22 replies to this topic

[Chris Heeschen]

Hello,

I have just started at a company that has an ERP system running on ProIV. We cuurently backup the database twice a day. Once at 1pm and then again at 7pm. This to me is overkill and users complain of the 1pm backup as it slows down the system to a crawl. Every place I worked at before ( I have been in IT for 12 years ) only backup the database with a nightly schedule. Would like to change us over to this strategy and stop this twice a day backup. Would like everyone's opinion on this.

[Lewis Mccabe]

Chris,
A few questions:
1. What database are you using?
2. Is it a RAID system?
3. How many active users?
4. What is the cost to the business in having to restore from a day ago vs half a day?

Lew

Edited by Lewis Mccabe, 01 July 2011 - 09:51 PM.

[andykay]

Hello,

I have just started at a company that has an ERP system running on ProIV. We cuurently backup the database twice a day. Once at 1pm and then again at 7pm. This to me is overkill and users complain of the 1pm backup as it slows down the system to a crawl. Every place I worked at before ( I have been in IT for 12 years ) only backup the database with a nightly schedule. Would like to change us over to this strategy and stop this twice a day backup. Would like everyone's opinion on this.

Chris,

1PM seems like a strange time for a business to do a backup? Is that when most of the employees go to lunch, or is that when your DBA's get back from lunch?

We are a 24Hr/Day facility. We only do a once a day backup. In the event of a data catastrophy, our DBA's can SOMEHOW do a restore to any particular moment...as long as it's not longer than 1-2 hours. The downside to this is that this procedure shuts down the entire system while the restoration proceeds and you can not restore just a single file...everything is restored to a particular moment in time meaning you loose everything you've done since that time.


AK

[Chris Heeschen]

we are running ProISAM. We have 114 users.And yes we are running on RAID.

[Chris Mackenzie]

Hello,

users complain of the 1pm backup as it slows down the system to a crawl.

Does this mean you are backing up the pro-isam files while users are making changes to them?

[Chris Heeschen]

Have stopped the backup during the day and just backing up at night. I had just started at this company and this is what they were doing. As of today, we backup database during the night.

[Lewis Mccabe]

Chris,

I don't know if you are only new to the company or also new to PROIV. Be aware that there are size limitations to PRO-ISAM files. If they exceed their maximum size, they corrupt, and there is no way (reasonable cost) of getting the data back.

[Chris Heeschen]

I am new to both. What is the size limitations to PRO-ISAM files?

[Richard Bassett]

Chris,

Did you really mean that you are using ProISAM for the business data and not just for the application itself (i.e. just for the so-called bootstrap files such as functdef.pro)?

If so, that's pretty unusual for a 100-user ERP system I think and I would second Lewis' and Chris' warnings that nothing can write to ProISAM files while they are being backed up (any backup taken while the application is 'up' is likely to be worthless) and that they have severe restrictions on their maximum size.

If you are in fact using Oracle for example for the business data, then you have a vast range of choices for backup and recovery.

[Richard Bassett]

Historically, the size limit for ProISAM files is 384Mb. It's possible it has been raised beyond that as I am very out of date. It was raised once in the past from 192Mb to 384Mb.

[DARREN]

From memory, the max size is now 2GB on PROIV version 5.5 and above.

[Lewis Mccabe]

If i remember correctly, the record length has to be changed to take advantage the 2GB size limit.

[Lewis Mccabe]

Chris,

It is a big job to move your application to either Oracle or SQL Server. It is not something someone new to PROIV is going to get right. If you haven't had problems with your PRO-ISAM files, stay with them. Search the docs or forum here regarding the use of PRO-ISAM tools 'iscr', 'isout', and 'isin'. With these you will be able to address PRO-ISAM size restrictions for your current database. If you have files which are bumping up to the 2GB limit you will have to address those quickly.

I just looked at the version 7 documentation for ‘iscr’ and it is out of date. It does not reference the max record size.

Are you in charge of maintenance of the PROIV system? If so, I would highly recommend getting in contact with PROIV and schedule some training. You are potentially walking in a minefield. If the system was neglected, you are definitely walking in one. You also might want to get a PROIV consultant in there to at least check the overall health of your system. There are many knowledgeable people on this forum that may have time to help you out.

[Chris Heeschen]

thank you all. I was just speaking to the company that created our ERP system. I questioned them on going to an SQL system. They said that it would be slower unless they rewrote the code. I have worked with Syspro ERP system for years and they were using C-ISAM and switched to SQL. The difference was unbelieveable. Currently it takes 45 minutes to run one of our inventory reports. And why does ProIV only use one processor on our server? I asked this question to the company that created our ERP system and they said it has to do with ProIV. So we have 114 users in multiple locations accessing one server which can only use one processor, pretty scary stuff. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Lewis Mccabe]

Chris,

Is this a custom system written for the firm you are now working with or is this a marketed product? If a product, can you tell us the name? That will help us a bit.

Edited by Lewis Mccabe, 06 July 2011 - 09:05 PM.