Using a Database with Standalone

It is recommended that in Multi-User mode, the Essential Repository is stored in a relational database. However, you can also use a relational database to manage your Essential Architecture Manager repository in stand-alone mode. From within Protege, this means converting your repository project to be of the type "Protege database".

To configure your database server, we recommend that you use the graphical administration tools for your database server, e.g. for MySQL, the GUI tools. Alternatively, when using a managed database service, ask your DBAs to create the user accounts and an empty database for Protege.

On your database server, create a user account for the Protege server that has rights to create schemata and tables. Then create an empty database for the repository named, e.g, 'essentialdb'. You are now ready to convert your repository to use the database, so ensure that you have the following details:

User name - e.g. essential

Password - e.g. e55ential

Database name - e.g. essentialdb

JDBC Driver class name - e.g. for MySQL, this is com.mysql.jdbc.Driver

JDBC URL, e.g. if the database server is a MySQL database installed on the same server as the Protege server:jdbc:mysql://localhost/essentialdb.

Table - the name of your repository. Give this a meaningful name that describes your architecture repository, e.g. 'myEARepository'.

NOTE: please check the forums if you have problems, we have lots of resolved questions and issues on there

The following database setup should be followed when migrating an existing stand-alone repository project to a multi-user repository.

To use the database to host the repository:

1. Stop the Protege server if it is running
2. Back up the existing file-based repository (PINS, PONT and PPRJ files) if you have already been working with the repository using the standard project files.
3. Open the file-based Protege Project that you wish to have hosted in the database.
4. Select File->Convert Project to Format
5. Select Protege Database from the list of options and complete the dialogue form using the database details listed above.

Protege will then create the table in the database you specified with the name you supplied for the repository and write the entire repository into that table.

IMPORTANT Do not edit the database contents directly, e.g. via database management tools. Always use the Protege software to update the repository, if you edit the database directly you will increase the chance of breaking the integrity of the data - remember, the Essential EA tool is a graph, not a relational structure