Manage schema changes

Changes to the existing Site Administration database schema may cause the upgrade process to fail. Examples of such changes are the deletion of tables or columns, or changes to field types.

If you are sure that the schema has been changed manually, perform the steps below to ensure a successful schema upgrade.

If you are unsure if the schema has been changed, proceed with the installation as normal. If the schema has been changed, the configuration process fails if the changes cannot be handled automatically. It is important that not all schema upgrade failures are the result of the schema changes. Check the error logs very carefully to identify the exact cause of the failure. If it is apparent that the failure was due to changes to the schema, proceed with the steps below. You will have to run the configuration process again.

To prevent the upgrade process from failing, perform one of the following actions:

Note: It is advisable to perform these actions in this order.

Manually repair inconsistencies between the old schema and the new schema. For details about manually repairing the old schema, see Change the database user schema.
If the change is known and you are sure the upgraded server can work with it, you can create an exception file that instructs the system to ignore these changes during the upgrade process. After creating the exception file, save it in an accessible location on your system. After installing, the Site Administration Database Schema page in the wizard prompts you to add the file to the configuration process. As a result, the changes to the existing schema do not cause the upgrade process to fail.

To create an exception file:
1. Copy the SchemaExceptions.xml file from the installation directory. By default, the file is located in: <Installation path>\ALM\data\sa\Admin\MaintenanceData
2. Place the copy of the file in an accessible location on your system.
3. Edit the file and define exceptions. For example:
  - For an extra table:
```
<TableMissing>
<object pattern="MY_Table" type="extra"/>
</TableMissing>
```
  - For an extra view:
```
<ViewMissing>
<object pattern="MY_VIEW" type="extra"/>
</ViewMissing>
```
  - For an extra column:
```
<ColumnMissing>
<object pattern="MY_COLUMN" type="extra"/>
</ColumnMissing>
```
  - For an extra index:
```
<IndexMissing>
<object pattern="MY_INDEX" type="extra">
</IndexMissing>
```
  - For an extra constraint:
```
<ConstraintMissing>
<object pattern="MY_CONSTRAINT" type="extra">
</ConstraintMissing>
```
  - For multiple occurrences of extra elements:
    
    For example, multiple extra columns:
```
<ColumnMissing>
<object pattern="MY_COLUMN_1" type="extra"/>
<object pattern="MY_COLUMN_2" type="extra"/>
</ColumnMissing>
```
4. Save the SchemaExceptions.xml file.
If you cannot manually repair the inconsistencies, or create an exception file, create a new schema and then migrate the projects to the new schema.

If OpenText Application Quality Management is already installed on the server machine, you can rerun the Installation Wizard.
1. In the Site Administration Database Schema page, select Create a New Schema.
2. After the configuration process completes, migrate projects to the new schema using the Restore Project option in Site Administration.