# MariaDB

In 2018 ZeeBORN introduced a new database engine to be used by all new ZeeBORN software, as a replacement to the no longer supported Advantage Database Server by SAP. The new database engine is based on MariaDB with minor modifications related to the setup and management of the database server.

# Some important facts about the new database engine:

1. Unlike the Advantage Database Server the new database engine doesn't require the purchase of a dedicated license. In result the ZeeBORN Database Engine is made available for free.
2. The new database engine doesn't have a user or connection limit - as it was and still is already the case with the ZeeBORN software itself.
3. The new database engine can be installed on as many servers as required. This also includes server installations used for creating test and training environments.
4. ZeeBORN will deliver a database engine setup with each release of new software versions.
5. The ZeeBORN database engine can be used in parallel with other database engines on the same server. This also includes parallel instances of already running MariaDB or MySQL database servers. But the ZeeBORN software requires an exclusive instance of it's own database engine installation.
6. The ZeeBORN database engine is no longer limited to be installed on Windows servers. It can also be installed on Linux, in a Proxmox container or other system virtualization environments.
7. Popular management tools and database interfaces for MariaDB/MySQL can also be used with the ZeeBORN database engine.

# Breaking Changes

# General

1. The new database server requires a 64bit operating system. 32bit systems are no longer supported (doesn't apply to the client software).
2. The standalone program version (ZeeBORN on USB stick) is no longer supported.
3. There is no longer a fall back to a local database engine if the database server service isn't running or can't be contacted via network.

# Shared Network Folder

1. The ZeeBORN software itself still uses a shared network folder for managing file attachments and other large binary objects. The database will be used for managing metadata but the content itself will be stored in a optimized file and folder structure.
2. Shared network folder and the database engine can reside on different servers.
3. The new environment variable %ZeeBORNShared% points to this folder.

# New Log File Storage and Format

1. All log files use now Markdown syntax for structuring and allow to be viewed with suitable Markdown viewers (e.g. Markdown preview for Windows Explorer contained in Microsoft PowerToys). The formatted view allows easier consumption and easier identification of logged errors and warnings. Most log files contain at the end a summary informing about the number of errors and warnings contained in the log file.
2. Most of the log files created by the system are now stored in the database. The log files can be accessed with the Log File Viewer application.
3. Log files created by external tools that might not have access to the database are stored in folder %PUBLIC%\Documents\ZeeBORN\Logs.

# Differences between MariaDB and ZeeBORN Database Engine

1. While the ZeeBORN Database Engine is in its core identical to MariaDB, the ZeeBORN Database Engine is delivered with a reduced tool set and with less plug-ins and other support files. It's streamlined to the minimum amount of files required for installing and operating the database engine (installation program size reduced from approx. 70 MByte to 8 MByte).
2. The ZeeBORN Database Engine can be installed only by using the DBEngineSetup.exe.
3. The ZeeBORN Database Engine comes fully pre-configured with optimum settings for the operation of ZeeBORN applications.

# Frequently Asked Questions

While ZeeBORN is committed to support older software versions still using the Advantage Database Server as long as possible, we highly recommend a migration to the new database engine based ZeeBORN version as soon as possible. As Advantage Database Server is no longer supported by SAP, this might introduce technical and security challenges with newer Windows versions.
ADS based ZeeBORN software is now considered being in "legacy" mode, that will no longer receive new features and will be limited to general bug fixing.

No, the new database engine doesn't require the purchase of licenses.

Yes, this is supported but requires assistance by our support team. Using the database on Linux distributions like Ubuntu or even on a RaspberryPi is part of our internal tests. ZeeBORN won't provide a dedicated setup program for the database engine but will instead provide assistance with using the available package managers for installing MariaDB and applying the necessary configuration updates. Actually the ZeeBORN software can be used with any server platform/operating system that supports installing MariaDB.

No, you can use the same hardware as before. It's also possible to install the new database server on the same server where the Advantage Database Server is installed? If you install the new database server on the same machine where the Advantage Database Server is installed, you must consider that all data will be stored twice on the server. Before migrating to the new database engine you'll need to make sure that the harddisk has a free space + some reserve as the space currently occupied by the data managed by the Advantage Database Server (approx. the size of the %ZeeBORNData% folder).

No. First, the office should be migrated to the new database server. The data replication format used for synchronizing data between the office and vessels is identical to the format used in previous software versions. The migration on the vessels can be executed at any time after migrating the office database server.

Yes. The database has a dedicated read-only user account that can be used for accessing the data in the database via MariaDB/MySQL-compatible 3rd party solutions. The credentials for this user account will be made available to the customer's administrator via ZeeBORN support.

The new version is already available since 2019 and is used for all new implementations of the ZeeBORN system.
All existing customers have already received an invitation for testing the new version on our demo servers.
The update is made available to existing customers without extra charge.