Navision Financials. Installation & System Management

Transcription

1 Navision Financials Installation & System Management

2

3 Installation & System Management

4 This publication is subject to change without notice and does not represent any commitment on the part of Navision Software a/s. Navision Software a/s assumes no responsibility for any faults or shortcomings in this publication. The software described is supplied under license and must be used and copied in accordance with the enclosed license terms and conditions. According to Danish copyright legislation, it is against the law to reproduce any part of this publication in any form or by any means, without the permission of Navision Software a/s. Navision, C/SIDE and Navigator are registered trademarks of Navision Software a/s. AssistButton, C/AL, SIFTWARE, FlowField, FlowFilter, SIFT, SumIndex, SumIndexField and TrendScape are trademarks of Navision Software a/s. Microsoft is a registered trademark and Windows and Windows NT are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. IBM and OS/2 are registered trademarks and LAN Server, OS/2 LAN Server, Presentation Manager and WIN-OS/2 are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. Novell and NetWare are registered trademarks of Novell, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark of Unix System Laboratories Inc. Paintbrush is a registered trademark of Zsoft Corporation. This book was printed using xerography. The MetaPlus font was used. Copyright 1997 Navision Software a/s. All rights reserved. ISBN Published by Navision Software a/s. Printed in Denmark 1997.

5 Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction 1 The Contents of This Book 2 Forms of Typographical Emphasis 5 Chapter 2 Choosing the Installation Type and Equipment 7 Single-User and Multiuser Installations 8 Choosing Equipment 11 Chapter 3 Installing and Starting Navision Financials 13 Installing and Uninstalling Single Users and Clients 14 License Files 23 Starting Single Users and Clients 25 Importing a Database to the Navision Financials Server 31 Installing and Starting the Server 32 Running More Than One Server 41 Installing Navision Financials in an SMS Network 45 Chapter 4 System Setup 51 Overview of Program Properties 52 Description of Program Properties 57 Chapter 5 Security 69 What You Can Do with User IDs 70 Setting Up User IDs, Passwords and Permissions 72 Changing Passwords 80 User Time Limits and the Time Register 82 Selecting a Printer 85 Chapter 6 Database Maintenance 87 Creating, Expanding and Storing the Database 88 Opening and Closing the Database 96 Testing the Database 98 Deleting the Database 102 Database Information 104 i

6 Contents Database Efficiency 109 Advanced Database Information 121 Chapter 7 Making Backups 127 Why, When and How to Make Backups 128 Using the Navision Financials Backup Function 132 Testing before Using Other Backup Methods 137 Restoring Backups 138 Advanced Backup and Restore Information 141 Chapter 8 Advanced Performance Issues 145 Checklist for Optimizing Hardware 146 Selecting Hardware, Operating System and Protocols 147 Detecting Bottlenecks 156 Appendix A Glossary 163 Glossary 164 Appendix B Network Communications 171 Setting Up Network Communications 172 Testing Network Communications 174 ii

7 Chapter 1 Introduction Before you can use Navision Financials, you must install it on the computer or computers where it will be used. Your Navision Solution Center may have taken care of this. If not, follow the installation guidelines in this book. (If you want to install only a single user version of Navision Financials, you can follow the instructions in the Quick Installation Guide.) This book also describes installation options, required and recommended equipment, procedures for starting the program, system setup, security, database maintenance and backup procedures. The final chapter contains a discussion of performance issues. Information in this chapter will help you find your way around the rest of the book. It includes an overview of the typography used to distinguish among types of program elements. This chapter contains the following sections: The Contents of This Book Forms of Typographical Emphasis

8 Chapter 1. Introduction 1.1 The Contents of This Book If you only want to start and look at a single user installation (such as the demonstration version of Navision Financials), you can skip ahead to the installation guide, which begins on page 14, or you can read the Quick Installation Guide (on the product CD). If, however, you are going to work seriously with Navision Financials, or if you want to set up a multiuser installation with a server and several clients, the short overview below will help you locate the information you need. Installation options Chapter 2, Choosing the Installation Type and Equipment, describes the two possible types of Navision Financials installations: A single user installation with one computer running Microsoft Windows, on which there is one copy of Navision Financials, including a database. A multiuser installation, with several computers running Windows, connected to a server via a network. The server does not need to run Windows. Equipment requirements Chapter 2 also discusses the requirements for the equipment that can be used. These include: Computers running Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows NT, Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Windows for Workgroups or WIN-OS/2 as clients or single users Computers running Microsoft Windows NT or OS/2, or certain UNIX systems as servers network protocol display monitor, keyboard, mouse printers The installation itself When you know what installation you want, and you understand the hardware and network requirements, you can install the program, following steps listed in chapter 3, Installing and Starting Navision Financials. Starting Navision Financials Chapter 3 explains how to start and stop a client, a single user installation and a database server. It also contains information about more advanced 2

9 1.1 The Contents of This Book installation options such as installing in an SMS (System Management Server) network. Note For a single user installation, the program is completely set up in advance. As soon as you have installed it, you can start reading the manual Introduction. It explains how to get started and what to do next and gives detailed instructions for working with the program System setup For a single user installation, there is nothing that the user MUST set up. A multiuser system is different. For example, the server name must be defined on the server computer, and this name must be specified on the individual clients when they are linked to the server. Setting up the system also includes selecting a network protocol and database and reserving enough space in the memory so that Navision Financials can work quickly. It can be difficult to know whether an installation will work satisfactorily before you start using it. The performance depends very much on the surrounding software and hardware. There are therefore parts of the system that you cannot set up until after you have used the program for a while. Chapter 4, System Setup, explains how to set up and adjust the system. Even if you are satisfied with the program as it is, you can use this chapter to get ideas for possible later changes. Security Preparing an accounting and business management application for use includes more than just the technical setup of the system. It is also important to set up the user access and user permissions to control such things as who has access to which functions, when posting is allowed and who is allowed to use which printers. You can read about this in chapter 5, Security. Database maintenance Even if you don t want to set up your own database and have chosen instead to use the standard database that comes with Navision Financials, you may find it useful to read chapter 6, Database Maintenance. The database is the heart of the application, where all the information companies, adjustments, reports, and so on are stored. It is therefore important for you to know about managing the database and about the tools that Navision Financials provides for this. 3

10 Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 6 explains how to create a new database, how to expand and optimize an existing one, where you should store a database and the consequences of deleting a database. It also provides some more advanced database information. Making backups No matter how secure a program is, errors can arise not only errors in the program itself but also ones caused by problems with other programs or equipment. Because of this, you must make regular backup copies of your company information right from the beginning. In chapter 7, Making Backups, you can learn how often you need to make backups and how to do it correctly. The end of the chapter contains more detailed and technical information about backing up and restoring the database. Advanced performance issues If your system is running slowly or you want to know how to optimize different parts of your system, refer to chapter 8, Advanced Performance Issues. The chapter contains useful information about both software and hardware. 4

11 1.2 Forms of Typographical Emphasis 1.2 Forms of Typographical Emphasis Using the Navision Financials manuals will be easier if you are familiar with the symbols and typographical conventions used in them. The list below indicates how various fonts, type styles and symbols are used to refer to elements of the program. Appearance Ctrl Design Address Department Hansen fin.flf User s Guide Element Keys on the keyboard. They are written in small capitals. Menu items and buttons in windows. They always start with a capital letter, and the access key is underlined. Field names. They appear in medium bold and start with a capital letter. Names of tables, windows, boxes and tabs. They appear in medium bold italics and start with a capital letter. Text that you must enter, for example: "...enter Yes in this field." It is written in italics. File names and commands. They are written with the Courier font and lowercase letters. Names of manuals are written in italics. d f p t r m n The special symbols that can be seen in the windows on the screen. Note, Tip or Warning Sections that look like this one, delimited by dotted lines, contain advice about what you should or should not do, or information about something to which you should pay special attention If you have previously used Navision, you may find it easier to use the keyboard in certain situations. For example, most of the function keys (F1- F10) represent the same functions as before. (A few have been changed in order to use the same conventions as other programs designed for Windows.) 5

12 Chapter 1. Introduction 6

13 Chapter 2 Choosing the Installation Type and Equipment Before you purchase your complete Navision Financials installation, you should be aware of the different kinds of installation that can be set up and the equipment that is required to run the program. This chapter contains the following sections: Single-User and Multiuser Installations Choosing Equipment

14 Chapter 2. Choosing the Installation Type and Equipment 2.1 Single-User and Multiuser Installations Navision Financials can be used in single-user or multiuser installations. Single-User In single-user installations, all the work is done on one computer (at a time) and all information (the database) is stored on this computer. Even if you purchase several single-user installations and run each on its own computer, the entire installation is still called single-user because the information is stored on each computer and not in one database at one central location. Multiuser In a multiuser installation, many users use common information found in one or more databases on a server. The computers that work with the data are called clients, and the way the server and the computers work together is called client/server. In old systems, the server was required to do everything, which often meant that it was overloaded and slow. In client/server computing, each individual computer does some of the work; this speeds things up significantly. 8

15 2.1 Single-User and Multiuser Installations What You Should Know Before Installing the Program Regardless of whether you have chosen to work in a single-user or multiuser installation, you start by purchasing the same package. The program is installed from the same CD and with the same installation program for both single users and clients. For a multiuser installation, the CD contains a Navision Financials server package that is installed only on the server computer. The demonstration database that comes with a single-user installation is not included in the server package, however. You need some of the data in the demonstration database (and you need a client or single user to modify a database), so you must always install a single user somewhere in the network in a multiuser installation. The simplest way to do this is to install a single user on the same computer as the server. You can read about this on page 31. The single user can later be converted to a client by connecting it to the server s database. Once the program has been installed, you must customize it for your particular situation. Not all installations need the same size database, for example. A database server, which serves many users, probably needs a bigger database than a single-user installation. With Navision Financials, you don t need to plan for the distant future when you purchase your installation or set it up. You can change or expand the installation whenever you like. To switch from a single-user to a multiuser installation, you purchase a server package and the number of clients you want. You can place the database you already have on a server so that 9

16 Chapter 2. Choosing the Installation Type and Equipment several people can work with it. If, after a while, you need a bigger database, you can expand the existing one. 10

17 2.2 Choosing Equipment 2.2 Choosing Equipment Navision Financials does not require particularly sophisticated equipment, but as with all programs, the better your equipment, the better the results you can achieve. You get the best solution with the optimal equipment and program settings optimized for that equipment. This section contains a brief description of the equipment we recommend for your Navision Financials installation. For further and more detailed information on the best choice of equipment, refer to chapter 8, Advanced Performance Issues. You cannot arrive at the optimal settings until after you have installed the program. You can read about this in chapter 4, System Setup. Choice of Computers In a multiuser installation, you can in principle use the same type of computer for both the clients and the server, but there is a difference in how much CPU power, memory and disk space each will need. Details about required and recommended hardware and software, including operating system requirements, can be found in chapter 8. Computers for Clients and Single-User Installations Computers for clients or a single-user installation must be at least 386s running Windows 95, Windows NT, Windows, Windows for Workgroups or OS/2 (with WIN-OS/2). After Navision Financials has been installed, you use it under Windows directly or under Win-OS/2. Because the client computers process the data they retrieve, they need relatively large computing power. If they don t, they will take a long time to finish the calculations for a transaction. A slow computer working on a transaction that must update the database can delay all the other clients until it finishes. Computers for Servers Computers for servers must be at least 386s running Windows NT or OS/2. (Servers can also run on various UNIX machines. See page 151 for a list.) The server does not need a Windows interface: it can be run directly from an operating system prompt. Just as with other programs, if there is a Windows 11

18 Chapter 2. Choosing the Installation Type and Equipment or Presentation Manager interface, you can set up an icon or menu item and use it for starting the server. A computer that is used as a database server must be very flexible: you must be able to add extra memory and extra disk space to it if necessary. Disks in the Server The slowest component in a computer is the hard disk, which is very important for the computer s performance level. All the programs and information are stored on the hard disk, so data is read from or written to the disk frequently. On one disk, only one write or read operation can be performed at a time, so access to the disk can be a significant factor in determining the performance of the computer as a whole. The disk must therefore be fast. Monitors, Keyboards, Mouse and Printers All types of monitors can be used with Navision Financials, but color monitors are recommended. All normal computer keyboards can be used with Navision Financials. In the accounting and business management part of the program, you can choose to work with a mouse or the keyboard, as you prefer. In the C/SIDE development environment, you must use a mouse. Navision Financials uses the printers and printer drivers that are installed under Windows. Network Protocols If Navision Financials is to be used as a multiuser installation, a network communications program must be used to connect the computers to one another. The only requirement for this program is that it support either the NetBIOS or TCP/IP network protocol. Examples of network programs that do this are IBM LAN programs, Novell NetWare and Microsoft LAN Manager. Windows NT, Windows for Workgroups and operating systems of the future will have built-in network programs, so you will not have to purchase one separately. 12

19 Chapter 3 Installing and Starting Navision Financials When you have decided which type of installation you want and you understand the hardware and communication requirements, you can install the program. This chapter contains the following sections: Installing and Uninstalling Single Users and Clients License Files Starting Single Users and Clients½ Importing a Database to the Navision Financials Server Installing and Starting the Server Running More Than One Server Installing Navision Financials in an SMS Network

20 Chapter 3. Installing and Starting Navision Financials 3.1 Installing and Uninstalling Single Users and Clients You use the Navision Financials setup program to install single users and clients. The method you use to uninstall the program depends on the operating system you are using. Installing Navision Financials To install the program, follow this procedure: 1 Make sure that the operating system under which you will run Navision Financials (Windows 95, Windows NT, Windows for Workgroups or WIN- OS/2) is installed on the computer. If it isn t, you will have to install it before you can install Navision Financials. 2 Start the operating system. 3 If you are installing Navision Financials from a CD, insert it in the CD-ROM drive. If you are installing Navision Financials from a network drive, make sure that you are connected to the network server. 4 Click the Start button on the taskbar, and then click Run. Type the path to the installation program. If you are installing from a CD, for example, the path is e:\fin\disk1\setup, where e: is the drive of your CD-ROM. Under Windows 95, Navision Financials supports the Microsoft AutoPlay feature, so it is not necessary to click the Start button. A menu appears automatically when the CD is inserted. If you install from a network drive, type the path and name of the installation program on the network. Click OK to start the installation program. Under Windows 95 (or Windows NT version 4.0 or later), you can also use the Add/Remove Programs function under Settings, Control Panel. If there is no version of Navision Financials already installed on your computer, you will see the window shown in step 8 on page 17, so skip to that step now. 14

21 3.1 Installing and Uninstalling Single Users and Clients 5 If a newer version of Navision Financials is already installed on your computer, this window appears: Click Yes to continue with the installation or No to abort it. 6 If an older version of Navision Financials is already installed on your computer, the Setup Action window appears as shown below: Select New to create a new installation. Use this if you want to have two different copies of the program installed on your computer. Select Upgrade to upgrade the existing installation. An upgrade will replace any file for which there is a newer version, but it will not replace your database or license file. Click Next to continue. 15

22 Chapter 3. Installing and Starting Navision Financials 7 If the same version of Navision Financials is already installed on your computer, the Setup Action window appears as shown below: If you select Remove, the old installation will be removed. You will be prompted to confirm that you want the database and the license file to be deleted. (It is possible to keep them.) The installation program will close after the old installation is removed, and you will have to run the installation program again to install Navision Financials. If you select Reinstall, Navision Financials will simply be reinstalled on top of the old Navision Financials. The database and the license file of the previous installation will not be overwritten. 16

23 3.1 Installing and Uninstalling Single Users and Clients 8 Click Next. The Welcome window appears: 9 To continue, click Next. If you decide not to continue with the installation, click Cancel. If you do continue, the Setup Type window appears: In this window, you specify whether you want to install a network client only (without a database) or a single user (with a database of about 20 MB). A client can be installed as a single user, that is, with a database, but this is not normally done because it takes up so much extra space on the client computer. 17

24 Chapter 3. Installing and Starting Navision Financials Note In a multiuser installation, you must always install one single user somewhere in the network. This is because the server package does not include the standard database that is part of the single-user installation, and you need some of the data in that database when you set up a new database. You also need the single-user installation to make necessary changes to the database. You can always turn a single user into a client by allowing it to access the database on the server.the simplest thing to do is to install a single user on the same computer as the server package. This procedure is described on page The Setup Type window and the ones that follow it contain a button labelled Back that lets you return to the previous window. 10 Click Next. The Target Folder window appears: Here you must specify the folder where Navision Financials will be installed. You can accept the default (in this case c:\program Files\Navision Financials) and go to step

25 3.1 Installing and Uninstalling Single Users and Clients If you do not want the default, click Browse. This window appears: In this window, you select a folder for Navision Financials. If you specify a folder that does not exist, it will be created. After you have entered the folder you want (including the complete path), click OK to return to the previous window. 11 Click Next in the Target Folder window. You have selected the type of installation you want and specified where you want it installed.the Start Copying Files window appears. 19

26 Chapter 3. Installing and Starting Navision Financials 12 Click Finish to start the actual installation.you can follow the progress of the installation in the status indicator on the screen: As soon as the installation program has finished, this message appears: 13 Click Finish. The window closes. If programs running before you started the installation were not closed (as recommended in the window shown in step 8 on page 17), the Setup Complete window may display an option to reboot the machine (or restart Windows) either now or later. The installation will not be complete until the machine has been rebooted. Completing the Installation Single User To complete the installation for a single user, the license file, fin.flf, must be copied to the Navision Financials folder. 20

