Prepare to Install › Central Management Server Database Requirements and Preparation › Use a Supported Database Server › Set up an Empty Database for the CMS

Set up an Empty Database for the CMS

If you want to use an existing database server as the CMS or auditing database, you must create a new tablespace or database before installing BusinessObjects Enterprise.

If you choose to use your own database during the installation of BusinessObjects Enterprise, the installer will prompt for the connection and authentication details. The following database servers are supported for the CMS system and audit databases:

• Microsoft SQL Server (ODBC) (Windows only)
• Oracle
• DB2
• MySQL
• Sybase

To integrate your existing database with BusinessObjects Enterprise, you must prepare it. Here is a summary of the steps to prepare your database:

1. Create a new tablespace, schema, or database (the exact terminology will depend on the database platform you are using) to act as the CMS database. Create another database for the auditing database, if you plan to enable auditing (or you can use the same database for auditing purposes).
2. Create a new user account and password to be used by BusinessObjects Enterprise to access the CMS database. Create another username and password if you plan to enable auditing.
3. Grant privileges to the user, where the database user can create, modify, and delete tables and create procedures.
4. Record the name of the database(s), the user account(s), and the password(s) you created, so you can enter the details when you run the BusinessObjects Enterprise installer.

During the installation, you can choose to reinitialize the existing database. This causes new tables to be created in your existing database. See your specific database server documentation if you are unsure of the procedure for creating a new tablespace, schema, or database. Ensure that your database server is set up to use Unicode character encoding (such as UTF-8).

Important! You cannot use a database from a previous release for BusinessObjects Enterprise. In the case of custom installation, you must create a new database or existing data from the previous release will be destroyed. To migrate from a previous release, create a new database before the installation of CA Business Intelligence. The installer can take care of the migration if opted by the user or it can be completed manually after installation. In the case of typical installation with the default MySQL database, the installer creates a completely different instance of MySQL and you do not need to create a separate database.