---
title: "Migrating a Control Instance and Tenants to New Databases"
slug: "migrating-a-control-instance-and-tenants-to-new-databases"
description: "This document shows users how to migrate a Control Instance and Tenants, to a different database. The document contains sections on migration information for migrating to a new database, or to a preexisting one. "
updated: 2025-06-30T16:24:09Z
published: 2025-06-30T16:24:09Z
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://documentation.decisions.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Migrating a Control Instance and Tenants to New Databases

## Overview

The following document discusses how to migrate a Control Instance and its Tenants to a new database.

---

## Example

To migrate to an existing database, use the reference articles below to get started on restoring the database. For creating a new database, skip to the Decisions Installer instructions.  
  
Use this [Solarwinds article](https://support.solarwinds.com/SuccessCenter/s/article/Back-up-and-restore-SQL-database-instance-using-a-BAK-file) for information on restoring a .bak file or this [Microsoft article](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/relational-databases/data-tier-applications/import-a-bacpac-file-to-create-a-new-user-database?view=sql-server-2017) for information on restoring a .bacpac file.

1. From the File System, restore the desired database **Backup**file in **SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)**.
2. Run **DecisionsServerInstaller.exe.**
3. Check the**Change Settings on Update** box, then click UPDATE.![](https://cdn.document360.io/6ef8bcc1-6489-4486-9ad1-83acff7e5df0/Images/Documentation/2025-06-30_11h50_32.png)
4. Proceed through setup until the **Database Setup** step is reached; if migrating to a pre-existing database, match the **DB Database** to the exact name of the database being restored. If creating a new database, choose a unique name that begins with a letter. ![](https://cdn.document360.io/6ef8bcc1-6489-4486-9ad1-83acff7e5df0/Images/Documentation/2025-06-30_11h51_21.png)
5. Reset the **Admin****Account**.Resetting the Admin Account may require running the Emergency Password Reset Tool. The "admin@decisions.com" account can be reset from the database backup since it exists in most instances. If this does not work, navigate to SSMS and run the following Query to determine what Admin Account to reset.  
  

```shell
select ea.email_address, eg.entity_name, ea.authentication_type, ea.can_use_portal,ea.is_active, * from entity_account as ea
join account_group_join as agj on ea.account_id = agj.account_id
join entity_group as eg on eg.group_id = agj.group_id
where eg.entity_name = 'Administrators' and ea.authentication_type = 'Password'
```

Resetting the password will allow access to the database; the Control Instance is now set up on a different database than before.
6. Reinitialize Tenants by opening **Settings.xml** in a text editor, locate the <ServerType> tag, and change the value from **Standard**to **Hosted;****Save**then **Exit** the file.![](https://cdn.document360.io/6ef8bcc1-6489-4486-9ad1-83acff7e5df0/Images/Documentation/2021-03-09_10h23_37.png)
7. Open DecisionsServerInstaller.exe, and select RESTART SERVICE to finish enabling the **Multi-Tenant** environment. ![](https://cdn.document360.io/6ef8bcc1-6489-4486-9ad1-83acff7e5df0/Images/Documentation/2025-06-30_11h52_24.png)