27 3.1 Installing and Uninstalling Single Users and Clients Insert the diskette with the license file into the disk drive. Use the Windows Explorer to copy the file, or open an MS-DOS prompt and type: copy a:fin.flf c:\"program Files\Navision Financials" Substitute the folder in which you have installed Navision Financials for c:\program Files\Navision Financials if you have chosen a different location. Press Enter. Client A client only needs to have the demonstration license file in the folder because the permissions are given to the client from the server. Thus, if you leave the demonstration license on the client, you will be able to run the demonstration company locally while running another company on the server without changing the license file. See License Files on page 23. Now you can start the program by clicking Navision Financials on the Start Programs menu. The files that must be safeguarded against accidental overwriting have been automatically write-protected. Put the CD in a safe place. Uninstalling Navision Financials The method of uninstalling a Navision Financials client or single user depends on the operating system used. Windows 95 and Windows NT (version 4.0 or later) To uninstall the program in a Windows 95 or Windows NT (version 4.0 or later) installation, use the Add/Remove Programs function under Settings, Control Panel. Windows 3.1, Windows NT (versions earlier than 4.0) and Win-OS/2 To uninstall Navision Financials in a Windows 3.1 or Win-OS/2 installation, or under Windows NT with version earlier than 4.0, click the uninstallation icon in the Navision Financials program group. When you uninstall the program, you will be prompted to confirm the deletion of the database and the license file. 21

28 Chapter 3. Installing and Starting Navision Financials Warning Make a backup of any databases (*.fdb) and the license file (fin.flf) before you uninstall the files in the Navision Financials folder The Navision Financials installation program creates a log file (an ASCII file called delfin.log that lists the changes made by the installation program) in the Navision Financials folder. If you need to uninstall Navision Financials manually, you can look in the log file to see what you must do. Reinstalling Navision Financials Client or Single User If you install the program again in the same folder (for example, if you install an update), the existing database.fdb and fin.flf files will not be overwritten by the new installation. This means that if you want a new database or a new license file to be installed when you reinstall the program, you must delete these two existing files from the Navision Financials folder before you start. 22

29 3.2 License Files 3.2 License Files A single-user installation comes with a demonstration license file, cronus.flf, that allows you to see all the application areas in the demonstration company that is part of the accompanying standard database, database.fdb. To start working with Navision Financials, you will need a license file that contains permissions for the desired application areas and functions. You obtain the license file from your Navision Solution Center. You can use your license file to work in the demonstration company as well as your own companies, but your permissions will be limited (even in the demonstration company) to those provided by the license file. On the other hand, your license file does not contain the restrictions of the demonstration license file, which are listed on page 88. Your license file is always named fin.flf, and you receive it on a diskette by itself. In a single-user installation, copy the license from the diskette to your computer. In a multiuser installation, copy it to the server (in the same location as the server program) instead of to the individual clients. The clients automatically work under the same license file as the server they are connected to. After you have copied your license file to your computer or the server, store the diskette in a safe place until you need to use it again. 23

30 Chapter 3. Installing and Starting Navision Financials Importing, Changing and Exporting License Files When you click Tools, License Information from the menu bar, the License Information window appears: The information displayed includes the license number of the current license file, the name of the owner and the functionality you have purchased (along with any expiration dates). If at any time you want information about the current license file, you can open this window. The buttons at the bottom of the window allow you to import and export license files and to temporarily change the license file you are using. When you do your daily work (not in the demonstration company), your own serial number and company name should appear in the window. Importing a License File Click Import to use a different license file. Exporting a License File Click Export to export a copy of your license file for example, to a diskette. Changing the License File Temporarily You can use the Change button to change the license file temporarily (for example, if you are a dealer visiting a customer). Insert a diskette containing the temporary license file and choose the license file to be read into the system. The normal license file will be reinstated when Navision Financials is closed and opened again. 24

31 3.3 Starting Single Users and Clients 3.3 Starting Single Users and Clients When you start your computer, the Windows 95 desktop appears (if it is the installed operating system). The Navision Financials installation program automatically places Navision Financials in a program folder. To get to that folder, click the Start button in the bottom left corner of the screen, and then follow the path shown here: Click Navision Financials to gain access to the Navision Financials accounting and business management program and its development environment. 25

32 Chapter 3. Installing and Starting Navision Financials Single User You can start working right away on a single-user installation because much of the setup has already been taken care of; the program starts by looking in the accompanying database and selecting the demonstration company. Client In order to use Navision Financials in a client installation, you must be connected to a server, since a client computer does not use its own database. Connecting to the Server You have to connect to the correct server and select a database there before you can open a company on the client. Note Before you can connect to a Navision Financials server, it must have been started already and its name must have been defined with servername on the server itself. You can read more about naming the server on page 34 and page 62. The network must also be functioning, and the database must exist. Similarly, a company specified in the Target field (see page 28) must already exist Connecting from within Navision Financials Connection to a database and company is automatic in a single-user installation. From a client, you can manually choose the server, database and company when you start Navision Financials. You can also set up an automatic connection, as described in the following section. To connect manually to the server, click File, Server, Connect: 26

33 3.3 Starting Single Users and Clients Enter the server name, and click OK. You cannot browse through a list of the servers set up in the installation, so you must know the name of the server. After this you can open a database. If a database has already been started on the server you have selected, that one will be selected automatically. Otherwise you can click File, Database, Open. If there is no database on the server, you can create one directly from the client by choosing File, Database, New. Before you can set up companies in the new database, you must restore a backup copy of Data Common to All Companies and Application Objects from the standard database that comes with the singleuser version of Navision Financials. For more information about creating a database, refer to chapter 6. When you have done this, you can choose a company by clicking File, Company, Open (or click File, Company, New to create one). You can read more about companies in the manual Introduction. Connecting Automatically The selections above can be included as program properties that are automatically set when you start Navision Financials. This is how to do it: 1 Click Start, Settings, Taskbar. The Taskbar Properties window appears. 2 Click the Start Menu Programs tab, and then click Advanced. The Windows Explorer opens: : 3 Click the Programs folder to the left. 27

34 Chapter 3. Installing and Starting Navision Financials 4 Place the cursor on Navision Financials (the line with the program button). Click File, Properties. The Properties window opens. 5 Click the Shortcut tab: The Target field shows where Navision Financials is located; it contains the path for the start command fin.exe (the start command is finw.exe if you are running under Windows 3.11 or WIN-OS/2). After the start command, you can add other commands and settings for program properties. Here is an example: servername=srv_1,company=cronus International Ltd. Setting the two program properties servername and company in this way will cause the program to do a number of things the next time it starts. It will connect to the server srv_1, open the database that has been selected on the server and select the company CRONUS International Ltd. (if it exists) from the database. On a client, you can also specify a database, using database=. If, however, the server has already been started with a database, this specification will have no effect. If the server has not already been started with a database, the database specified by the first client that connects to the server will be used. 28

35 3.3 Starting Single Users and Clients If you specify a database, remember to give the complete path to its location (unless it is in the working folder of the server). You can also set the program property Net Type to set the network protocol for example, nettype=netb. You need to set this only once on the client as long as it continues to run in the same network. (If you change setup files for the users, you will have to select the network protocol again. You can read about this on page 59.) The client is now ready to work. If you need to change any of the selections while you are working, you can do this from within the program. For example, you can select a different database (one that has already been created) or a different company, or you can create a new company. If you do not want a client to be able to do these things, you can set limits when you assign user permissions (by setting limits on the system object type). You can read about assigning user permissions starting on page 72. Disconnecting from the Navision Financials Server To disconnect from a Navision Financials Server, click File, Server, Disconnect. Unified Logon on Windows NT Windows NT has a feature called Unified Logon. When a user is registered in Windows NT with a user name and password, Windows NT passes this information to programs that support the Unified Logon feature. When a user tries to start a program that requires a user name and password, Windows NT passes the necessary information to the program, and the user is not prompted to enter it. This means that the user only has to enter a password once, when he or she logs on to Windows NT. Navision Financials supports the Unified Logon feature of Windows NT. The Unified Logon enables a Navision Financials client to log on to a Navision Financials server without supplying a password, provided that the client s logon name on the Windows NT computer is defined in the database on the Navision Financials server. This means, for example, that if the logon name in Windows NT is NTG, the logon name in the Navision Financials database must also be NTG. 29

36 Chapter 3. Installing and Starting Navision Financials Before you can begin to work, you must also click File, Database, Options on the client. In the window that appears, set the variable UnifiedLogonAllowed to Yes, and click OK. The next time you log on to the Navision Financials server, you will not need to supply a password or user name. You can simply log on to the Navision Financials database directly. The Final Adjustments For both single users and clients, you may need to adjust the Navision Financials setup to match your computer and the rest of the system. There are a number of system setup tools to help you. They are described in chapter 4, System Setup, and chapter 8, Advanced Performance Issues. 30

37 3.4 Importing a Database to the Navision Financials Server 3.4 Importing a Database to the Navision Financials Server In a multiuser installation, in addition to installing one or more clients, you must install the server program and set up a database on the server. It is somewhat easier to start by setting up the database. The server program does not come with a database. If you already have a Navision Financials database, copy it to the same computer that your server will be installed on. If you do not already have a database, you can use the standard database, database.fdb, or a copy of it. See Using the Standard Database on page 88 and Using a Copy of the Standard Database on page 89. You can also create a new database. To do this, you need some of the information in the standard database. A single-user version must therefore be installed somewhere in the network so that you can transfer the database that comes with it to the server. It is easiest to create a new database before you install the server, using the following procedure: 1 Install a Navision Financials single user, with the Complete Installation option. (See Installing and Uninstalling Single Users and Clients on page 14.) 2 It is not a good idea to leave the demonstration company in your working database. (See page 89 for details.) If, however, you want to leave it in, skip to step 5. Click File, Company, Delete from menu bar. 3 Answer Yes when you are asked (twice) whether you want to delete CRONUS International Ltd. 4 Close the single-user program. 5 Start the Navision Financials Server Setup program. (See the following section for details.) 31

38 Chapter 3. Installing and Starting Navision Financials 3.5 Installing and Starting the Server How to install the Navision Financials Server depends on the operating system used. This section describes how to install, start and uninstall the server under Windows NT and OS/2. The Navision Financials Server does not contain a database, so this will have to be transferred from a single-user installation in the network. The preceding section discusses how to do this. For detailed information about using the standard database or creating your own, see Creating, Expanding and Storing the Database, starting on page 88. Navision Financials Server under Windows NT The following three sections tell you how to install, start and uninstall the Navision Financials Server running under Windows NT. Installing the Server To install the Navision Financials Server, follow this procedure: 1 Insert the CD containing the Navision Financials Server package. 2 In the Windows NT Explorer, run the setup program Setup.exe, which is in the cserver folder on the CD. (If the Windows NT version is 4.0 or later, you can also use the Add/Remove Programs function.) The Welcome window appears: 32

39 3.5 Installing and Starting the Server 3 To continue, click Next. If you decide not to continue with the installation, click Cancel. If you continue, the Target Folder window appears: Here you must specify the folder where the Navision Financials Server will be installed. You can accept the default (in this case, c:\program Files\Navision Financials Server) and go to step 4. If you do not want the default, click Browse. A window will appear, in which you enter the folder you want (including the complete path). When you have specified a path, click OK. 33

40 Chapter 3. Installing and Starting Navision Financials 4 Click Next in the Target Folder window. The Server Name window appears: Here you can specify the server name. The default value is the computer name (the name it has been given in the network). When you use TCP/IP as the network protocol, it is important to use a name that is registered in the network configuration files. If the name you specify is not registered there, you will not be able to connect to the Navision Financials Server. If you want to use a different name, make sure to register the name in the network configuration files first. If you use the name of the computer in the network, you can be sure that the name is registered in the system. For tips about setting the server name, see page 155. If you use NetBIOS as the network protocol, the question of registration is not relevant, and you can freely choose any name for the server. 34

41 3.5 Installing and Starting the Server 5 Click Next. The Network Type window appears: In this window, specify whether you want to use TCP/IP or NetBIOS as the network protocol. 6 Click Next. The License File window appears for you to select the license file you want to use: The installation program uses the license file of an existing client installation if it can find one; otherwise it searches the hard disk for a license file. If one is found, it will be suggested as the license file to be used with the Navision Financials Server. If no license file is found on the 35

42 Chapter 3. Installing and Starting Navision Financials hard disk, the installation program will set the license file path to a:\fin.flf. You can change the selection by clicking Browse. 7 Click Next. The Database window appears for you to select the database you want to use: To find a database file, the installation program searches the folder where it found the license file. If it finds a database file, the option Select database now will be selected. The path to the database will appear at the bottom of the window. If it does not find a database file in the folder with the license file, it searches the rest of the hard disk. If no database is found, the option Select database when first client connects to server will be selected. 36

43 3.5 Installing and Starting the Server 8 Click Next. The Start Copying Files window appears: Now the installation program has all the information it needs in order to install the Navision Financials Server. 9 Click Finish to start installing the files. When the installation program has finished, the following window appears: If you are installing the Navision Financials Server under Windows NT, the installation program will, as a default, install it as a service. When the 37

44 Chapter 3. Installing and Starting Navision Financials Navision Financials Server runs as a service under Windows NT, the program will run in the background even when nobody is logged on to Windows NT. So if you run Windows NT, you will see the following dialog box when the installation is complete: 10 Click Finish. The window closes. Starting the Server When installed as a service under Windows NT, the Navision Financials Server starts automatically every time you start Windows NT. Uninstalling the Server The method of uninstalling the server depends on the operating system used. Windows NT (version 4.0 or later) Under Windows NT version 4.0 or later, you can use the Add/Remove Programs function in the Windows Control Panel to uninstall the Navision Financials Server program. 38

45 3.5 Installing and Starting the Server Windows NT (earlier than version 4.0) To uninstall the Navision Financials Server under Windows NT (earlier than version 4.0), run the setup program again. The Setup Action window appears: Here you have two options: Remove will remove the existing installation of the Navision Financials Server. It will, however, leave the database file(s) intact on the hard disk, for security. You will be asked whether you want to delete the license file. Reinstall will reinstall or modify the components you select. Click Next, select the modifications you want, and follow the installation steps described in the previous section. If you run the Navision Financials Server under Windows NT as a service, you can use this facility to modify the server parameters without having to uninstall the server as a service in order to change the startup parameters. Click Next to continue. Depending on the option you selected, the installation program will uninstall or reinstall the program. Navision Financials Server under OS/2 If you are running under OS/2, follow these instructions for installing, starting and uninstalling the server. 39

46 Chapter 3. Installing and Starting Navision Financials Installing the Server To install the Navision Financials Server under OS/2, copy the files from the Server package to the computer that will act as server. You could, for example, use the copy command in an OS/2 command prompt. Place the files in a folder named \finserv\. Starting the Server The program properties that can be specified when you start a server are described in chapter 4, System Setup. The example below shows how you would typically start a server under OS/2. (In this example the database has already been copied to the finserv directory.): d:\finserv\server2 servername=srv_1,database=database.fdb You can also set the net type by adding to the end of the command a comma followed by nettype=netb or another net type. If you want to set up an icon for the server on an OS/2 desktop, you must create the icon and open the settings for that icon. Then enter the command line as shown above. Uninstalling the Server To uninstall the Navision Financials Server under OS/2, simply delete the directory containing the program. Note Remember to make a full backup of the database before deleting it from the hard disk. You can read more about making backups in chapter

47 3.6 Running More Than One Server 3.6 Running More Than One Server The sections below discuss the possibilities for running more than one server on the same database or on different databases. Appendix B gives more detailed information about network communications. Two or More Servers, Same Database It is possible to run two or more Navision Financials Servers with the same database provided that: each server has a different server name. all the servers are run from the same folder. With this configuration you could, for example, have one server running TCP/IP and another one running NetBIOS on the same database. See Net Type Selection of Network Protocol on page 59 for a description of TCP/IP and NetBIOS. Two or More Servers, Different Databases It is possible to run two or more Navision Financials Servers with different databases provided that: each server has a different server name. the server programs are located in different folders. This means that to use two databases on the same computer, you must install the server program twice, in two different folders. The following examples explain how to configure your installation for running two servers with different databases, using TCP/IP and using NetBIOS. Two Servers on the Same Machine, Both Using TCP/IP To run two Servers, both running TCP/IP, on the same machine, follow the procedure outlined below to configure the machine correctly. 41

48 Chapter 3. Installing and Starting Navision Financials Install the Navision Financials Server in two different folders as follows: The servers 1 Install the first server as described previously (page 32). 2 To install a second server in a different folder, select Reinstall when the Setup Action window appears. 3 Select a folder different from that for the first server. 4 Select a unique server name for the second server. Once the two servers have been installed, proceed as follows: 1 Edit the SERVICES file to include statements such as: servername1 servername /tcp 2408/tcp The server names shown should be replaced with your actual server names. 2 Start the first server in the first folder, using the following parameters: 3 server servername=servername1, nettype=tcp, cache=xxx, commitcache=yes, database=aaaa 4 Start the second server in the second folder, using the following parameters: server servername=servername2, nettype=tcp, cache=xxx, commitcache=yes, database=bbbb In these examples, xxx represents the cache size, and AAAA and BBBB are the names of the databases. Remember to write out the full path for each database file. 42

49 3.6 Running More Than One Server On the workstation 5 Edit the HOSTS file to include a statement such as: address_of_server servername1 servername2 Replace address_of_server with the IP address of the server. 6 Edit the SERVICES file on the client as follows: servername1 servername /tcp 2408/tcp 7 Start the first client, using the following parameters: fin servername=servername1, nettype=tcp 8 Start the second client, using the following parameters: fin servername=servername2, =tcp The system should now be up and running. Two Servers on the Same Machine, Both Using NetBIOS When you use NetBIOS, you do not have to configure the HOSTS and SERVICES files. The servers 1 Install the two servers in two different folders. 2 Start the first server in the first folder using the following parameters: 43

