Recently, I was asked to work with my SQL team to migrate a list of Blackberry databases (UEM, Control, and BEMS) to a new SQL environment. I actually performed this task a couple of times in the past and learned a few lessons along the way. This post will show you the steps required and any gotcha you need to know as well.

Before we start, I recommend reviewing the Blackberry KB below as your SQL environment may be different than mine.

How to move the BES12 database to a new Microsoft SQL Server instance

The first and most important step to take is to stop all Blackberry services on the Blackberry UEM host. Keep in mind, however, this will cause email delivery delay to your users’ devices so do plan accordingly.

Assuming your Blackberry databases have been migrated to the new SQL environment, here are the steps to take in Blackberry UEM.

Start by launching the Blackberry UEM Configuration Tool on the UEM server. This tool can be found in 3 different ways:

• Within the installer usually under C:\BlackBerry\UEM\BlackBerry UEM version\tools\BlackBerry_UEM_ConfigTool.
• Look for Blackberry UEM Configuration under start menu after UEM is installed
• Download the tool from the Blackberry website.

Once you launch the configuration tool, follow the screenshots below.

Fill in the new SQL server name and click Validate. You can then click Next once the connection is successful.

Choose the option below that applies to your SQL environment. Again, you need to validate first before you can update.

Once you click Update without checking off the box Automatically Restart Services, you should see the below.

If you click on Automatically Restart Services, you will see the below instead.

Here’s the gotcha I want to share. If you follow the Blackberry KB and this post religiously, you should have stopped all Blackberry services prior to running the configuration tool. If so, you may recall it could take a significant amount of time to stop the Blackberry UEM – UEM Core service.

If you didn’t stop the Blackberry services beforehand and decided to check off the box Automatically Restart Services, you could be stuck at the screen with the message Stopping the Blackberry UEM services which almost never goes away. Chances are, the Windows service was stuck at Stopping.

I worked with Blackberry technical support on this issue, but I was told it’s not really a known issue at this time. In any case, the workaround to stop the UEM core service properly is to launch Task Manager and kill off tomcat7.exe under the Details tab.

You may also notice a list of Commons Daemon Service Runner under the Processes tab, and you will see one for Blackberry UEM – UEM Core after each item on the list. However, ending this here will stop the service temporarily and it starts itself again shortly after. Thus, it’s best to kill off tomcat7.exe as described above.

If you have more than one Blackberry UEM host in your environment, repeat the same steps above to ensure they all point to the new SQL environment.

Let’s move on the steps required for the BEMS database.

Log onto BEMS and in the BlackBerry Enterprise Mobility Server Dashboard, click Mail then Database under BlackBerry Services Configuration.

My SQL environment is set up as AAG (Always On Availability Group). Thus, I need to enter the FQDN of the AlwaysOn Listener in the Server field. Then, enter the name of the database that is added to the AlwaysOn Availability Group in the Database field. Finally, click Test to test the connection and then click Save.

Note that the same is also changed under BEMS Configuration -> Database

That’s it for now. Until next time, stay mobile!