OpenManage Essentials Database re-target process

Question

This is the process for re-targeting a Database in the OpenManage Essentials management console.

1. Backup Database – OMEssentials DB(where OME was installed)

2. Copy the DB to another server

3. Restore DB (this can be performed only by a sysadmin)

4. Create a new user with “db_owner” , “sysadmin” and “public” privileges

5. On the system where OME is installed, enter following commands

sqlcmd /E -Q "select name from sys.syslogins"
sqlcmd /E -Q "ALTER LOGIN [OMEService] WITH PASSWORD='DummyPassword'"

6. Launch OME

7. Database login error displayed. Click OK

.

8. DB Connection error window is displayed.

9. Enter server name where OME DB was restored. Also enter username and password of the new user(that was created in step 4)

10. Launch OME

11. Reset IIS

12. Restart OME services (or restart server)

13. Change the user privileges from sysadmin to dbowner. (This is done on the server where was DB was restored).

Note: You may delete the DB where OME was installed after the retarget is complete

Wapinoux · Answer

Hello, Thanks for this post. The same things for remote database could be great

DELL-Abhijit P · Answer

Hi,

The same process should work even if OME is installed with remote database as well. One thing to note would be instead of using [OMEService] account you will modify whatever account was used to install OME.

The idea here is the change the password of the account used by OME to access the database. That way OME shows the DB retargeting screen.

The SQL command listed in the post above is for default install option. If you are using custom install, you will modify the command to look something like this.

sqlcmd -E -S " \ " -Q "ALTER LOGIN [ ] with PASSWORD='DummyPassword'"

Regards

Abhijit

Jings · Answer

This procedure broke my OpenManage Essentials installation :-(

The "DSM Essentials Host Service" works fine with the remote database, but the "DSM Essentials Network Monitor" and "DSM Essentials Task Manager" services just quits immediately when I try to start them.

The error persists even if I move the OMEssentials database back original (local) SQL server.

regards.

Jan Inge

DELL-Abhijit P · Answer

Hi Jan,

Sorry to hear about the issue.

It is possible that Netmon and task manager will stop running during the retargeting.

If the retargeting cannot startup the services you may need to click the ‘restart services’ button.

When retargeting is complete it also removes the ODBC connection for Task Manager and Network Monitoring Service. This causes the services to rebuild their ODBC connection from the registry.

Can you try to restart the OME server and verify the both the services are running again?

Regards

Abhijit

DELL-Abhijit P · Answer

One more thing you can try would be to delete ODBC manually which is used by the services. The services will re-create it when it runs the next time.

Run this application

C:\Windows\SysWOW64\odbcad32.exe

* This is not the same as the ODBC 64bit window.

If you run the wrong one you will not see OMEssentials

Remove OMEssentials and ITAssist if it exists in the SystemDSN tab.

Additional diagnostics information is available at C:\Windows\Temp\OmeHostService.log

DELL-Abhijit P · Answer

Thanks for the update Jan. Glad to hear it's working now. Indetically named ODBC does seem to cause an issue. Regards Abhijit

Jings · Answer

Thanks!

The problem was that I had a 64bit ODBC conntection called "OMEssentials", manually created for pushing Openmange status data to our in-house monitoring system.

When I retargeted the database, and restarted the services, they didn't manage to create the 32bit ODBC connection they needed, and just quit, I deleted the 64bit "OMEssentials" ODBC connection, restated the servies, and everything worked as intended. :-)

The reason it worked before retargeting the database, is that the identically created "in-house" 64bit ODBC connection was created manually after OM Essentials was installed.

The Dell code that re-creates the ODBC connection does not allow identical named 32 and 64 ODBC connections, but the 64bit ODBC GUI allows it.

Thanks for your help!

Regards

Jan Inge

willisdell · Answer

I want to move my database away from SQL Express to a another server running SQL standard - following Peter's instructions. If for some reason you wanted to revert back to the local original SQL Express instance would you just type "local" as the Server name, with user OMEservice, with password "DummyPassword" . Is that right ?

DELL-Rob C · Answer

The password that 'OMEservice' uses is generated on install. To use the 'OMEservice' SQL Login you would need to change the password for that SQL Login account in SQL Server. The best way to do that is with SQL Server Management Studio (free with SQL Express)   After changing the password you can retarget OME to use Express with that login. The server name would likely be .\SQLExpressOME   We install a named instance of SQL Express to avoid conflicts with other applications that may have installed SQL Server Express.  Thx Rob

willisdell · Answer

Moved from Express SQL to a remote standard 2012 SQL Db using the notes. It worked perfectly. Thanks for you help.

riegert103 · Answer

Does Dell OME support a High Availability Application Server Scenario? I would like to have one OME server at two sites that share a single DB, in an Active/Passive configuration. If anyone can point me to any documentation on this, that would be helpful.

Thanks

DELL-Pupul M · Answer

Hi,

Thanks for the post. OME does not support such a use case as of now. There has to be two separate databases for multiple OMEs. Although you can have multiple OME databases present under same SQL if that helps.

KBeau · Answer

I realize this subject has been just about talked out of existence, but I have a problem that I have not found anything on yet. We moved our remote database to another server, and now when I start up OME, it just sits at the 'OPENMANAGE ESSENTIALS' screen like it's trying to load (and locate the DB?).

I receive no error, it just sits there with that pretty blue indicator "blinking" so to speak.

I would say that it cannot find the new location of the DB, but if it won't open, how can I tell it where to look? I tried to uninstalll and reinstall the product but that was a disaster so had to do a whole system restore (OME is running on a virtual server). I thought reinstalling would give me the opportunity to tell it where the new db was (it did find what it called an older version of the db) but it would not allow me to use it OR create a new one.

I'm stuck!

Thanks,

KBeau

DELL-Rob C · Answer

Hi KBeau,

There are some versions of OME that had bugs that would not retarget if the database was moved.

The best way to force OME to retarget is to disable the login SQL Server is using.

Make sure you disable the login by logging in as another administrator account.

Do not accidentally lock yourself out of SQL Server or you must reinstall SQL Server.

OME will always retarget if the account is disabled.

Good luck,

Rob

p.s. some of the points in this thread are a bit outdated. For example, the db connection for the backend now uses 64 bit.

KBeau · Answer

Hi Rob,

Not sure I understand what you need me to do.

I am logging on to my management server with the domain admin account. The sql db (on a separate server) has been configured with a different account.

Is the sql db account the one that needs to be disabled?

Thanks!

KBeau

Dell OpenManage Essentials

OpenManage Essentials Database re-target process

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