50 Chapter 3. Installing and Starting Navision Financials server servername=servername1, nettype=netb, cache=xxx, commitcache=yes, database=aaaa 3 Start the second server in the second folder using the following parameters: server servername=servername2, nettype=netb, cache=xxx, commitcache=yes, database=bbbb In these examples, xxx represents the cache size, and AAAA and BBBB are the names of the databases. Again, remember to write out the full path for each database file. The clients 4 Now that the servers are up and running, start the first client, using the following parameters: fin servername=servername1, nettype=netb 5 Start the second client, using the following parameters: fin servername=servername2, nettype=netb Now you should have the system going. 44

51 3.7 Installing Navision Financials in an SMS Network 3.7 Installing Navision Financials in an SMS Network If you have a Windows NT network with SMS (System Management Server) installed, Navision Financials Client and Server programs can be distributed, installed and uninstalled within an SMS network. The computers in an SMS network are arranged in a tree structure. From the computer at the top of the tree, the system administrator can install software on other computers in the network; he or she does not need to be at the remote computers to perform the installation. The administrator can also send a request to uninstall a program on the remote machine. This is very convenient in large networks where the various computers are located at different sites. The Navision Financials Client and Server for Windows NT and Windows 95 are compatible with SMS. The Navision Financials Server for OS/2 is not compatible with SMS, however. Advantages of SMS An SMS system has the following properties and advantages: It maintains an inventory of the hardware, software and configuration of computers across a corporate network. It distributes, installs and updates software and files. It manages network applications (applications that run over the network from servers). It provides integrated support utilities that let you view diagnostic information for remote clients and take direct control of clients. It provides an integrated network monitor utility that lets you monitor network data flow. Package Definition File The SMS system uses a Package Definition File (PDF) to specify the setup program and its command line parameters, the installation options, and the execution command lines for Navision Financials Client and Server. This Package Definition File is supplied with the Navision Financials Client and Server installation program and should not be modified. It is located in the SMS subfolder on the installation CD. 45

52 Chapter 3. Installing and Starting Navision Financials Installation of Client and Server The installation of the Navision Financials Client and Navision Financials Server in an SMS system can take place in two different modes: Silent mode (unattended) Normal mode Silent Mode Installation (Unattended) In silent mode, the user on the client machine is not prompted for any input to the installation program; the program simply installs itself with default parameters supplied in a silent response file named setup.iss. (Silent mode installation is not supported on 16-bit clients like Windows 3.x and Win-OS/2.) The installation CD contains this response file. You should modify the parameters in this file according to your needs. There are two ways to install Navision Financials in the Silent Mode Installation: Copy the installation folder from the CD to a folder on your hard disk or on a shared network drive and modify the setup.iss file according to the table below. This becomes your package folder (the folder from which you install the product). Alternatively, to avoid copying the entire installation folder to your hard disk you may simply copy the setup.iss file so that you can modify it according to the table below. With this method, the CD remains your source folder for the installation, but you will have to supply a command line switch so that setup can find the modified setup.iss file. To add the command line switch, start the SMS Administrator program. Double-click the Navision Financials package (which you have imported via the Package Definition File), and click Workstations. Click Silent Install, and then click Properties. The command line will now read: setup.exe -S -mfin.mif -SMS You should append the following parameter to this line: -f1c:\yourdir\setup.iss 46

53 3.7 Installing Navision Financials in an SMS Network Here c:\yourdir is the drive and folder where you have placed the setup.iss file. This table lists the parameters you can set in the setup.iss file for Navision Financials Server: Parameter Name Possible Default Description Values Value szdir= User-defined Specifies the installation path for path the program. Must be defined explicitly. SERVERNAME= DEFAULT or a The target Specifies the name of the user-defined machine s Navision Financials Server. name name NETTYPE= DEFAULT, tcp Netb Selects the net type used in the or netb network. CACHE= DEFAULT, min 100 KB, max KB 500 KB Sets the cache size to be used on Navision Financials Server. COMMITCACHE= yes or no Must be defined explicitly. SESSIONS= DEFAULT, or Number of Specifies the number of clients maximum sessions that can be connected to the number of determined server at any one time. sessions by license file supported by the server INSTALLASSERVICE= yes or no Determines whether or not to install the Navision Financials Server as a service under Windows NT. Must be defined explicitly. LICENSE= Path Specifies the path to the license file. Must be defined explicitly. 47

54 Chapter 3. Installing and Starting Navision Financials Parameter Name Possible Default Description Values Value DATABASE= Path or NONE Specifies the path to the database. If set to NONE the Navision Financials Server will not initially be connected to a server. Must be defined explicitly. In the setup.iss file for Navision Financials Client, the only parameters that can be changed are szdir (which has the same properties as for Navision Financials Server), Client and Complete. Client and Complete parameters may be set to either CHECKED or UNCHECKED. Either Client or Complete (but not both) must be CHECKED. Example Client=CHECKED Complete=UNCHECKED The remaining parameters in the setup.iss file, which are not listed here, should not be modified. Normal Mode Installation In normal mode, the user is prompted for the various parameters the installation program needs for example, the installation path on the hard disk. Silent Uninstallation (Unattended) There is an important point to be aware of in a silent uninstallation: Warning If the uninstallation is silent, the database and license file will be deleted from the Navision Financials folder

55 3.7 Installing Navision Financials in an SMS Network Normal Mode Uninstallation A normal uninstallation will prompt the user to specify whether or not the database and license file are to be deleted. What Is a Status MIF? When the product is installed, the setup program creates a Status Management Information File (Status MIF) in the Windows folder. This Status MIF informs the SMS system whether the installation was successful so the system administrator at the top of the network hierarchy can see the status of the installation. 49

56 Chapter 3. Installing and Starting Navision Financials 50

57 Chapter 4 System Setup Navision Financials comes with a standard setup that enables it to be used immediately. Different installations require small setup variations that you can implement yourself. Once you have changed the settings, the program remembers them until you change them again. There is no one exact formula that specifies the setup selections that different users need or the order in which they must be defined. The chapter contains the following two sections: Overview of Program Properties Description of Program Properties

58 Chapter 4. System Setup 4.1 Overview of Program Properties You can customize the system setup by changing the settings of program properties. Some settings must be entered in the Target field of the Navision Financials Properties window. (Read more about this on page 28.) You can also start a server from a command prompt. If the server has been installed under Windows NT as a service and has the StartUp option (an option for Windows NT services) set to automatic, it will start automatically every time you start Windows NT. You can specify program properties in any order. Write them after the program start command, separated by commas. The name of each program property is followed by an equal sign (=) and the value to which the property is to be set, for example: d:\fin\fin.exe database=database.fdb, company=cronus, id=alice This does not apply, however, to the two properties Install As Service and Uninstall As Service. For these, enter the parameter on the command line as follows: d:\fin\fin.exe installasservice You can also set most program properties using the menu bar in the program window for example, by clicking File, Company, Open (to set Company) and File, Database, Open (to set Database). The properties that don t exist as menu items are grouped under Options on the Tools menu: 52

59 4.1 Overview of Program Properties Note Changes made in this window are saved in the setup file and will be valid the next time the program is opened. If you do not want users to be able to make permanent changes in these options, you can set default values in the command line of a batch file (called fin.bat, for example) that they use to start the program Which program properties you can set depends on whether you are setting up a single user or client, or a server. The following two tables list the properties required and where they can be set for single-user and client systems and for server systems. Single-User and Client System Setup All the program properties that you can set for clients and single users are listed below: Program Purpose Where Default Value More Property Specified Value on Cache (KB) Makes the Target field or 500 More than page program run Tools, Options 100 KB and 57 faster less than 1,000,000 KB Commit Cache Makes the Target field or No Yes/No page program run Tools, Options 57 faster Object Cache Makes the Target field or 1000 More than 0 page (KB)(clients only) program run Tools, Options KB and less 59 faster than 1,000,000 KB Net Type Permits choice Target field or Netb TCP or Netb page of network Tools, Options (TCP on UNIX) 59 protocol 53

60 Chapter 4. System Setup Program Purpose Where Default Value More Property Specified Value on TempFilePath Specifies Target field or Same path as Path to page location of Tools, Options for fin.exe temporary 60 temporary files working files created automatically ID (clients only) Saves Target field Fin Name of ID page individual (including 60 setup path if ID file not located in Navision Financials folder) Server Name Connects to Target field or None Name of page the server File, Server, server 62 Connect Database (not Selects Target field or Database.fdb Name of page necessary on database File, Database, database 63 client) automatically Open (including path if not located in Navision Financials folder) Company Selects Target field or CRONUS Company page company File, Company, International name 64 automatically Open Ltd. DB Test Tests the Target field or None Min., Normal page database File, Database, or Max. 64 Test DB Read Only Write-protects Target field, or No Yes/No page the database File, Database, 65 Open, the Open as readonly field 54

61 4.1 Overview of Program Properties Program Purpose Where Default Value More Property Specified Value on Status Bar Close Forms On Esc Marquee Full Selection Activates or deactivates the status bar Determines whether windows close when you press Esc Determines how graphical objects are selected on the screen Tools, Options Yes Yes/No page 65 Tools, Options Yes Yes/No page 66 Tools, Options No Yes/No page 66 Server System Setup All the program properties for the server are specified in the Target field of the Navision Financials Properties window (see page 28) or on the command line that is used to start the program. The program properties that you can use are listed below: Program Property Purpose Default Value Value More on Cache Makes the 500 KB or More than 100 KB page program run (Physical Memory and less than 57 faster - 16MB*2/3), 1,000,000 KB whichever is larger. Commit Cache Server Name Makes the program run faster Sets the name of the server No Yes/No page 57 Server1 Server name page 62 Net Type Selects network Netb (TCP on TCP or Netb page protocol UNIX) 59 55

62 Chapter 4. System Setup Program Property Purpose Default Value Value More on Stoptime Stops the server automatically at a particular time None hhmmss page 66 Database Selects an existing None Name of database page database (including path if 63 not located in Navision Financials folder) Sessions Specifies the Maximum Number of page number of client determined by sessions allowed 67 sessions that can license file by the license file be connected to the server at the same time Install As Service Uninstall As Service Installs the server as a service under Windows NT Uninstalls the server as a service under Windows NT Has no value Has no value page 68 Has no value Has no value page 68 The program properties are explained in the next section. 56

63 4.2 Description of Program Properties 4.2 Description of Program Properties This section describes each program property and explains the setup possibilities for each. Cache Save and Retrieve Faster DBMS Cache (Database Management System Cache or just Cache) is the name for a reserved space in the computer s memory a place where data is stored temporarily, until it is completely processed. After this, the commit cache (see the description later) sends it to the hard disk. This system frees Navision Financials for new work more quickly. When the cache becomes full, old information in it is replaced with new. When you turn off the computer, everything in the cache is lost from the memory. At that point, it has already been transferred from the cache to the database. The cache requires a minimum of 100 KB memory. The upper limit is 1 GB. To see how much cache has been allocated, click File, Database, Information and check the DBMS Cache (KB) field. It is usually advantageous to specify as large a cache as possible. If the computer does not have enough memory, however, doing so can cause the operating system to swap. Swapping means moving part of the cache to the hard disk to free up some memory. When this happens, the performance will be considerably slower because reading and writing take much longer when the hard disk is involved than when these operations are carried out in memory. To avoid swapping, reduce the number of programs running simultaneously, add more memory to your computer, or make the cache smaller. See page 157 to learn how to adjust the cache size. Commit Cache Faster Response Times The disk is the slowest part of a computer. Because it can take time for the computer to write to the disk and for the screen to be updated, it may appear that it is the program that is slow. To improve this situation, Navision Financials has a feature called commit cache (which for single users requires Windows 95 or Windows NT servers do not have this limitation). This 57

64 Chapter 4. System Setup function ensures that write transactions are completed as soon as the data is logically present in the database, in other words, before it is physically written to the disk. The write transactions stay in the commit cache until there is no other activity on the physical disk or until the commit cache is full. When one of these two things happens, the transactions are written to the physical disk. Commit Cache Utilizes the Disk Better Commit cache makes it possible for Navision Financials to write faster to more physical disks simultaneously and thus increases the write capacity. If you use commit cache and the database size is greater than 100 MB, it is therefore an advantage to divide the Navision Financials database up into several smaller database files. You can do this when you create or expand a database and store each one on its own physical disk not just on different partitions of the same hard disk. This performance issue is discussed further on page 148. Commit Cache and Power Failures Even though using commit cache means that writing is first done to the memory instead of the database, the database is always kept consistent. If a power failure (or something similar) occurs, some of the most recently completed transactions in the commit cache may not yet have been transferred to the disk. You will have to check the latest transactions one by one in reverse order to see which ones have been written to the database. Because the database can never contain partial transactions, all you need to do is make sure that part of a transaction is there. If it is, the rest of the transaction will also be correct. If a transaction is missing, you must perform it again. As a security measure, you can install an extra power supply, a so-called UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) for the server. As a rule, these contain enough battery capacity to keep the system running. The more advanced UPS models also contain facilities that make it possible to close your programs properly before the battery is used up. You can specify whether you want to use the Commit Cache property by specifying Yes or No under Tools, Options or by setting the property in the Target field (see page 28). From within the program, you can click File, 58

65 4.2 Description of Program Properties Database, Information and see whether Commit Cache has been turned on or off. (A x mark in the Commit Cache field means that it is turned on.) For more information about the Commit Cache property see page 156. Object Cache Faster Response Times Object cache, like cache, allows the program to work faster. Object cache is used only on clients. Its task is to store the code, descriptions and windows that will be used on the client so that they need to be retrieved from the server only once. Using object cache requires that the computer that is used as client has enough memory to store the objects while they are used. Object cache does not borrow RAM from cache, and running out of object cache (that is, setting it too small) does not cause problems elsewhere. The minimum amount of memory space you can allocate to object cache is 0 KB. The upper limit is 1 GB. To see how much object cache has been allocated, click File, Database, Information, and check the Object Cache (KB) field. To change the amount of object cache, click Tools, Options on the menu bar, and enter the setting in the Object Cache (KB) field. For more information about the Object Cache property, see page 156. Net Type Selection of Network Protocol To use Navision Financials in a network, you must select the network protocol that is used for communication between the server and clients. There are two possible values: nettype=tcp (for TCP/IP) nettype=netb (for NetBIOS) The same selection must be entered on all clients in the network as well as on the server. On the server, enter the selection (nettype=tcp, for example) in the Target field (see page 28) or on the command line after the start command (along with any other program properties). On the clients, enter the selection in the Target field or click Tools, Options on the menu bar from within Navision Financials. 59

66 Chapter 4. System Setup To check the setting when you are using the program, click File, Database, Information, and look at the Connection tab. TempFilePath Location of Temporary Working Files When Navision Financials is running, it creates a number of temporary files, which are automatically deleted when the program is closed. As a default, these files are put in the Navision Financials program folder, unless a different working folder has been specified. If so, the working folder will be the default location. You can choose to put them in a different location, however. On clients and in single-user installations, you can click Tools, Options to specify the location, or you can set the Tempfilepath program property when you start the program from a command prompt. In each case, you must specify the full path, including the drive and all folders. For example, to place the temporary files on a RAM disk called f:, type: tempfilepath=f:\ f:\ if you are using the Target field if you are using Tools, Options The advantage of doing this is that a RAM disk (virtual disk) is faster than the hard disk, so the program will run faster. You can create a RAM disk if the computer has enough vacant memory that can t be used for some other, more useful, purpose. Neither Windows 95 nor Windows NT includes a device driver to support RAM disks. There are, however, third-party device drivers that you can use if you decide to set up a RAM disk. ID Save User Setup Each client in a Navision Financials multiuser installation can have its own setup of windows and program properties. For the program to remember various users setup selections, each must have a unique identification code. You can create this by starting the program with an ID under which the 60

67 4.2 Description of Program Properties information will be stored. Here is an example in which the program starts with an ID called super: d:\fin\fin.exe id=super In a list of Navision Financials program files, you can see that each time you have started with a new ID, a file has been created that has the ID as the first part of the file name and.zup as the file name extension (for example, super.zup). This is called a setup file. You can take a standard setup created for a particular type of user and make it available to other users with similar needs. To do this, copy the appropriate setup file to the folder from which the user starts the program, and type its ID (file name) in the Target field (see page 28). Alternatively, you can put the setup file on a common drive in the network (but here it can be overwritten by other users). If you choose to place the setup file in a different folder from the one containing the program files, you must remember to specify the entire path name after ID=. The ID has nothing to do with user IDs in the program, but you can use the same names. In fact, it can be an advantage to do so because although you cannot see the name of the setup file in the program, you can always see the user ID on the status bar at the bottom of the program window. If you do not enter an ID when you start clients and single users, the program will use a setup file called fin.zup. Because several users can use fin.zup at the same time, you can risk running into conflicts when you save fin.zup to the disk (by closing Navision Financials). As each user closes the program, the setup changes he or she has made will be saved in fin.zup, and the fin.zup saved by the previous user who closed the program will be replaced. The program will notify you of this with a message on the screen when you log out. You will be able to choose whether you want to save your own latest modifications. If you delete a setup file, you will lose the information it contains about the setup for that ID. Returning to the Original Setup If after a while you think that too many changes have been made in the setup for a particular ID, you can always return to the standard setup by starting 61

