Migrate SoftActivity database from PostgreSQL 9.6 to 18: Admin Guide

The current SoftActivity Monitor and TS Monitor releases, starting with SoftActivity version 15, come bundled with the on-premises PostgreSQL 18 x64 database server, which offers improved performance, security, and reliability. SoftActivity version 14 bundled PostgreSQL 15. Earlier SoftActivity versions used PostgreSQL 9.6.

If you are installing SoftActivity Monitor or TS Monitor version 15 or later as a fresh installation, PostgreSQL 18 is installed by default. No additional action is needed. If you are already running SoftActivity version 14 with PostgreSQL 15, updating the product to SoftActivity version 15 upgrades PostgreSQL 15 to 18 automatically and this guide is usually not needed.

PostgreSQL 9.6 should no longer be used. This guide is mainly for older installations that still use PostgreSQL 9.6. For data integrity, a direct major upgrade from PostgreSQL 9.6 to 18 is not performed automatically. The current Webapp included with SoftActivity version 15 is not installed on PostgreSQL 9.6, and older Webapp builds running on PostgreSQL 9.6 are no longer supported. Current installers use PostgreSQL 18 as the bundled database engine.

To switch from PostgreSQL 9.6 to the current bundled database platform, you must perform a complete uninstall of SoftActivity and a fresh installation of SoftActivity version 15 or later. The database from the previous version can then be transferred to the new database server. It is not mandatory to migrate old data; you can choose a complete reinstall and start with a fresh PostgreSQL 18 database.

You have 2 options for this upgrade:

1. Simplest and recommended option: completely reinstall SoftActivity and start with a new database

• Old logs and existing Web Console accounts will be removed and will not be accessible.
• Save the Agents list in SoftActivity Monitor:
  • To preserve the list of monitored computers and their settings, export the list and later restore it into the new version.
  • Open SoftActivity Monitor, click File, click the two arrows at the bottom, then select Export Agents List.
  • Select a destination folder, such as Documents, and enter a file name, for example agents.xml.
  • Click Save. You will be prompted to save passwords into the file. You can select this option, but ensure the file does not leave your computer.
• Launch the uninstall of SoftActivity Monitor or TS Monitor from Apps & Features in Windows Settings. In TS Monitor, you can find the uninstall button on the About tab.
• Select the Remove Data Folder check box, if available, to ensure that old data has been deleted, as it cannot be used anymore.
• Ensure that the SoftActivity data folder has been deleted, or delete it manually. By default, the data folder is C:\ProgramData\Salog\data\.
• Download the latest licensed version of SoftActivity software from the update center.
• Run the installation and complete it. Enter your registration key to activate.
• Restore the Agents list in SoftActivity Monitor. Select File -> Import Agents list, and select the agents.xml file saved earlier.
• Verify that all computers come online in the list.
• Open the Web Console in a browser, log in, and change the password for your account.

2. Reinstall and preserve existing logs

This option requires more administrative work, but it preserves your existing logs and Web Console accounts.

Continue with all the steps below.

How to determine which PostgreSQL version is installed by SoftActivity

PostgreSQL 18

• Windows service is still called SapgSrv15
• Installed in C:\Program Files\SoftActivity\Activity Monitor\postgres18
• Data directory is pgdata18
• SoftActivity product version 15 or later comes with PostgreSQL 18

PostgreSQL 15

• Windows service is called SapgSrv15
• Installed in C:\Program Files\SoftActivity\Activity Monitor\postgres15
• Data directory is pgdata15
• SoftActivity product version 14 bundled PostgreSQL 15
• Updating SoftActivity from version 14 to version 15 upgrades PostgreSQL 15 to 18 automatically

PostgreSQL 9.6

• Windows service is called SapgSrv
• Installed in C:\Program Files\SoftActivity\Activity Monitor\postgres
• Data directory is pgdata
• SoftActivity product version 13 or earlier comes with PostgreSQL 9.6

Create dump from PostgreSQL 9.6 database

This step should be completed before uninstalling the older PostgreSQL 9.6-based installation.

To create a data dump from your old database using pg_dump from PostgreSQL 9.6, follow the instructions below.

• Create a folder for the dump file. The backup folder on drive C: is used in this example.
• Open Command Prompt.
• Change the current directory to the postgres\bin folder by typing the following command. For TS Monitor, replace Activity Monitor with TS Monitor.

cd "%ProgramFiles%\SoftActivity\Activity Monitor\postgres\bin"

• Important: determine the current database name in use. Open Options -> Database tab -> Database Configuration, and note the name selected in the Database drop-down list. In the example below, the name is postgres, which is the default. We will use postgres in the next step after the -d command line parameter.

