This is the third in a series of tutorials presenting the steps necessary to install and configure a new SQL Server database to work within Microvellum. It focuses on how to configure Microvellum to connect to the new SQL Server databases you have already configured.  

1. Open Toolbox and click the button for “Manage Configurations” when the startup login screen displays. Click the button for the preferred method of creating another configuration from the buttons there. For most Users, the Copy command will be the best option. Click here for more information about the Configuration Manager.
   
1. Alternatively, if Toolbox is already open, click “Toolbox Setup > Copy Configuration” to copy an existing configuration to create a new configuration that you intend to set up as the new Unified Work Order Database (UWOD) configuration. If you already have one set up, select that configuration at the program startup screen.
   
2. With Toolbox open, click “Toolbox Setup > Options > Data Access” and click the option button for “SQL Server.” This activates the Data Source and Data Catalog drop-down list boxes. The Data Source is the name of the server in which the databases reside. The Data Catalog is the database name.
   

The Data Source name for the Work Order Connection may differ from the Factory Connection Data Source without causing an issue. You establish the Data Source name during the creation of the SQL Server instance. You establish the Data Catalog name during the creation of the database. Figure 1 shows the database structure in SQL Server Management Studio that you previously configured.

In Figure 1, you see the three databases previously set up in the SQL Server Management Studio. The factory database is named “Imperial_049_0_UnifiedWODatabase.” The two work order databases are named “MicrovellumGeometry” and “MicrovellumWorkOrder.” 

3. Configure the factory database connection if necessary. If you are configuring the UWOD functionality and previously your factory database connection was of the type SQL Server, you will not need to change the settings in the Factory Authentication and Factory Connection sections. If you already have a SQL Server factory database connection, skip to Step 5.
   
1. If you are configuring the UWOD and previously your factory connection was of the type SQL CE, complete the section “Factory Authentication” by clicking the options button for the type of login that you set up when you configured the SQL Server databases logins.
   
2. Drop down the list boxes for Data Source and Data Catalog and select the server name and database name that you created when you configured the server and factory database. You create these components using SQL Server in previous tutorials in this series and simply connect to them here. For example, see Figure 2.
   
3. Do not click the Close button until you have tested the factory connection, as described in Step 5.
   


Fig. 2




Authentication functions through either Windows authentication or SQL Server authentication based on the server login configurations. If the authentication type is unknown, please refer to your IT department for more information. The factory database authentication and the work order authentication do not need to be the same. Still, the authentication for both work order databases (work order and geometry) must be identical.

4. Configure the Work Order database connection.
   
1. In the section “Work Order Authentication,” click the options button for the type of login you configured when you configured the SQL Server database logins. 
   
2. Complete the Work Order Connection section with the Data Source name you set up when you configured the SQL Server databases. 
   
3. From the drop-down list boxes for Data Catalog (Work Order), and Data Catalog (Geometry), select the matching names you created when you configured the databases. 
   
4. For example, see Figure 3. 
   
5. Do not click the Close button until you have tested the work order connections, as described in Step 5. 
   


Fig. 3

5. Test each connection type to verify that everything has been set up correctly up until this point. 
   
1. If the authentication or connection information is correct and Microvellum successfully connects but no data exists inside of the databases, the following message will appear, “Could Not Read Tables in Catalog.” 
   


Fig. 4



2. If the authentication or connection information is incorrect, the following message will appear, “Error: Cannot open database <database name> requested by the login. The login failed.” 
   


Fig. 5




As explained above, the buttons for testing the database connections (Test Factory Connection, Test Work Order Connection, and Test Geometry Connection) will generate messages until after you transfer data to the new databases.

6. Correct any errors before completing the configuration of your Unified Work Order Database. Before starting Toolbox and selecting this configuration, you still need to transfer data to the SQL Server databases you configured.