Use a Relational Database to store SuperADMIN data

In earlier versions of SuperSTAR, the user catalogue (details of users, permissions and passwords) was stored in an XML file. If you installed to the default location, this was saved in C:\ProgramData\STR\SuperADMIN\server\data\.repository\userCatalog.xml.

The use of XML can cause performance issues if you have a large number of user accounts. As a result, from version 9.9 onwards, SuperADMIN uses a relational database to store all user data.

When you upgrade to version 9.9 or later, SuperADMIN will automatically convert the user data from userCatalog.xml to a relational database (RDBMS). By default, it will store user data in an H2 database (located in C:\ProgramData\STR\SuperADMIN\server\data\superadmin.db). You are strongly recommended to change from H2 to an RDBMS. The following are supported:

• AWS Aurora MySQL
• DB2
• MySQL / MariaDB
• Oracle
• PostgreSQL
• SQL Server

What Will Be Stored in the RDBMS

From 9.9 onwards, the following are stored in the RDBMS after the migration:

• Configuration server data
• User registration details
• Users and passwords
• Groups

This change should only be made before going into production. Please contact WingArc support for advice if you wish to change the RDBMS for a production system.

In particular, if you have already updated to version 9.9 or later, then your SuperADMIN data will already have been moved to H2. We do not currently provide an automated process for migrating from H2 to another RDBMS.

You are strongly recommended to change from the embedded H2 database to a full relational database, as the H2 database is not recommended for production use. If you choose to continue using the H2 database then you must at a minimum change the admin password for the H2 database from the default password. 

Step 1 - Export the Configuration Server Settings

Before starting the migration, you are strongly recommended to export any existing configuration server data to a text file. This step is only required when you have an existing SuperSTAR system running version 9.0 or higher. Run the following command in SuperADMIN:

cfg save <filename>

Replace <filename> with the full path to a file on disk where you want to save the settings. Do not use quotes even if the path contains spaces.

For example:

cfg save D:\Backup Directory\configuration settings.json

After you run the command, check that the file has been created in the specified location. You will need to use this file in a later step to reimport your configuration settings.

Step 2 - Create a Database and User

The first step is to create a database for the user data in your chosen RDBMS. To complete this step you may need to install a suitable database server or obtain access to an existing database server.

1. Create a new database. For example, you might call the database SuperSTAR_Users.

   

   Set the default character set of your database to UTF8. This will allow the database to save usernames containing the full range of unicode characters.

2. Create a dedicated database user account and set the account password.

   

   If you are using Oracle or DB2 then the username for connecting to the database must be the same as the database schema.
3. Grant your new user account full privileges over your new database.

Step 3 - Install a JDBC Driver

JDBC (Java Database Connectivity) is a programming interface that lets Java applications access a relational database. You need to install a JDBC driver for your RDBMS, so that SuperWEB2 can communicate with the User Data Repository database.

1. Download the appropriate JDBC driver for your database:

   RDBMS	Recommended Driver	Example of JAR File	Driver Class	Download From
   AWS Aurora MySQL	AWS MySQL Driver	aws-mysql-jdbc-1.1.7.jar	software.aws.rds.jdbc.mysql.Driver	https://github.com/awslabs/aws-mysql-jdbc/releases
   DB2	DB2 JDBC Driver	db2jcc4.jar	com.ibm.db2.jcc.DB2Driver	https://www-01.ibm.com/software/data/db2/linux-unix-windows/downloads.html
   MariaDB	Connector/J	mariadb-java-client-2.5.4.jar	org.mariadb.jdbc.Driver	https://mariadb.com/downloads/#connectors
   MySQL	Connector/J	mysql-connector-java-8.0.25.jar	com.mysql.cj.jdbc.Driver	https://www.mysql.com/downloads/connector/j/
   Oracle	ojdbc	ojdbc11.jar	oracle.jdbc.driver.OracleDriver	https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/database/features/jdbc/jdbc-drivers-12c-download-1958347.html
   PostgreSQL	PostgreSQL JDBC 4.2 Driver, 42.0.0	postgresql-42.0.0.jar	org.postgresql.Driver	https://jdbc.postgresql.org
   SQL Server	Microsoft JDBC Driver	mssql-jdbc-7.2.2.jre11.jar	com.microsoft.sqlserver.jdbc.SQLServerDriver	https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/confirmation.aspx?id=57782

   

   MySQL on Linux uses case sensitive table names by default. You must change the lower-case-table-names setting to either 1 or 2 to use MySQL to store SuperADMIN data.

