standalone.

Please mark it a solution, if these steps fix the issue.
Thanks

[mniechcial]

I can't see "Make standalone" option in BEUtility. For me, similar option is "Set Primiary SAN SSO Server" or "Remove Primary SAN SSO Server". I have a BE 12,5. Is it possible to get different BEUtility?

[Colin_Weaver]

 Hmm couple of points:

In your original message you state that you are trying to move the Backup Exec from SQL Express to a Full SQL instance on the same server - although the Backup Exec DB is supported in Full SQL, it is not recommended to install it into the same instance as another application - there are probably loads of reasons but 2 obvious ones are 1) If try to restore an Application instance you will could need the BEDB to be operational and in a different instance 2) There are things that might happen when using/configuring/supporting Backup Exec that might mean the SQL Instance has to be stopped - which would stop your application as well.

The error message you got about dependency that was mentioned in a later post is because the operating system can be configured so that one service depends on another and won't start without it. Solutions to this are registry based and if you google for change service dependency you should find loads of answers which will help you change things so they depend on your new sql instance instead of your old one. You will need to identify what each BE service is called in the registry itself but how service dependency settings work is pure Microsoft.

[Hemant_Jain]

yes, first perform "remove primary san sso server". Move database location and then ensure services started. Once services are started, after changing the database location, perform "set primary san sso... ". This will bring it back as a secondary server and join to SAN. Just to set things straight, if this is a secondary server, it really does not matter if you use default backup exec instance or not. The reason is that in SAN, most of the data is stored on primary server, and generally nothing is stored on secondary. So, not sure why exactly, you want to do this? It would need a dedicated SQL server, generally on a primary server, where a lot of data is stored in a SAN setup. So, i would still not recommend to move to a different SQL instance, given the issues that Colin has advised in his post. But, still if you would like to do that, go ahead with the process i described in the beginning.

Thanks