Support for Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012
Windows 8 features a new user interface designed to better suit touchscreen input, while continuing to accommodate traditional mouse and keyboard input. This section explains the extent to which Pervasive PSQL supports the features of Windows 8 and includes the following topics:
•
Editions Supported
•
Windows Server 2012 Application Certification
•
Windows 8 Features
•
Unsupported and Inapplicable Features
Editions Supported
The following table lists the Windows 8 editions supported by Pervasive PSQL.
Table 1
Pervasive PSQL Support for Windows 8 Editions
Windows 8 Edition
Pervasive PSQL Product
Server
Vx Server
Workgroup
Client
Windows 8 (32-bit and 64-bit)
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Windows 8 Professional (32-bit and 64-bit)
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Windows 8 Enterprise (32-bit and 64-bit)
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Windows RT
No
No
No
No
Windows Server 2012 64-bit (32-bit not available)
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Windows Server 2012 Application Certification
Pervasive PSQL Vx Server, 64-bit, has obtained the Windows Server Application Certification Program Logo for Windows Server 2012.
Windows 8 Features
The following topics discuss the primary features of Windows 8 as they pertain to Pervasive PSQL.
•
Start Screen and Apps Screen
•
Microsoft Live ID
•
Storage Spaces and Thin Provisioning
•
ReFS File System
•
4K Read Sector Size
•
Live Migration without Shared Storage
•
SMB 3.0 with Failover Cluster Environment
•
NIC Teaming
•
High Availability
•
Pooled Virtual Desktop Infrastructure
•
SkyDrive
•
Refresh and Reset
•
DisktoVHD and Bootable VHD
•
Internet Explorer 10
•
Windows Defender
Start Screen and Apps Screen
In Windows 8, a Start Screen and an Apps Screen replace the traditional Start menu. Both screens use tiles to display Windows Store apps and shortcuts to display applications not from Windows Store.
The Start Screen is considered a user-preference location to be individually customized. Therefore, by default, no shortcuts for Pervasive PSQL components appear on the Start Screen.
The following shortcuts for Pervasive PSQL components appear on the Apps Screen.
Table 2
Pervasive PSQL Component Shortcuts on Windows 8 Apps Screen
Pervasive PSQL Component
Shortcut Name on Apps Screen1, 2
Pervasive PSQL Control Center and Documentation
PSQL Control Center & Documentation
License Administrator
Pervasive License Administrator
PVSW Log
PSQL PVSW Log
Start Workgroup Engine
Start PSQL Workgroup Engine3
Stop Workgroup Engine
Stop PSQL Workgroup Engine3
DDF Builder
DDF Builder
Function Executor
PSQL Function Executor
Gateway Locator
PSQL Gateway Locator3
Maintenance
PSQL Maintenance
Monitor
PSQL Monitor
Notification Viewer
PSQL Notification Viewer
Pervasive System Analyzer
Pervasive System Analyzer
Query Plan Viewer
PSQL Query Plan Viewer
Rebuild
PSQL Rebuild
1 “PSQL” has been added to the majority of shortcut names to help you identify Pervasive PSQL components. Shortcuts are organized under single folder names. The Pervasive PSQL folder name on the Apps Screen is “Pervasive PSQL 11.”
2 No shortcut is provided for the XIO Statistics component because it does not apply. See Inapplicable Features.
3 These screen components are present only if Pervasive PSQL Workgroup is installed as an application.
Microsoft Live ID
By default with Windows 8, a local user account is associated with a Live ID for signing on to the operating system. Signing on with Live ID automatically populates certain personalized settings associated with the Live ID. In addition, apps purchased from Windows Store roam with the Live ID account.
Microsoft Live ID offers no roaming advantage for Pervasive PSQL because Pervasive PSQL is not a Windows Store app. (However, a Windows Store app can use Pervasive PSQL as a data repository. Refer to the content on Open Data Protocol (OData) available on the Pervasive PSQL Web site.)
However, if you choose, you can use a Live ID account to log on to the machine where you installed Pervasive PSQL. In that case, Pervasive PSQL functions just as it does for a local user account. For example, the transactional and relational services start successfully. Similarly, the Pervasive PSQL Workgroup Engine and Cache Engine auto-load and auto-unload as required when you log on or log off. Pervasive PSQL security honors Windows 8 security based on the Windows file system, networking, and peer-to-peer sharing configured to use Microsoft Live ID for authentication.
Storage Spaces and Thin Provisioning
Storage Spaces is a collection of drives grouped into a single logical drive resource. Thin Provisioning is a storage technology that allows the over-allocation of capacity without actually reserving physical storage. A file system can be much larger than the underlying storage, if that storage is expandable.
Storage Spaces
Pervasive PSQL licensing is not affected by the use of Storage Spaces. You can set up a Storage Spaces drive array, remove a disk from the array, or remove the entire array.
