Q: I would like to set up a test copy of TRAIN TRACK®. How do I do this?

Your license allows you to have a production copy, a test copy, and backup copies. These instructions cover making a test copy of your back-end database. 

The easiest way to set up a test database is described in detail below. In short, you would make a backup of your current database, restore it as a new databas, and connect the user interface to this test database. We recommend adding some data flags to ensure that your users know which database they are using (for example, in the test database, a training record called "_TEST DATABASE".

Make a backup of your database

1. Open SQL Management Studio and locate your database in the navigation panel on the left.
2. Right-click on the name of your database, and in the pop-up box, select "Tasks > Backup".
3. In the pop-up window, select the destination and file name.
4. Click "OK".

Restore to a new database

1. Open SQL Server® Management Studio.
2. Locate the database you want to restore in the tree at the left (or create a new database by right-clicking on "Databases" and selecting "New").
3. Right-click on the database and select "Tasks > Restore > Database".
4. Uncheck the "Database" radio button and select "Device".
5. Click the elipse (...) button. In the pop-up window, select "ADD" to browse to your .bak file. Click "OK"
6. In the "Destination" section, update the database name to the name of the database you are restoring to (double-check this step as it may revert to the original database name).
7. Under "Select a Page", choose "Options" and be sure that "Overwrite the existing database/REPLACE" is checked.
8. Uncheck "Tail-Log Backup" if it is checked.
9. Click "OK" and the database should restore in under a minute.
10. If the file fails to restore, click on the error message for the reason and correct the specified setting.

Add your TRAIN TRACK users or active directory group and assign them datareader/datawriter for the new database.


Connect the user interface

1. Open the user interface and go to "Database Administration > Linked Table Manger".Open the Linked Table Manager, and check the box at the bottom "Always prompt for new location".
2. Click "Select All".
3. Click "OK".
4. In the pop up window select the ˜Machine Data Source" tab and choose New.
5. Select SQL Native Client as your driver (from the bottom of the list). Click Finish.
6. In the "Create New Data Source" window, enter "TTTEST" as the DSN.
7. In the third box, select the appropriate SQL server from the drop down menu.
8. Click "Next".
9. Select "With Integrated Windows Authentication" and click Next.
10. Check "Change the default database to" and select the correct database from the drop-down menu.
11. Click "Next" on each screen until you can click the "Finish" button.
12. Click "Test data source".