Sql Server Configuration and Setup Issues

[geoff5777]

Its been a long time coming, but finally we have Plastic SCM installed on a web server connecting to a Sql Server 2008 R2 instance on a separate database server. Whilst our group has general control of the database server, we operate in an enterprise environment and the sql server installation itself is managed by a bunch of DBA's in accordance with a set of site standards.

Some may consider the following issues trivial, but here goes:

1. The Plastic documentation states that omitting the <DatabasePath> element will cause the database files to be create in the sql server's default location. In my experience, omitting this element causes PlasticSCM to not be able to create its initial databases at all. It seems that this element is required after all. A consequence of this is that both the data and log files are created in the specified location. This is going to seriously annoy the DBA's as it breaks site standards.

Suggested action: Fix Plastic SCM to use the default file locations (data and log) if not specified and/or allow specification of log file path in db.conf.

2. The recommended and generally accepted convention in Sql Server is for data filenames to be suffixed with .mdf, and for log files to be suffixed with .ldf. This confused me to begin with (why can't I read this log file???). This is also to seriously annoy the DBA's as it breaks with convention and site standards.

Suggested action: Fix Plastic SCM to use the recommended filename convention for OS filenames.

3. Plastic SCM is prepending the database prefix value from db.conf to the physical filename twice. e,g. SCM_SCM_databasename.plastic.

Suggested action: Fix. I'm not sure if issue no 3 is an oversight or by design. Either way, I'm pretty sure its not necessary.

4. The DBA's weren't really happy with all the databases being created, however the database prefix feature will help keep them quiet about that.

[manu]

Thanks geoff5777 for all the feedback, we need to review the technical article since, as you said, there're a few things to improve.