Configure the MES production database connection string

The production database connection string information is entered on the Production tab. The connection string specifies which MES database to use as the production database, the user account for accessing it, and any additional advanced connection settings.

When configuring the MES production database, consider whether the collation of the MES database is different than the collation of the SQL Server where the MES database resides, as there may be compatibility issues when running transactions on the MES database. Always create a new SQL Server instance with a collation that is same as the MES database collation and connect to that SQL Server instance.

Specify the MES production database connection string

1. Complete the database server and MES database name settings:

   Server Name

   The host name or IP address of the server that is hosting the MES production database. The server name defaults to the node's host name if a connection string was not previously saved or to the server name entered for the previously saved connection string. Supported server name entries include IP addresses (IPv4 and IPv6), SQL server named instance conventions, cluster names, and SQL Server Availability Groups.

   When using a Failover or Availability Group naming convention, the configuration must be performed when the primary node is active.

   Note: For the server name, enter either the host name or IP address. Be consistent in this when configuring MES middleware on different nodes, as the system will not know that a host name and IP address point to the same server. If you enter localhost, it will be converted to the local server name when building the database connection string.

   Database Name

   The name of the MES production database.

   If this is a new installation and the connection string has not been created yet, the name defaults to MESDB. If the connection string has been previously created or the database was migrated from a previous release, the actual database name appears.

2. To specify the user account to use to access the MES production database, do one of the following:

   • Select Use Windows integrated security to assign the SQL permissions required to access and query the database to the current Windows user account that appears on the Security tab.

     Note: AVEVA recommends using Windows integrated security rather than SQL Server authentication to access SQL Server because it is more secure.

   • Unselect Use Windows integrated security to manually assign SQL permissions and then enter an SQL Server login User Name and Password.

     The user account specified here is used to create the SQL Server login for the MES middleware service Windows user account for the MES database. Therefore, the user must have the SQL Server administrator credentials required to add a SQL Server login and assign it access to the MES database.

   For more information, see Select Windows Integrated Security or SQL Authentication to access the MES database.

3. (Optional) Configure the connection string's Advanced Settings.

   The advanced settings allow you to set properties that affect the database connection behavior, such as tuning the connection to your environment or setting up database mirroring. For example, entering Connect Timeout=300 would cause the connection to attempt to connect to the database for up to 300 seconds.

   For a list of the SQL database connection properties that can be set, see the SqlConnectionStringBuilder Class topic in the Microsoft online documentation.

   Any advanced settings will be appended to the database connection string.

4. Click the Validate button.

   The system checks the database connection using the entered settings. It also returns the Preferred MW Host and the Default Time Zone settings that are currently set in the MES database. When the Database Setup component is configured, the time zone is set to the local time zone of the server where the MES database is installed.

5. (Optional) If multiple MES middleware hosts are running in a multi-node environment, select the Preferred MW Host: Set to current middleware host check box to specify the local middleware host as the preferred middleware host for the MES system.

   The preferred MES middleware host handles all scheduled tasks, such as:

   • Executing minutely, hourly, and daily tasks for the management of shifts and utilization reasons

   • Cleaning up stale sessions

   • Generating future quality samples.

     If a preferred MES middleware host is not specified for the system, the first available middleware host will be used to perform scheduled tasks.

     Clearing the Preferred MW Host: Set to current middleware host check box will remove the designation of a preferred MES middleware host in the system.

6. (Optional) To change the default time zone for the database, select it in the Default Time Zone list.

   Note: If you click the Validate button before clicking the Configure button, the Preferred MW Host and Default Time Zone settings will be reset to those currently in the database.

Next:

• If using an MES restore database, you are ready to specify the MES restore database connection string. See Configure the MES restore database connection string.

• If not using an MES restore database, you are ready to configure the MES middleware user account's access to the database. See Configure the MES DB/MW communication security settings.