Question
How can I validate a case's integrity?
Answer
There are two different methods to validate a case - using the DBConfig utility or DBControl CLI. Both methods are described in this article
DBControl
If you need to validate only one case, and do not wish to validate your entire database, you need to use this section of the guide. The DBConfig section of the guide can only be used to validate the entire database.
DBControl.exe is a Command Line Interface (CLI) tool and can be found in one of the following locations.
[drive]:\Program Files\AccessData\DBConfigTool
[drive]:\Program Files\AccessData\Forensic Toolkit\\bin
1. Open a command terminal on the appropriate system as administrator.
2. Navigate to the path above.
3. Use the syntax below to either -validate or -validate fix the desired case.
>DBControl.exe dbtype= host= -validate
(Note: Default dbtype is mssql. If omitted, the default will be used. Non-standard ports and SID's can also be used. For more information, see the article linked here.)
Examples:
>DBControl.exe host=CARTIER -validate 3
>DBControl.exe dbtype=postgres host=GAMA -validate fix 4
If necessary, the system will prompt for the database SA password. Type the password and then press Enter. If the system reports "validate successful" at the end, the validation completed successfully. If "validate successful" does not appear and there are other warning and/or errors, please report these to support@accessdata.com for assistance.
Below is an example of a successful validation.
DBConfig
Using DBConfig to validate will validate all cases in the system. To validate a single case, DBControl (previous section) should be used.
The DBConfig utility can be found in one of the following locations. For Summation and eDiscovery users, the first location should be used and can be found on the server where the DatabaseConfigTool is installed. For FTK, Lab, or Enterprise users, the second locations should be used and can be found where the FTK, Lab, or Enterprise interface is installed.
[drive]:\Program Files\AccessData\DBConfigTool
[drive]:\Program Files\AccessData\Forensic Toolkit\\bin
1. Navigate to the correct location above and run DBConfig.exe as administrator.
2. Select the configuration and click Validate.
a. Check the desired validate options (for information on each option click here).
b. Choose the correct Authentication Mode for the Evidence Database.
c. (Summation / eDiscovery users ONLY) Enter the appropriate Application Database information if required. If not required, this option will be grayed out.
d. Click Validate
The utility will then proceed to validate all cases in the system. If any warning or errors should occur, a new window will open with this information. Please send any messages that accompany an unsuccessful validation to support@accessdata.com. If the validation completes successfully, a new window will also open reporting the same.
Overview
Validating a case can be useful in different scenarios and may be requested by support as part of troubleshooting a specific issue. It is strongly encouraged that a case (or all cases) be validated before backing up and/or archiving. Backing up a corrupt case may result in a failure to restore the case.