68 Chapter 4. System Setup the program without specifying an ID. Then the standard setup file, fin.zup, will be used. If you have previously worked without an ID and made changes in the setup, fin.zup will contain these changes. If you don t want to use this modified fin.zup, but instead want to return to the original starting point of the program, delete fin.zup and start the program again without an ID. A new clean setup file, named fin.zup, will be created. Server Name Choice of Server This program property is used in multiuser installations on: servers, to establish the name of the individual server. clients, to establish a connection with the server that a particular client will use. The server name can be almost anything you like (although under NetBIOS it must not start with * or IBM), and after you type it, it will be converted to all capital letters. You can create a suitable name system; in companies with many departments, individual servers are often named after the departments they belong to or their physical location. On clients, you can set up the connection to the server in a Target field (see page 28) or by clicking File, Server, Connect on the menu bar. When you use the second method, this window appears: It is important to remember the server names because the program does not provide a list you can browse through. If a client is to be connected to the server using the menu item above, the system manager must remember to tell the user what the server name is. In a client, click File, Database, Information and look on the Connection tab to see what server you are currently connected to. See page 155 for a discussion of the more technical aspects of naming the server. 62

69 4.2 Description of Program Properties Database Select a Database The Database program property is used to make the program start with a particular database. (The database must already exist.) In the Target field (see page 28) or on the command line that starts the program, write the name of the database immediately after database=. Remember to specify the complete path if the database is not stored in the Navision Financials folder. There are a number of things that you must do before a client can gain access to a database on a server: 1 Start the server. 2 Start the client. 3 Select a network protocol. 4 Connect the client to the server. 5 Open the database. You can accomplish steps 3 and 4 by using the Net Type and Server Name program properties when you start the client. You can also perform the last three steps above from within the client program by following these steps: 1 Click Tools, Options. 2 In the Options window, enter the desired protocol (netb or tcp) as the value for Net Type. 3 Click OK. 4 Click File, Server, Connect. 5 Type the server name, and click OK. 6 Click File, Database, Open. 7 Select the database you want to open, and click OK. 63

70 Chapter 4. System Setup From within the program click File, Database, Information to see which database is being used. You can read more about databases in the chapter on database management starting on page 87. When you select a standard database for a client, you can also select a company to open automatically by using the Company program property. See the following section. Company Selecting a Company With this program property, you can select a company that will open automatically when a client starts Navision Financials. In order to specify the company this way for a client, the client must be connected to the server and to the database containing the company. You will also have to specify the net type that is used. You can set the program properties Server Name, Net Type, Database and Company in the Target field (see page 28) or on the command line that starts the program. From within the program, you can select a company by clicking File, Company, Open. You can also select a company from the File menu list, which displays the names of the most recently used companies. You can see the current company on the title bar of the program window. DB Test Test the Database You can use this program property to test the readability of the database. You can also run the test from within the program by clicking File, Database, Test. If you do this, you will be able to use a detailed dialog box in which you can specify exactly what you want to test. When you enter the DB Test program property in the Target field (see page 28), the database will be tested before the program opens. You can specify one of the following options: dbtest=min (Run this before any backup that includes database files.) dbtest=normal (This is for everyday use.) dbtest=max (Very time-consuming; use about once a month.) 64

71 4.2 Description of Program Properties The extent of these tests, as well as how to create a customized version of the database test, is discussed fully starting on page 98 in the chapter on database maintenance. Warning Never delete a corrupted database before a new, tested database has functioned without errors for a period of time DB Read Only Start with Read Permission Only If you select this program property, Navision Financials will start up in such a way that the user has only read access to the database. That is, the database will be write-protected. Company information cannot be modified if the program is started with this property set to Yes. For a discussion of using this setting to open a database with which you have a problem, see Write protection on page 96. In the Target field (see page 28), this program property is specified with the values: dbreadonly=yes or dbreadonly=no The property can also be turned on when you open a database from within the program. Place a x in the Open as read-only field in the window that appears when you click File, Database, Open. (You can also just look to see whether the database has been opened as read-only). Status Bar Under Tools, Options on the menu bar, each client and single user can choose whether or not the status bar will be displayed at the bottom of the program window. The status bar shows the complete name of the active field and its contents, the work date, the current user ID, whether any filters have been placed on 65

72 Chapter 4. System Setup the data (FILTER appears), whether you are about to create something NEW (an account, for example) and, finally, whether you are working in Insert (INS) or Overtype (OVR) mode. When you make a visible change in the setup (such as changing whether the status bar is visible), it is practical to use the ID program property and a setup file on your own computer. This makes the setup selections valid only for yourself. See page 60. This property can be adjusted only from inside Navision Financials. Close Forms On Esc Under Tools, Options on the menu bar, you can choose whether the window you are working in will close when you press the Esc key. When you make a visible change in the setup (such as changing the setting of this program property), it is practical to use the ID program property and a setup file on your own computer. This makes the setup selections valid only for yourself. See page 60. This property can be adjusted only from inside Navision Financials. Marquee Full Selection With this setting, you can choose whether graphical objects must be completely within the selection rectangle to be selected, or whether it is sufficient for them just to touch the edges. This property is relevant for developers using the C/SIDE development environment. You make this selection under Tools, Options on the menu bar. This property can be adjusted only from inside Navision Financials. Stoptime Automatic Timed Stop of Server If you start a server by setting the Stoptime program property (stoptime=hhmmss in the Target field [see page 28] or on the command line, with hhmmss replaced by a time in hours, minutes and seconds), the server will stop automatically when the computer s built-in clock reaches the 66

73 4.2 Description of Program Properties time specified. You can use this function to cut off access to the database at a particular time. (It is not necessary to stop Navision Financials to make backups. See chapter 7.) Sessions Number of Client Sessions Allowed A session is an active (running) copy of Navision Financials. The term must not be confused with client, which refers to one connected computer. One client computer (under Windows 95 or Windows NT) can run several sessions at a time if the client program is started more than once. Here are two different ways in which 10 sessions can be running: 2 computers, each with 5 sessions (you start each of the clients 5 times) 10 client computers, each started once The Sessions program property is set on servers and specifies the number of sessions that are allowed to be connected to the server at one time. When you obtain your license file, you obtain permissions for a specific number of sessions. These are automatically assigned to the server when you start it. To see how many sessions a license allows, click File, Database, Information. The Database Information window opens. Look on the Sessions tab, in the Licensed Sessions field. You use this program property to distribute the sessions efficiently either because you want to start several servers with the same license file or because you want to limit access to the current server. The maximum number of possible sessions depends on the network protocol you use. Each session takes up 50 KB of memory on the server. If a client tries to start a session that will exceed the number specified, a message will appear. 67

74 Chapter 4. System Setup Install As Service Windows NT offers the possibility of installing the Navision Financials Server as a service. When the Navision Financials Server is installed as a service, it starts every time you start Windows NT without the user having to log on to the system. To install the Navision Financials Server as a service, type the following command at the prompt: server installasservice Do not use the equal sign with this property. Uninstall As Service If you want to uninstall Navision Financials as a service under Windows NT, use the following command at the prompt. Do not use the equal sign with this property. server uninstallasservice 68

75 Chapter 5 Security This chapter explains how to set up an effective security system that lets you control which functions each user has access to, and for what period of time. The user setup described here also covers practical matters such as default printer selections. You can read about the following topics in this chapter: What You Can Do with User IDs Setting Up User IDs, Passwords and Permissions Changing Passwords User Time Limits and the Time Register Selecting a Printer

76 Chapter 5. Security 5.1 What You Can Do with User IDs An accounting and business management application must have a built-in security system to ensure that only the people you specify can gain access to your information. A minimum level of security requires that users be assigned user IDs and passwords, thereby limiting access to the program. Navision Financials satisfies this requirement. You can also restrict access to information. You do this by assigning sets of permissions, called groups, to individual user IDs. In this way, users have access to only those areas of the program for which they have been assigned permissions. The database that comes with the program includes a number of predefined groups. (See the list later in this section.) You can use the groups as they are, change them or create new ones. You can choose what level of security to use: user permissions, user IDs and passwords, or no user IDs. Below you can read about ways in which user IDs can improve security. Access control If you have set up user IDs, Navision Financials automatically asks for a user ID and password when a user starts the program and tries to do something that requires accessing the database, for instance, open a company. The user cannot gain access to a company without entering the correct information. The password is valid for all companies in a database, but you can restrict access so that a particular user can see data only for certain companies. You can read more about how to construct such a system of permissions on page 74. Time-limited permissions Passwords in Navision Financials do not have time limits, but you can put time limits on user IDs. If you yourself have the required permissions, you can always delete a user ID from the system or cancel all its permissions. If this is too drastic, you can specify a limited time period in which a particular user ID is allowed to post in the system. You set up this limitation under General Ledger, Setup, Users as explained on page 83 in this chapter. Registering time use Under General Ledger, Setup, Users, User Setup, you can specify that you want the program to register the amount of time each user works with a company. This can be used, for example, by accountants who post for others, to document the amount of time spent working on the accounts of the 70

77 5.1 What You Can Do with User IDs various companies. To see the time use that has been registered, click General Ledger, Setup, Users, User Time Registers. The User Setup table is described on page 82 and the User Time Register table on page 83. Default and fixed printer selections User IDs can be used to determine which printer an individual user will use. You can set this up under General Ledger, Setup, Printer Selections. You can read more about this on page 85. User IDs on all entries All G/L entries in Navision Financials contain a field displaying the user ID of the user who made the entry. Identifying individual system setups The current user ID always appears on the status bar at the bottom of the program window. If you save individual setup files for different users, it can be helpful to use the user ID as the setup ID. This is the only way that you will be able to see in the window which setup file has been used to start the program. You can read more about setup files on page

78 Chapter 5. Security 5.2 Setting Up User IDs, Passwords and Permissions To set up user IDs and passwords, and to assign permissions, click Tools, Security, Users from the menu bar. The Users window will appear (but unlike the one shown, it will be empty): You must start by setting up the user ID of a superuser, who has permissions for everything in the entire program. This user ID need not belong to a particular person it can be a fictitious user whose password is known only to certain people, including the system manager. The following example illustrates how to set up such a user (called SUPER). You can use the same procedure to set up other user IDs. 1 Enter a user ID, in this case SUPER. You can type uppercase and lowercase letters as you like the program will convert all letters to uppercase. You can later change the user ID in this field. 2 Enter the name of the user the ID will belong to. 3 Enter a password. It is encrypted as you type, so neither you nor anyone else can see it. Here it is important to remember where you have used uppercase and lowercase letters because passwords are case-sensitive. The password can be used for as long as you want. In a multiuser installation, however, where a system manager has set up all the user IDs, each user should change his or her own password immediately after logging on for the first time so that no one else knows the password. It cannot be seen anywhere in the system. 72

79 5.2 Setting Up User IDs, Passwords and Permissions If you set up passwords for others, remember to tell them that passwords are case-sensitive. 4 You can also enter a final date on which a user ID will be able to log onto the program. As a security precaution, SUPER must not have a date limitation. Assigning Permissions to Superusers You must assign the super permissions to your superuser before you assign permissions to any other users. In the Users window, make sure that the t (current record) symbol on the left side of the window is next to the user SUPER, and click Groups at the bottom of the window. A window appears, listing the permissions groups linked to the user (although unlike the one shown here, the window that appears is empty because you are only now setting up the user s permissions): Move the cursor to the Group ID field, and click the AssistButton p to the right of the field to see a list of the permissions groups that have been set up. (If you haven t changed them, these will be the standard ones that come with the program.) You must assign the group named SUPER to the superuser: SUPER Read, use, change and delete all data and all application objects (if you have purchased a license to do it). To insert a group into the Groups window, double-click the line containing the desired group. 73

80 Chapter 5. Security As a default, permissions apply to all companies in the database, but they can apply to only a particular company. To do this, enter the name of the company (or use the AssistButton p) in the Company field on the right side of the window. For permissions to apply to several companies, you must set up one line per company (each line starting with the same group ID). Note The standard permissions groups come with the standard database. When you create a new database, the permissions groups will be copied into it when you make a backup of Data Common to All Companies and Application Objects in the old database and restore them into the new database Permissions for All Other Users To choose permissions for all other users, you can start by looking at the standard groups that come with the program. You can use the groups as they are, modify them, or set up completely different ones. Each group describes a set of access permissions to tables, reports, functions, and so on. Various permission types allow the user to: Read (information in a table, for example) Insert (information in a table, for example) Modify (information in a table, for example) Delete (information in a table, for example) Execute (functions or reports, for example) You can link each user to one or more groups as needed by following the procedure for assigning groups to superusers on page 73. There is obviously no point in assigning permissions for areas that your license file does not permit you to use. If you have the program customized or purchase additional application areas, however, remember to change or add to the permissions. 74

81 5.2 Setting Up User IDs, Passwords and Permissions To view, modify or create permissions, click Tools, Security, Groups on the menu bar. The Groups window appears. It lists the IDs and names of all the groups: For detailed information about the permissions that are included in a group, select the group (G/L PERIODIC is selected in the picture) and click Group, Permissions. See Modifying Existing Groups on page 76 for more details. Some special groups are described in the following table: Group SUPER SUPER (DATA) Permissions Read, use, change and delete all data and all application objects (if you can do so in your version of the program). The first user you set up must be assigned this permissions group otherwise you will lose all permissions for the entire application, and your Navision Solution Center will have to help you obtain them again. Read, use, change and delete all data. This is a permissions group that you will normally assign to an accounting manager or another person who can work with all the data but does not need to make changes in the program. 75

82 Chapter 5. Security Group SECURITY ALL Permissions Have access to the tables and functions related to security information (users, permissions and passwords). Users with this group can also assign permissions to others, but only the permissions they themselves have. Therefore if you want to create an area superuser, you should give the person this permission plus permissions for the areas, such as Purchases & Payables, in which he or she can assign (and remove) permissions for other users. Use fundamental (but not high-security ) tables and functions. The permissions the user gains here can be used only in the tables users normally gain access to, so the group itself does not provide permissions for any particular actions. Assign this group to all users (except SUPER), because this is a prerequisite for all other permissions groups you will assign to them. Modifying Existing Groups To modify a group, select the group (there should be a t to the left of the line). Click Group, and then click Permissions. A window like the one below appears, and you can see what permissions are included in each group. The window shown is for the group ALL (All users). In this window you can modify, delete or insert lines. Each line represents an object (table, report, form, dataport or codeunit) in Navision Financials. In the Object Type field, you can click the Assist Button h to see or select the types of objects for which you can assign permissions. 76

83 5.2 Setting Up User IDs, Passwords and Permissions On the right in the window, you can see whether the group has read, insert, modify, delete or execute permissions for the table, window, report, and so on. The following notations appear in the permissions fields: Permission Yes Indirect Meaning Assigned directly. You can always read this object, for example. Assigned indirectly. This means you have the permission because of another permission that you are directly assigned. You have an indirect permission only when it is used in connection with the other (direct) permission. Not selected (the field is empty). Selecting Additional Objects You can assign permissions for multiple objects. To see all objects for which you can assign permissions, click All Objects. A window like this appears: You can use the scroll bar to the right to scroll up and down in the window. Enter Yes in the fields for those permissions you want to add. (When you return to the window containing the list of permissions, it will include the ones for which you entered Yes.) Click OK to save your selection. 77

84 Chapter 5. Security Creating a New Permissions Group This is how to create a new group: 1 Click Tools, Security, Groups from the menu bar. A window will appear. 2 Click Edit, Insert New (or use F3) to get an empty line on which to create the group. 3 Enter an ID for the group in the Group ID field and a description of it in the Name field. 4 Click Group, and then click Permissions. Another window appears. See the picture on page Click All Objects. A list of all the objects in the application appears. 6 Type Yes next to the permissions you want to include in the group. When you click OK in the Permissions (All Objects) window (see page 77), the lines marked Yes will be copied to the Permissions window, where you will be able to see them subsequently. Which Users Are Linked to the Group? To see the users that are linked to a particular group, click Tools, Security, Groups from the menu bar. Place the cursor on the line for the group, and then click Group, Users. This window appears: 78

85 5.2 Setting Up User IDs, Passwords and Permissions Linking Several Users to the Group If you have already set up user IDs, you can link a number of users to a group. (To do this, you must be a superuser or at least have the permissions you want to give to others, as well as access to security). To see a list of the existing users, place the cursor in the User ID field and click the AssistButton p. If you have not already set up user IDs, you can do so in the list window that appears. This window is the same as the one that appears when you click Tools, Security, Users. It is described on page

86 Chapter 5. Security 5.3 Changing Passwords To change your program password, click Tools, Security, Password on the menu bar. If you work in a multiuser installation and have been given your user ID and password by the system manager, it is a good idea to change your password the first time you use the program. (That way you can be sure that you are the only one who knows it.) If you work in a single-user installation and have set up your own user ID yourself, this isn t necessary. Note Passwords in Navision Financials do not have time limits. If you want to set time limits for access, you can place an expiration date on the user ID or you can specify an allowed posting period for each user (click General Ledger, Setup, Users, User Setup) When you click Password, Navision Financials automatically logs you out of the program and opens the Login window, where you must enter your current password before you can continue. This ensures that you are the only one who can change your password. The Change Password window will not appear until the current password has been entered correctly. (Remember to distinguish between uppercase and lowercase letters.) It looks like this: The user ID and user name, which appear in the two uppermost fields, cannot be changed here. To change them, click Tools, Security, Users. Enter your new password in the New Password field. You must then enter it once again (exactly the same as the first time) in the Reenter New Password field to verify that you entered it correctly the first time and can remember it. The password will not appear when you enter it, and you cannot see it anywhere else in the program. 80

