Using a Backup File to Move the Infor CRM SLX Database to a New SQL Instance

For the vast majority of Infor CRM SLX implementations I have worked with, MS SQL has been the underlying database.  SQL 2012 has been a supported version of SQL for several Infor CRM SLX versions, so it is one I see frequently.  Soon, however, (in about a week as of this posting) Microsoft will be ending all support for SQL 2012. SQL 2012 won’t stop working when this happens, but Microsoft will stop providing security updates, and that security risk alone is enough to make most folks avoid using unsupported software in a business environment.  So, for folks who will be upgrading to a new version of SQL in the near future, here is quick outline of how to move an Infor CRM SLX database from one instance of SQL to another.

Whether you have installed a newer version of SQL (as seen here), or just wish to move your database to a different server, the procedure is much the same. In this post, we will be moving the database by taking a file backup of the database, so the first thing you will need to do is make sure the computer has enough drive space to hold the backup that will be created. You can check the size of the active database by checking the size of the .mdf file in the file system, or checking the Files page in the database’s properties in SQL Server Management Studio. The backup file created will usually be about the same size as the .mdf file of the active database, but might be smaller if there is a lot of blank space in the database. Also make sure the server to which you will be restoring the database has enough space for both the backup file and the new database that will be created.

You are now ready to actually backup the database using SQL Server Management Studio. Right click the database you are moving, mouseover Tasks, and select Back Up.

Set Backup type to Full, Destination to Disk, and Remove the existing file if necessary.  Click the Add button to set the name and location of your backup file, and set the file type to .bak. If the SQL instance to which you are restoring is on the same server, leave it there. If you are storing to a different server, copy the database to that server.

Now open the SQL instance to which you are restoring the database, right click the Databases folder, and choose Restore Database.

Under Source, choose Device, then click the ellipses to locate and select the .bak file for the database you are moving.  You can set the name the restored database will have under Destination, and even set the file location by going to the File page.  When everything is set as desired, click OK and allow the database to restore. Now all you need to do is run the SQL command to link the sysdba SQL login to the sysdba user in the database. I use:

sp_change_users_login ‘Update_One’, ‘sysdba’, ‘sysdba’

The database is now ready to be attached in the CRM Connection Manager.