   If you are using MySQL on either Windows or Linux, check the my.ini (Windows) or my.cnf (Linux) configuration file for the parameter lower-case-table-names. This configuration file is located in the MySQL program data directory (for example: C:\ProgramData\MySQL\MySQL Server 5.6 on Windows or /etc/mysql/ on Linux.

   Make sure the parameter is set to either 1 or 2. See the MySQL documentation for more information.

   

    The JDBC driver must support JDBC 4.2 and Java 11.

   

   You do not need to download a driver to use the default H2 RDBMS as this driver is included with SuperADMIN.

2. Copy the driver .jar file to C:\Program Files\STR\SuperADMIN\server\lib\ (or equivalent directory if you installed to a non-default location). You will need to create this directory if it does not already exist.

Step 4 - Configure SuperADMIN

Configure SuperADMIN to use your preferred RDBMS by adding the following section to the local.conf configuration file.

If you installed to the default directory, this file is located in C:\ProgramData\STR\SuperADMIN\server\config\local.conf.

str.superadmin {
    jdbc {
        url: "URL"
        username: "USERNAME"
        password: "PASSWORD"
        platform: ${db."DBTYPE"}
    }
}

If your local.conf file already has a str.superadmin section, then add the new section within the existing str.superadmin section. For example:

Click here to expand...

CODE

 str.superadmin {
  email {
        smtpHost: "localhost"
        smtpPort: 25
        startTls: false
        auth {
            enabled: false
            username: "changeme"
            password: "changeme"
        }
        debug: false
    }
    jdbc {
        url: "URL"
        username: "USERNAME"
        password: "PASSWORD"
        platform: ${db."DBTYPE"}
    }
}

Replace the following with the relevant values:

jdbc:mysql:aws://mydatabasehost:3306/superstar_users?useUnicode=true&characterEncoding=UTF-8

jdbc:db2://mydatabasehost:50000/SuperSTAR_Users:currentSchema=SuperSTAR;

jdbc:mariadb://mydatabasehost:3306/superstar_users?useUnicode=true&characterEncoding=UTF-8

jdbc:mysql://mydatabasehost:3306/superstar_users?useUnicode=true&characterEncoding=UTF-8

jdbc:oracle:thin:@mydatabasehost:1521:SuperSTAR_Users

jdbc:postgresql://mydatabasehost:5432/SuperSTAR_Users

jdbc:sqlserver://mydatabasehost:1433;databaseName=SuperSTAR_Users

Aurora-MySQL

DB2-LUW

DB2-zOS

H2

MariaDB

MySQL

MySQL-old

Oracle

Postgres

SQLServer

For example, the following section might be used to connect to SQL Server:

str.superadmin {
    jdbc {
        url: "jdbc:sqlserver://mydatabasehost:1433;databaseName=SuperSTAR_Users"
        username: "superadminuser"
        password: "asd3fws4gwsd"
        platform: ${db."SQLServer"}
    }
}

Step 5 - Check SuperADMIN Migration Settings

If you are upgrading from an earlier release, make sure that the following XML files are present in the server data repository directory: userCatalog.xml and accountCatalog.xml (if you installed to the default location, check that the files exist in the C:\ProgramData\STR\SuperADMIN\server\data\.repository\ directory).

This step is not required if you are configuring a fresh installation of SuperSTAR as these files are not created after version 9.9.

Step 6 - Configure SuperADMIN 

Run the following command in SuperADMIN:

cfg global superadmin.migration.userCatalog set "false"

This ensures that SuperADMIN will migrate the catalogue to the RDBMS on the next restart.

Step 7 - Restart SuperSERVER

You will need to restart the SuperADMIN/SuperSERVER service to apply this change. When the service has started, verify that the tables have been created in your RDBMS. For example:

SuperADMIN does not delete the legacy XML file (UserCatalog.xml) following a successful migration, although this file will no longer be required or used and will not need to be restored during a future upgrade.

Step 8 - Reimport your Configuration

If you exported your existing configuration settings at the start of the process, run the following command in SuperADMIN to reimport your settings:

cfg load <filename>

Replace <filename> with the full path to a file on disk containing your saved settings. Do not use quotes even if the path contains spaces.

For example:

cfg load D:\Backup Directory\configuration settings.json