Syspeace crashes / not starting due to database over 4 GB
Syspeace is a brute force prevention software for Windows Servers, Exchange Servers, RDS and more.
One issue with the current version of Syspeace is the scenario where the Syspeace GUI can’t be started and Syspeace crashes due to it’s database growing too large and here is why.
When the database called SCDB1.sdf (located in the Syspeace installation directory) grows above its built in limit of 4 GB, Syspeace stops working and the GUI can’t be started, nor does Syspeace block any new brute force attacks.
This is due to a limitations of database groxth and the way Syspeace stores entries within the database in the current version (2.5.2).
Here is a (blurry) picture of the error message. It’s basically a .Net error message saying that the database has grown larger than its built in limitation.
Solution / Workaround
The easiest way to workaround this limitation is to stop the Syspeace service and simply delete the database and set up your rules and settings again. This will mean setting up your whitelists, entering licensnumber, rules and so on.
Preparing for this scenario
It is easy to be prepared for this though. Simply export all of the Syspeace settings using the Syspeace GUI ( Export settings/ and click the “Check all” in the top right ) and keep the DefaultSettings.syspeaceSettings in the Syspeace installation folder. Remember to do this every time you apply changes to your settings.
This will ease the workaround-fix from the aspect that you only need to stop the Syspeace service,delete the database that and then restart Syspeace thus having it automatically import all of your settings.
There is also the advantage of being able to distribue the DefaultSettings.syspeaceSettings-file to other servers in case you have multiple installations or you’re planning on expanding your Syspeace usage.
Simply install Syspeace on the next server, copy the DefaultSettings.syspeaceSettings to the installation directory and your configuration is set to the same parameters as the first one, including whitelists, license number, email settings and so on.
