How to Add the BPA Platform Store
The Configuration pane displays the following options when creating a new Store after first installing the product:
Choosing a Store Type
Two store types are available:
| ► | Microsoft SQL Server Store — Holds the Store in a SQL database. This can be in a local or remote SQL Server installation. (RECOMMENDED) |
| ► | Internal Store — Holds the Store locally on the installed computer's hard drive. Typically, this is c:\iwdb. |
| Internal Store | Microsoft® SQL Server Store | |
|---|---|---|
| Requirements | Available space on disk only |
Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2012 or higher For a detailed list of supported versions, see BPA Platform Database. |
| Speed | Very fast, but can slow as usage increases | Fast and scalable, even on busy servers |
| Reliability | Reliable, but corruption can occur in rare circumstances | Very reliable, relies on SQL Server Integrity |
|
Maintenance |
Maintenance takes time to run due to de-fragmentation | Maintenance is very quick as de-fragmentation is performed by the database administrator |
| Backup | Backup must be made by backing up the Backup sub-folder of the BPA Platform Internal Store | Backup is left to the database administrator who is maintaining the SQL Server backup |
Supported SQL Server Versions
The following versions of SQL Server are supported:
| ► | Microsoft SQL Server 2014 |
Express, Evaluation, Standard, Web, Developer, Business Intelligence, and Enterprise editions
32- or 64-bit
| ► | Microsoft SQL Server 2016 |
Express, Evaluation, Standard, Developer, and Enterprise
64-bit
| ► | Microsoft SQL Server 2017 |
Express, Evaluation, Standard, Enterprise, Developer, and Web Edition
64-bit
| ► | Microsoft SQL Server 2019 |
Express, Evaluation, Standard, Enterprise, Developer, and Web Edition
64-bit
| ► | Microsoft SQL Server 2022 |
Express, Evaluation, Standard, Enterprise, Developer, and Evaluation Editions
64-bit
Note that the following SQL Server platforms are also supported:
| ► | On-premise |
| ► | SQL Server failover cluster |
| ► | SQL Server on cloud VM (i.e. Azure) |
Azure SQL (SQLaaS) and Azure SQL Managed Instances are not supported at the time of writing.
| ► | Change store configuration — Leave this enabled; BPA Platform must have a store to function correctly |
| ■ | Connect to / Create a new Microsoft SQL Server Store — Select this to hold the store in an SQL database, either remote or local |
Go to Adding the SQL Server Login Details.
| ■ | Connect to / Create a new internal store — Select this option to hold the store directly on this machine's hard drive |
Go to Changing the Internal Store Location.
How to Change the Store Type
Choosing a Store Type
Two store types are available:
| ► | Microsoft SQL Server Store — Holds the Store in a SQL database. This can be in a local or remote SQL Server installation. (RECOMMENDED) |
| ► | Internal Store — Holds the Store locally on the installed computer's hard drive. Typically, this is c:\iwdb. |
| Internal Store | Microsoft® SQL Server Store | |
|---|---|---|
| Requirements | Available space on disk only |
Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2012 or higher For a detailed list of supported versions, see BPA Platform Database. |
| Speed | Very fast, but can slow as usage increases | Fast and scalable, even on busy servers |
| Reliability | Reliable, but corruption can occur in rare circumstances | Very reliable, relies on SQL Server Integrity |
|
Maintenance |
Maintenance takes time to run due to de-fragmentation | Maintenance is very quick as de-fragmentation is performed by the database administrator |
| Backup | Backup must be made by backing up the Backup sub-folder of the BPA Platform Internal Store | Backup is left to the database administrator who is maintaining the SQL Server backup |
Supported SQL Server Versions
The following versions of SQL Server are supported:
| ► | Microsoft SQL Server 2014 |
Express, Evaluation, Standard, Web, Developer, Business Intelligence, and Enterprise editions
32- or 64-bit
| ► | Microsoft SQL Server 2016 |
Express, Evaluation, Standard, Developer, and Enterprise
64-bit
| ► | Microsoft SQL Server 2017 |
Express, Evaluation, Standard, Enterprise, Developer, and Web Edition
64-bit
| ► | Microsoft SQL Server 2019 |
Express, Evaluation, Standard, Enterprise, Developer, and Web Edition
64-bit
| ► | Microsoft SQL Server 2022 |
Express, Evaluation, Standard, Enterprise, Developer, and Evaluation Editions
64-bit
Note that the following SQL Server platforms are also supported:
| ► | On-premise |
| ► | SQL Server failover cluster |
| ► | SQL Server on cloud VM (i.e. Azure) |
Azure SQL (SQLaaS) and Azure SQL Managed Instances are not supported at the time of writing.
| ► | Change store configuration — Enable this to change the existing store type. |
If you have an existing internal store, you can:
| ► | Migrate from Internal to Microsoft SQL Server Store — If required, you can change your store type to use SQL Server and also migrate the existing internal store as well. Go to Adding the SQL Server Login Details |
For more information, refer to our knowledge base article How to migrate an Internal store to a Microsoft SQL Server store
| ► | Connect to / Create an alternative Microsoft SQL Server Store — If required, you can connect to a new or an alternative (existing) SQL Server store. Note that existing data is not migrated to the new store should you choose this option. Go to Adding the SQL Server Login Details. |
| ► | Connect to / Create an alternative internal Store — If required, you can connect to a new or an alternative (existing) internal store. Note that existing data is not migrated to the new store should you choose this option. Go to Changing the Internal Store Location. |
If you have an existing SQL Server store, you can:
| ► | Migrate from Microsoft SQL Server to Internal Store — If changing your store type to an internal store, note that you may lose some event log data as the SQL Server store contains extra tables. Go to Changing the Internal Store Location. |
| ► | Connect to / Create an alternative Microsoft SQL Server Store — If required, you can connect to a new or an alternative (existing) SQL Server store. Note that existing data is not migrated to the new store should you choose this option. Go to Adding the SQL Server Login Details. |
| ► | Connect to / Create an alternative internal store — If required, you can connect to a new or an alternative (existing) internal store. Note that existing data is not migrated to the new store should you choose this option. Go to Changing the Internal Store Location. |