Improving Time to perform a Vault Server Backup

There have been reports that automatic Vault Server backups (Windows Scheduled Tasks) are taking several hours longer after moving Vault Server to a Windows Server 2008 operating system. However the performance when backing up through the ADMS console is much better!

Background: In Windows Server 2008 Microsoft has changed the behaviour of tasks and there is also a change of the priority of each process. In Windows Server 2003 a scheduled Windows task is created with Priority "Normal". However in Windows Server 2008 the priority of the tasks is "7" which is below "Normal" Priority.

The solution is to make sure that the scheduled Windows task is running with a higher Priority.

The Priority can not be set on a task directly but there is a workaround:

• Go to Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Task Scheduler
• Find the task which is executing the Vault Server backup
• On Action Menu go to Export... > Save the file as *.xml
• Open the .xml file in Notepad
• Find the line <Priority>7</Priority>
• Change the value of the Priority from 7 to a higher value like 4 or 5
• Save the .xml file
• Delete the Scheduled Task for the Vault Server Backup
• In the Actions Menu go to Import Task and choose your modified .xml File

Your task will now run with a higher Priority and speed up the Vault Server backup time.

This is an extract from the Cracking the Vault, Manufacturing Community Blog

SQL Server 2008 R2 SP1 - Supported with Vault Server 2012?

Microsoft recently published SP1 for Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 (Editions Standard, Enterprise, Express).

At this stage SP1 for MS SQL Server 2008 R2 is not supported with Vault Server 2012 until further notice.

Plan your SQL Upgrade for the Next Release of Vault

Microsoft are stopping support for SQL 2005 in 2011. If you have an existing Autodesk Vault installation, you will probably be using SQL 2005 and that will require updating to SQL 2008. Microsoft’s timeline is available on a link from the Micro Concepts Blog here:

http://microconceptstechnical.blogspot.com/2011/01/microsoft-sql-2005-retirement.html

There are two main scenarios for the upgrade.

• SQL 2005 Express Edition:

If you are using the free version of SQL installed from the Autodesk Vault DVD you can upgrade to the SQL 2008 Express database which can be downloaded from Microsoft. This document details that process.

• SQL 2005 Developer, Workgroup, Standard or Enterprise Editions:

The 2008 version of your database will have to be purchased from your Microsoft supplier before upgrading your server. Please contact your IT Department to budget and plan for this upgrade. If you need to check which version of SQL you have installed, Appendix A in this document (Page 13) has a solution to query your database to return the version information.

Click here to read the full Technical Document

Microsoft SQL 2005 retirement

Mainstream support for SQL 2005 is to be stopped by Microsoft this year. (http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/?p1=2855) While Autodesk have not made any announcements, we expect all Vault installations currently using SQL 2005 will require an upgrade to SQL 2008 when upgrading to the next release of Vault.

Most Vault installations use the SQL Express databases that can be upgraded without additional software costs. If you use a full version of SQL 2005 (Developer, Workgroup, Standard or Enterprise) an upgrade may need to be purchased. Most companies purchase SQL directly from their Microsoft suppliers, not through Micro Concepts. Please speak to your IT Departments to start budgeting.

We will clarify the situation as soon as we have full details from Autodesk. Your existing Vault 2010 or 2011 installations will not be affected by this change by Microsoft.

4GB Limit Hit in SQL Express

SQL Express 4GB limit reached? How To Buy Some Time Before Having To Upgrade To Full SQL

Microsoft SQL Express 2005 and Microsoft SQL Express 2008 have limits on the size of the databases that they can Read/Write to. Once the limit has been reached, the database is put into read-only mode. This means that you can Login and get information/data, but you cannot make any changes to it (i.e. No Checkin/Checkout, No New Users, No New Items, No State Changes).

It will eventually become necessary to upgrade SQL from an Express version to higher version (Workgroup, Standard or Enterprise). However, you can buy some time by performing some of the following:

• Delete unwanted files/folders
• Purge unwanted versions
• Change the Thumbnail property to Not In Use and Reindex Properties
• Change any other unwanted Properties to Not In Use and Reindex Properties
• Delete unwanted Obsolete Items (Productstream/Vault Manufacturing/Vault Professional Only)
• Run a Maintenance Plan as per the Advanced Configuration Guide

This is an extract from the Cracking the Vault, Manufacturing Community Blog