SOLIDWORKS PDM Vault Upgrade: Standard to Professional

As an organization grows, so does its vault. At a certain point, you just need to get a little more power than SOLIDWORKS PDM Standard can provide. So now, you’re in this boat ready to upgrade to SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional, but you don’t know where to start. This guide will walk you through the process step by step to ensure you have the smoothest upgrade possible.

General Steps

1. Take backups of all the PDM components.
2. Install SQL Standard.
3. Upgrade PDM to Professional

This guide assumes that you are doing an in-place upgrade and not moving to another machine. If you need to move to a new server machine at the same time, refer to this guide first: Move Your PDM Server Components. You will need to plan for downtime to complete these activities, or you’ll want to perform the upgrade after hours. Users cannot be in the vault during any upgrade process. Please also note that this process is not reversible. A SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional vault can never be downgraded to a Standard vault.

On the Server

On the server, you will need to go through several steps. They must be done in this sequence to succeed.

Step 1: Take Full Backups of Your PDM System

1. You’ll need a backup of the following items. These backups are used to complete the upgrade and to recover all the PDM components in case something goes wrong:
   1. Archive Folder Backups
   2. Archive Settings Backup
   3. Database Backups
   4. See this guide to gather these items: PDM Backups Master List

Step 2: Install SQL Server Standard Edition on the Server Machine

1. Follow this link for a guide to install SQL Server Standard Edition: SQL Standard Installation.

Step 3: Activate Your New SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional Serial Number on the License Manager

1. Determine your license server host name.
   1. Open the PDM Administration tool and log in to the vault.
   2. Open the License node, or expand the License node and open the Server List (Depending on your version).
   3. You’ll see your License server represented by 25734@SERVERNAME
2. Deactivate your PDM Standard Licensing.
   1. Open the SolidNetwork License Manager Server on your License Server host machine.
   2. On the Server Administration tab, click the Modify button. 
   3. Choose Move your product license or Deactivate, depending on your product version.
      
      
   4. 
   5. 
      
      
   6. Click Next until you reach the Activation page.
   7. Ensure you select the PDM serial number(s) to deactivate, or click Select All.
   8. Choose Automatically over the Internet and enter an email.
   9. Finally, click Next.
      
      

1. Add your new PDM Professional Serial Number to the SolidNetwork License Manager and remove the old one. Use this guide for that process: Add a Serial Number to the SNL.
2. Use the steps from Step 3, 1-2 to activate your new license. Simply choose Activate/Reactivate instead of Move or Deactivate.

Step 4: Upgrade Your Database to SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional in the PDM Administration Tool

1. Open the SOLIDWORKS PDM Administration tool by opening your Windows Start Search and typing Admin.
2. Log in to the Vault as Admin.
3. Right-click the vault name and choose Upgrade to Professional Vault.
   
   
   
   
4. A Wizard will pop up.
   1. Click Next on the Welcome page to begin.
   2. On the next page, click the checkbox to agree and click Next.
   3. On the Choose Professional License Server page, ensure the License Server information in the window is correct and click Finish.
5. Your vault will disappear from the tree in the Administration tool. This is because Standard installations cannot see Professional vaults. We’ll fix this in the next step.

Step 5: Modify Your PDM Standard Server Installation to PDM Professional

1. In your Windows Start Search, type Control and open the Control Panel.
2. Choose Programs or Programs and Features.
3. Find your PDM Server installation from the list of products, right-click, and choose Change.
   
   
   
   
4. The Server installation manager will pop up. Click Next on the welcome page.
5. On the Program Maintenance page, select Modify and click Next.
   
   
   
   
6. On the Select PDM Product page, select SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional and click Next.
   
   
   
   
7. On the Server Installation page, make sure that the Archive Server, Database Server, and Client options are selected. You can also add Web features here, if you plan to use them. Then click Next.
   
   
   
   
8. On the Choose Product Type page, make no changes and click Next.
9. On the Select Add-Ins page, add any of the integration tools you may need. Then click Next.
   
   
   
   
10. On the SOLIDWORKS PDM Database Server SQL Login page, enter your SQL Server name, as well as the login credentials for the SQL Server ‘sa’ user. Then click Next.
    
    
    
    
11. Finally, click Install on the Read to Modify the Program page.
12. When the wizard is finished, click the Finish button to close it.
13. Restart the machine.

Step 6: Transfer Your Database from SQL Express Edition to SQL Standard Edition

1. On the SQL Server, open the SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS). Then, log in to both the SQL Express and the SQL Standard instances.
2. Right-click Databases from the SQL Standard instance, and choose Restore Database.
   
   
   
   
3. On the General page:
   1. Select Device.
   2. Click the … button and navigate to and choose your database backup.
   3. Make sure the Restore column check box is selected for the backup.
      
      
      
      
      
4. On the Files page:
   1. Click the check box for Relocate all files to folder.
      1. The fields will automatically fill in with default locations.
      2. Click OK.
         
         
         
         
      3. A success notification should appear.
5. Repeat this process for each database that is being moved to SQL Standard.
6. Now you’ll see the Databases appear in the Object Explorer under the SQL Standard instance.

Step 7: Update the Server Registry Keys

1. Open the Registry Editor.
2. Navigate to the key Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\SolidWorks\Applications\PDMWorks Enterprise\MailService.
   1. Change the Server value to match the new SQL Standard Database Server name. In this example, we just drop the \MSSQLSERVER at the end of the value.
      
      
      
      
3. Restart the machine.

Step 8: Test

1. Open the SOLIDWORKS PDM Administration tool.
   1. If the upgrade was successful, your vault will appear in the tree again. Now, it will have a gold cylinder icon next to it, where before it had a silver icon.  
      
      
      
      
2. Attempt to log into the vault as the admin user.

On the Client/Workstation

On the client machines, you will need to go through a few more steps, and they must be done in this sequence to succeed.

Note: If you have installed SOLIDWORKS PDM using an Administrative Image, you will need to uninstall PDM Standard and install PDM Professional. Administrative Image installations cannot be altered. For a clean uninstall of the PDM Client, please read this guide: PDM Client Clean Uninstall.

Step 1: Modify the Client Installation from PDM Standard to Professional

1. In your Windows Start Search, type Control, and then open the Control Panel.
2. Choose Programs or Programs and Features.
3. Find your SOLIDWORKS or PDM Client installation in the list of programs. Then right-click and choose Change.
4. On the Welcome page, choose Modify Your Installation and click Next.
5. On the Serial Number page, make no changes. Just click Next.
6. If the Product Selection page appears, click Next without making changes.
7. On the Summary page, click the blue or purple Change to the right of PDM Options. You may need to scroll down to see this.
8. On the PDM Options page:
   1. Choose SOLIDWORKS Professional PDM.
   2. Make sure the correct Client Type is selected for the user.
   3. Select the integration options you would like to include.
      
      
      
      
9. Click Back to Summary.
10. On the Summary page, select Modify Now.

Step 2: Update the Registry

1. Open the Registry Editor.
2. Navigate to the key Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\SolidWorks\Applications\PDMWorks Enterprise\Databases\VaultName.
   1. Change the DbServer value to match the new SQL Standard Server name.
      
      
      
      
3. Navigate to the key Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\SolidWorks\Applications\PDMWorks Enterprise\Databases\VaultName.
   1. Change the DbServer value to match the new SQL Standard Server name.
4. Test that the Client connects to the Vault.
5. Repeat these changes on each client machine.

Want to learn more about SOLIDWORKS PDM? Check out more tips and tricks below. Additionally, join the GoEngineer Community to participate in discussions, create forum posts, and answer questions from other SOLIDWORKS users. 

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