SIMS / ArboR - Access to SIMS System Admin Password to create back up for migration

[SoftwareGeek]

Thanks for the advice, all seems logical. I hope you don't mind me asking and it's only because you are new and this is your first post, but could you give some background on you and any organisations you might be associated with that have an interest in this saga.. I'm going to make an educated guess it's not ESS for example! But in the interests of openness, it would be good to to know your back story. Thanks.

 

Sure, I make software for schools and believe in making life better for school teachers, admins, carers and head teachers. This isn't easy, whilst I know they are on a tight budget and tech is changing rapidly. I think that for schools to be able to have the tech that meets the demands of the future, then solutions needs to communicating efficiently and securely with each other. There's no reason why that can't be done. These actions seem to be going in the opposite direction and put all of this at risk, so I do hope that we can help to put ESS back on the right track of doing whatever possible to support schools' growth plans.

Edited February 25, 2024 by SoftwareGeek

[Ditto]

Sure, I make software for schools and believe in making life better for school teachers, admins, carers and head teachers. This isn't easy, whilst I know they are on a tight budget and tech is changing rapidly. I think that for schools to be able to have the tech that meets the demands of the future, then solutions needs to communicating efficiently and securely with each other. There's no reason why that can't be done. These actions seem to be going in the opposite direction and put all of this at risk, so I do hope that we can help to put ESS back on the right track of doing whatever possible to support schools' growth plans.

Thank you and I totally agree. I think what ESS are massively underestimating is the reputational damage. I know the last round of MIS churn data showed SIMS exodus was slowing, but I'm not sure that will continue. Having been unsuccessful in short-listed school job applications, both were in MATS and moving from SIMS shortly and others in their MATS have already done so or were about to. I'll add, these were Surrey schools, many whom I know were historically passive LA provided SIMS schools. As a governor for just shy of a decade at a school that wouldn't even discuss alternatives to SIMS, I think the juggernaut is rolling ever more strongly. I will be watching the next MIS churn data with interest.

[HereIGoAgain2601]

Welcome!

 

"Do other schools have access to their SIMS high-level system admin password?"

 

Yes, there is an SA SQL account, some LEAs are lazy and they set the same one for each school.

 

If you are still in contract you should be entitiled to a full backup of the MIS. What you then do with it, is upto you. You may need to verify when the contract end you have deleted the database, but that depends on when the contract was signed as that cluase was added later.

 

I'd see what your highest level account is and see what reports it can create and I would speak to arbour too, James might be able to help out.

 

 

Does anyone know when the clause was added - we are coming to the end of our 3 year contact in April 2025 and actively looking at alternatives.

[Sylv3r]

I think if you go into System Manager 6 (the old one) then run the backup via the menu at the top. It should create the files (.bak) you need in the backup folder of your SQL. With regards to the DMS - you can just zip that folder up and upload the .zip file.

 

I did the above for a couple of our schools when I didn't have the SA password or the tool kept failing on me.

[ajp233]

Patch 27976 was released after ESS withdrew System Manager 6, to add the route Focus > System Manager > Database Backup into SIMS. You should be able to ask your SSU to deploy it via SOLUS.

 

https://customer.support-ess.com/csm?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0053122

Edited February 26, 2024 by ajp233

[machin05]

We found our SA password in a plain text SQL command in Task Scheduler (it was a task for archiving attendance results).

 

Might be worth digging around?

[supportman]

Does this mean your school has no backups of Sims...?

 

That's pretty shocking if its true...

 

You don't need the password, if you do have the backups. Those should be in the form of a BAK or SQL file on the Sims server.

[nordlaw]

Thanks everyone for your support and comments. Quick update. LA are still refusing to share password. When I suggested we needed it for our own back ups and to meet the DfE's cyber security guidance they still wouldn't budge and suggested we have a three-way conversation with ESS (but I know how that conversation would go!)

 

Good news is we have managed to get the info we need due to our great tech guys who created a server restore point, changed the SA password, completed the download, then restored the server to its original state.

[PotNoodleTech]

Good news is we have managed to get the info we need due to our great tech guys who created a server restore point, changed the SA password, completed the download, then restored the server to its original state.

 

Haha nicely done.

 

(Lucky you said yes when the IT team wanted to spend the money on server Virtualisation etc, or you wouldn't have been able to do that snapshot/restoring !)

[Ditto]

Can't help but smile, but it feels like being part of an underground freedom fighters group. Freedom to our data! We will have access to our data in the way that we want!

[LeMarchand]

Good news is we have managed to get the info we need due to our great tech guys who created a server restore point, changed the SA password, completed the download, then restored the server to its original state.

 

Hee hee. I hope this has made you appreciate their skills even more, and that you impress on your fellow heads that techies don't just sit in their offices playing games all day.

[AlistairB1983]

Good news is we have managed to get the info we need due to our great tech guys who created a server restore point, changed the SA password, completed the download, then restored the server to its original state.

And this is why hiring good IT guys pays off!

 

Glad you got it sorted and are 1 step closer to being able to consign ESS and their disgusting business practices (and shoddy product) to the dustbin of history.

[supportman]

Thanks everyone for your support and comments. Quick update. LA are still refusing to share password. When I suggested we needed it for our own back ups and to meet the DfE's cyber security guidance they still wouldn't budge and suggested we have a three-way conversation with ESS (but I know how that conversation would go!)

 

Good news is we have managed to get the info we need due to our great tech guys who created a server restore point, changed the SA password, completed the download, then restored the server to its original state.

 

Fantastic result. IT guys to the rescue! That's actually quite a good solution.

[oregan]

Hello everyone.  We are having the same issue and our local SIMS support team are refusing to give us the admin password in order to download a back up to give to Arbor.

 

They have deployed the patch so I can do a back up via system manager, does anyone know if this will work ok for the migration, do you know how I can back up the DMS, and advice welcome

[localzuk]

For the DMS, you'll need a tool such as Salamander's SIMS Student Document Exporter.