Using the database wizard

Use the database wizard to create databases for the IBM® Connections applications that you plan to install.

Before you begin

Before using the wizard for the first time, you must complete the steps described in the Preparing the database wizard topic.

When you are creating a database either with the database wizard or SQL scripts, you must log into the system where the database is hosted with the database administrator account. The default values for DB2® are db2admin on Microsoft™ Windows™, and db2inst1 on Linux™ and AIX®. For Oracle, the default value on AIX and Linux is oracle, and system administrator on Windows. For SQL Server, the default value is the system administrator.

Oracle and SQL Server connect to IBM Connections databases with the user accounts that are configured during database creation. The passwords of those user accounts are defined later in this task.

(Oracle only) Ensure that the Statement cache size for the data sources on WebSphere Application Server is no larger than 50. A higher value could lead to Out Of Memory errors on the application server instance.

(DB2 only) If you use only one database instance and if that instance includes other databases besides IBM Connections, configure the numdb parameter to match the total number of databases on the instance. For more information, go to the numdb webpage in the DB2 information center.
Notes:
  • If you migrated from IBM Connections 4.5 or 5.0, the numdb parameter was set to 14, the maximum number of IBM Connections 4.5 or 5.0 databases. If the instance has additional databases, increase the value of the numdb parameter to match the total number of databases on the instance. To change the parameter, enter the following command:

    db2 UPDATE DBM CFG USING NUMDB nn

    where nn is a number of databases.

  • Before removing (or dropping) a database, stop Connections first to ensure that no database connection is in use; otherwise you will not drop the user and the database removal will not occur.
  • If you run dbWizard.bat but the database wizard does not launch, check whether you have 32-bit DB2 installed. You need to have 64-bit DB2 on a 64-bit system.

DB2 uses a user account called lcuser. If you are creating a DB2 database with SQL scripts, you must manually create the lcuser account on your operating system and then run the appGrants.sql script to grant the appropriate privileges to the lcuser account. When you use the database wizard, this script runs automatically. For more information, see the Creating a dedicated DB2 user topic.

Notes:
  • If you are using Linux on IBM System z® with the DASD driver, the SQL scripts are located in the connections.s390.sql/application_subdirectory directory of the IBM Connections setup directory or installation media.
  • If you are using Linux on IBM System z with the SCSI driver, back up the connections.s390.sql directory and rename the connections.sql directory to connections.s390.sql.
  • (AIX only) Download and install the following packages from the AIX Toolbox for Linux Applications webpage:

    gtk2-2.10.6, pango-1.14.5, fontconfig-2.4.2, pkg-config-0.19, libjpeg-6b, freetype2-2.3.9, expat-2.0.1, zlib-1.2.3, xft-2.1.6, xcursor-1.1.7, glib-1.2.10, glib2-2.12.4, atk-1.12.3, gettext-0.10.40, libpng-1.2.32, and libtiff-3.8.2

    Note: Some of these packages have dependencies on other packages. The AIX package installer alerts you to any additional packages that might be required.

About this task

Use the IBM Connections database wizard to create, update, and remove databases.

You can review the scripts that the wizard executes by looking in the connections.sql directory in the installation media. On DB2, the commands are shown in the log that the wizard creates. On Oracle and SQL Server, the log shows the results of the commands.

To create databases with the wizard, complete the following steps:

Procedure

  1. (DB2 on Windows OS.) You must perform DB2 administration tasks with full administrator privileges.
    1. Logged in as the instance owner, open a command prompt and change to the DB2 bin directory. For example: C:\Program Files\IBM\SQLLIB\BIN.
    2. Enter the following command: db2cwadmin.bat. This command opens the DB2 command line processor while also setting your DB2 privileges.
  2. From the IBM Connections Wizards directory, open the following file to launch the wizard:
    • AIX: ./dbWizard.sh
    • Linux: ./dbWizard.sh
    • Microsoft Windows: dbWizard.bat
  3. Click Next to continue.
  4. Select the option to Create a database and click Next.
  5. Enter the details of the database you wish to create and then click Next:
    1. Select a database type.
    2. Select the location of the database.
    3. Specify a database instance.
  6. Select an application and click Next.
    Notes:
    • If you are creating databases in this task, only applications that have not already been installed to a database instance are available. If you are updating databases, you can only choose applications that are already installed.
    • The News and Search databases are contained in the Home page database.
    • The Metrics application has some additional requirements:
      • If you select the Metrics application, you must also select the IBM Cognos® application.
      • If you have already deployed Cognos components and have a Cognos Content Store available, you do not need to create another.
      • If you do create a Cognos Content Store, only the container is created now; the tables are created when you start the Cognos BI Server for the first time.
      • You do not need a dedicated database server for Cognos or for the Metrics application; you can host the Metrics database and the Cognos Content Store on the same database server as the other Connections databases.
      • Even if you do not plan to deploy Cognos yet, you should create the Metrics database and the Cognos Content Store now so that IBM Connections can begin collecting event data immediately.
    • IBM Connections Content Manager requires two databases: Global Configuration Database and Object Store.
  7. (Oracle and SQL Server databases only) Enter the password for the databases and then click Next. Choose one of the following options:
    • Use the same password for all applications. Enter the password in the Password and Confirm password fields.
    • Create different passwords for each application. Enter a different password for each application database, and confirm the password in the confirm field.
  8. (SQL Server only) Specify the location of the database file and then click Next.
    • Use the same database file location for all applications. Enter the location of the database or click Browse to choose a location.
    • Use different database file locations for each application. For each application, enter the location of the database file or click Browse to choose a location.
  9. Review the Pre Configuration Task Summary to ensure that the values you entered on previous pages in the wizard are correct. If you want to make a change, click Back to edit the value. Click Create to begin creating databases.
    Note: Click Show detailed database commands to preview each SQL command before it is executed by the wizard. If you choose to save the commands, you must have write-access to the folder you choose to save them in.
  10. Review the Post Configuration Task Summary panel and, if necessary, click View Log to open the log file. Click Finish to exit the wizard.
    Note: If the wizard returns an error indicating that it failed to create the Metrics database or encountered errors while creating it, see the following IBM technote for assistance: Metrics database creation with error message and Cognos cube build failed.

What to do next

(DB2 for Linux on System z only.) To improve database performance, enable the NO FILE SYSTEM CACHING option. For more information, see the Enabling NO FILE SYSTEM CACHING for DB2 on System z topic.