Davis 8186 Guide
DriveRight® Fleet Management Software
Database Selection Guide
Use this guide to help you select the right database to use with your
DriveRight Fleet Management Software (FMS), and to help you perform any
required database installation procedures before you run DriveRight FMS for
the first time. DriveRight FMS supports the following databases:
• Single-User Databases:
• MS Access (Microsoft Access, all required software included)
• MSDE 2000 (Microsoft Desktop/Data Engine) (not supported in the
Windows Vista operating system)
• Multi-User Databases:
•MySQL
• MS SQL Server (Microsoft SQL Server)
•Oracle
When you first run DriveRight FMS, you will be required to select a database
to use with the software. Each of the supported databases for DriveRight FMS
have their advantages and disadvantages. First, we’ll look at the selection
considerations for each of the supported database types. Later in this
document we present the installation procedure for each of the databases.
Selection Considerations: Single-User
Review the following considerations for each database and then select the best
database for your situation.
MS Access Considerations
Of the supported databases, MS Access is the easiest to install and use.
• There is no additional software to buy if you use MS Access. DriveRight
FMS automatically installs all the necessary components when you first run
the program.
• MS Access does have limitations to the number of users connected simultaneously to the database, the size of the database, and reliability of the database.
• MS Access is only recommended for installations that have one user.
• Maximum database size for MS Access is 2 gigabytes.
• MS Access is only recommended for small fleets of five vehicles or less.
Be aware that if you are logging GPS and vehicle speed data, the database
size increases very rapidly since GPS and vehicle speed data is logged
much more frequently than data from the DriveRight console. In such
cases, if you decide to go with MS Access database, it is advised to backup
your data at least once a month.
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MSDE Considerations
MSDE stands for Microsoft Desktop/Data Engine, which is a scaled down version of the SQL Server. It is a basic database with Client/Server architecture
from Microsoft.
• MSDE works well with a maximum of five simultaneous connections.
• MSDE is also recommended for single-user installations since DriveRight
FMS software maintains more than one connection to the database server.
• In contrast to MS Access, MSDE runs as a Windows server. If your computer has performance issues, we recommend MS Access instead of MSDE.
Note: In our database performance tests, MS Access performed better than MSDE.
Active Database Size Recommendations
The recommendations displayed in the table below are based on tests and
calculations made with these assumptions:
• 10 trips per day per vehicle.
• Trip duration is 1 hour (10 hours driving time per day per vehicle).
• GPS data logged every 10 seconds.
Scenario
No GPS
MSDE
with GPS
MS
Access
with GPS
Number
of
Vehicles
25 Up to 1 year
50
100
5 Up to 1 month
10 Up to 1 month
Active Data
stored in
Database
Up to 9
months
Up to 6
months
Remarks and Recommendations
Backup data once a month for application
performance. Using backup options, you
can set a maximum of 1 year of data in the
active database.
Backup data once a month for application
performance. Using backup options, you
can set a maximum of 9 months of data in
the active database.
Backup data once a month for application
performance. Using backup options, you
can set a maximum of 6 months of data in
the active database.
Backup data once a month for application
performance. Using backup options you
can set a maximum of 1 month of data in
the active database.
Backup data once a month for application
performance. Using the backup options,
you can set a maximum of 1 month of data
in the active database.
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Note: If your fleet size exceeds the scenarios shown on the previous page, we recommend that
you use a multi-user database. For multi-user databases, theoretically there is no fleet
size limit. We recommend that you back up data once a month, keeping only the amount
of data required for reporting purposes in the active database, typically 3-6 months.
Scenario
Multi-User
Database
with/with-
out GPS
Number
of
Vehicles
Unlimited 3-6 months
Active Data
stored in
Database
Remarks and Recommendations
Backup data every month without GPS or
once a week with GPS. Using the backup
options, you can set a maximum of 6
months data in the active database.
Selection Considerations: Multi-User
Davis recommends using either MySQL, MS SQL Server, or Oracle if more
than one user will be accessing the data at a time, if the fleet has more than
five vehicles, or if you are logging GPS data for more than one vehicle.
MySQL, MS SQL Server & Oracle Considerations
MySQL, Oracle and MS SQL Server database servers are very powerful databases, which can support large amounts of data and multiple simultaneous
connections with good performance.
• Of these three powerful databases, MySQL is the most economical server. It
is by far the easiest to set up and maintain and is also the only multi-user
database used by DriveRight FMS that does not require the support of a
database administrator. We strongly recommend MySQL for customers
with large fleets and potentially large databases that do not already have a
license for MS SQL Server or for Oracle.
• In the case of MySQL, most of the maintenance commands will be integrated through the DriveRight FMS software in the future, to eliminate any
administrative overhead.
• MS SQL Server is a powerful database server from Microsoft. It is also
easy to setup, but MS SQL Server is more expensive than MySQL.
• If you decide to go with MS SQL Server or Oracle, it is assumed that you
have IT personnel who have knowledge to maintain these database servers.
• Though Oracle is a common database server among large applications, it is
both expensive and difficult to maintain.