87 5.3 Changing Passwords If the reentry of the password is not correct, there are two possible causes: You typed it wrong the second time try again. The password that you created is not what you think it is. (You made a typing error the first time, or maybe you used uppercase and lowercase letters differently in the two fields.) Enter the password in the New Password field again, and then reenter it again. Click OK if you want to change the password; click Cancel to stop the password from being changed. If you do change the password (that is, click OK), the program will log you out, and you will have to use your new password to restart Navision Financials. If you forget your password or user ID If you forget your password or user ID, you will be allowed an unlimited number of attempts to enter it. You can also request a new password from a user who has permission to change other people s passwords. If all users have forgotten their user IDs or passwords (passwords are encrypted, so they cannot be seen anywhere in the program), so no one can set up new ones, you can get a special password from your Navision Solution Center (NSC). Follow this procedure: 1 Open Navision Financials. 2 When the Login window appears, enter?????????? (10 question marks) as the user ID. The program now displays a window containing a code. 3 Give the code to your NSC, which (for a fee) can give you a new password. Warning Do not use the keyboard or mouse before you enter the new password Enter the password from the NSC. It can be used only once. 5 As soon as you have entered it, click Tools, Security, Users, and set up your own password. 81

88 Chapter 5. Security 5.4 User Time Limits and the Time Register After you have created a user ID, you can specify both that the user with that ID can post only during certain time periods (for example, June 1 June 15) and that the program must keep track of the amount of time the user has been working in each company. The windows used for this, User Setup and User Time Register, are both found under General Ledger, Setup, Users. User Setup In the User Setup window, you define for each user when posting will be allowed and whether the program will record the time logged on. The window lets you specify the main menu that will appear when the user with a particular ID starts Navision Financials. This is relevant because the program can be customized in many ways; many different main menus may be available. If they are, you can, for example, choose to display one main menu to users who work with inventory administration and another to those who work with the general ledger. To open the User Setup window, click General Ledger, Setup, Users, User Setup. First enter the user ID for which you want to set up conditions. The user ID itself must already have been set up. If you can t remember the user IDs, click the AssistButton p to the right of the field to see a list. 82

89 5.4 User Time Limits and the Time Register In the next two fields, Allow Posting From and Allow Posting To, enter dates that define the period in which posting will be allowed. (The date in the Allow Posting To field will be the last date on which posting is allowed.) Note Other fields for posting periods are found under General Ledger, Setup, Posting, Accounting Setup, but those periods refer to the entire company and thus apply to all users. Anything that you enter for a particular user under User Setup will take precedence over the general choices you made under General Ledger, Setup, Posting, Accounting Setup but only for the particular user Enter a x mark in the Register Time field (by clicking the field or pressing the spacebar) to specify that you want the program to register the time that the user works in the company. Use the Main Menu ID field to specify the main menu that you want to appear when the user starts the program. If you cannot remember whether any special main menus have been created, you can click the AssistButton p to the right of the field to view a list of available main menus. If you do not select any special main menu, the user will see the standard main menu. User Time Register If the Register Time field in the User Setup window contains a x, the User Time Registers window will contain information about when and for how long individual users have been logged on to the company. Click General 83

90 Chapter 5. Security Ledger, Setup, Users, User Time Registers. The User Time Registers window appears: This window displays the time use registered for a number of users. The lines are generated automatically, but you can also enter information in them. Time use is registered in whole minutes, rounded to the nearest minute. The program creates one line per user per day. If the same user uses the company more than once on a day, the line displays the total time used on that day. If a user finishes using the company after midnight, the time use will be registered to the date when work began not the date it was completed. 84

91 5.5 Selecting a Printer 5.5 Selecting a Printer When you want to print something from Navision Financials, you can use the printers you have installed under Windows. The printer that has been designated the default printer in Windows will be used as a default in Navision Financials. Individual printer selection If you want a particular user always to use a specific printer, or a particular report always to be printed on the same printer, you can set these options as fixed printer selections. A fixed printer selection will apply no matter what printer selections or other changes are made in the program. (The fixed printer selection does not determine options such as paper format.) To choose fixed printers, click General Ledger, Setup, Printer Selections. The Printer Selections window appears: In the User ID field, enter the ID of the user to whom the printer selection applies. The user ID must already have been created in the Users table. To see a list of all the users, click the AssistButton p to the right of the field. If you want the selection to apply to all users (or if you don t use user IDs because there is only one user, for example), leave the field blank. In the Report ID field, enter the ID of the report to which the printer selection applies. To see a list of all reports, click the AssistButton p to the right of the field. If you want the selection to apply to all reports, leave the field blank. The Report Name field is filled in automatically when you enter the report ID. In the Printer Name field, enter the name of the printer (one that has been installed under Windows) that will be used for the user ID and report 85

92 Chapter 5. Security specified on that line. To see a list of all possible printers, click the AssistButton p to the right of the field. 86

93 Chapter 6 Database Maintenance The Navision Financials database is the heart of the application. All the information, companies, modifications, reports, and so on are stored here. It is therefore important that you know how to manage the database and that you are familiar with the tools that Navision Financials provides for doing this. This chapter describes the basic operations involved in working with a database, as well as some more advanced features. The chapter contains the following sections: Creating, Expanding and Storing the Database Opening and Closing the Database Testing the Database Deleting the Database Database Information Database Efficiency Advanced Database Information

94 Chapter 6. Database Maintenance 6.1 Creating, Expanding and Storing the Database You must have a database to be able to work with Navision Financials. When you install a single-user installation, a standard database called database.fdb is automatically provided. Using the Standard Database You can use the standard database (database.fdb) in two ways: with a demonstration license (cronus.flf) or with your own license (fin.flf). The standard database contains a demonstration company called CRONUS International Ltd. Using the Demonstration License File Cronus.flf If you choose to work under the demonstration license file, cronus.flf, you have access to all the Navision Financials application areas and can test all the functions including ones you have not purchased permissions for. The demonstration license file does, however, contain certain restrictions: Restrictions of Cronus.flf Posting is only possible in the period November to February. The maximum database size is 20 MB. The maximum number of companies is two. You can perform a maximum of 1000 transactions in the database. You can have a maximum of two sessions running at any one time. Any company name must start with CRONUS (written in capital letters). This ensures that it will be clearly identifiable as a demonstration company and you will not accidentally create a real company with the wrong license file. Using Your Own License File If you work under your own license file (fin.flf), you can use only the functions for which you have purchased permissions. This means that you can see only the data for those functions even in the demonstration company. 88

95 6.1 Creating, Expanding and Storing the Database On the other hand, your own license file does not limit posting dates or number of transactions. You can also create as many companies in database.fdb as you have purchased permissions for. If you create more than one additional company in the database, however, you will no longer be able to use the license file cronus.flf because it allows only two companies in the database. Thus, you will lose the benefits of using cronus.flf: you will not be able to see all the functions in the entire demonstration company. The following section explains how to get around this problem. Creating Your Own Database The demonstration files contain many limitations, which can be difficult to keep track of. Because of this, we recommend that you create a separate database for your own companies. Your license file contains permissions to use a certain number of megabytes, and you can create as many new databases as you like within the allowed space. There are two ways to go about this. You can use two different copies of the standard database one just for the demonstration company and one for your own companies or you can create a completely new database for your companies. Using a Copy of the Standard Database It is easiest to create your own database in the following way: 1 Make a copy of the database to use with the demonstration company. Copy the standard database (database.fdb), and name the copy cronus.fdb. Put the copy in a folder by itself called cronus, for example. Use the database cronus.fdb for the demonstration company only nothing else. You will be able to use both your own license file (fin.flf) and the demonstration license file (cronus.flf) in this database. If you use cronus.fdb so much that you exceed the 1000 transactions allowed, you can make a new copy of database.fdb from your Navision Financials CD (just remember to call the new copy cronus.fdb, so it does not replace or get confused with your own database). 89

96 Chapter 6. Database Maintenance 2 Delete the demonstration company from the standard database. Delete the demonstration company, CRONUS International Ltd., from the standard database.fdb, which will become your own (working) database. After this, use only your own license file (fin.flf) to work in the standard database. You will be able to create as many companies as you have purchased permissions for. Using a Completely New Database If you want to create a completely new database for your companies, you will need to: 1 Create the new database. The next section gives detailed instructions for doing this. 2 Restore a backup of the original standard database (the database.fdb that comes with the program) into the new database. The backup must include at least Data Common to All Companies and Application Objects. Data Common to All Companies includes the program s report list, permissions groups and user IDs. Restoring Application Objects transfers the accounting application to the database. You can read more about making backup copies on page 127. Moving a company from one database to another If you happen to create your own company in the wrong database, you can move it to the correct database by making a backup copy of just the company. (Select the appropriate company before you begin the backup.) When the backup is complete, open the correct database and restore the company backup into it. Note Regardless of whether you choose to continue to work in the standard database or create a new one, make sure that you always have at least one copy of the database you are working with stored in a safe location. If you accidentally delete the folder containing Navision Financials, the database file will disappear, which means that all your data will be lost

97 6.1 Creating, Expanding and Storing the Database Creating a New Database To create a new database from a client or single-user installation, click File, Database, New on the menu bar. The New Database window appears: You can set up a database to consist of one or more files. Warning Never create the database on compressed drives (this also includes the Compress property under the NTFS file system of Windows NT). A database located on a compressed drive can be corrupted by a power failure Database in One File If you want your database to consist of one file only, use the New Database window. Here you give the database a name (including the full path) and a size. The size depends on how many bookkeeping transactions will take place each day, week, and so on. Your Navision Solution Center can help you choose a suitable database size. Do not make the database too large to begin with; you can always expand it, but you can never make it smaller (and the allocated space cannot be used for anything else on your computer). The maximum size of one database file is 2 GB. (The database can have up to 16 files of 2 GB each.) The number of KB you have permissions for is displayed in the Licensed Size (KB) field. Database in Several Files Dividing your database into several files on several (physical) disks lets you utilize disk space optimally. It also reduces the access time to the database, 91

98 Chapter 6. Database Maintenance which improves the program s performance. You can read more about performance issues on page 145. Using Commit Cache If you have divided your database into several files on several disks, it will be utilized most efficiently if you start the program with the program property Commit Cache set t0 Yes (set up under Tools, Options on the menu bar or in the Target field as described on page 58). For a single user, this is only possible under Windows 95 or Windows NT. Multiuser installations In multiuser installations, where there is a network server available, it is possible to start the Navision Financials server program from a computer in the network and at the same time have the database files located on the network server instead of on the Navision Financials server. This is not recommended, however, because it places a heavy load on the network, which will make performance much worse. Normally, Navision Financials sessions communicate directly with the Navision Financials server, but if the database files are on a network server, all database transactions must be sent from the server program via the network to database files on the network server. Another reason for not having database files on the network server is that this increases the risk of introducing transmission errors into the data that is being sent back and forth. Data sent between the server program and the database in this way is not protected by the Navision Financials checksum system. Transmission errors in a network are much more common than disk errors or other errors on a computer, so the risk of introducing errors is sharply increased by putting the database files on the network server. Do not store database files on drives that are shared through the network program. If database files are located on shared drives, the program s performance declines drastically. Creating a Database in Several Files If you want a database in several files, start by creating the first file in the New Database window, as explained in the preceding section. Then expand the database as described in the following section. 92

99 6.1 Creating, Expanding and Storing the Database Expanding the Database You do not need to expand your database until you are about to run out of available space in it. You can check this by clicking File, Database, Information and looking in the Database Used (KB) field in the Database Information window. The value in this field should not exceed 90%. As soon as it reaches this level, it is a good idea to expand the database. Warning Navision Financials does not give you any warning that you are about to run out of space in the database. You must keep track of the status of the database, including how much space is left and how much database space you have purchased permissions for Performance The performance of the program depends only slightly on the size of the database. Unsatisfactory performance may be caused by problems with your equipment, by storing the database in an impractical location, or by incorrect settings of the Cache and Commit Cache program properties. You can read more about how to set the caches starting on page 156. Requirements To expand your database, you must have adequate space available on your hard disk, and you must have purchased permissions for (at least) a database of the size you want to expand to. The Licensed Size (KB) field in the Database Information window shows the size database you have purchased permissions for. If you don t have permission to expand the database further, an error message will appear when you try to do so. Remember that it is not a good idea to simply expand your database to the maximum size possible; once space has been allocated to the database it cannot be used for anything else on your computer. Note Before you undertake an expansion, you should back up your database as described on page 128 in the chapter called Making Backups

100 Chapter 6. Database Maintenance Ways to Expand the Database There are two ways to expand the database: Expand the existing database file. Create one or more new database files, possibly in a different location. This can be advantageous if there is more space on another disk. No matter which method you choose, start by clicking File, Database, Expand. The Expand Database window appears: Expanding an Existing Database File To expand the database, enter (in the Add (KB) field) the number of kilobytes you want to add, or enter the new total number of kilobytes in the New Size (KB) field. Click OK to save your changes. 94

101 6.1 Creating, Expanding and Storing the Database Creating an Extra Database File To create an extra database file in order to expand the existing database, click Advanced in the Expand Database window. The Expand Database (Advanced) window appears: Here you enter information about the new database file or files you want to create. Each new database file must be set up on its own line. Enter the name (with the full path) in the File Name field and the size of the database file in the Add (KB) field. If the actual database name is db.fdb, for example, you could call one database file dbpart1.fdb and another dbpart2.fdb and place them in different folders on different drives. Name of a database with multiple files The proper database name, that is, the one that will be referred to elsewhere in the program, appears on the first data entry line. If you need to use the database name (to open the database or make a Navision Financials backup, for example), use this name and ignore the fact that the database consists of several files. At the bottom of the window, you can see the size of the complete database increase as you create each file. When you click OK, the information is saved, and you can continue to work in the database. 95

102 Chapter 6. Database Maintenance 6.2 Opening and Closing the Database Information about the database that is open when you close Navision Financials is saved in the.zup file, and that database will be used as a default database when you start the program again. Opening a Database To start a server or to change to another (existing) database, use the Database program property to specify the database you want. You can set the Database property in the Target field (see page 28) or on the command line that starts the program, like this: d:\finserv\server.exe database=db.fdb On clients and single-user installations, you can also open the database from within the program. Click File, Database, Open on the menu bar. The Open Database window appears: You can use the window to find and select the database (with the file extension.fdb) that you want to open. If a different database is already open, it will be closed when you open the new one. When you have selected a database file, click Open to open it. Write protection If the Open as read-only field in the Open Database window contains a x, you can open the database but cannot change anything in it. The check mark means that the DB Read Only program property is set to Yes, making it impossible to change the data in the database. 96

103 6.2 Opening and Closing the Database Write protection can be used if problems have arisen in a database and you need to see the data without changing anything. You can also use it to start a database that for some reason will not accept write transactions. You can make a backup of the database while it is in read-only mode, and restore the backup into another database. This will give you access to the data. Closing a Database If you want to close an open database (for example before opening another), you can click File, Database, Close. But you don t have to use this function; Navision Financials will save all data and close everything down correctly when you select another database or quit the program. There can never be more than one database open at a time, but you can choose to use the function as an extra safety precaution if you want to delete a database or do something similar. On servers, you can use the Stoptime program property to stop the server at a specific time of day. After this, the clients will no longer be able to access the database. 97

104 Chapter 6. Database Maintenance 6.3 Testing the Database To safeguard against errors, you should check the database frequently. You do this from clients or single users. Without opening the program To test the database without opening the program, start the test by setting the program property DB Test In the Target field (see page 28). Here is an example: d:\fin\fin.exe database=database.fdb, dbtest=normal The possible settings for DB Test in the Target field are min, normal and max. If you start the test from within the program, as described below, you can customize the database test. From within the program To start the test from within the program, click File, Database, Test. The Test Database window appears: The test can be more or less extensive. You determine its extent by selecting one of the option buttons at the top (such as Minimum). When you select an option, the individual tests included in that option are run. 98

105 6.3 Testing the Database The table below indicates what the different tests include: Level Test Fields Features Checked Minimum Test primary keys and data All records in all tables can be read. Records are sorted in ascending order according to the primary key. All fields are correct in relation to the field type. Normal Test BLOBs All the fields included in the Minimum test, plus: All BLOBs (fields for pictures on the item card, for example) can be read. You can read about BLOBs in the Introduction manual and the Application Designer s Guide. Test secondary keys All secondary keys in all tables can be read. Sorting is done correctly according to the secondary key. All fields in the sorting have the correct field type. Maximum Test space allocation All the fields included in the Normal test, plus: All space in the database is either used by a sorting key or is available. Test relationships... The connection between the primary and secondary sorting keys is correct. Test field relationships... All fields that have relationships to other fields can be accessed from the field to which they are related. 99

106 Chapter 6. Database Maintenance Level Test Fields Features Checked Custom The same fields as in the Maximum test, but you can deselect the ones you don t want to use. Whatever you select. Primary and secondary keys, mentioned in the table above, are sometimes described as indexes and are used, for example, when you sort information. The keys determine how information in a table is ordered. You switch keys to sort information in a table in a different way. For example, you might want to sort your customers by name or by number. See the Introduction manual for a description of how information is sorted and how to change the sorting. For a more detailed description of keys, see page 121. How often you need to test the database depends on how secure the rest of the system (including the network) is and what level of security you need. It is a good idea, however, to test before you make a backup especially if you don t use the Navision Financials backup function. Note Test space allocation cannot be executed when there is more than one user on the system. If you select a test that includes it, Test space allocation will not be executed if there are other users on the system, but the rest of the test will be executed normally While the test is being performed, the following status window is displayed: 100

107 6.3 Testing the Database If an error occurs, the program stops and displays an error message indicating what and where the error is. You can then follow this procedure: 1 Export a Navision Financials backup copy of the database. 2 Create a new database, and restore the backup into it. 3 Run a Maximum test on the new database to check it. 4 If it is error-free, check to make sure that the company data is what you expected. Afterward, you can continue to work in the new database. 5 If this does not work, contact your Navision Solution Center for help. Warning Never delete a corrupted database (one that contains an error) before a new, tested database has functioned without errors for a period of time This is the type of situation in which it is important that you have remembered to make backups and have made sure that they can be restored. You can read more about backups in chapter 7, Making Backups. 101

