Database specific configuration

This section includes database specific configuration for use with PaperCut NG.

Configuring Microsoft SQL Express

Microsoft SQL Express provides enterprise class database performance for free. However it does have some limitations when compared to the full version of SQL Server. But these limitations are not likely to adversely affect most PaperCut NG users. These limitations include:

  • 4GB limit on database sizes

  • Limited to only use 1 CPU

  • Limited to only use 1GB of RAM

This section described how to configure Microsoft SQL Express edition for use with PaperCut NG. It is assumed that SQL Server Express is already installed with the default configuration.

Once this configuration is complete, the database can be used with PaperCut NG by following the instructions in the section called “Upsizing to an External RDBMS”.

Enable TCP/IP connections

PaperCut NG uses TCP/IP to connect to the SQL Server database, but SQL Server Express does not enable TCP support by default. To enable TCP/IP:

  1. On the machine with SQL Express installed, open the SQL Server Configuration Manager.

  2. Expand the SQL Server Network Configuration node on the left.

  3. Select the Protocols for SQLEXPRESS node on the left.

  4. Right-click the TCP/IP item on the right and select Properties.

  5. On the General tab, change Enabled to Yes.

  6. On the IP Addresses tab, under the IPAll node clear the TCP Dynamic Ports field. Also enter the port to listen on in the TCP Port field. For example, 1450. Remember this port, because it needs to be used in the PaperCut NG connection string.

  7. On the OK button to save the changes.

  8. Restart the Microsoft SQL Server Express service using either the standard service control panel or the SQL Express tools.

Enable SQL Server authentication

PaperCut NG requires SQL Server authentication to be enabled on the instance of SQL Express. To do this:

  1. On the machine with SQL Express installed, open the SQL Server Management Studio Express tool.

  2. Right-click the instance of SQL Express to configure, and select Properties.

  3. Select the Security section on the left.

  4. Change the Server Authentication to SQL Server and Windows Authentication mode.

  5. Restart the Microsoft SQL Server Express service using either the standard service control panel or the SQL Express tools.

Create Database User

PaperCut NG requires a user to connect to the database. To create this user:

  1. On the machine with SQL Express installed, open the SQL Server Management Studio Express tool.

  2. Right-click the Security->Logins node, and select New Login ....

  3. Enter the username (e.g. papercut).

  4. Change the Server Authentication to SQL Server and Windows Authentication mode.

  5. Enter the user's password.

  6. Disable password expiration.

  7. On the OK button to create the user.

  8. After creating the PaperCut NG database assign this user db_owner permissions on the database, so that it can create the required database tables.

  9. To initialize the database, follow the instruction in the section called “Upsizing to an External RDBMS”.

Configuring MySQL

MySQL is a free/open-source database solution that provides robust, proven and scalable storage at a great price. PaperCut NG supports MySQL 5.0 and higher.

Important

PaperCut NG requires the use of the MySQL InnoDB table type, which provides full support for transactions. Please ensure your MySQL database server is configured to support InnoDB (usually this is enabled by default).

Database Driver

PaperCut NG does not ship with a database driver for MySQL because the MySQL licensing does not allow redistribution of the driver. These drivers can be downloaded for free from the MySQL website as described below.

To download the required version of the driver:

  1. Visit the MySQL web site download page for the MySQL Connector/J product here: http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/connector/j/.

  2. Select the appropriate driver version (the latest version is best).

  3. Download the driver package and unzip the contents to a temporary directory.

  4. Find the driver JAR file, which is typically named mysql-connector-java-X.Y.Z-bin.jar.

  5. Copy the JAR file into the [app-path]\server\lib-ext directory. This will allow PaperCut NG to find and load the driver.

Once the driver is installed into PaperCut NG the standard upsizing procedure can be followed. See the section called “Upsizing to an External RDBMS”.

Configuring Oracle (and Oracle Express Edition)

Oracle is a high-end database solution that provides a very robust and scalable data storage solution. And with the release of Oracle Express Edition, it is available at no cost, but it does have some limitations that should not impact PaperCut NG installations.

PaperCut NG supports Oracle versions 9.2 and higher. Oracle 8 (and earlier) are not supported because they did not support the TIMESTAMP datatype required by PaperCut NG.

Database Driver

PaperCut NG does not ship with a driver for Oracle because Oracle does not allow us to redistribute the driver and the recommended driver depends on the version of Oracle used. These drivers can be obtained from the Oracle website as described below.

To download the required version of the driver:

  1. Visit the Oracle web site here: http://www.oracle.com/technology/software/tech/java/sqlj_jdbc/index.html

  2. Select the appropriate Oracle version.

  3. Download the driver file for JDK 1.4 or later. The filename is usually called: ojdbc14.jar

  4. Copy the downloaded file into the [app-path]\server\lib-ext directory. This will allow PaperCut NG to find and load the driver.

Once the driver is installed into PaperCut NG the standard upsizing procedure can be followed. See the section called “Upsizing to an External RDBMS”.