How to move the FEP Databases and the CM Site Database - Forefront Endpoint Protection Blog - Site Home

by Jeramy Skidmore

You can move the Configuration Manager site database and associated Forefront Endpoint Protection (FEP) databases after setup has completed to a different SQL Server computer system by:

Backing up the FEP data warehouse (FEPDW_<sitecode>)
Backing up the Configuration Manager Site Database (SMS_<sitecode>)
Uninstalling the FEP reporting component
Restoring the site database and FEP data warehouse to their new locations
Relocating the site database via Configuration Manager setup
And then reinstalling the FEP Reporting component

Detailed steps follow.

Note

Configuration Manager 2007 does support moving the site database from a remote SQL Server to the local site server computer if the site server computer is running a supported version of Microsoft SQL Server. For a list of supported SQL Server versions, see Configuration Manager Supported Configurations.

Note

FEP hosts two databases, the FEP database (FEPDB_sitecode) and the FEP data warehouse (FEPDW_sitecode). The FEP database serves as a proxy database for extracting data from the Configuration Manager site database. It does not need to be backed up or moved, and will be recreated when the FEP Reporting component is reinstalled.

To move the databases

Important: You will require access to the FEP 2010 installation media in order to successfully complete these steps.

Back up the site database on the current site database server and restore it on the new site database server computer using the SQL Server Management Studio. For more information, see How to Move the Site Database.

Back up the FEP data warehouse (FEPDW_sitecode) on the current FEP Reporting SQL Server and restore it to the new Reporting SQL Server. (If you have a remote reporting database and are not moving the FEP reporting database, you can skip this step.)

Note

Ensure that the database access permissions are the same on the new databases as they are on the original databases.

On the site server, in Add/Remove programs, uninstall Microsoft Forefront Endpoint Protection 2010 Reporting.
Ensure the primary site server computer account has administrative privileges over the new site database server computer.
Close any open Configuration Manager console connections to the site server.
On the primary site server computer, use the hierarchy maintenance tool (Preinst.exe) to stop all site services by using the following command: Preinst /stopsite.
On the primary site server computer, click Start, click All Programs, click Microsoft System Center, click Configuration Manager 2007, and click ConfigMgr Setup, or navigate to the .\bin\i386 directory of the Configuration Manager 2007 installation media and double-click Setup.exe.
Click Next on the Configuration Manager Setup Wizard Welcome page.
Click Perform site maintenance or reset this site on the Configuration Manager Setup Wizard Setup Options page.
Select Modify SQL Server configuration on the Configuration Manager Setup Wizard Site Maintenance page.
Enter the appropriate SQL Server name and instance (if applicable) for the new site database server as well as the site database name on the Configuration Manager Setup Wizard SQL Server Configuration page.
Configuration Manager Setup performs the SQL Server configuration process.
Restart the primary site server computer, and verify the site is functioning normally.
On the site server, run serversetup.exe from the FEP installation media.
On the Installation Options step, choose Advanced Topology.
On the Advanced Toplogy step, ensure that FEP 2010 Reporting and Alerts is selected.
On the Reporting Configuration step, provide the proper computer, instance, and database name for your SQL implementation. Ensure the Reuse existing database check box is selected.
Proceed through setup. This process will recreate the FEP database alongside the relocated site database, and recreate the SQL jobs necessary to move information from the site database into the FEP databases. The FEPDB will be repopulated according to the information stored in the site database.

I recently ran into this issue when migrating the FEP database and it wasn't acceptable to loose the historical data.

I isolated and identified the root cause of the problem and have managed to successfully migrate the FEP database and all of my FEP reports are successfully working.

I wanted to share here the solution for others that run into this issue:

The problem is that some of the views in the FEPDW database reference the local SQL server by a linkedserver instead of the actual servername, this is by design to provide the felxibility of changing servers etc...

The problem is that when running the ServerSetup.exe and using an existing database (the migrated one) it doesn't create the linkedserver references and as such the views in the FEPDW database do not work.

You can use the following SQL query to view the linkedserver entries:

select *

from sys.servers

The two entries that are required by the FEP database are:

SelfLinkedServer

FEPDW_ORG_FEPDW_ORG_OLAPProvider_FEP

on the new SQL Server that you are migrating to you must create these linkedserver entries, the following queries can be used to do this:

for SelfLinkedServer:

Exec sp_addlinkedserver

@server = 'SelfLinkedServer',

@srvproduct = '',

@provider = 'SQLNCLI',

@datasrc = 'SQLSERVERNAME\INSTANCE'

NOTE: - SQLSERVERNAME\INSTANCE is the servername and instancename of your sql server

for FEPDW_ORG_FEPDW_ORG_OLAPProvider_FEP:

Exec sp_addlinkedserver

@server = 'FEPDW_ORG_FEPDW_ORG_OLAPProvider_FEP',

@srvproduct = '',

@provider = 'MSOLAP',

@datasrc = 'SQLSERVERNAME\INSTANCE',

@catalog = 'FEPDW_SITECODE'

NOTE: - FEPDW_SITECODE is the name of your FEPDW database

After performing these actions you should be able to successfully migrate the FEP database using the FEP ServerSetup.exe