Microsoft SQL Server 2012: Considerations

Supported Packages

Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Enterprise is supported by the following Commvault packages:

CommServe
Metrics Reporting
SQL Server Agent
Web Server
Workflow Engine

Supported Platforms

Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Enterprise is supported in the following platforms:

Windows Server 2012

Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Editions

Windows Server 2008

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Edition with a minimum of Service Pack 1

Installing CommServe Using an Existing Instance of SQL Server 2012

You can install the CommServe using an existing SQL Server instance that was not installed by Commvault.

In order to do this, you are required to configure the szUserSQLInstanceName registry key on the computer on which you want to perform the installation.

Use the following steps to configure the szUserSQLInstanceName registry key:

Log on to the computer as an Administrator or as a member of the Administrator group.
Click the Windows Start button and then click Run.
Type regedit and then click OK to open the Registry Editor window.
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > GalaxyInstallerFlags.
Right-click the GalaxyInstallerFlags and select New > String Value.
Specify the Value name as szUserSQLInstanceName.
Double click szUserSQLInstanceName, in the Value data box, type the name of the SQL instance that you want to use and click OK.
Close the Registry Editor window.

After configuring the szUserSQLInstanceName registry key, you can install the CommServe using the existing instance of SQL Server 2012.

Upgrading from SQL 2008 to SQL 2012

The following sections describe the steps to upgrade the existing SQL Server 2008 database to SQL Server 2012 Enterprise Edition.

Note

For SQL Server 2008 R2 versions, make sure that Service Pack 1 or later is installed for a successful upgrade to SQL Server 2012.

We recommend you to perform a disaster recovery backup before the upgrade steps described below. This will help you secure and maintain the data required in case you need to recover the database. See Performing a Disaster Recovery Backup for more information.

If the SQL Server to be upgraded is part of a clustered CommServe environment (which you also plan to upgrade), see Upgrading Older SQL Server Versions to Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Enterprise Edition.

Method 1: Upgrade to SQL 2012 without Uninstalling SQL 2008

Ensure your current SQL 2008 version is SP2 or higher for a successful upgrade.
Stop all services on the SQL Server computer using the following steps:
1. Click the Start button on the Windows task bar and then click All Programs.
2. Navigate to Commvault and click Process Manager.
3. Select All Services in the Services tab.
4. Click Stop to stop all services.
Install the SQL Server 2012 software.
1. From the installation package that was created using the Download Manager, run the following program:
  
  WinX64\ThirdParty\MSSQL\SQL_Standard_Edition\Setup.exe
  
  The SQL Server Installation Center wizard is displayed.
2. In the left-hand navigation area, click Installation and then click Upgrade from SQL Server 2005, SQL Server 2008 or SQL Server 2008 R2.
  
  Follow the instructions provided by the installation wizard. For more information, go to the Microsoft Web site.
After the upgrade completes, start all services on the SQL Server computer using the following steps:
1. Click the Start button on the Windows task bar and then click All Programs.
2. Navigate to Commvault and click Process Manager.
3. Select All Services in the Services tab.
4. Click Start to start all services.

Method 2: Uninstall SQL 2008 to Install SQL 2012

Stop all services on the SQL Server computer using the following steps:
1. Click the Start button on the Windows task bar and then click All Programs.
2. Navigate to Commvault and click Process Manager.
3. Select All Services in the Services tab.
4. Click Stop to stop all services.
Using the SQL Server Management Studio, backup the server database and create a .dmp file.

Perform the following steps to back up the CommServe database to a full database backup:

Note: You can also use these steps to back up the Content Indexing database.
1. Open Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio.
2. Navigate to Server Instance | Database | CommServ.
3. Right-click the CommServ database, select Tasks and then click Backup. The Back Up Database dialog box appears.
4. In the Database, verify the database name.
5. In the Backup type, select Full.
6. In the BackupComponent, select Database option.
7. Accept the default backup set name in the Name, or you can enter a different name for the backup set.
8. Specify when the Backup set will expire. By default After is selected with value 0.
9. In the Destination area select Disk option. To select the path, click Add. The selected path will be displayed in the Backup to list.
10. To remove backup destination, select the destination path and click Remove.
11. Click OK.
Uninstall SQL Server 2008.
Install the SQL Server 2012 using the steps from Pre-Install SQL Server for CommServe.

During installation, provide the name for the Commvault instance when prompted.
Once the installation completes, use the SQL Server Management Studio to restore the database dump file created in Step 2.

Perform the following steps to restore the full database to the SQL Server computer:
1. Open Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio.
2. Navigate to Server Instance | Database.
3. Right-click Database, select Restore Database. The Restore Database dialog box appears.
4. On the General page, do the following:
  - In the To Database, select or type the name of a database.
  - To specify the source and location of the backup sets to restore, select From device option.
    
    Click the Browse button, Backup dialog box appears.
    
    In the Backup media, select one of the device type.
    
    Click Add to provide the path of dump file copied in the previous step.Click OK.
5. On the Options page, do the following:
  - In the Restore options, choose any of the options, appropriate for your situation.
  - The Recovery state determines the state of the database after the restore operation.
    
    Choose Leave the database non-operational, and do not roll back the uncommitted transactions. Additional transaction logs can be restored. (RESTORE WITH NORECOVERY) option.
6. Click OK.
Create the SQL Server user account for Commvault (sqladmin_cv) by using the DB Maintenance utility.
1. Open the command prompt and go to the Software_Installation_Directory/Base folder.
2. Run the following command:
```
 
DBMaintenance -S .\commvault -U SQLUser -P SQLUserPass -N CommServ -cslogin sqladmin_cv -cspwd CSDBPass -SetRegistry -CreateSQLLogin
```
  where:
  - SQLUser and SQLUserPass are the user credentials to access the SQL Server.
  - CSDBPass is the password that you want to set for the Commvault user account. Make sure to provide a strong password.
  - CreateSQLLogin updates this password in the database.
Start all services on the SQL Server computer using the following steps:
1. Click the Start button on the Windows task bar and then click All Programs.
2. Navigate to Commvault and click Process Manager.
3. Select All Services in the Services tab.
4. Click Start to start all services.

AlwaysOn, Provided by SQL 2012 or a More Recent Version

AlwaysOn is a new implementation on clusters. If you want to protect the AlwaysOn configuration, consider the following:

Install the SQL Agent on all the physical nodes of an AlwaysOn cluster, and then create a new MSSQL Availability Group (AG) client. For more details, see AlwaysOn Availability Groups.
Install the SQL Agent on all physical nodes of the cluster to protect the SQL instances separately. For more details, see AlwaysOn Availability Groups - Best Practice.
If you want to restore any databases that are part of the availability group, you must remove the database from the availability group. Once the restore completes, you can add the database back.