108 Chapter 6. Database Maintenance 6.4 Deleting the Database Never delete a database completely. If you have finished using a database, make a backup and save one or more copies of it in a secure place. (See chapter 7, Making Backups, which discusses the legal requirements about saving old financial data.) After you have made the backup, you can click File, Database, Delete to remove the copy of the database that will no longer be used. Before the database is deleted, you will have to answer two messages like this one: When you delete a database, EVERYTHING in the database is deleted, including any customizations you have had made. Deleting Part of a Database If you don t want to do anything quite so drastic as deleting the entire database, there are various other ways to delete part of the information: To remove old information, use the Date Compress batch jobs. Click Periodic Activities, Date Compression on the main menu for the relevant application area. To remove individual records, click Edit, Delete on the menu bar. There must be no open entries or non-zero balances for the records you want to delete. To remove a company, click File, Company, Delete. If you have access to the development environment for Navision Financials, you can delete individual objects. You can read about the development environment in the Application Designer s Guide. If you need to delete almost everything except a couple of objects, such as some reports, you can save the objects by exporting them before you 102

109 6.4 Deleting the Database delete the database. You can then click File, Database, Delete to delete the database. Finally, you can restore the old objects to a new database. 103

110 Chapter 6. Database Maintenance 6.5 Database Information To see information about the current status of the database in Navision Financials, click File, Database, Information. The Database Information window appears: This is where you can check to see whether everything is set up correctly, whether there is space available in the database, how much cache has been allocated to the program, and so on. (You can t change anything in this window just check information.) The Tables button opens an area of the program that is used for analyzing where and how data is distributed in the database, and different ways of optimizing the database. You can read about this on page 109. The window contains three tabs, each representing one major subject. You can move from tab to tab with the mouse or by using Ctrl+ PageUp and Ctrl+PageDown. Each tab is described in one of the following sections. Database On the Database tab, you find information about the database you are currently working with. The name of the database appears at the top. A database can be set up to consist of several individual files. You can see the names and sizes of the 104

111 6.5 Database Information files if you click the AssistButton o to the right of the field. The Database Files window appears: If you click Tools, Zoom (Ctrl+F8) from the menu bar while this window is displayed, you will get more detailed information about the database information that can be used for statistical purposes and to check the performance level. You can read more about performance issues in chapter 8, Advanced Performance Issues. The Database tab also displays the following information about the database: What percentage of the total space in the database is used. This should not exceed 90%. If it does, you can expand the database by clicking File, Database, Expand. See page 93 for details. How large the total database is and what percentage this is of the total you have permissions for. How much database space you have purchased permissions for. Whether cache has been allocated in the system and how much. The value affects the program speed. To specify cache size, use the program property Cache or click Tools, Options and enter the size as the value for DBMS Cache (KB). Whether Commit Cache is turned on. (x means that it is.) The commit cache affects the program speed. To specify the size of the commit cache, use the program property Commit Cache or click Tools, Options and enter the size as the value for Commit Cache. 105

112 Chapter 6. Database Maintenance Whether object cache has been allocated in the system. The Object Cache program property is used only on clients, where it affects the program speed. You can read about the various program properties in the chapter System Setup, which begins on page 51. Connection On the Connection tab, you can see the following information: Whether the database you are working in is located on your computer or on a server. If you are working in a database that is located on a server, the name of the server and the network protocol that is being used. If the server name or the net type is incorrect, the communication will not work properly. To change these selections, set the program properties Net Type and Server Name. You can also click File, Server, Connect to specify the server name and Tools, Options to enter the network protocol as the value for Net Type. 106

113 6.5 Database Information Sessions The Sessions tab contains the following information: In the Licensed Sessions field, the maximum number of sessions (active Navision Financials programs) that can be connected to the database. If you need more, you must obtain permissions from your Navision Solution Center. In the Current Sessions field, how many sessions (active Navision Financials programs) are presently connected to the database. The number is shown both as the number of sessions and as a percentage of the maximum number of sessions for which you have obtained permissions. Each computer (under Windows 95 or Windows NT) can have several sessions running at once. If you click the AssistButton o to the right of the Current Sessions field, the program will display a window listing which user has started each session: 107

114 Chapter 6. Database Maintenance The window shows the time when each user logged on. Each line represents one logon, so a user can appear more than once if he or she has started more than one session. The session that you are currently working in has a x in the My Session field. If you put the cursor on a line in the Database Sessions window and click Tools, Zoom on the menu bar, you will get more detailed information about a particular session. This window appears: The information here can be used for various statistical purposes. 108

115 6.6 Database Efficiency 6.6 Database Efficiency After you have been using Navision Financials for a while, it is a good idea to check how effectively the database is being utilized. There are a number of special tools for doing this. Click File, Database, Information, and then click Tables at the bottom of the Database Information window. A list of all the tables in the database appears: All information in Navision Financials is organized in tables. Each line in the window represents one table. You find the following information on each line: Field Company Name Table No. Table Name No. of Records Contents The name of the company to which the table on the line belongs. The number of the table. (Each table in Navision Financials has a unique number.) The name of the table. This is the name that is used in C/SIDE rather than the name of the window that displays the table on the screen (they are often the same). The number of records (entries) in the table. By keeping track of how many new records have been added in a certain period, you can estimate the number of records you can expect in the next period. Combining this with the record size in the Record Size field, you can see whether you will have enough space in your database. 109

116 Chapter 6. Database Maintenance Field Record Size Size (KB) Optimization Contents The average number of bytes per record in a table. This can be used as described for the No. of Records field. The total size of the table, in kilobytes. This is a percentage that tells how effectively Navision Financials uses this table in the database. The higher the percentage, the more effectively the table is utilized. To optimize the location of data in the table, click Optimize at the bottom of the window. The values in the above window cover all the information linked to the individual tables in Navision Financials, both financial information and any keys. You can see below how to use the information to improve the utilization of the database. Using Keys and Key Groups to Improve Performance To make the information in the tables as useful as possible, many of the tables have several predefined sorting keys. To view these predefined sorting keys, click View, Sort on the menu bar. You will be able to change the sorting order for the table. For more technical information about the keys, click File, Database, Information, and then click Tables in the Database Information window. In the Database Information (Tables) window, place the cursor on the table 110

117 6.6 Database Efficiency whose keys you want to see and click Keys. The Database Information (Keys) window appears: Keys have several uses, but maintaining them (if, for example, one is renamed) places a large demand on the system resources. You can therefore improve database utilization and performance by deactivating or completely removing keys that are not used in your installation. The example below illustrates the effects of doing this. Example The number of keys used is an important factor affecting performance in the posting routine. The keys in question are in the tables containing G/L, customer, vendor and item entries. When posting takes place, new entries are put into these tables, and most of the posting time is used to maintain the keys. The time it takes to post depends, therefore, on the number of sorting possibilities. If you want invoicing to be faster, you can deactivate all unnecessary secondary keys from entry tables. The minimum set of secondary keys required for posting an invoice is: Entry Type Cust. Ledger Entry Vendor Ledger Entry Item Ledger Entry Required Keys Document Type+Document No.+Customer No. Customer No.+Open+Positive+Due Date Document Type+Document No.+Vendor No. Vendor No.+Open+Positive+Due Date Item No.+Open+Positive+Location Code + Date Cost is Adjusted+Item No.+Invt. Qty. Not Adjusted 111

118 Chapter 6. Database Maintenance If you use the minimum set of keys for entry tables, certain queries cannot be executed, and entry lists can be sorted only according to the active keys. As this example illustrates, you should not remove or deactivate keys without giving it some thought because there are certain functions the program cannot run when certain keys are missing. Because of this, the program does not allow you to change the status of keys unless you have access to the C/SIDE development environment. If you do not have access to C/SIDE, you can have your Navision Solution Center (NSC) create a set of keys that makes a particular type of task easier. The NSC can set them up as key groups, which you can enable and disable without risk. The program will perform better when you have disabled the key group (because the system does not have to maintain the keys included in the key group). To enable or disable the key groups, click File, Database, Information, Tables, Key Groups. The Database Key Groups window appears: Enter the key group names, and click Enable or Disable. Setting Up a Key Group To set up key groups (you must have access to C/SIDE), you must specify which key group each key belongs to. The keys are found in the definitions of the tables. To set up a key group, follow this procedure: 1 Click Tools, Object Designer. 112

119 6.6 Database Efficiency 2 Click Table. 3 Select the table that includes the key that you want to include in the key group. 4 Click Design. 5 Click View, Keys on the menu bar. You can now see the keys for the selected table. This window shows the keys for the Customer table: Disabling a Key Group If you don t need to sort the Customer table very often by the Currency Code key, you could put the Currency Code key in a key group called, for example, RarelyUsed and disable it. (The name of the key group must not be longer than 10 characters.) To do so, follow this procedure: 1 In the Keys window (as shown above), select the line containing Currency Code. 2 Click View, Properties on the menu bar. 3 In the Properties window, enter RarelyUsed for the KeyGroups property. 4 Save the table definitions by closing the Table Designer. 5 Click File, Database, Information, Tables. 6 Select the Customer table, and click Key Groups. 113

120 Chapter 6. Database Maintenance 7 To disable the key group RarelyUsed, type RarelyUsed in the Key Group field. 8 Click Disable. Now, if you click Customers on the Sales & Receivables main menu and then click the View, Sort... on the menu bar, you are no longer able to sort the Customer table by currency code. Note When you re-enable keys that have been disabled, the program performs a sorting procedure that requires a certain amount of free space in the database Decreasing the Table Seek Time The Navision Financials database is organized in a tree structure. As this tree expands with new records, the records are distributed at the bottom level of the tree. (The tree is designed so that data is placed only at the bottom level. For details of the tree structure, see page 121.) In order to minimize the number of levels in the tree, click File, Database, Information, Tables, Optimize. This may decrease the seek time in the tree, because fewer seeks are required in the tree to find a specific record. On the other hand, if you often insert new records in the table, the program inserts the record in its proper place between all the other records by moving all the other records in order to make room for the new record. So inserting records in a table that is used often can take longer if its tree structure has been optimized. You can read more about the database structure on page

121 6.6 Database Efficiency Finding Errors In the Tables If you suspect that there are errors in some tables, you can perform error tests. To perform a test on selected tables, click File, Database, Information, Tables, Test. The Test Tables window appears: From this window, you can activate the same tests as you can by using the DB Test program property or by clicking File, Database, Test. If you choose to test only one table and select Test field relationships between tables, the relationships between the selected table and the related tables will be tested. If Commit Cache is turned on, the test will be speeded up significantly. Creating Space in the Database As you continue to use Navision Financials, the number of entries in the system grows. At some point, you must therefore choose between expanding the database or combining some of the old entries so they take up less space. Date Compression This combination of entries is called compression. Although you can only compress entries from closed fiscal years, you can compress them more than once. Note Date compression removes information from the entries, so you must always make a backup of the database before you run the function

122 Chapter 6. Database Maintenance What Is Combined? During compression, several old entries are combined into one new entry. For example, G/L entries from previous fiscal years can be compressed so that there is only one positive and one negative entry per account per month (one each for debit and credit). After compression, certain fields will always remain in the combined new entry. The contents of each of these fields will be set to a common or total value. In G/L accounts, for example, these are Posting Date, G/L Account No., Gen. Bus. Posting Group, Gen. Prod. Posting Group, Gen. Posting Type, Amount and VAT Amount. The contents of other fields will be cleared by the date compression. You can also select other fields to be retained. Selecting more fields to be retained results in more new, compressed entries per time period. The fields that you can select are listed in the window that appears when you choose the date compression batch job. The window is illustrated on page 116. What Is the Result? The number of entries that remain after date compression depends on how many filters you set before you start the batch job, which fields you want to have combined, and the compression period you select. There will always be at least one combined entry. When the batch job is finished, the result is displayed in the date compression register at the location in the program where you ran the batch job. The amount of a date-compressed entry is the sum of all the entries that have been compressed into it. The date is set to the starting date of the compression period, for example, the first day of the month if you are compressing by month. After compression has taken place, you can still see the net change in each account for each compression period. Starting Date Compression There are date compression batch jobs for each type of entry that can be created in Navision Financials. The batch jobs are found in the appropriate application areas on the main menu. For example, there is a batch job for date compression of G/L entries under General Ledger, Periodic Activities, 116

123 6.6 Database Efficiency Date Compression, General Ledger. If you click the batch job, the following window appears: Note When you choose other date compression batch jobs (other than G/L Entries), a tab appears containing filters that you can set on the entries before they are removed for compression. You can use this facility if you only want entries with particular values in a field to be included in the compression The Options tab contains the following fields, in which you can set up the conditions for the compression: Field Starting Date Ending Date Comments Enter the first date you want to include in the compression. The compression will include all (for example, G/L) entries from that date until the date in the Ending Date field. If you do not enter a date, the compression will begin with the first posting date in the program. Enter the last date you want to include in the compression. All (for example, G/L) entries from the starting date through this date will be compressed. 117

124 Chapter 6. Database Maintenance Field Period Length Comments Enter the time period over which you want to combine entries. To see the options, click the AssistButton h to the right of the field: Option: Day Week Month Quarter Year Period Entries Combined: From the same posting date. From the same week (only entries with a common month and accounting period). From the same month (only entries with a common accounting period). From the same quarter (only entries with a common accounting period). From the same fiscal year and calendar year. From the same accounting period (grouped within the same calendar year). Posting Description Retain Field Contents Retain Totals Enter the description that will accompany the entry or entries created by the compression. Date Compressed is suggested as a default. Enter a x by the fields whose contents you want to preserve. Selecting a field here means that when a group of entries for a period is compressed, a common or total value for the field will be retained in the combined entry. Thus, you will still have (total) information about this field for each compression period. The more fields you select here, the more detailed is the information in each compressed entry. Enter a x if you want each combined entry to include the total contents of the Quantity field. This option is available for G/L entries to allow you to retain the totals if you want to. In many cases this total will be meaningless because the Quantity field is used in various contexts. However, you may want to retain the totals if you have used the field when registering purchases, for example, so you can choose to have it included in the combined entry. 118

125 6.6 Database Efficiency Note If you select Day, Week, Month, Quarter or Period as the time period, you will later be able to compile various statistics about the compressed entries by period Example of Date Compression A company has used Navision Financials since January 1, 1991 for five complete fiscal years that follow the calendar year. The company is now in the middle of the sixth fiscal year (1996). Until now, no entries have been deleted or compressed, but the company believes it no longer needs to have a complete historical record of everything that has happened. Here is a suggested compression strategy for G/L entries: 1 In the present fiscal year (Fiscal Year 6), save all entries (no date compression at all). 2 In the preceding fiscal year (Fiscal Year 5), create one combined transaction per account per day per department per project. It will still be possible to create statistics for each day based on department and project. Fill in the fields in the window as shown here: 3 For the fiscal year before that one (Fiscal Year 4), create one combined transaction per account per accounting period. It is not necessary to preserve information about departments and projects. From now on, the statistics for this fiscal year can be printed only on the basis of period, 119

126 Chapter 6. Database Maintenance without reference to departments and projects. Fill in the window as shown here: 4 For fiscal years that are more than three years old, only one combined entry per account per fiscal year needs to be saved. For the three oldest fiscal years, you will be able to generate statistical information based only on totals for entire years. Fill in the window as shown here: 120

127 6.7 Advanced Database Information 6.7 Advanced Database Information In order to understand how a table is optimized in Navision Financials, you need to understand how the database is constructed. The next section explains this. In a multiuser installation, Navision Financials handles the problem of several users accessing the database concurrently (at the same time) with a technique called optimistic concurrency, which uses the database version principle. Optimistic concurrency and the database version principle are explained starting on page 123. Optimizing a Table A database table contains a primary key and several secondary keys. There must be a primary key, and there can be a maximum of 40 keys (both primary and secondary keys) in all. The keys determine how data is sorted. Keys The keys are arranged in so-called B+ trees (balanced trees). A balanced tree is one for which the program always passes through the same number of levels to access data at the bottom of the tree, regardless of which branch of the tree the data is located on. A tree data structure is formed of nodes (see the figure on the next page) where each node in the tree, except for a special node called the root, has one parent node and may have one or more child nodes. The root node has no parent. A node that has no child node is called a leaf; a nonleaf node is called an internal node. The level of a node is defined as the level of its parent plus one. The level of the root node is defined to be zero. Searching for a record in a B+ tree is very fast because it is not necessary to search the entire tree to find the record. 121

128 Chapter 6. Database Maintenance The following figure illustrates a B+ tree: Leaf node Andy John Mark Internal node M Robert Robin Robi Root node San Sally Sandy Ti Thomas Timothy Free block Data is only found in the leaf nodes, not in the internal nodes.the internal nodes and the root node only contain dividers (San, M, Robi and Ti in the diagram) and pointers (arrows in the diagram) to the next nodes in the tree. A divider contains information that separates the data in the levels below it. Depending on whether the value of the data you are searching for in the level below is smaller than or greater than the value in the divider, the search path goes either to the left or to the right (up or down in the figure). 122

