The "Load default data" option when running pdm_configure

Products

• CA Service Desk Manager
• CA Service Management - Service Desk Manager

Issue/Introduction

If the "Load default data" option is selected, the initial out-of-the-box data is loaded into certain tables. This may cause data that has been customized to be overwritten. Only select the option during a first-time installation.

Environment

Service Desk Manager 12.x, 14.1 and 17.x

All Supported Operating Systems and Database Management Systems

Resolution

When running the CA Service Desk Manager Configuration tool, the "MS SQL Database Config" step contains a checkbox named "Load default Data". The additional information on the form advises: "This is necessary for first-time installations. WARNING: This may replace existing data!". See Figure 1 below.

After the options and required configuration information is entered via the forms presented by the tool, the relevant step is the 9th step which is named "Load system data".

If you put a tick in the "Load default data" checkbox, the MDB will be loaded with data from the out-of-the-box ".dat" files that exist in the $NX_ROOT\data directory. This could potentially overwrite data that has been customized. For example, roles.dat contains data for the tables Access_Type_v2, usp_role, usp_role_tab, usp_menu_bar, etc.

Important Note! If you enable the data in the tables to be overwritten by selecting the checkbox during an upgrade or after Service Desk has been in use, Service Desk is likely to function incorrectly. This is because data in some tables reference data in other tables; overwriting the data could break the dependent relationships, therefore compromising the referential integrity of the database.

To confirm whether or not the data from any .dat files had been loaded or reloaded when the tool was run, you could scan the log file for the string "Running: Load system data" and then review any subsequent message that starts with "Executing command: dbload.exe".

As advised on the form that is displayed when running the configure tool, a check must be put in the checkbox for first-time installations. Afterwards, the checkbox should not be checked. So, if you are upgrading, the box should *not* be checked.

Figure 1. The "MS SQL Database Config" step in which the "Load default data" option is available.