Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager's (SEPM) Embedded database service does not start and cannot login to the SEPM console.

Following error is found in smc-server-0.log:

Cannot create PoolableConnectionFactory ([Sybase][ODBC Driver][SQL Anywhere]Database server not found)

The database 'err.log' may contain error like these:

*** ERROR *** Assertion failed: 100904 [sem5] (11.0.1.2472)

04/03 16:42:54. *** ERROR *** Assertion failed: 200505 (12.0.1.3554)[sem5]
Checksum failure on page 273125
04/03 16:44:18. *** ERROR *** Assertion failed: 200505 (12.0.1.3554)[sem5]
Checksum failure on page 273125
04/03 16:53:02. *** ERROR *** Assertion failed: 200505 (12.0.1.3554)[sem5]
Checksum failure on page 273125

sem5.log may be corrupt, it can happen if the hard drive is full.

The database itself is corrupt. It is likely related to a hardware issue, such as bad blocks or corruption on the physical disk.

You can try to recreate the Sem5.log following the instructions in Article ID: 152603.

• Investigate disk corruption with Check Disk (including a scan for bad sectors using chkdsk /r), and further with tools from the hard drive manufacturer.
• Perform a check of other hardware on the machine, including the memory/RAM.
• Restore the SEPM database from a previous backup.

If recreating the sem5.log and above steps doesn't work, need to perform a disaster recovery as per Disaster recovery best practices for Endpoint Protection.

If there is no database backup, and the SEPM is able to run for a short while before the database service goes down, then it might be possible to export individual policies (Firewall, Virus and Spyware Protection etc.) from the console to re-import on a freshly rebuilt SEPM.

More about Sybase assertion failures: https://sqlanywhere-forum.sap.com/questions/4617/what-happens-when-a-checksum-check-fails