A quick tour of maintaining database servers and their geodatabases

Once a database server has been created, geodatabases have been created on the database server, users have been added, and data has been loaded, there are a few maintenance tasks to be done on database servers and the geodatabases they contain. Some of these tasks are needed to maintain performance; others you may only have to perform in specific situations.

Each of these tasks, when or why they are done, and who can perform them are described in the following table:

Maintenance task	Purpose	User who can perform the task	Related topic
Disconnect users from a geodatabase.	This might be needed if a user makes a connection then leaves it idle for a long period of time (for example, they leave for the day) and another user needs access to the geodatabase or the specific data the user has locked.	Only the server administrator can disconnect users from a geodatabase.	Disconnecting users from geodatabases on database servers
Create a backup of a geodatabase.	This is necessary to ensure your data is not lost if the geodatabase gets corrupted or deleted.	The server administrator or the administrator of the geodatabase can create a backup file of a geodatabase.	Creating a backup of a geodatabase on a database server
Restore a geodatabase.	If a geodatabase is lost or corrupted, a backup copy can be restored. Also, you can move geodatabases from one database server to another and share geodatabases across organizations by restoring a backup file to a database server	Only the server administrator can restore a geodatabase to the database server.	Restoring a geodatabase to a database server
Detach a geodatabase from a database server.	You can detach a geodatabase from a database server to move it to another database server.	The server administrator or the geodatabase administrator can detach a database file from the database server.	Detaching a geodatabase from a database server
Attach a geodatabase to a database server.	You can move geodatabases from one database server to another by detaching them from one, moving them to a new location, and attaching them to a new database server. You might do this if you are sharing data with another department or organization.	Only the server administrator can attach a geodatabase to a database server.	Attaching a geodatabase to a database server
Compress a geodatabase.	Over time, the delta tables associated with versioned data can grow quite large. To remove records from the delta tables, compress the geodatabase.	Either the server administrator or the geodatabase administrator can compress a geodatabase.	Compressing a geodatabase on a database server
Update the statistics in a geodatabase.	The SQL Server Express query optimizer uses the database statistics to determine how best to execute a query made against the database. You need to keep the statistics up-to-date so the optimizer has the most recent information.	Either the server administrator or the geodatabase administrator can update the statistics of a geodatabase.	Updating statistics in a geodatabase on a database server
Rebuild indexes in a geodatabase.	Indexes can become fragmented after a large number of edits or a geodatabase compress operation is performed. Index statistics are also used to optimize query performance, so you should keep the indexes up-to-date.	Either the server administrator or the geodatabase administrator can rebuild the indexes in a geodatabase.	Rebuilding indexes in a geodatabase on a database server
Shrink a database.	There are not too many times you will need to shrink the geodatabase. Since SQL Server Express geodatabases are relatively small, the data files probably will not be broken into scattered fragments as data is deleted and added to the geodatabase to such an extent that it would hurt geodatabase performance. However, if your geodatabase is getting close to its size limit of 4 GB, try shrinking it to gain some space.	Either the server administrator or the geodatabase administrator can run a shrink operation.	Shrinking a geodatabase on a database server
Delete a database server connection.	Deleting a database server connection removes the connection file from the Catalog tree. The database server still exists; it just will not be accessible from the client from which it was deleted. You might remove a database server connection from the Catalog tree if the connection is no longer valid, that particular client has no reason to connect to it, or you only need to connect to a particular geodatabase on the database server (in which case, you could save the connection under the Database Connections node of the Catalog tree instead).	Any user can delete a database server connection from the Catalog tree. It only affects the client from which it is deleted.	Deleting a database server connection from ArcCatalog
Delete a geodatabase from a database server.	Only delete a geodatabase if it is no longer needed, for example, if you move the data to a different geodatabase.	The server administrator can delete a geodatabase from a database server.	Deleting a geodatabase from a database server
Uninstall SQL Server Express.	If you no longer need the database server, you can uninstall SQL Server Express from the computer. Or, you might uninstall one version of SQL Server Express, install a newer version, then restore your geodatabases to the new instance.	Only a Windows administrator can uninstall applications from the computer.	Uninstalling a SQL Server 2005 Express instance Uninstalling a SQL Server 2008 Express instance
Upgrade the SQL Server instance.	If you are using an older release of SQL Server Express, you might want to upgrade it to take advantage of newer functionality only available in the new release of SQL Server Express.	Only a dbo user (a server administrator) can upgrade the SQL Server Express instance.	Upgrading from SQL Server 2005 Express to SQL Server 2008 Express
Change the license key on the database server.	If you move from using the database servers licensed under ArcGIS for Desktop or ArcGIS Engine to using database servers licensed under ArcGIS for Server at the Workgroup level, you must update the license key on the computer where SQL Server Express is installed and in each of the existing geodatabases. Similarly, if you have an Esri Developer Network (EDN) license, that file can expire, and you have to update the server and all the geodatabases with a new file.	Only a Windows administrator can run the wizard to update the license file on the computer. For updating the file in the existing geodatabases, a server administrator or a geodatabase administrator can detach the geodatabases from the database server. However, only a server administrator can reattach the geodatabases to update the license file.	Changing license keys for database servers and their geodatabases