Create Enterprise Geodatabase GP Tool 10.2

[LeoDonahue]

SQL Server 2008 R2, ArcGIS Desktop Advanced.

Running this GP tool asks me for a authorization file. 

In the past, I could navigate to the authorization file for ArcGIS Server Advanced Enterprise and that would be fine.  I guess I can't do that now, because the authorization has to be in the following:

C:\Program Files\ESRI\License10.2\sysgen\keycodes file. 

Does that mean I have to authorize the Desktop using the authorization file for ArcGIS Server Advanced Enterprise?

[AsrujitSengupta]

Leo,

When you refer to the "authorization file for ArcGIS Server Advanced Enterprise", make sure you are not using the "prvc" file, which is used to authorize the software(ArcGIS for Server)!

The Authorization files for authorizing the ArcGIS for Server and an ArcSDE geodatabase are different.

Authorization of a sde geodatabase requires either the Keycodes file or an ECP file.

An ECP file for 10.x can be downloaded from the below link:
https://customers.esri.com/index.cfm?event=pub.ecpAuthorizations

Another good Technical Article for reference (valid for 10.2 too):
How to get an authorization file or keycodes file for the new Create Enterprise Geodatabase tool at 10.1
http://blogs.esri.com/esri/supportcenter/2012/08/09/how-to-get-an-authorization-file-or-keycodes-fil...

Regards,

[LeoDonahue]

Thanks Asrujit,

I don't remember using the ECP file directly in SDE 10.0, I just remember pointing the authorization to the prvc file and the registering process took care of the rest.

[AsrujitSengupta · Accepted solution]

Leo,

Yes, I believe the "prvc" file could be used to authorize till 10.0. The Post Installation wizard when pointed to the prvc file, would take the ECP number.
But 10.1 onwards we need to provide the keycodes or the ECP file to authorize a geodatabase.

Regards,

[JanRoggisch2]

Hi there,

Apologies for hijacking this thread - I 've got a question that is related to this, and thought I may as well ask it here instead of starting my own.

I am currently preparing for an ArcGIS Server migration from version 10.0 to version 10.2, and have trouble getting my head around some aspects of the geodatabase authorization process at version 10.1/10.2. Specifically, how does geodatabase re-authorization work when migrating an existing geodatabase from a 10.0 environment to a 10.1/10.2 environment using a SQL backup/restore? The steps I've gone through for testing were:

1) backup the geodatabase on the source machine using SQL Server tools.
2) copy the backup file to the target machine (which has AGS 10.1 installed on it, but no ArcSDE)
3) restore the geodatabase on the target machine using SQL Server tools.
4) fix orphaned database users.
5) use the ArcToolbox 'Upgrade Geodatabase' to upgrade the geodatabase to version 10.1

This all worked very well and I can load and edit feature classes from the migrated geodatabase in ArcMap, so I'm assuming the geodatabase is properly authorized. What surprised me though was that I did not have to re-authorize the geodatabase before I could use it - in other words, I would have expected step five to fail until after I re-authorized the migrated geodadtabase somehow.

I did find this article on the ESRI support services blog, but it doesn't really answer my question.

Could anyone help me understand what I need to do in order to re-authorize an existing ArcSDE geodatabase after migrating to a new machine, and which ArcSDE components (if any) need to be installed on the target machine?

Regards,
Jan

[AsrujitSengupta]

Jan,

As mentioned in the link that you pointed out:

Upgrading Existing Geodatabases

If there is a valid license in the geodatabase when upgrading (Upgrade Geodatabase tool), you will not be prompted for this information. If the license has expired, you will be prompted to navigate to a valid license to update the database tables.

So, it seems that your sde geodatabase still has valid license (license which has not expired yet).
You can check the license of that sde gdb by:
Opening SQL Server management Studio-->Expand the concerned Database tables--> Look for a table named "server_config"--> In that table, a parameter named "AUTH_KEY" contains the license details. If the license has no expiry date, then you can continue using this geodatabase without worrying about licensing.

Anyway, to answer your main concern....you do not need to license this sde gdb, until the current license expires.
Still, if you do want to re-authorize...you'll have to install ArcSDE Command line tools and use the "sdesetup -o update_key" command to update with the new license.

Hope this helps!

Regards,

[JanRoggisch2]

Thanks for your quick reply Asrujit!

I did have a look in the server_config table and there is an expiration date in there, so the gdb would have to be re-authorized at some stage anyway. I'm still a bit confused that the upgrade worked because this basically means that once a geodatabase has been authorized, it doesn't care about what version it is - it'll just continue to work for as long as the initial authorization key (which may be of a much older version) is valid. I would have expected there to be some kind of dependency on the software version as well.

Based on your reply I will install the ArcSDE command line tools and re-authorize all geodatabases for version 10.2 after the migration, just to keep things tidy.

Regards,
Jan