Pervasive PSQL can use a Storage Spaces drive as regular physical storage. The database engine can access the drive configuration and all features function normally. If the Storage Spaces configuration runs out of storage, the database engine returns an “out of disk space” status. Pervasive PSQL VSS Writer functions normally with backup operations using Storage Spaces.
Thin Provisioning
Pervasive PSQL can use Thin Provisioning storage. For an “out of disk space” condition, the operating system takes the disks offline. The database engine returns an “out of disk space” status.
ReFS File System
ReFS (Resilient File System) is built on the foundations of NTFS to maintain compatibility yet is architected for a new generation of storage technologies. At the application level, ReFS stored data is accessible just as is NTFS data. Pervasive PSQL can use physical storage formatted as ReFS.
One incompatibility with ReFS is DOS short names. They are an NTFS feature but are not supported with ReFS.
4K Read Sector Size
Pervasive PSQL can use disk storage with 4K sector size.
However, if the physical page size of the data file being opened is less than the section size of the storage (4K in this case), the database engine uses system cache when it opens the file. This applies even if the configuration setting System Cache is turned off. In addition, the engine writes a warning message to PVSW.LOG. Only one warning is written as long as the engine retains pages in cache for the file. A butil -stat command issued on a file also writes a warning. This can result in numerous warnings if the -stat command is issued repeatedly while no other operations occur to the file.
If you want to avoid the use of system cache and messages being written to PVSW.LOG, rebuild the data file with a page size of 4K or greater, or use physical storage with a conventional sector size.
Live Migration without Shared Storage
Microsoft Hyper-V allows for the migration of a running VM from one host to another without requiring shared storage.
Pervasive PSQL Vx Server can be migrated under Hyper-V and requires no reconnection from the PSQL Clients. The key for PSQL Vx Server remains in the “active” state provided the virtual MAC addresses and host names remain the same after the VMs migrate.
You may prefer not to migrate Pervasive PSQL Server or Workgroup under Hyper-V unless you intent to migrate back to original host fairly quickly. The key for either product changes to “failed validation” state when a VM migrates to another host. The database engine runs only for a limited number of days in “failed validation” state.
For details, see High Availability Support in Advanced Operations Guide.
SMB 3.0 with Failover Cluster Environment
Server Message Block (SMB) 3.0 can provide shared access to files from a failover cluster. Pervasive PSQL Workgroup running outside of the cluster environment can use data that resides on SMB cluster storage and will continue to work uninterrupted when a cluster failover occurs. Set access permissions to the shared storage through Failover Cluster Manager, not through the operating system (such as with My Computer or File Explorer).
Pervasive PSQL Server and Vx Server do not support the use of data that resides on separate SMB cluster storage. They require shared storage that the engine accesses as if it were the local file system.
See also High Availability Support in Advanced Operations Guide.
NIC Teaming
Network interface card (NIC) teaming is a feature that allows two or more specialized NICs to be set up as a “team” for fault tolerance or load balancing.
NIC teaming can be used on a physical or virtual machine with Pervasive PSQL Server, Vx Server, or Workgroup. However, ensure that you configure the NIC teaming before you authorize the Pervasive PSQL product. If you subsequently need to change the NIC teaming, first deauthorize the Pervasive PSQL product, make the changes, and then reauthorize the product.
High Availability
Pervasive PSQL can be used in high availability environments. See High Availability Support in Advanced Operations Guide.
Pooled Virtual Desktop Infrastructure
Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) is a feature that hosts a user’s desktop operating system as a VM on a server. Pooled VDI creates a pool of VMs from which a newly initialized VM instance is created when a user logs in.
Pervasive PSQL Client is compatible with pooled VDI and can access remote data. The Client can be added to a VM template and functions normally when accessed from the pool by multiple users.
Pervasive PSQL Server, Vx Server, and Workgroup are not compatible with pooled VDI VMs. A VM template can be created that includes the database engine, but each instance of the VM accessed from the pool violates Pervasive PSQL licensing.
Refresh and Reset
Refresh and Reset allows the existing installation of Windows 8 to be overwritten with a new image of the operating system. Both Refresh and Reset remove Pervasive PSQL from the machine (the product key, all Registry entries, and the installation folders and files).
If you want to use Refresh or Reset, first deauthorize the Pervasive PSQL product key on the machine. This allows you to authorize the key on another machine or on the same machine after the Refresh and Reset completes. See To Deauthorize a Key and To Authorize a Key, both in Pervasive PSQL User's Guide.
Reset
Reset removes all personal data, applications—including Windows Store apps—and customized settings.
Refresh
Refresh retains any Windows Store apps that were installed from the Microsoft Windows Store. The installations (and Registry entries) for applications not from Windows Store, such as Pervasive PSQL, are lost when the new image of the operating system is written. However, also note the following.
•
Databases created outside the default Pervasive PSQL installation directory structure are retained on the file system.