129 6.7 Advanced Database Information For example, consider the search for the name Sandy. Sandy comes after San in alphabetical order, so the search path would go from the root node to the internal node containing the divider labeled Ti. Sandy comes before Ti, so the search would go to the left (up in the diagram) of the divider to the leaf node containing Sandy. One internal node can contain several dividers. This minimizes the number of levels in the tree and ensures that the path to the record is as short as possible and the tree can be said to be balanced. As you insert more data in the tree, the leaf nodes may be only partly filled. When you optimize a table in Navision Financials, the leaf nodes are packed together in order to save space in the tree. When more information is inserted, data will be moved to new nodes to make room for the insertion. How the Database Works What if two or more users are reading the same record at the same time? And what if two or more users working on the same record try to save the record at different points in time? Navision Financials uses several strategies to deal with these problems. They are explained in the following sections. Optimistic Concurrency Navision Financials uses a technique called optimistic concurrency. With optimistic concurrency, you always have access to the record you want to work with. Thus, if two or more users try to access the database at the same time, they will all be allowed to do so. This is possible because the Navision Financials database is based on the database-version principle. Every time a user commits something to the database, a new version of the database is created. (A transaction is said to be committed when it is physically written to the database or to commit cache if it is turned on. See Commit Cache Faster Response Times on page 57.) When you enter new data, your changes are private. It is not until you commit the changes that the new data becomes public, and the newest version of the database is established. The DBMS (database management system) enables several Navision Financials clients to access and modify the database concurrently by letting them work on individual versions, which are merely snapshots of the database at the time when they first accessed it. 123

130 Chapter 6. Database Maintenance Read Consistency and Concurrency The following figure shows three Navision Financials clients accessing the same database. Imagine that the first access is made by a report. The second access is made by a user who inserts new entries in the database, and the third access is made by a backup procedure. Version A B C D Time Report User 1 Entry User 2 Backup User 3 (A) (A) (B) (C) (B) The generation of the report is based on version A of the database. It is a time consuming process, and while the report is being generated, User 2 enters or modifies records in the database. After each entry is committed, a new version of the database is created. These are versions B, C and D. However, a snapshot of the database (version A) was made when the report started, and the report continues to work on version A of the database. User 3 starts a backup procedure. When this process starts, the most recent version of the database is B, created by the completion of the first entry by User 2. A snapshot of this version is made, and this version (B) is backed up. The backup process is unaffected by User 2, who continues to enter new data during the backup process. This example shows that working with data versions makes it possible for many users to access the database without interfering with each other. If, however, two or more users access the same record at the same time the user who first tries to write the changes to the record will be allowed to do so. The other user(s) will receive the following message from the system 124

131 6.7 Advanced Database Information when they try to commit their changes to the database (if they are trying to modify customer number 10000): In this case, the user has to repeat his or her work using a new snapshot of the latest (modified) version of the database. The implications of the database-version principle approach are many; most important is that different Navision Financials clients may read different versions of the same database. These versions are snapshots of the database at the point in time when the clients start to access the database. In this way, the DBMS allows for concurrency (that is, for more than one user to have access to the database at the same time) while still maintaining read consistency. If the accesses to the database involve only data retrieval and no changes, then the newest version will persist for all clients until a write transaction is performed. Database Versions The following figure illustrates the concept of database versions. The data in the Navision Financials database is stored in the data structure mentioned above, the B+ tree. Imagine that the tree structure in our database contains a branch with customers A, B and C. Furthermore, there are two free database blocks available. Assume that you need to modify customers A and C. When you modify the records, the DBMS makes a copy of the original customers A and C from database version 1. These copies use two free database blocks. 125

132 Chapter 6. Database Maintenance You then perform your modification on the copies (they are now named A1 and C1), and the system creates a new internal node. Database Version 1 Data Versions A B C Free Free Database Version 2 A B C A 1 C 1 If an error occurs during the transaction, or the user decides to abort the changes, the database blocks occupied by the copied branch will be released and be available for new database updates. If the transaction is committed, this new internal node will replace the old node, and the database blocks used by the old versions of customer A and C will now be available as free database blocks which can be used by database updates. Now the newest database version is version 2 in the figure. 126

133 Chapter 7 Making Backups This chapter contains guidelines for why, when and how to back up your Navision Financials data. It describes various methods of making backups and the advantages and disadvantages of the various storage media. The chapter contains the following sections: Why, When and How to Make Backups Using the Navision Financials Backup Function Testing before Using Other Backup Methods Restoring Backups Advanced Backup and Restore Information

134 Chapter 7. Making Backups 7.1 Why, When and How to Make Backups You make backups so that there is always an extra copy of your company data to restore into the application if a problem should arise with the working copy. You should make backups for your own sake, but in most countries it is required by law as well. Here is an example of what may be required: The responsible party shall store the financial statement information in a satisfactory manner. The information must be stored for five years from the beginning of the current fiscal year. If the responsible party uses electronic media, proper security measures must ensure that: a) the media are stored in a satisfactory manner so that access to the data is possible until the five-year period is over. b) backup copies are made sufficiently often and are stored in such a way that they cannot be destroyed, stolen, or otherwise lost, together with the original. If the financial statement information is stored electronically, a government authority can (to the degree that it has the right to do so) demand information about a company s accounting practices and that all materials necessary for access to the statement information be made available. These requirements mean that if you switch to a new version of Navision Financials or change the installation in another way, you must still keep at least one copy of your company data in a readable format (and in a safe place). If you switch to a new version of the accounting system (for example from Navision to Navision Financials), it may be necessary to save the old system for five years (the length of the legal storage requirement in the example above) in order to be able to access the old information. You do not need to have the old system installed; you can just save it and install it if you need to. 128

135 7.1 Why, When and How to Make Backups When Should You Make Backups? You should always make a backup in the following situations: Before you expand the database. Before you install or remove equipment from the computer or computers on which the Navision Financials database is stored. Before you date compress entries (see Creating Space in the Database on page 115) and before you optimize tables (see Optimizing a Table on page 121). Before you copy the database or parts of it with an operating system command. Before you use programs to optimize your hard disk. It is always a good idea to have an up-to-date copy of your company data in a secure place (a bank box, for example) in case of fire, theft, computer viruses, and so on. Procedures for Making Backups There is no formula for how often you should make backups, but remember that if you restore a backup that is a week old, you will have to reenter all the information for the past week. A backup is no more secure than the original data, so you must also protect yourself against errors in the backups. One way to do this is to create a system of backups at several levels: Every day, back up the company. If you have made design changes, make backups of the application objects or database. Every week, back up the database. Store the results so that the five most recent backups are in different locations. (About every month or so, put a backup copy in the company s safe or other secure place.) If a problem occurs in one place, the previous backup can probably be used. Every six months, restore the latest backup onto a different computer than the one you normally work on. Then test the contents of the hard disk. If there are no errors, put the copy in the company s safe or another secure location outside the company. Using this backup procedure, you will at most lose only a limited amount of data, because you should be able to restore data from a previous backup without any problem. 129

136 Chapter 7. Making Backups Backups in a Network If you work with Navision Financials in a network, a good procedure is to make a backup to the local hard disk, copy it to the network server, and compare the copy on the server to the backup on the local hard disk. If there are no errors, copy the server copy to tape. Storage Media for Backups There are a number of different media that can be used for storing backup copies. The best choice depends partly on the size of the backup and partly on what the rest of your computer installation contains. The media we will discuss are: The hard disk Tape The Hard Disk Advantages You can export backups to a different drive on the computer or, if you work in a network, to the network server. Either of these options allows you to use the secure backup function of Navision Financials. However if you want to use a hard disk for backups, you should take into account that: Disadvantages The disk cannot be protected easily (kept in a safe, for example). The number of backups is limited by the disk space, which is not easily expandable. Tape In large installations, you will often use tape to store your backups. You can use tapes in two ways: You can use the built-in facility in Navision Financials to export a backup copy to the network server and from there copy it to tape. You can use the tape stations s copying program. Advantages The advantages of using tape: Tapes are relatively cheap, and they do not create a space problem. 130

137 7.1 Why, When and How to Make Backups The backup procedure can be automatic and take place at night (if you use the tape station s copying program). If you use the tape station s copying program, the partitioning of the hard disk will be copied to the tape along with the database; when you restore the database, it will look exactly as it did when the copy was made. If you use the tape station s copying program, restoring the copy is fast because it contains the entire database. Therefore, Navision Financials does not need to sort the restored information. Disadvantage If you use the tape station s copying program, the backup is an exact copy of the database. If the database contains an error, or if there is an error on the disk or disks where it is stored, the error will be copied as part of the backup. So if you choose this method to make backups, you must first test the database for errors. To do this, use the DB Test program property or the corresponding function found under File, Database, Test on the menu bar. You can read about these tests on page

138 Chapter 7. Making Backups 7.2 Using the Navision Financials Backup Function You can make backups by copying the database directly with an operating system command, but there are several important advantages to using the Navision Financials backup function: Advantages of using Navision Financials backup function The system tests the database for errors, so incorrect information is not copied to a backup. The data is packed, so it takes up as little space as possible. The system calculates how much space the backup will use. You can keep working in Navision Financials while you are making a backup. Whenever you create a new database, you must always use a Navision Financials backup to retrieve Data Common to All Companies and Application Objects into the new, empty database. Data common to all companies includes the report list, permissions groups, user IDs and printer selections, but no real company data. For more information, refer to page 142. Tip You can make a backup while other users are using the database because when you do, the program backs up the latest version of the database. If a user writes something into the database, a new version of the database will be generated, but the backup program will continue to back up the version that existed just before this new version of the database was created

139 7.2 Using the Navision Financials Backup Function Preparing for a Backup When you click Tools, Backup, this window will appear: Here you can specify how extensive you want the backup to be: Entire Database (including all companies in the database, data common to all companies, and application objects) All Companies (that is, only the companies) Custom (whatever you select) Click the option button in the upper part of the window next to the type of backup you want. If you select Custom, you must place a x next to the companies that you want copied. You do this in the list of companies under Selected Companies. It is best to make backups of as much as possible. If you need to restore a backup later on, you will not need to restore the entire backup; you can choose how much of the backup to restore. Description, name and location of the backup You must give the backup a unique description in the Description field at the bottom of the window. In the File Name field, enter a name for the backup. Navision Financials will suggest file names containing consecutive numbers and the file name extension.fbk. It is a good idea to use the default because Navision Financials will use the same default when you restore backups. It will also help you get a quick overview of the backups you have. 133

140 Chapter 7. Making Backups The file name of the backup includes the path (location on the disk or network). If you enter only a file name, the backup will be saved in the current folder on the current drive. This will normally be in the same place as Navision Financials. If you want to save the backup in a different location (because it takes up too much space, or because you want to save it on diskettes, for example), enter the path along with the name in the File Name field. To make this easier, use the AssistButton (...) to the right of the field. When you click this, the following window appears, which helps you save the backup with the correct name and location: Choose a target drive and directory where you want to store the backup, and type the file name of the backup. Click Save when you have finished. Starting the Backup If you have chosen to copy to diskettes, the system asks you to insert diskette 1. Click OK to continue. You will return to the Backup window shown on page

141 7.2 Using the Navision Financials Backup Function The File Name field now contains the name of the backup. Click OK. The program starts to calculate how much space the backup will occupy, and immediately after that the backup begins. This window appears: While the backup is being made, you can see how much of the database has been copied so far (at the top of the window) and the status of the diskette or disk location it is being copied to. To stop the backup, click Cancel. If you do not cancel it, the backup will proceed, and you will receive a message when it has finished. Verifying the Backup To verify that the backup is consistent, simply restore it to a new, empty database. If you are able to read the data in the database, the backup is consistent. If you have only backed up a company, restore the backup to a database that contains only the Application Objects and Data Common to All Companies, and see if you can read any data in the company. Automatic Backup under Windows NT If you want to make an automatic backup of the database at a specific time under Windows NT, and you run a client/server installation with the server running as a Windows NT service, you could use the built-in AT and net start/stop command. The AT command runs a given batch file at a given 135

142 Chapter 7. Making Backups time. Type AT? at a prompt to get further help for this command. The batch file could look like this: net stop <myserver> backup <path and databasename> net start <myserver> where myserver is the name of the Navision Financials Server running as a service on Windows NT. Backup is the name of the backup program that backs up your database named databasename. Store these three lines in a batch file, and supply this batch file as a parameter to the AT command. Remember to supply the full path to the batch file. The AT command requires the Windows NT Schedule service to be running. 136

143 7.3 Testing before Using Other Backup Methods 7.3 Testing before Using Other Backup Methods The Navision Financials backup function makes a backup by creating a file containing the most basic information from the database. When the backup file is later restored back into the system, Navision Financials recreates the rest of the information from this file. The larger the database, the longer it takes to back it up and to restore the backup. Because of this, users of installations with large databases often choose to back up onto tape, using the tape station s backup program. You can also use the Navision Financials backup function to make frequent backups to the hard disk, and then back up the entire hard disk onto tape. Doing this backs up both the working database and the Navision Financials backup of the database. You can read about the advantages and disadvantages of using tape on page 130. Testing the Database before Copying It to a Tape Station If you choose to make backups without using the Navision Financials backup function, you must first test the database for errors. To do this, use the DB Test program property or click File, Database, Test on the menu bar. Testing the database is described starting on page 98. If you choose to use the builtin backup function, you do not have to run the test. While the backup is in progress, the backup program checks the database for errors. (It tests primary keys and data.) 137

144 Chapter 7. Making Backups 7.4 Restoring Backups At some stage, you may need to restore a backup. Start by creating an empty database to restore the backup into. Create an empty database Create a new database from a client or single-user installation by clicking File, Database, New from the menu bar. The New Database window appears: Creating a new database is described in detail starting on page 91. Although you do not want the new database to be too big, it must be big enough to contain the backup. If the backup was made using the Navision Financials backup facility, it will be packed (compressed), and you may not know its uncompressed size. In this case, start with 20 MB. If that is not big enough, you will get an error message when you try to restore, and you can expand the database a little at a time. (Expanding the database is described starting on page 93.) Then you can try to restore the backup again. When you have created the database and restored Data Common to All Companies and Application Objects, proceed in one of the following ways: If the backup was made with the Navision Financials backup function, click Tools, Restore to restore the backup. If the backup was exported to a tape station using the tape station s backup program, use the tape station s corresponding restore program. Remember that using the tape station s own restore program will probably overwrite the entire existing database. 138

145 7.4 Restoring Backups When you click Tools, Restore, the following window appears: Here you can locate the backup on the diskette, hard disk or network. Find the folder containing the backup, and select the file. When you have selected the backup, click Open. The window in which you start the restore appears: The name of the backup appears in the File Name field with its description and the time and date of its creation in the two fields above it. In the lower part of the window, you can select how much of the backup will be restored: Entire Backup (including all the companies in the database, data common to all companies, and application objects) 139

146 Chapter 7. Making Backups All Companies (that is, only the companies) Custom (the selected companies, but can also include Data Common to All Companies and Application Objects). Remember that whenever you have a completely empty database, you must start by restoring a backup that contains at least these two options. You can limit the amount of the backup that will be restored. To do this, remove some of the xs in the window. After you have made your selection, click OK to start the restore. A status window on the screen informs you of the progress: If you restore from diskettes, you will be prompted to insert new diskettes. The restore itself usually does not take a long time, but because the data is packed, the subsequent process of unpacking it can be time-consuming, depending on the amount of data. 140

147 7.5 Advanced Backup and Restore Information 7.5 Advanced Backup and Restore Information Description of a Backup File The backup file is a slightly compressed copy of the database. The backup program copies small blocks from the database, compresses them and gives them a header. Among other things, the header has a header checksum, which ensures data integrity. When the backup program has written all the small blocks, it calculates and writes a master checksum. These two checksums have two purposes: To ensure that data in the backup is consistent and not corrupted To protect the backup from modifications The header in the backup file At the beginning of the backup file is a header in ASCII format containing a list of all the objects in the file. To see a list of the objects included in the backup (named, for example, backup.fbk and located in the folder d:\backup\), go to a command prompt and type the following: d:\backup\type backup.fbk more The backup file contains an end of file marker after the list, so you do not see the binary content of the file. For each object, the list will show you its type, number, name, date and time of creation, size in bytes and a version number. If the object is table data, the version number is replaced with the name of the company to which the data belongs. This list is useful for seeing which objects are included in the backup, without restoring the entire backup. Constraints on Restoring a Backup There are certain constraints when you restore a backup into a non-empty database. When you create an empty database, it is actually not quite empty. An empty database is defined as a database that contains only an empty security system and the company table definition. A security system is the system in which you can define and limit users access permissions to the system. An empty security system is identical to the security system that is 141

148 Chapter 7. Making Backups automatically generated when you generate an empty database in Navision Financials. The following tables constitute an empty security system: Table User Group Permissions User Member Of Defines... the user groups that you want in your system. which rights the different user groups have. the individual user and his or her password. which groups the individual users belong to. Of the tables here, only the User Group and Permission tables, where a superuser has been set up, hold data. If you change the contents of the four security tables, the security system is no longer empty. The contents of the backup can be divided into the following data types: Application Objects, which comprise the application, such as the Customer table, the Item table and the G/L Account table Data Common to All Companies, which includes the report list, permissions groups, user IDs and printer selections Company Data, which is all the data in the tables The security system tables are of type Data Common to All Companies. The following table contains answers to questions or problems that may arise during the restore process: Question or Problem Can I restore everything into an empty database? Answer All data types can be restored into an empty database. Can I restore objects of the type Application Objects into a non-empty database? I cannot restore my company into the database. No. Objects of type Application Objects can only be restored into an empty database. You cannot restore a company if there is another company with the same name in the database. If, however, you want to restore the company that is in the backup, rename the existing company in the database, and then restore the company in the backup. 142