• Create a dump file from the existing database:

pg_dump --file="C:\backup\softactivity.dump" --format=c -d postgres -h localhost -U softactivity

In this command:

• -d postgres specifies your database name. It can be seen in the database settings window, determined in the previous step. By default, it is postgres.
• -U softactivity refers to the user name used to connect to the PostgreSQL database. By default, this is softactivity.
• --file determines the location where the dump file will be stored. Ensure that the specified folder has been created in advance.

You will be prompted to enter your PostgreSQL database password. This is the password initially set during the SoftActivity installation.

Upon successful execution of this command, you will find a softactivity.dump file in the C:\backup directory. Ensure that the file size is larger than 0; otherwise, the dump was not created successfully.

Save the Agents list

To preserve the list of computers and their settings, export the list and later restore it into the new version.

• Open SoftActivity Monitor, click File, click the two arrows at the bottom, then select Export Agents List.
• Select a folder, such as Documents, and enter a file name, for example agents.xml.
• Click Save. You will be prompted to save passwords into the file. You can select this option, but ensure the file does not leave your computer.

Upgrade to the latest SoftActivity with PostgreSQL 18

Find your registration name and key, then download the latest licensed or full version from the update center.

Uninstall the older version

Launch the uninstall of SoftActivity Monitor or TS Monitor from Apps & Features in Windows Settings. In TS Monitor, you can find the uninstall button on the About tab.

Do not select the Remove Data Folder check box, to ensure that existing screenshot images are preserved.

The uninstall action will also remove PostgreSQL 9.6.

As an optional step, you can delete the old database directory along with all its files, because the new version will not use it. To do so, remove the pgdata directory found inside the SoftActivity data folder. By default, this is located at C:\ProgramData\Salog\data\. Ensure that you do not delete the scr-web directory, which contains screenshots.

A computer restart may be required to complete the uninstall process. If so, reboot the computer or server.

Install the latest SoftActivity software version 15 or later

Proceed to install SoftActivity Monitor version 15 or the latest licensed version. Do not install the free demo. During installation, ensure that you select the bundled PostgreSQL 18 database component.

Select the same Data folder as in the previous version, so the new installation can access existing screenshots. If you did not change the default C:\ProgramData\Salog\data, you do not need to change anything.

Do not activate it yet by entering a registration key, so that the application and services do not start until the database migration is complete. Activation will be completed later.

Restore database dump into PostgreSQL 18

To restore your dump file into a new database using pg_restore from PostgreSQL 18, follow the steps below:

• Open Command Prompt.
• Change the current directory to the postgres18\bin folder by executing the following command:

cd "%ProgramFiles%\SoftActivity\Activity Monitor\postgres18\bin"

• Create a new database by executing the command:

createdb -U softactivity -h localhost softactivity1

In this command, softactivity1 is the new empty database name. You can choose any name for the new database. -U softactivity specifies the user name used to connect to the database, where softactivity is the default user.

If prompted, enter the PostgreSQL password that was set during the previous installation step.

Now restore the previously created dump file into the new database by running the following command:

pg_restore -d softactivity1 -h localhost -U softactivity --jobs=8 "C:\backup\softactivity.dump"

In this command, softactivity1 is the name of your new database. -U softactivity specifies the user name used to connect to the database.

Enter the PostgreSQL password used during the installation stage in the previous step.

Note: "schema public already exists" is expected and can be ignored. It does not affect the restore process.

Activate the app with new database and check the results

Now that the data has been restored into the softactivity1 database, activate SoftActivity software and switch it to this new database.

• Open the SoftActivity Monitor console app, or the TS Monitor config app. It should ask you to activate it, because this is a fresh install. Copy the registration key you prepared earlier.
• Important: open Options -> Database tab -> Database Configuration. From the Database drop-down list, select softactivity1, which is the database name you restored the dump into. Click Check Connection. Click OK to save the new settings.

• Not needed for TS Monitor: restore the Agents list that you backed up earlier. Click File -> Import Agents list, and select your agents.xml file saved earlier in the Documents folder. Delete the agents.xml file afterward because it may contain passwords.
• Click View Reports and log in to your on-premises SoftActivity Web Console. Ensure that you can log in with your previous account credentials. Verify that your user list is present on the right side of the console, and confirm that you can view logs and screenshots as expected.