How to Create a SANDBOX Vault for Testing SOLIDWORKS PDM
To avoid unexpected behavior in your SOLIDWORKS PDM production vault, we recommend creating a sandbox vault (testing vault) to apply the changes and test their functionality prior to applying the changes to your production vault.
Overview of the process
Note, the current Microsoft SQL ‘sa’ (system administrator) password is required to create new vaults. Or, if your company has set up a different SQL login for PDM, obtain that password prior to creating the new vault.
- Create a new empty PDM vault (SANDBOX vault for testing).
- Create a local vault view of the new SANDBOX vault.
- Export settings from the production vault.
- Import settings from the production vault to the SANDBOX vault.
- Apply any changes to the SANDBOX vault and test thoroughly.
- Apply tested and confirmed changes to the production vault.
It is also a good idea to maintain a detailed maintenance log of any changes made to your PDM environment. This will help troubleshoot any unexpected behavior.
- Date of the change.
- User who made the change.
- Summary of what was changed, such as which variable, workflow, or setting was changed.
CAUTION: We do recommend deleting the sandbox vault once testing/troubleshooting is completed. Many times, the production vault continues to grow with additional changes that are never made in the sandbox. If the sandbox is left idle this may cause confusion with upgrading, migration, or other infrastructure activities performed by technical support.
Creating a SANDBOX Vault
- Log into the SOLIDWORKS PDM Administration tool as the default ‘admin’ user (system administrator). Right-click on the server where the new vault will be created and choose ‘Create new vault…’ to launch the Create New Vault Wizard.
- Choose the type of vault to be created and click Next to proceed. This selection is based on your company’s SOLIDWORKS PDM licensing type.
If you are unsure, the simplest way to identify the vault type is to review the vault’s icon of the current production vault.
- Gold icon is PDM Professional.
- Silver icon is PDM Standard.
- Enter a name and description for your new vault and click Next. This technical guide uses SANDBOX for the testing vault name.
- Select the folder location where the Archive will be created. This is the location where the digital files added to the vault will be stored. You can use the same location for more than one vault. The system will create a vault name specific folder in that location. Click Next to proceed.
- Enter the server name/location of the database server. The system will enter the vault’s name as the Database name. You can leave it as-is or enter a database name. The PDM vault name will remain the same as entered in step #3. Click Next to proceed.
If prompted to enter credentials to connect to the SQL server, enter the ‘sa’ (system administrator) password to access the SQL server. Or, if your company has set up a different SQL login for PDM, obtain that password prior to creating the new vault. Click OK to connect to the SQL server.
- Select or add a SOLIDWORKS PDM license server.
- Choose the desired vault Language and the Date Format. This should be the same as your current production vault.
- Enter an admin password for this vault or use the default ‘admin’ password for the archive server. Typically, this is the same password as your default ‘admin’ user. Click Next to proceed. Enter an admin password for this vault or use the default ‘admin’ password for the archive server. Typically, this is the same password as your default ‘admin’ user. Click Next to proceed.
- Chose ‘Use a predefined configuration’ and then select ‘Empty’ from the list. Once the vault is created, you will populate the SNDBOX vault with the settings from the production vault and therefore do not want to add any additional content at this point. Click Next to proceed.
- On the summary screen, review the information and then click ‘Finish’ to create the vault. Log into the newly created vault to test access using the admin user.
- Create a vault view for the SANDBOX vault (PDM View Setup guide – starting with Step #3) . This is a necessary step before the production vault settings are exported/imported. A Vault View needs to be created so files that were used in the Production Vault settings can be imported (Templates, images on data cards, etc.). If you don’t do this, the system will not copy these files over properly and you might need to do some manual cleanup.
- Export the production vault settings (Technical Guide to Exporting PDM Vault Settings).
- Import the production vault settings to the SANDBOX vault. (Technical Guide to Importing PDM Vault Settings)
You can now use the SANDBOX vault to develop, test, and troubleshoot the various nodes and items of your vault, e.g., data cards, workflows, templates, settings, tasks, etc. Once you have created and thoroughly tested the SANDBOX vault, you can export the item and import it into the production vault. Note, user permissions are not exported/imported. Always check the user and group permissions to ensure they are configured correctly after any changes.
Technical Support
Get help from our team by Calling us at 800-364-1652 x 2. You can also get assistance by clicking the Technical Support button or the Email Our Experts button below.