149 7.5 Advanced Backup and Restore Information Question or Problem I cannot restore objects of the type Data Common to All Companies. I am prompted to confirm overwriting of the existing security system while restoring. What does that mean? Answer If the database contains objects of type Data Common to All Companies other than the security system tables, it is not possible to restore objects of type Data Common to All Companies. If all objects of type Data Common to All Companies in the database are security system tables, then all objects of type Data Common to All Companies can be restored. If neither the security system in the database nor the security system in the backup is empty, you will be prompted to confirm whether the existing security system in the database should be overwritten by the security system from the backup. Example To restore a backup from three different backups into an empty database, follow this procedure: 1. Restore the objects of type Application Objects from one backup. 2. Restore the objects of type Data Common to All Companies from another backup. 3. Restore Selected Companies from yet a third backup. The amount of free space in the database that is required to restore a backup is calculated with the following formula: The minimum size needed to restore Free space needed in database = twice the size of the selected items to be restored + the size of the generated secondary keys + twice the amount of the data in the largest table. The last term represents a worst-case scenario, and you can usually manage with less space than this formula calculates. The generated secondary keys are those keys that were active when the backup was made. Changed Table Definition Compared to Backup If a field in a table definition has changed its type or number compared to the backup, it is not possible to restore data into the corresponding table. If you have changed some of a field s properties in a table definition, the restore 143

150 Chapter 7. Making Backups program will try to fit the data into the table anyway. If, for example, you have shortened a text field s length from 80 to 40 characters, and there is no data in that specific table in the backup that is longer than 40 characters, the backup will be successfully restored. Otherwise the restore will stop, and you will have to increase the length of that particular field. After that, you can continue the restore from where it stopped. 144

151 Chapter 8 Advanced Performance Issues Performance issues are important for the system administrator. The system must be optimized to make it as effective as possible. This chapter describes how to tune your system and what equipment to buy to obtain an optimized system. It also describes how to detect bottlenecks at both a software and a hardware level, and how the Windows NT Performance Monitor can help you. The chapter contains the following sections: Checklist for Optimizing Hardware Selecting Hardware, Operating System and Protocols Detecting Bottlenecks

152 Chapter 8. Advanced Performance Issues 8.1 Checklist for Optimizing Hardware There are many factors to consider in order to get the best performance out of a system. It is not possible to define a single optimal solution, because there are many individual requirements that have to be considered. Use the information in this chapter to assess your requirements, and select hardware and software accordingly. Once you have established the network, you can optimize the system by tuning the various parameters described in the following sections. If the system performs slowly despite your having followed the guidelines in this book, consider having the accounting program within Navision Financials tailored to your specific needs. The following table outlines some of the key points of this chapter. It contains references to the corresponding sections in this chapter. You can use it as a sort of checklist when you try to optimize your computer installation. Item Recommendation You can read more about this on: Hard Disk As fast as possible page 148 Controller Fast, secure and battery backed, able to control several hard disks simultaneously page 148 RAID RAID 1 is preferable page 149 Memory As much as possible, of ECC type or with parity page 150 Network Adapter As fast as possible page 151 CPU As fast as possible page 151 File System FAT (PC) and raw device (UNIX) page 153 Network Protocol TCP/IP page

153 8.2 Selecting Hardware, Operating System and Protocols 8.2 Selecting Hardware, Operating System and Protocols When you are deciding what kind of network topology to use, there are several points to consider, such as: Security level Quality Price Required performance level Number of users The network s ability to be expanded The optimal network configuration is very individual because it represents a balance of these criteria. Therefore, identify the requirements for your network before going out to buy it. The Choice of Computers In a multiuser solution, you can in principle use the same type of computer for both the clients and the server. There is a difference, however, in how much CPU power, memory (and memory type) and disk space each will need. Computers for Clients and Single-User Installations Basically, Navision Financials for a client and a single-user installation can run on 386 computers. This is not recommended, however, because performance is not very good on 386 computers. An important factor to consider is that, in a network, it is the client computers that process the data they retrieve from the database. Consequently, a slow client computer working on a transaction can delay all other clients until it finishes because it locks parts of the database. Thus, it is important to buy powerful client computers with enough computing power not to slow down the network. This also applies to single-user installations because the faster the computer, the faster the transactions will be processed. Computers for Servers The Navision Financials Server can, like the client, work on a 386 computer, but this is not recommended. The server contains the database, which is a 147

154 Chapter 8. Advanced Performance Issues critical area of the application since several users can access it at the same time. A 386 computer is not powerful enough for this operation; it is important to select a powerful computer for the server. In addition, there are certain aspects of the server that require more consideration: The hard disk and controller The RAID system The memory The network adapter The CPU The Hard Disk and Controller The hard disk is the slowest component in a computer because it consists of mechanical parts. Access times to the hard disk are very long compared to those to memory (normal access time to memory is 60 nanoseconds and to a hard disk around 10 milliseconds). All the programs and information are stored on the hard disk, so data is read from and written to the disk frequently. Since there is only one read/write head in a hard disk, only one read or write operation can be carried out at a time. By using more than one disk in your system, you can increase performance dramatically. You must, however, use a hard disk controller that supports control of more than one hard disk at a time without increasing access time to the disks. Furthermore, it is important for the controller to have a high transfer rate so data can travel quickly between the memory and the hard disk. The use of CPU per disk transfer must also be minimized. An example of a controller with these features is the Fast Wide SCSI 2 (Small Computer System Interface) controller. Warning Do not use the write-back or lazy-write caching systems built into your hard disk controller unless the disk controller has a battery backup. Using a battery-supported hard disk controller will prevent loss of data that might otherwise result if the system suffered a power failure. You should also be aware of the write-cache facility that most of today s hard disks use. When you buy a hard disk, be sure that you can disable its write- 148

155 8.2 Selecting Hardware, Operating System and Protocols cache (using software or a jumper on the disk). If a power failure occurs when data is still in this cache, you could lose the data. It is also necessary to have some sort of error detection unit implemented to allow the controller to determine when a byte of data in the cache is corrupted for example, from a single-bit error or a defective memory chip. Furthermore, any errors that occur must be corrected, so some sort of correction scheme must be implemented in the controller. An ECC (Error Correction Code) RAM is an example of this kind of correction scheme Speed and hard disk capacity You can increase performance by several hundred percent by expanding from one to six hard disks in your system. To avoid poor performance in your daily work, you should add more than one hard disk to your system and divide the database among the hard disks. Four relatively slow hard disks (for example of 350 MB each) perform much better together than one super hard disk (of 1,4 GB). Tests have shown that the four-hard-disk configuration allows more than twice the number of transactions per second than the onedisk configuration. Other (so-called intelligent ) controllers exist, which can control several hard disks simultaneously, for example, RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive (or Independent) Disks) systems. If you run Navision Financials on a stand-alone computer and your database is not very big (less than 100 MB), it is not necessary to split the database among several hard disks. RAID Systems If you have a very big Navision Financials installation, you should consider using a RAID system. This system consists of an array of disks (two or more). The key concept in RAID is that failure of one disk does not bring the system down because you can recreate the lost data from parity information or from a direct copy stored on the other disks. Several RAID configurations exist, from RAID 0 to RAID 5. They are described in the following table: 149

156 Chapter 8. Advanced Performance Issues RAID 0 Called striping. The data is broken up into chunks as it is written across all the drives. This provides the highest performance, but no redundancy is provided. RAID 1 Called mirroring. The data is written redundantly to pairs of drives and can be read independently from each drive. This is fast and provides full redundancy, but the disk capacity required is doubled. The read performance can be up to twice as fast as a single drive because both drives can process the read request simultaneously. Write performance is nearly unchanged. RAID 1 is best for transaction processing, where many small I/Os are required. RAID 2 Called redundancy through Hamming code. The data is bit-interleaved across groups of drives with some of the drives storing error correction codes. This provides full redundancy and more error correction capability, but is often slow due to the hardware overhead. RAID 3 Called parallel transfer disks with parity. The data is bit-interleaved across groups of drives with only one drive dedicated to storing parity. This provides full redundancy and high transfer rates when large blocks of data are transmitted. RAID 4 Called independent access array. The data is broken up into chunks and written across the drives with one drive dedicated to parity. This provides full redundancy, but the single parity drive causes a bottleneck when the parity has to be updated. RAID 5 Called independent access array with rotating parity. The data is broken up into chunks and written across the drives. The parity for the stripes of data is also spread across all the drives, so no one drive is dedicated to parity. The Navision Financials Server is a program that requires high security and good disk performance. RAID 1, mirroring, best satisfies these criteria with its combination of high performance in the read processing and very high reliability resulting from a constant, online backup of the database. RAID 1 is, however, the most expensive configuration because every megabyte of disk storage requires two megabytes of actual disk space. The Navision Financials Server program can handle up to 16 disks (32 disks in a mirrored configuration). RAID 5, with a slightly poorer performance, is a cheaper alternative to RAID 1 if price is an important factor. The Memory It is important for the server to have enough memory for all its tasks. There cannot be too much memory in your server. Since a Navision Financials 150

157 8.2 Selecting Hardware, Operating System and Protocols Server has to serve several users and has to put aside some memory for each user, the amount of memory should be proportional to the number of users. Normally a user takes up 2 to 8 MB of Navision Financials cache, depending on the task, so you can estimate the requirements for your configuration. Remember to include the memory requirements of the operating system (approximately 16 MB for Windows NT), the Navision Financials Server program (1 MB), 50 kilobytes per user connected to the server and the memory requirements of other programs running. It is also important that the memory has a parity bit or is of the ECC (Error Correction Code) type. The Network Adapter Communication to and from the client passes through the network. For messages to be delivered quickly, you have to have a fast network adapter. This also ensures that use of the CPU per network send/receive is minimal, which reduces the load on the CPU. The physical connection (the cabling) between the server and the clients also has to be able to support the high speed. The CPU The CPU is also an important performance factor because it is the CPU that performs all the calculations involved in Navision Financials the faster the CPU, the more calculations per second. It is also important to have as much level 2 cache in the system as possible. This increases the speed with which the CPU gets data from and saves data to RAM. The Operating System The Navision Financials Server can run under the following operating systems: Windows NT (Intel) version 3.51 or later Windows NT (Alpha) version 3.51 or later OS/2 version 3.0 or later IBM AIX version 4.1 or later 151

158 Chapter 8. Advanced Performance Issues HP-UX version or later (This will require some patches the latest information is contained in a readme file for installing this version of the server.) SINIX version 5.43 or later The Navision Financials Client (or a single user) can run under the following operating systems: Windows 95 Windows NT (Intel) version 3.51 or later Windows version 3.1 or later Windows for Workgroups version 3.11 or later Win-OS/2 (OS/2 version 3.0 or later) As indicated above, the Navision Financials Server program can only run on 32-bit platforms. This is a result of the database design. File Systems The following file systems can be used. The choice depends on the operating system. FAT (File Allocation Table) NTFS (New Technology File System) HPFS (High Performance File System) Native UNIX file system Raw device in UNIX environment FAT This file system is used by MS-DOS (Disk Operating System) and Windows for Workgroups (a system that operates on top of MS-DOS). Windows NT and OS/2 can also use this file system. FAT is a data structure that MS-DOS creates on the disk when the disk is formatted. When MS-DOS stores a file on a formatted disk, the operating system places information about the stored file in the FAT so that MS-DOS can retrieve the file later when it is requested. This system is the only system MS-DOS can use. 152

159 8.2 Selecting Hardware, Operating System and Protocols Limitations One of the limitations of this system is that you can only store file names in the format nnnnnnnn.xxx. The file name can have up to eight characters, and the file name extension can have three. Another limitation is that MS- DOS divides the disk into clusters, where a cluster defines the minimum file size. If, for example, you have a 2GB disk, the minimum file size will be 2GB/65K=32 kilobytes. If the file is only 100 bytes, it will still occupy 32 kilobytes on the disk, which wastes disk space. NTFS This is an advanced file system designed for use specifically with the Windows NT operating system. It supports long file names, full security access control, file system recovery and extremely large storage media. HPFS This is the file system used in the OS/2 operating system. It supports long file names and exploits sophisticated data structures and several levels of cache to improve performance. Native UNIX File System UNIX supports several different file systems, each of which has advantages and disadvantages. Their performance levels as regards the Navision Financials database are more or less the same. Raw Device in UNIX Environment Using a raw device in the UNIX environment enables you to bypass the native UNIX file system and obtain direct access to the hard disk, which improves performance. Consequently, using a raw device is recommended if you want to use a Navision Financials database on a UNIX computer. Comparison of the File Systems Since Navision Financials uses hard disks extensively, it is important to have a fast and reliable file system. We recommend that you use FAT. The file systems mentioned have approximately the same performance level with regard to read and write operations, and Navision Financials does not utilize all the facilities of the other operating systems. There will, therefore, be less for the CPU to do with FAT. 153

160 Chapter 8. Advanced Performance Issues FAT is also the most widely used file system. It will not restrict your choice of operating system because it can be used on all computer platforms. If you run on a UNIX platform, you should use a raw device for the database. Doing so may improve performance by 100% compared to using the native UNIX file system. Network Protocols Navision Financials can use either of two protocols: TCP/IP NetBIOS The most important advantages and disadvantages of each protocol are listed below: TCP/IP Advantages Faster than NetBIOS Disadvantages Difficult to configure Can be routed Is used on the Internet NetBIOS Advantages Easy to configure Disadvantages More difficult to route Not as fast as TCP/IP Its advantages make TCP/IP the preferred protocol, even though configuring it is more complicated. 154

161 8.2 Selecting Hardware, Operating System and Protocols Tip If you experience problems connecting the Navision Financials client to the Navision Financials server in a network that runs TCP/IP and you have a DNS (Domain Name System) server or DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server, try starting the Navision Financials Server with the property servername=<the machine name>.then connect the Navision Financials client to the Navision Financials server with that server name. The machine name can be found in the network configuration program. The name you use for the Navision Financials server must be registered in the HOSTS file on the DNS or DHCP server. The machine name is registered in this HOSTS file. If your network does not have a DNS or DHCP server, you can use the TCP/IP command PING to verify that the server name exists. PING simply tries to make contact with the specified machine. Type ping<servername> at the command prompt. If you get a reply, the server can be reached; if not, you must reconfigure your TCP/IP network to include the server in the host file

162 Chapter 8. Advanced Performance Issues 8.3 Detecting Bottlenecks A bottleneck causes the system to run slowly and perform poorly. The bottleneck can occur at a software or hardware level. Software Level A bottleneck in the software may result from poor adjustment of the system. There are three relevant properties to adjust in Navision Financials: DBMS (Database Management System) Cache Commit Cache Object Cache You can find a detailed explanation of these caches starting on page 57. If the DBMS Cache is set too high, the system may begin to swap (using the slower hard disk as memory) if there is not enough of the faster physical memory for the system s requirements. If the DBMS cache is set too low, there may not be enough DBMS cache for Navision Financials to operate. Both situations cause the system to run slowly. Turning off the Commit Cache can also slow down the system. Database Management System (DBMS) DBMS Cache/Commit Cache Database DBMS Cache and Commit Cache Database As the above figure shows, the DBMS cache and commit cache are database related. Thus, in a client/server environment these two caches are on the server along with the database, and the object cache is on the client machine. (In a stand-alone computer, all three caches are together.) The 156

163 8.3 Detecting Bottlenecks following figure illustrates the locations of the different types of cache in a client/server installation: Server DBMS Cache (12 MB) Client Object Cache (1 MB) Commit Cache up to 2/3 of DBMS Cache Actual DBMS Cache If these caches are not optimally sized for your system, the system may perform badly. The following formula provides a way of calculating the amount of DBMS cache you need: Size of DBMS Cache = + Amount of physical memory Memory requirements of the operating system 50 kilobytes number of workstations 1 MB for the Navision Financials Server memory requirements of other programs running The maximum size of the DBMS cache is 1000 MB. The commit cache takes up space in the DBMS cache (but it does not take up additional space in memory). It can use up to 2/3 of the allocated size of the DBMS cache. Furthermore, the Commit Cache property can only be turned on in a 32-bit multitasking operating system. It cannot be used on a stand-alone computer where Windows for Workgroups is installed. Tip If you are running OS/2 with FAT and the system is performing poorly, try turning off the DISKCACHE statement in the OS/2 config.sys file. This may improve the performance of Navision Financials

164 Chapter 8. Advanced Performance Issues Object Cache Object cache is used on the client computer to store the objects (code, descriptions and windows) retrieved from the server. The client needs to retrieve these objects only once from the server and can then store them in the object cache. The total size of all the objects used in the standard application is around 8 MB. If you have enough memory, set the object cache to 8 MB. The size of the most important objects (the table descriptions) is 1 MB so as a minimum, you should set the object cache to 1 MB. This is the default value. When you install the server program in a network, you can choose to install it on the file server or a dedicated server. Installing the program on a dedicated server gives better performance because a dedicated server doesn t have to do other things. Remember to place the database on the same server as the server program so the server program doesn t have to use the network to get information from the database. Hardware Level To test whether the bottleneck arises at the hardware level, you can use a tool that monitors the different sections of the computer s memory. This tool comes with your operating system. Under Windows NT it is called the Performance Monitor. (See page 160.) Alternatively, you can use two virtual tables in Navision Financials that contain various types of information about the performance of the computer s hardware. They are the Database File table and the Performance table. To access the Database File table, click File, Database, Information and click the Database tab. Then click the AssistButton next to the database 158

165 8.3 Detecting Bottlenecks name. Select the database, and click Tools, Zoom. The following window appears: The most important pieces of information here are the mean read and write times. In an optimized system these should be no more than milliseconds (ms). If these figures are significantly higher, try to optimize the disk system according to the recommendations given earlier in this chapter. The reads and writes in queue fields show whether there are any blocks (of size 4 kilobytes) of information waiting in the commit cache. Finally, the disk load is shown as a percentage of maximum load. To see how the network is performing, open the (virtual) Performance table. Doing this requires a developer license because you can only see the Performance table from the Object Designer. This table performs a net test with packets of 100 and 4000 bytes. The net test measures how many of these packets it is possible to send and receive per second. For the system to be fast, the number of packets per second should be greater than 400 for the 100-byte packets and greater than