FAQ

How can I set Merak to use ODBC with MS SQL 2000?

To use an MS SQL database with Merak you must:

1. Create a Database for Merak
2. Create a System DSN (Data Source Name)
3. Switch Merak to use the ODBC database

Details follow

1. Create a Database for Merak

You need to create a database in MS SQL to be used by Merak.

1. Open the SQL Manager and go to the Databases sub-tree

   

2. Add a new Database by clicking on Action – New Database
3. Enter a name for this new Database (e.g. MerakDB). Other options may remain the same.

   

4. Confirm by clicking OK and MerakDB will appear in the Databases sub-tree.
5. Add a new Login – go to the Security sub-tree – choose Logins – and click on Action – New Login. A new dialog will appear: fill in the Name field (e.g. Merakuser), choose the SQL Server authentication and fill in the password (e.g. merakpass) and set the default database for this login to be the database you created for Merak to use ( MerakDB in our example)

   

6. Set the Database Access for that Login – check the appropriate database checkbox (MerakDB in example) and check the following database roles:

   db_owner

   db_accessadmin

   db_securityadmin

   db_datareader

   db_datawriter

   

7. Click OK, Confirm the password in the password dialog that appears.

2. Create a System DSN

1. Go to the Control Panel - Administrative Tools - Data Sources (ODBC) - System DSN - Add
2. The "Create New Data Source" dialog will open. Choose the driver for your database system (for MS SQL Server 2k it is SQL Server)

   

3. Click Finish and a new dialog box will open.
4. Fill in the Name, Description and choose the SQL server you want to connect to.

   The Name you choose here will be used in the ODBC settings within Merak.

   

5. Click Next.
6. Choose the "With SQL Server authentication … " option and fill in the Login ID and password (Merakuser and merakpass in our example).

   

7. Click Next.

   

8. Click Next to accept the default values.

   

9. Click Finish and your DSN is created.
10. In the next dialog you should click the Test Data Source button to test the settings of your DSN.

    A successful test will give a result screen something like this:

    

    If the test fails, you may need to contact your system administrator to resolve the problem.

3. Switch Merak to use ODBC

1. Open Merak Configuration Console and go to the System -> Storage -> Accounts tab.

   

2. Select ODBC and click the ODBC Settings button.

   

3. Enter the DSN, Server, Username and Password that you specified when you configured the DSN
4. Click the Test Connection button.

   

   If you do not see the screen shown above then you may need to contact your system administrator to fix the problem.

   If all is well then click the Create Tables button. This creates the table structure within your database.

5. Once the tables are created return to the System -> Storage -> Accounts tab and click the Convert to ODBC button to import your user mailboxes into your database.
6. Press F5 to reload Merak and you have completed your conversion