SOLIDWORKS PDM: Changing Domains

This guide instructs SOLIDWORKS PDM administrators and IT professionals on the process of updating Windows PDM Users after changing Active Directory domains.

1. On the Archive Server, search for the Archive Server Configuration Manager in your Start Menu, then open it.

2. Expand the Archive folder and right-click on the vault which you would like to modify. Select Properties from the context menu.

3. Navigate to the login tab. If the 'login type' is set to "Use default login type", continue to step 3a, otherwise, skip to step 4.

3a. If the login type is set to "Use default login type", close the Properties window and navigate to Tools > Default Settings...

4. Next to the "Windows login" type, click "Settings..."

5. Add the Users and/or Groups from the new domain by typing them into the field and pressing "Add". Please note that you'll need to use the format: DOMAIN\USERNAME. After you have added all of the appropriate users, press OK on the "Select Users and Groups" window.

6. In the Settings pane, navigate to the security tab. Add the appropriate Users and Groups from the new domain to the Administrative Access and Attach Access fields. Please note that ALL users who wish to create local vault views must be added to the Attach Access field. Once you are done adding them, press OK.

7. In most cases, changing domains will not affect existing users in the Vault which is using the Windows login type, provided that the new domain contains the same Active Directory logins.

If the usernames in the new domain match the old ones perfectly, you can skip the remainder of this guide and simply restart the Archive Server by hitting the button shown below. If the login names do not perfectly match between the new and old domains (for example: "DOMAIN-1\JohnDoe" and "DOMAIN_2\JohnD") please continue to step 8.

8. Assuming that the usernames in the old server don't match, firstly, you will need to add a new backup Windows login to the SQL server. Open the SQL Server Management Studio and login to the database using the 'SA' credentials.

9. Expand the Security folder, then right-click on the Logins folder and select "New Login..." Enter the credentials of the Windows user account that you would like to use as a backup SQL administrator account in the format: DOMAIN\USERNAME.

10. On the Server Roles tab, add the 'sysadmin' role.

11. On the User Mapping tab, select each vault-specific database as well as the ConisioMasterDb (one at a time) and select the 'db_owner' database role. Press OK to close the window and confirm the changes.

At this point, you have two options: either create new users through the Administration Tool to replace the old ones which had a different username in the old domain, or update the SQL databases' 'Users' table to specify the new usernames. For the former option, please refer to the PDM Administration Guide; for the latter option, continue to step twelve.

Before directly modifying the SQL tables, please create backups following the instructions in the guide below:

CLICK HERE

12. In the SQL Management Studio, expand the Databases folder. Next, expand the vault-specific database folder, then expand the 'Tables' folder. Locate the table titled "dbo.Users" and  right-click it. Select "Edit Top 200 Rows." For each entry in the Username column (except for the 'Admin', 'SA' and 'NULL' entries), modify it to contain the username from the new domain. Hit enter after modifying each entry.

13. When you are done modifying the entries, hit the blue "save all" button, and close out of the SQL Management Studio. Close out of any open Explorer or PDM windows as well.

14. Open your Start Menu search box. Search for "services.msc". Open the Services application. Right-click and restart the following services:

SQL Server (MSSQLSERVER)

SOLIDWORKS PDM Database Server

SOLIDWORKS PDM Archive Server

Please note that depending on your PDM setup, the Archive Server service may be on a separate server.

15. If everything was done correctly, you should be able to log in to the vault using the new credentials both locally and over the network on remote clients. You should also be able to attach new Vault Views on client machines without being prompted for your domain credentials.

If you have any questions regarding the information above, please contact Hawk Ridge Systems Technical Support at 1-877-266-4469  (US), 1-866-587-6803  (CAN), or support@hawkridgesys.com.