Privilege Manager instance in SQL Express edition has reached its size limitation (4298691)

When configuring the server, an error message is received:

The causes for this error messages can be found in the log file C:\ProgramData\Privilege Authority\PADataCollectionManager.txt

Usually this kind of issue is related to the SQL Server size limitation. The SQL Server Express edition can limit how large the database files can be. SQL Server Standard Edition has an upper limit of 524 Petabytes.

Different SQL Server Express edition versions and its limitations:
    Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop - 2 GB
    Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express edition has a database size limit to 4GB
    Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Express edition has a database size limit to 4GB
    Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Express edition has a database size limit to 10GB
    Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Express edition has a database size limit to 10GB
    Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Express edition has a database size limit to 10GB
    Microsoft SQL Server 2016 Express edition has a database size limit to 10GB

If the SQL Server Database file reaches this limitation the communication with the instance is disallowed and the Reporting Service stops.

The PAReporting database may grow up when the data collected is too large or if Privileged Application Discovery feature has been enabled for too long.

To solve this issue, when the reporting information is not needed, then dropping the database and creating the service again will solve the situation.

To drop the database:

1) Open the Privilege Manager Console and browse to Getting Started > Setup Tasks > Configure a Server (Pro feature only).

2) When the server configuration window pops up, select "Remove the Privilege Manager Server from this computer".

3) Select "Yes" to confirm the server removal process.

4) Wait until the process finishes.

Once the Server has been removed from the Privilege Manager console, the database must be dropped, this can be done using the SQL Server Management Studio or if it is not available and cannot be installed, the SQL Command interpreter can be used as well.

To drop the Database with the MS SQL Server Management Studio:

1) Open the MS SQL Server Management Studio (In this example, the database instance is called PAREPORTING)

2) Once the database information is shown, select the database name used for Privilege Manager Service by browsing to Databases > PAReporting > Tasks > Take offline

3) Check the "Drop All Active Connection" box to avoid receiving an error message due to the database being in use.

4) When the database is offline (the database name shows a red x), browse to Databases > PAReporting > Tasks > Detach...

5) On the General page, select "Drop Connections" and click OK.

The PARaporting database will be removed from the SQL Server instance.

6) Open a File Explorer and open the database location, usually C:\ProgramFile\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL12.PAREPORTING\MSSQL\DATA and remove the PAReporting files (.mdf and .ldf).

At this point the Database is removed from the SQL Server Instance.

If the MS SQL Server Management Studio is not available and cannot be installed then the SQL Server Command Interpreter may be used following steps below:

1) Open the Services.msc and restart the SQL Server (Instance Name) service to close any opened connection to the database.In this example the instance name is PAREPORTING.

2) Open a command window with administrative rights.

3) Confirm the action.

4) Once the Command Window is created, enter the SQL Command line to connect to the Instance. "SQLCMD -S \-E"

5) Once the connection is made, a new prompt will be displayed "1>"

6) Submit the command to drop the database:
1> Drop database PAReporting
2> Go

7) When a new line is displayed, the Instance connection can be closed submitting a "Quit" command.

Once the database has been dropped, the server can be configured again in the Privilege Manager Console.

1) Open the Privilege Manager Console and browse to Getting Started > Setup Tasks > Configure a Server (Pro feature only).

2) Click on the "Setup / configure the Privilege Manager Server on this computer" link.

3) Complete the SMTP information if the mail notification feature will be used.

4) Select the "Use an existing SQL Server instance (SQL Server 2008 and above)" to select the same SQL Server instance.

5) Enter the information related to the database user group and the web service account and click "Next".

6)Select the SQL Server instance to use, clicking on the "..." icon to select it from a list or typing the name if it is known, also select the authentication method, Windows or built-in.

7) To finish the configuration, click "Next".

8) Once the notification pops up, click "OK" button to continue.

9) And to close the wizard click "Finish" button to close the window.

The Privilege Manager Server is now displayed in the configuration Window and available to communicate with the service and the SQL Server Instance.