Issue:
You want to switch your AutoCAD Installation from Access Databases to SQL Databases, but the instructions from the Autodesk Help system do not provide all the necessary information.
Causes:
The instruction from Autodesk available via the following link assumes that you already know certain information about the process outlined, like how to set up a SQL instance, so they leave out some of the specifics that would help most users through the transition.
Solution:
With that in mind, this article and a follow-up article will provide those steps to supplement the existing Autodesk KB article.
Note: As of the writing of this article, the only AutoCAD Electrical databases eligible to be migrated to SQL are the Catalog Database and the Footprint Lookup Database. All other databases such as the Project database, PLC database, and Electrical Standards database are still MS Access only.
The following examples are shown with MS SQL Express 2017, but other versions of MS SQL may be utilized.
- Start your MS SQL installation and follow the steps in the illustrations as shown below.
Note: The selection shown below is the only required selection, you may at your discretion choose any additional features you feel are needed for your install.
Note: In the following image, the name of the SQL instance was chosen for clarity, name your instance as required by your organization or so that it is clear what the instance is to be used for.
Note: Mixed Mode, while not required, allows for logging into the database with either Windows credentials, or with SQL credentials. It is critical that the password you set is backed up in more than one location for disaster recovery. I also recommend at least two SQL Server Administrators for redundancy.
Once the install is finished, you will have an MS SQL instance ready for your AutoCAD Electrical databases to be migrated to. The next article will outline the process of migrating your databases to the new SQL instance.
