[djunkins]

In the advanced user's forum at the conference I asked about setting up a test server and the point was brought up that there was a utility/plugin from Blackbaud that allows you to create up to four instances of your database, i.e. customers aren't truly limited to attaching only the live and sample databases.

Well, upon searching I can't find anything more about it and so I thought I'd come here next, before calling Support.

Ultimately, I would like to have the options of logging into our live, FY07 Year-end for reporting and a "test" dB that I can test imports and the like.

I'm still using the old trusty laptop for testing new releases and patches.

Has anyone done this that can give me some leads? Thanks in advance.

[DavidZ]

Check out my blog post about creating a non-production environment:

RE-Decoded Blog Archive A Non-production database

David

[donnab]

Hmmm, so in Oracle-land, one simply sets up another instance of the database for reporting, testing, etc., and then (in the ideal world), as part of your nightly backups, you export your production instance into your reporting instance so that you have timely data for reporting and you can trash...ummm, TEST scripts or whatever to your heart's content without worrying, because it's all new and pristine the next day.

But...in...sql server-land? it works differently? I, too, would appreciate edu-ma-cation on this topic. Can you do the first paragraph sequence with RE? And...what counts as an active session? The database I currently use counts everything as an active session, and I can have the db open in prod, plus be logged into my sql gui with multiple query windows open, AND be in my reporting gui with that also counting as active sessions -- thus I am up to my allotted ten open sessions all by myself! (We're on the ten-seat product of RE.) This is an excellent thread...

Thanks!

Donna

[digitalslacker]

djunkins, if you find that utility please post it...that would be great for our dev and test boxes..
thanks!

[Doug Creek]

I currently have a test and prod (soon to have a reports) server, but they are completely separate servers. I would be extremely interested in being able to create a "Training" instance of RE on my production server however! The current plan was to use our test server for this, but if we could do that it would be great. I would also like to know if you find that utility djunkins.

donnab, you can do the exact same thing in crystal. The plan (once I get my RPTS server up) is to back up the production database, and have it restore itself from that backup every night. I have the jobs running around here somewhere from another place that does this. Test will be refreshed on an ad-hoc basis to allow for multiple days of testing on something, but in the same fashion...

Doug

[Peter Gulka]

We picked up a non-production license form Blackbaud. They waived the
fee. Trouble is that it appears on the main splash screen wen users
launch RE. There is no way for them to know if they ahve netered the
production environment or dev if they click on the wrong link
accidentally.

[djunkins]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter Gulka

We picked up a non-production license form Blackbaud. They waived the
fee. Trouble is that it appears on the main splash screen wen users
launch RE. There is no way for them to know if they ahve netered the
production environment or dev if they click on the wrong link
accidentally.

The splash screen is an issue I'll need to deal with. I've actually detached the Sample dB from the server so that production dB opens right up for users using Windows authentication, skipping the splash screen. They seem to like it since a visit to the Sample dB was very rare. I may just create the additional instances in my test system so that they can continue with that practice.

I've sent Jim Bush and somebody at the West Virginia Foundation that brought the topic up an email and hopefully, something will come through.