Configuring the auditing database

Before you audit actions within Crystal Enterprise, you must configure your Crystal Management Server to connect to an auditing database. You can use any database server supported for the CMS system database for your auditing database. See the Platforms.txt file included with your product distribution for a complete list of tested database software and version requirements.

Use a page size of 8K on database servers that support variable page sizes, such as IBM DB2, Oracle, or Sybase. Using a smaller page size on these database servers may cause table creation or row insertion to fail. Databases with fixed page size, such as SQL Server or Informix, will perform row splits as necessary.

It is recommended that you develop a back up strategy for your auditing database. If necessary, contact your database administrator for more information.

Note:    

• The CMS system database and the auditing database are independent. If you choose, you can use different database software for the CMS system database and the auditing database, or you can install these databases on separate servers.
• If you have a CMS cluster, every CMS in the cluster must be connected to the same auditing database, using the same connection method and the same connection name. Note that connection names are case sensitive. (See Installing a new CMS and adding it to a cluster for more information on CMS clusters.)

To configure the auditing database on Windows

1. Start the Crystal Configuration Manager (CCM).
2. Stop the CMS.
3. Click Specify Auditing Data Source.
4. In the Select Database Driver dialog box, specify whether you want to connect to the new database through ODBC, or through one of the native drivers.
5. Click OK.
6. The remaining steps depend upon the connection type you selected:
   • If you selected ODBC, the Windows "Select Data Source" dialog box appears. Select the ODBC data source that you want to use as the auditing database; then click OK. (Click New to configure a new DSN.) Use a System DSN, and not a User DSN or File DSN. By default, server services are configured to run under the System account, which only recognizes System DSNs.

     When prompted, provide your database credentials and click OK.

   • If you selected a native driver, you are prompted for your database Server Name, your Login ID, and your Password. Provide this information and then click OK.

     The SvcMgr dialog box notifies you when the auditing database setup is complete.

7. Click OK.
8. Start the CMS. When the CMS starts, it will create the auditing database.

Note:    You can also configure the auditing database using the Properties option for the CMS. Stop the CMS, select Properties, and then go to the Configuration tab. Select "Write server audit information to specified data source", and then click Specify.

To configure the auditing database on UNIX

For more information on UNIX scripts, see UNIX Tools.

1. Use ccm.sh to stop the CMS.
2. Run cmsdbsetup.sh.
3. Choose the selectaudit option, and then supply the requested information about your database server.
4. Run serverconfig.sh.
5. Choose the "Modify a server" option.
6. Select the CMS, and enable auditing. Enter the port number of the CMS when prompted (the default value is 6400).
7. Use ccm.sh to start the CMS. When the CMS starts, it will create the auditing database.

Related topics

• Which actions can I audit?
• Enabling auditing of user and system actions