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Deployment on an external database (RDBMS)

This section describes the process of running PaperCut MF on an external relational database, and describes why you would choose to do this. By default, PaperCut MF uses an internal database product known as Apache Derby. This database engine was donated to Apache by IBM and was previously known as IBM Cloudscape.

The internal PaperCut MF database is stable, scalable, self-maintaining, and provides very good performance. For this reason, most organizations do not need an external database system. However, you might consider running PaperCut MF on an external RDBMSA Relational database management system (RDBMS) is a program that lets you create, update, and administer a relational database. Most commercial RDBMS's use the Structured Query Language (SQL) to access the database, although SQL was invented after the development of the relational model and is not necessary for its use. if:

  • Your organization has existing database infrastructure and wants to consolidate all applications on the same database platform.

  • Your organization has an existing database maintenance and backup procedure and wants PaperCut MF to take advantage of this.

  • People want to use 3rd party reporting and analysis tools (like Crystal Reports or Microsoft Access) to view and analyze the PaperCut MF database.

  • Your organization is very large and requires the performance benefits of a dedicated RDBMS. This also allows the database to reside on a separate server to PaperCut MF, which improves the system scalability.

PaperCut MF supports the following external databases out-of-the-box:

These databases were chosen to cater for the majority of customers.

For more information on supported databases, see the External Database Support Policy.