PPC s SMART Practice Aids

Transcription

1 PPC s SMART Practice Aids PPC Data Management Viewer Backing Up Your Data Backing Up Individual Engagements Back up one or more engagements at a time Back up engagements as backup or transfer files Transfer engagements as live or read-only Transfer engagements to file Each engagement is saved to a separate file Identical to files created with PPC s SMART Practice Aids Transfer engagements to another database The PPC title used by the engagement must be licensed 1

2 Backing Up Individual Engagements - Tips Back up engagements you re working on Periodically back up and delete old engagements Sort by Last Modified to see old engagements Use Advisor, to quickly identify engagements 2+ years old See PPC Data Management Viewer - Improving Performance Store backup files on another computer Consider backing up during off-hours Backing Up the Database Back up all the engagements in the database Creates a Microsoft SQL Server backup file (.bak) Defaults to SQL Server s backup folder SQL Server must be able to write to the folder you use Useful for Ensuring you have a copy of all the data Moving a database from one machine to another Restoring lost or corrupt data Getting the date of the last database backup See the Help documentation for automation options 2

3 Backing Up the Database - Tips Back up regularly, during off-hours Store backup files on another computer Test backups occasionally 3

4 PPC s SMART Practice Aids PPC Data Management Viewer Improving Application Performance PPC Data Management Advisor Analyze key performance and maintenance tasks Provides analysis and instructions for performing the tasks Performance-related tasks include Deleting unused content Archiving and deleting old engagements Maintaining database indexes Maintenance-related tasks include Checking the physical integrity of the database files Checking the date of the last database backup 1

5 Delete Unused Content PPC content includes Practice aid titles (~5MB) Disclosure checklists (~1MB) Some engagements are also content PPC firm libraries (~1MB) SMART Start engagements (~8MB) Content consumes space, sometimes unnecessarily If ever needed again, PPC content will be restored automatically Delete unused content to free up space Less content means less data to store and query The database file size will not change, by design Delete Unused Content - Tips Delete unused content periodically Consider maintenance plans that work best for your firm Consider deleting unused content during off-hours 2

6 Delete Old Engagements Old engagements consume space Engagement sizes range from <1MB to >10MB Delete old engagements to free up space Fewer engagements means less data to store and query The database file size will not change, by design Back up engagements before you delete them! See PPC Data Management Viewer - Backing Up Your Data Delete Old Engagements - Tips Back up engagements before you delete them! Store backup files on another computer Delete unused content periodically Consider maintenance plans that work best for your firm Consider deleting engagements during off-hours 3

7 Maintain Database Indexes Indexes can greatly improve database performance Indexes fragmentation occurs over time Fragmented indexes make data access slower Use the Recommended for Maintenance feature This selects indexes fragmented above a given threshold Reorganize or rebuild? Reorganize is faster but not always as complete Rebuild is a deeper operation, which recreates the index SQL Server may not rebuild some indexes Maintain Database Indexes - Tips Maintain database indexes periodically Depends on the amount and kind of database activity Consider maintenance plans that work best for your firm Consider deleting content or engagements first Afterwards, check your indexes Maintain indexes during off-hours 4