Configuring a database for use with Mingle
Introduction and advice
Before you can install Mingle, you must install a database for Mingle to use. Mingle is recommended to be installed with PostgreSQL (versions 8.3, 8.4 or 9.1). Support for Oracle (versions 10g or 11g, 64-bit only) is also available and limited to Mingle Plus only.
In order to ensure the best Mingle experience and so that we can offer the best support you should never make direct changes to the Mingle database. The only exception to this would be if a patch is supplied by a member of our Support team. By making data changes directly to the Mingle database you could run into the following consequences:
- Your future Mingle upgrades may fail.
- Your database may contain unexpected data which could break existing Mingle features or lead to unexpected bugs and performance problems.
- Response time for support requests will be slower because we do not immediately understand the changes or the consequences of changes to the database.
- Bug fixes to known issues delivered as patches by Studios Support team may not work as expected with your Mingle instance.
Starting with Mingle 3.0 MySQL will no longer be supported. All existing MySQL users will need to migrate their data to Postgres or Oracle before upgrading to Mingle 3.0.
Installing PostgreSQL
You can download PostgreSQL and may install version 8.3, 8.4 or 9.1.
How to install PostgreSQL for Windows
When you install PostgreSQL, it creates a new Windows user account and database superuser account, both called "postgres". When you complete the Mingle configuration wizard, the database username and password you enter is for the "postgres" account you create during installation.
- Open the one click installer that you downloaded.
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Follow the onscreen instructions to install PostgreSQL, and accept the installation defaults.
No additional tools, drivers or applications are necessary for Mingle. You can choose not to launch Stack Builder at exit option if you don't have any other need for it.
How to install PostgreSQL for Mac OSX
Before installing PostgreSQL, we recommend downloading and installing MacPorts to help manage the installation process.
For general usage of MacPorts, please follow the overview here. You will need to install either the PostgreSQL 8.3 port, PostgreSQL 8.4 port, or PostgreSQL 9.1 port.
How to install PostgreSQL for general Linux/Unix
As there are many different flavors of Unix and Linux, see the PostgreSQL 8.3 installation guide, PostgreSQL 8.4 installation guide, or PostgreSQL 9.1 installation guide for specific installation instructions.
Creating the Mingle database
Once you've finished installing PostgreSQL, start the PostgreSQL server. Create a database called mingle before installing Mingle.
Create the mingle database so that it uses the UTF-8 character set. This is usually the default character set. If you have configured PostgreSQL to use a different character set, you will need to explicitly specify that the mingle database should use the UTF-8 character set.
Installing Oracle
Support for Oracle is limited to Mingle Plus only.
You can download Oracle 10g (64-bit only) or 11g (64-bit only) here.
How to install Oracle
For specifics on how to install Oracle on different operating systems please refer to Oracle's installation documentation:
If you would like help and advice installing Oracle for use with Mingle Plus please contact the Mingle support team.
Mingle Plus requires a database charset of AL32UTF8 to work properly. Other charsets could cause unexpected errors with field length validations.
After configuring the database, you can now install Mingle.