Getting Started with MS SQL Server databases

Overview

Your Everleap plan includes shared Microsoft SQL Server databases. This article covers everything you can do with them from the Everleap Control Panel: creating a database, finding its connection details, changing its password, backing it up, restoring it and attaching an MDF file.

Where the databases live

1. Log in to the Everleap Control Panel at cp.everleap.com.
2. From the top menu click Databases, then Shared MS SQL.

The MS SQL Databases page lists every database on the account, with panels at the top showing your disk space and how many of your allowed databases you have used.

Creating a database

1. Go to Databases > Shared MS SQL.
2. Click the Create MS SQL Database button at the bottom of the list.
3. Choose a SQL Server Version. The options are SQL 2017, SQL 2019 and SQL 2022. New databases default to SQL 2022.
4. Enter a Database Name. You supply only the suffix, up to 12 characters. The page shows the full name it will create above the field, in the form DB_1234_[dbname].
5. Enter a Disk Space Quota in MB. The minimum is 25 MB, and the space still available to you is shown at the top of the page.
6. Click Create Database.

The page notes three things worth remembering:

• The SQL database name will be prefixed with an identifier, so the name you type is only the last part.
• The default SQL database password will be your account password.
• You can update the SQL database password after the database is created.

Verify it worked

You are returned to the MS SQL Databases page, which shows the message Add MS SQL database success. Your new database appears in the list with the version you chose and its quota.

Finding your connection details

1. Go to Databases > Shared MS SQL.
2. Click Manage next to the database.

The MS SQL Database Overview page opens on the OVERVIEW tab. The General Information panel gives you everything an application needs:

Below that, a Connection String panel gives you a ready made ADO.NET connection string with your server, database and user already filled in. Replace the masked password with your own.

Connecting with SQL Server Management Studio

Open Management Studio and enter the Database Server, Database User and password from the General Information panel into the Connect to Server dialog box.

Changing a database password

1. Go to Databases > Shared MS SQL and click Manage next to the database.
2. Click the Edit link next to Database Password.
3. On the Update MS SQL Database Password page, type the new password into New Password and again into Retype Password.
4. Click Update Password.

Changing the disk space quota

On the same Overview page, click the Edit link next to Disk Space Quota. The Update MS SQL Database Disk Space Quota page shows the minimum you can set (the space the database already uses) and the maximum available to you. Enter a new figure and click Update Quota.

Backing up a database

1. Go to Databases > Shared MS SQL and click Manage next to the database.
2. Click the BACKUP tab.
3. In the Create new backup panel, choose a Site Location. This is the site whose DatabaseBackup directory the backup file will be written to.
4. Tick Compress backup to Zip if you want the file zipped.
5. Click Create New Backup.

You can then download the backup from that site by FTP for off site archiving. The page carries one warning: database backups older than 1 year will be removed.

Retrieving a nightly backup instead

The SQL server takes an automatic nightly backup of your databases, and you can pull one of those without creating a fresh backup yourself. We retain 3 to 5 days worth of SQL backup.

1. On the same BACKUP tab, scroll down to Retrieve backup from SQL backup server.
2. Open the SQL Backup Date dropdown and choose the backup you want. Each entry shows the backup filename and its date.
3. Choose a Site Location, and tick Compress backup to Zip if you want it zipped.
4. Click Retrieve Backup.

The file is placed in that site's DatabaseBackup directory, the same as a backup you create yourself.

Restoring a database

1. Upload your backup file, which must have a .BAK extension, to the DatabaseBackup folder of one of your sites.
2. Go to Databases > Shared MS SQL and click Manage next to the database you want to restore into.
3. Click the RESTORE tab.
4. Choose the Site Location you uploaded the file to.
5. Choose your file from the BAK File Name dropdown. The Control Panel lists the BAK files it finds in that site's DatabaseBackup directory, so you pick from a list rather than typing a name. If it says no BAK files were found, the file is not in the right folder or does not have a .BAK extension.
6. Click Restore Backup.

Attaching an MDF file

The ATTACH tab does the same job for a detached database file. Upload the MDF file to the DatabaseBackup folder of your site, choose the Site Location, then select the file and attach it.

Deleting a database

On the MS SQL Databases list, click Delete in the Remove column for that database, then confirm. Deleting a database is immediate and permanent, and it also detaches the database from the nightly backups held on our backup server, so retrieve anything you need first.

Notes

• The number of databases you can create and the total disk space available to them are set by your plan. Both are shown at the top of the MS SQL Databases page.
• A new database starts with your account password. Change it from the Overview page if the database will be used by an application.
• Backup and restore both work through a site's DatabaseBackup directory, so you need at least one site on the account to use them.

Related Articles

• How to Backup Your MS SQL Database
• Getting started with SQL Reporting Services
• Getting Started with Private SQL Server
• How to Install phpMyAdmin on Everleap