Exact Globe+

How-to: Creating and migrating Exact Globe+ database to Microsoft Azure

Introduction

As of product update 502 onwards, Exact Globe Next supports Microsoft Azure SQL database, and it is compatible with Microsoft Azure SQL database version 12.

You can create a database in the Microsoft Azure SQL server, or migrate the existing database from the SQL server to the Microsoft Azure SQL server.

Creating an Exact Globe+ database in the Microsoft Azure SQL server

To create the Exact Globe+ database in the Microsoft Azure SQL server, do the following:

Open Exact Globe+.
Go to Settings > System > Create/Copy/Delete company. The following screen will be displayed:

In the Create company wizard screen, select the Server option, and then type the Microsoft Azure SQL server name.
Clear the Windows authentication check box.
Type the Microsoft Azure SQL server login name at Login name and password at Password.

Note: The following Exact Globe+ features are not supported with the Microsoft Azure SQL database:

Building blocks
SDK
Payroll module
E-WMS
Exact Globe Next with extended functionality

Migrating Exact Globe+ database from the SQL server to the Microsoft Azure SQL server

There are several steps to migrate the Exact Globe+ database from the SQL server to the Microsoft Azure SQL server, such as the following:

Changing the Exact Globe+ connection to use the SQL server authentication.
Deleting the Yukon user from the Exact Globe+ database.
Deploying the database to the Microsoft Azure SQL database.
Restoring the migrated Exact Globe+ company in the Microsoft Azure environment.
Changing the password for the migrated Exact Globe+ database (Microsoft Azure SQL database). This is optional.

Changing the Exact Globe+ connection to use the SQL server authentication

When the current company is an on-premise SQL server database, the Connection field and Authentication section are displayed. By default, Application Role is selected at Connection.

To migrate this company to a Microsoft Azure SQL database, the option Use SQL Server authentication has to be selected. When Use SQL Server authentication is selected, the fields in the Authentication section will be enabled. By default, the Windows authentication check box is selected and the user account currently logged on to Windows, will be used to migrate this company to a Microsoft Azure SQL database.

If you want to use another user account, clear the Windows authentication check box, and define the user’s credentials at the User ID and Password fields. The user must be an existing user on the on-premise SQL server with the Public, Serveradmin, and Sysadmin server roles.

When saving the settings, the message “This action cannot be reverted. Do you want to proceed?” will be displayed.

To continue migrating the database, click Yes. The system will then perform a validation on the server roles. If the user does not have the Public, Serveradmin, and Sysadmin server roles on the on-premise SQL server, the message “You have insufficient rights to perform this operation.” will be displayed.

If the user has the mentioned roles, the message “Changes will only take effect after restarting the software” will be displayed.

After restarting Exact Globe+, the settings in Database settings cannot be edited anymore.

If you run Exact Globe+ with administrative rights, the system will create a CloudDB file and store it in the Exact Globe+ installation folder. Otherwise, the file will be created in the C:\Users\<UserName>\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\Exact Software folder and has to be copied manually to the Exact Globe+ installation folder.

If there are table owners transferred for Exact Schemas, a log file will be created in the Exact Globe+ installation \ usr folder.

Once switched to the Use SQL Server authentication connection mode, you cannot switch back to the Application Role connection. You can continue using Exact Globe+ after restarting Exact Globe+.

This feature is for updating an existing on-premise Exact Globe+ company database to be Microsoft Azure SQL database compatible. You have to manually upload the updated company database from on-premise to Microsoft Azure SQL server.

After this is done, you should access the company via virtualization technology (Azure VM Remote Desktop Connection or Azure RemoteApp). You should no longer use an on-premise local installation of Exact Globe+ to access the company.

Deleting the Yukon user from the Exact Globe+ database

After you have changed the Exact Globe+ database connection to the SQL server authentication, do the following:

Go to Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio.
Connect to the on-premise SQL server.
Expand the Exact Globe+ database.
Expand the Security > Users folder.
Delete Yukon.

Deploying the database to the Microsoft Azure SQL database

To deploy the database to the Microsoft Azure SQL database, do the following:

Go to Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio.
Select the Exact Globe+ database, and then right-click on the Exact Globe+ database.
Click Tasks, and then click Deploy Database to Windows Azure SQL Database.
The Deploy Database screen will be displayed.
Click Next, and then connect the Microsoft Azure SQL database server.
Click Next, and the summary screen will be displayed.
Click Finish to start the migration. Once the wizard is successfully completed, connect to the Microsoft Azure SQL server, and view the copied database.

Restoring the migrated Exact Globe+ company in the Microsoft Azure environment

To restore the migrated Microsoft Azure SQL database in Exact Globe+, do the following:

Go to Settings > System > Backup/Restore company. For more information, see How-to: Setting up a Microsoft Azure SQL database.

Changing the password for the migrated Exact Globe+ database (Microsoft Azure SQL database)

You can change the password for the Microsoft Azure SQL database. When the current company is a Microsoft Azure SQL database, the Change password section is displayed.

Here, the user can change the password for the Microsoft Azure SQL database. When the entered password does not adhere to the password policy, the message “Password not according to Microsoft SQL Server password policy” will be displayed. When the passwords entered at New password and Confirm password do not match, the message “Incorrect password” will be displayed.

If the entered password is valid, the message “Changes will only take effect after restarting the software” will be displayed.