•
Databases created within the default Pervasive PSQL installation directory structure are archived in folder C:\Windows.old.
For example, a database named “testdb1” created at C:\Program Files\Pervasive Software\testdb1 is retained in C:\ Windows.old\Program Files\Pervasive Software\testdb1.
•
If Pervasive PSQL was installed with the default paths, DBNAMES.CFG is retained in C:\ Windows.old\ ProgramData\Pervasive Software\PSQL.
•
File paths and data paths that do not include the operating system folders “Program Files,” “Program Files (86),” or “ProgramData” are not archived in C:\Windows.old.
For example, you perform a custom installation of Pervasive PSQL and specify C:\PervasiveSoftware1 for the data path and C:\PervasiveSoftware2 for the file path. Those two directories, which include DBNAMES.CFG and the other files, are retained after a Refresh, but no files in those directories are archived to C:\Windows.old.
DisktoVHD and Bootable VHD
DisktoVHD allows the creation of a virtual machine (VM) from a physical machine instance. DisktoVHD is similar to other physical‑to‑virtual utilities provided with hypervisor products. See Pervasive PSQL Vx Server Product Guide for a discussion of the hypervisor products with which Pervasive PSQL Vx Server is compatible.
Bootable VHD allows the creation of a Hyper-V VM from which you can boot Windows 8 on another machine instead of loading the operating system from the image on the machine’s physical disk. The other machine must already have Windows 8 installed.
Note the following if you intend to use DisktoVHD or Bootable VHD:
•
Pervasive PSQL Vx Server requires Internet connectivity at all times and consistent host name and all network interface card (NIC) MAC addresses.
•
Each instance of Pervasive PSQL Vx Server, including those that are created, cloned or copied for VMs, requires its own permanent key even if the host name and MAC addresses are the same. Therefore, deauthorize the Pervasive PSQL Vx Server key on the physical machine before creating the VM and then apply the Pervasive PSQL key for each VM instance. See To Deauthorize a Key and To Authorize a Key, both in Pervasive PSQL User's Guide.
Internet Explorer 10
Pervasive PSQL documentation provided in an HTML format, such as the PCC documentation library, PSA network troubleshooting tips, release notes, and the Pervasive PSQL Web Library, are compatible with Internet Explorer 10.
Windows Defender
Windows Defender provides stronger protection against malware. You should be able to install, configure, and run Pervasive PSQL without interfering with Windows Defender. See installation steps in Getting Started With Pervasive PSQL and Configuration Reference in Advanced Operations Guide.
Unsupported and Inapplicable Features
This section discusses features of Windows 8 not supported and Pervasive PSQL features that are not applicable to Windows 8.
Unsupported Features
Pervasive PSQL does not support the following features of Windows 8. Refer to the Microsoft Web site if you want details about these features.
•
WinRT (Windows 8 native runtime)
•
ARM Processor Support
•
Live Tiles
•
Connected Standby
•
Low Impact Startup
•
Deployment through Windows Store (deployment of Pervasive PSQL through Windows Store)
Windows To Go
Windows To Go (WTG) allows Windows 8 Enterprise to boot and run from USB mass storage devices such as flash drives and external hard drives.
In the traditional sense of a WTG device that can be used among multiple machines, Pervasive PSQL is not supported. You can install Pervasive PSQL on a WTG device. However, the product key for Pervasive PSQL remains in the “active” state only for the machine from which you authorized Pervasive PSQL. If you boot any other machine with the WTG device, the product key is in “failed validation” state.
WTG is useful if you want to run the database engine on the machine from which you authorized Pervasive PSQL. Using the WTG device with other machines would be limited to a duration less than the failed-validation period.
SkyDrive
In addition to the items just listed, SkyDrive is not supported if you intend to use Pervasive PSQL in a multi-user environment. SkyDrive is Microsoft's implementation of cloud storage to serve as personal cloud storage. SkyDrive is designed for a single user who operates only one device at a time. Multiple users accessing the data files from multiple devices does not work correctly on SkyDrive. Multiple concurrent updates from multiple devices to the same data can result in corrupted data or data loss.
SkyDrive has the same limitations as other cloud storage options intended for personal data storage, such as Dropbox.com, Apple's iCloud, Google Drive, CX.com, and SugarSync. If you use SkyDrive as a storage location for Pervasive PSQL data files it must be solely for single-user data.
Inapplicable Features
•
Pervasive PSQL as a Windows Store app. Pervasive PSQL is not a Windows Store app. You cannot install or run the database engine or the Client as a Windows Store app.
*Note: However, a Windows Store app can use Pervasive PSQL as a data repository. Refer to the content on Open Data Protocol (OData) available on the Pervasive PSQL Web site.
•
Pervasive PSQL XIO. XIO is supported only on 32-bit server-class Windows operating systems. Therefore, XIO is not available on Windows 8 editions because they are not server-class, or on Windows Server 2012 because it is only available in 64-bit.