• In order to connect to an Oracle server with DriveRight FMS running on
multiple machines, Oracle Client software must be installed on each
machine. Each installation of Oracle Client software must be individually
licensed.
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Multi-User Database Server Setup
Follow this sequence when setting up a multi-user database for DriveRight
FMS:
1. Server Installation.
2. Client Installation.
3. Database Configuration.
Multi-User Database Client Setup
Follow this sequence when installing DriveRight FMS on a user’s computer:
1. Client Installation.
2. Database Connection.
MS Access Installation
Of all the databases, MS Access is the easiest to setup. DriveRight FMS automatically installs all the required components for this database.
Server Installation
Not applicable. The server is automatically installed if it is selected during
DriveRight FMS initial configuration.
Database Configuration
Not applicable. The database is automatically configured if it is selected during DriveRight FMS initial configuration.
Database Connection
Please refer to the “DriveRight Fleet Management Software Getting Started
Guide” for DriveRight FMS installation and configuration instructions:
1. When you run DriveRight FMS, the Select Database Type dialog box
displays. Select MS Access and click OK.
A dialog box is displayed with the path in which the database will be created. This defaults to the DriveRight FMS install directory.
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2. If you want to change the directory used for the MS Access database, click
Browse and select the desired directory.
3. To finish the database connection, click Connect to Database. DriveRight
FMS creates a new database if the database doesn’t exist, or it connects to
the specified database if the database already exists.
4. If the database is empty when you connect, you are prompted to enter the
location name and address to be associated with all data at your location.
After entering the location name and address, click OK and the FMS
software will start. We recommend that only one user at a time access the
MS Access database.
MSDE Installation
The Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine (also known as MSDE 2000)
is another database option. If using the MSDE Server, MSDE 2000 is required
for FMS 3.7 or later.
Server Installation
1. Please refer to Microsoft MSDE installation documentation for
instructions on installing and configuring your MSDE database.
2. Make sure the MSDE Server is running. To do this go to:
Start->All Programs->Startup->Service Manager. Press
Start/Conti nue, the green arrow icon to start MSDE. When
MSDE is running, you will see the green indicator in the
MSDE icon on the task bar.
Database Configuration
Not applicable. Automatically configured when MSDE is selected during
DriveRight FMS initial configuration.
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Database Connection
1. When you run DriveRight FMS, the Select Database Type dialog box
displays. Select SQLServer / MSDE and Click OK.
2. The Database Connection dialog box displays with the following fields
after selecting MSDE as your database:
The Database Connection dialog box displays the following fields:
• Server Name — Defaults to the local machine name. You may need to
change this if you do not use the local machine name.
• Database Name — Defaults to DriveRight_MSSQL but can be
changed to any other database running on the server.
• ODBC Driver — This will not need to be changed in most installations.
If version 2.5 of the SQL Server driver is installed (unlikely), then you
will need to edit it to look like {SQL Server}.
3. If the database is empty when you connect, you are prompted to enter the
location name and address to be associated with all the data at your
location.
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4. After entering the location name and address, click OK and the DriveRight
software will start.
5. It should be noted that the MSDE database server is optimized for a
maximum of 5 simultaneous connections. Considering the fact that the
DriveRight FMS software may keep more than one connection alive, it is
advisable to limit the number of users to one at a time.
MySQL Installation
MySQL is a database server developed by a company named 'MySQL AB' as
an Open Source Project. It is considered fast, stable, and is easy to setup compared to database servers like Oracle. Also, it is by far the least expensive
multi-user database server for use with the DriveRight FMS. For medium to
large fleets, we strongly recommend MySQL server, especially if you do not
already have a license for either Oracle or MS SQL server.
Server Installation
1. If you don’t already have a license for MySQL, you need to buy one from
MySQL AB. MySQL Classic version is adequate for all DriveRight FMS
applications.
2. Install MySQL Server. During installation of MySQL server, setting user
names and passwords is optional.
3. You need to make sure MySQL is running first. To do this go to Startup-
>Settings->Control Panel->Administrative Tools->Services. You will see a
service name titled MySQL. If it is not running, select it and right click to
start it.
Client Installation
1. The client software, MySQL Connector/ODBC 2.50 or later, must be
installed on all computers that will be running DriveRight FMS.
Note: MySQLConnector/ODBC3.51.21 is required for running DriveRight FMS on a Windows
Vista operating system.
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2. During the installation of the MySQL Connector/ODBC 2.50, the
Microsoft ODBC Setup dialog box displays. Click Ignore.
3. Click Close in the Data Sources dialog box. You are finished installing the
client software.
Database Configuration
1. With MySQL running, install and run the DriveRight FMS on the same
machine as the database server. This is only required for database
configuration. After the database is configured, remove DriveRight FMS
from the server. When the database configuration is complete, you will be
able to connect to the MySQL server from any PC on the local area
network.
Note: If you are running MySQL on a non-Windows server, you need to manually execute the
SQL scripts that configure your database with the necessary database tables manually.
The scripts are located in the “mySQL_TablesCreation.sql” file on the install CD.
2. When you run the DriveRight FMS, the Select Database Type dialog box
displays. Select MySQL, and Click OK.
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