Replication is already configured
This section outlines the instructions on how to turn off replication of Management History data in case that Active Roles replication is already configured as described in the Configuring replication section later in this document. You need to first delete all Subscribers for Management History data, and then demote the Publisher for Management History data. This only stops replication of Management History data, leaving the other replication functions intact.
To turn off replication of Management History data
- With the Active Roles console, connect to the Administration Service whose SQL Server holds the Publisher role.
- In the console tree, expand Configuration | Server Configuration, and select the Management History Databases container.
- Use the Delete command on each of the Subscriber databases to delete all Subscribers in the Management History Databases container.
- Right-click the Publisher database, and click Demote.
- Wait while the console completes the Demote operation.
Re-configuring replication of Management History data
With replication of Management History data turned off, it is still possible to have multiple Administration Services maintain the same Change History log by configuring them to use the same database. Note that the Administration Service version 6.x allows you to install multiple Services with the option to connect to a single configuration database. Thus, you can install the first Service in your environment, having the Setup program create a database. Then, you can install one more Service, having the Setup program configure the new Service to use the same database as the existing Service.
However, if different Administration Services in your environment use different database servers, you may need to re-configure replication of Management History data in order to take full advantage of the Management History feature. You can do so by managing objects in the Management History Databases container as follows.
To re-configure replication of Management History data
- With the Active Roles console, connect to the Administration Service whose SQL Server holds the Publisher role for configuration data.
- In the console tree, expand Configuration | Server Configuration, and select the Management History Databases container.
- In the details pane, right-click the database, and click Promote.
- Wait while the console performs the Promote operation.
- Use the Add Replication Partner command on the Publisher database in the Management History Databases container to add Subscribers for Management History data.
The Add Replication Partner command starts the wizard that is similar to that discussed in the Adding members to a replication group section later in this document. The only difference is that the list of Administration Services whose database servers can be designated as Subscribers for Management History data is limited to those Services that share the configuration data hosted on the Publisher you have selected.
Centralized Management History storage
With the default replication settings in Active Roles, the Management History data is synchronized between replication partners, along with the Configuration data. Given a large volume of Management History data, this behavior may result in high network traffic and may cause performance degradation of Active Roles in certain scenarios, such as when adding a new partner to the Active Roles replication group. Here you can find instruction on how to eliminate replication of Management History data by implementing a common storage of that data for all replication partners.
Synchronization of the Management History data can be removed from the Active Roles replication process by implementing a common storage of that data for all replication partners. The common storage ensures the consolidation of the portions of Management History data that are generated by different Administration Services, while eliminating the need to synchronize that data between multiple storages.
By default, Active Roles allows you to implement a centralized, common storage for the Management History data. In this way, all the Administration Services that share common configuration use the same Management History storage - the Management History database you created.
Importing data to the new Management History database
You may need to populate the newly created Management History database with your existing Management History data, so that the data remains available to the Active Roles user interfaces after you have configured the Administration Service to use the new Management History database. You can do this by using Active Roles Configuration Center on the computer running the Administration Service.
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IMPORTANT: The reports produced by the Change History or User Activity command include information only about the changes made using a certain group of Administration Services that share a common database from the connected management history database. If the Change History data is not imported from the previously available database, the data is not displayed in the new Management History database. For more information on the implications of not importing the Change History data from the available database, see Impact on management history data in the Active Roles What's New guide. |
To import Management History data
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In the Configuration Center main window, under Administration Service, click Manage Settings.
Start the Configuration Center by selecting Active Roles7.5 Configuration Center on the Apps page or Start menu, depending on the version of your Windows operating system.
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On the Administration Service page, click Import Management History to open the Import Management History wizard.
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On the Source database page, specify the database from which you want to import the management history data (source database):
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Database Type: Select the required database type from the drop-down (on premises or Azure SQL).
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Database Server name: Enter the name of the SQL Server instance that hosts the source database.
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Database: Enter the name of the source database.
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Under Connect using, select the authentication option:
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If your Windows logon account has sufficient rights to write data to the destination database, click Windows authentication.
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If you have a SQL Server login with sufficient rights, click SQL Server authentication and enter the login name and password.
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If you have an Azure AD login with sufficient rights, click Azure Active Directory authentication and enter the login name and password.
NOTE: Azure databases can be connected using SQL Server authentication and Azure AD authentication. Windows authentication is applicable only for on-premises databases.
NOTE: Azure AD authentication currently does not support Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).
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Click Next.
The Destination database page identifies the database of the Administration Service to which you are going to import data (destination database), and allows you to select the authentication option.
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Under Connect using, select the authentication option:
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If your Windows logon account has sufficient rights to write data to the destination database, click Windows authentication.
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If you have a SQL Server login with sufficient rights, click SQL Server authentication and enter the login name and password.
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If you have an Azure AD login with sufficient rights, click Azure Active Directory authentication and enter the login name and password.
NOTE: Azure databases can be connected using SQL Server authentication and Azure AD authentication. Windows authentication is applicable only for on-premises databases.
NOTE: Azure AD authentication currently does not support Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).
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Click Next.
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On the Records to Import page, specify whether you want to import all data records or only a certain range of the data records.
NOTE: The data for unfinished temporal group membership is imported when the management history data is imported for a selected date range.
You can choose not to import all the data records as importing a large volume of data can take hours. Later, you can import additional data by choosing a different range of data records. During subsequent import sessions, the wizard only imports the data records that were not imported earlier.
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Click Next and follow the instructions in the wizard to complete the import operation.
The Import Management History wizard merges the Management History data found in an existing Active Roles database with the data stored in the Management History database. The wizard only adds new data, keeping intact any data that already exists in the Management History database. You may import Management History data at any convenient time after you have configured the Administration Service to use the new Management History database, without being afraid of losing any data.