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It is sometimes necessary or desired to move projects or the project database from one computer to another.Common situations include:
Please note that after moving from a local setup to a network setup you may notice a decrease in performance. promis•e and Bentley Substation require a maintained 35 megabits per second transfer rate, and what is actually achieved by the network is not the same as the equipment ratings of the network.
The most reliable way to "move" the SQL project data, and the method Bentley Technical Support analysts are most able to support, is the following process:
On the source machine(s), backup all the projects to be moved using Project Manager while the existing configuration is still valid (before moving or changing anything). Projects are backed up individually, and each project backup results in a .PRJ archive file.
Install SQL Server on the destination machine (if applicable and not already existing) and create a new project database on it. See Creating and Updating the Project Database. When moving to a different workstation in a single-user environment, the "destination machine" would be the new workstation and this step may have already been completed.
Specify the new server name and database name in the Project Database area of the Setup dialog. When moving to a different workstation in a single-user environment, this is done on the Setup dialog on the new machine, and this step may have already been completed.
Restore the project backup files (.PRJ files) created in step 1. This will extract the project folders to the paths you specify and inserts the project data into the database to which the software is currently connected.
Note: Backing up projects does not delete them. Therefore it is possible to end up with instances of the same project on multiple machines and users unknowingly working on different instances. It is up to the user to implement or enforce some method of control to avoid this situation.
This method requires some familiarity with the administration of SQL Server, and should be performed while there are no users using the software.
Backup the critical projects using Project Manager while the existing configuration is still valid (before moving anything). Projects are backed up individually, and each project backup results in a .PRJ archive file. These backups could be restored into a new database if moving the database is not successful.
Backup the SQL project database using SQL Server Management Studio (including Express), which is available from Microsoft and also included as an optional install with the promis•e installation file. This will result in a .BAK file. The server name and database name for the project database can be determined on the Setup dialog.
Backup the project folders, just in case. This way you will have a backup of the database and the project folders while they are synchronized.
Install SQL Server on the destination machine (if not already existing)
On the destination machine Restore the backup (.BAK) created in step 2, again using SQL Server Management Studio.
Create the login(s) that will be used by promis•e to connect to the SQL Server. This step is necessary because the login is associated with the server, not the database, so transferring the database does not transfer the login. If using Windows Authentication, each connecting user would need to be setup; if using SQL Server Authentication, a generic login can be created and used by all users. See the Creating an SQL Server Login TechNote.
Move the project folders to the new location, if applicable.
On the Project Database area of the Setup dialog, set the configuration to use new SQL server and/or database, and the appropriate login information.
Decommission the old database.
Alternatively, instead of backing up and restoring the SQL database in steps 2 and 4, the database and transaction log files can be moved to the new server machine and "attached" to the new SQL Server.
Creating and Updating the Project Database
Creating an SQL Server Login
How to: Back Up a Database (SQL Server Management Studio)
How to: Restore a Database Backup (SQL Server Management Studio)
How to: Attach a Database (SQL Server Management Studio)
How to: Create a SQL Server Login