PowerLink Host Data Manager User Guide Last Updated: July 2009 Version: 2.06014
Contents Contents... 2 Introduction... 4 Quick Start... 5 Enable File Monitoring... 7 Enabling Attaché 7 File Monitoring Support... 7 Enabling Attaché Pro (Prophet) File Monitoring Support... 7 Manual Data Refreshes... 7 HDM Operating Modes... 8 Windows Service Mode (Server)... 8 Installing the Service... 9 Enabling and Starting the Service... 9 Pause and Resume the Service... 10 System Tray Mode (Local)... 11 Enabling and Starting... 11 Pause and Resume the HDM... 11 HDM System Tray Menu... 12 View Status... 12 Exit... 12 Setups... 14 Host Data Manager Options... 14 Initialise Data... 14 Enable Host Data Manager (HDM)... 14 Windows Service Mode (Server) Options... 15 System Tray Mode (Local) Options... 16 Host Data Manager Status... 16 page 2
Common Mode Options... 17 File Refresh Intervals... 17 Error Log... 18 Load Balancing... 19 User Preferences... 19 Host Data Manager Options... 19 Using HDM with External Payroll Companies... 20 Troubleshooting... 21 Check File Monitoring is Enabled... 21 Check that the Service is working... 21 Reinstalling the PLHDMSRV Application... 22 page 3
Introduction The PowerLink Host Data Manager (HDM) is a data management utility which synchronises master and transaction file data in Attaché with PowerLink. The HDM includes the following features: Attaché File Monitor Support. The HDM can check the Attaché monitor file to see what records in common files have been updated, without having to refresh entire files. Server or Local Mode. The Host Data Manager (HDM) can be run as a Windows service on the server or on your local machine in the system tray. Windows Service (Server) Mode. When run as a service, you only need one instance of HDM to run on the server. This can greatly reduce network traffic and CPU usage as all file reads and writes are local. It can also run without users needing to be logged into PowerLink or Attaché and can service multiple companies. Service mode is recommended for most users, especially for those with large data sets and transaction volumes. System Tray (Local) Mode. When run as a system tray application, the HDM will run locally on a user s workstation or session while logged into PowerLink File Refresh Interval. You can increase the time between refreshes for infrequently updated files and reduce the time between refreshes for important files to make the HDM more responsive for your situation. Error Logging. All errors or suspect transactions are logged minimising the possibility of information loss. A notification message is displayed on the desktop when you login to PowerLink, so there is no chance you will miss problems. Transaction Rollback. If a serious error occurs when updating a PowerLink database, the HDM will roll back the data to the last stable state and try again. Concurrency (Local Mode). The HDM works with other HDM sessions running on other users machines to share the load. While it is working on updates on the product master file for example, another HDM can be updating the customer master file. You can limit which users run the HDM and the number of HDM sessions running at any one time which improves performance on terminal servers. page 4
Quick Start This chapter contains a checklist for setting up PowerLink Host Data Manager (HDM). Refer to later sections in this user guide for more detailed instructions on setting up and using PowerLink. Important: You should have already installed PowerLink and completed the Quick Start checklist in the PowerLink Getting Started Guide before you can finish setting up and use the HDM. 1. Install and Start the HDM Service. If you want to run the HDM on the server as a Windows service (which is recommended), you must install and start the service on the server. a. Login to the server as Administrator. b. Check the Regional and Language settings are set to English (Australia) and that the Apply all settings to the current user account is selected in the Advanced tab. c. Run the HDM Service installation program SetupPLHDMSRV.exe which is located in the Attaché program directory PLINK folder. d. Enter an account name (eg. administrator) and password for the service to use via Start Run SERVICES.MSC, Select PLHDMSRV. Select Action Properties and go to the Log On tab. Note: The account name Password must have a Password otherwise you may get a message Could not start the PLHDMSRV on Local Computer. Error 1069: The service did not start due to a logon failure e. Start the service. Select PLHDMSRV and then select Action Start. The service should now say Started. To check that the service starts, there should be a Service started successfully event in the APPLICATION Event Viewer Log (Start Run and type eventvwr.msc and select Application ). Note: You can also start the PLHDMSRV service via Start Run NET START PLHDMSRV. (See Using the HDM Windows Service in the PowerLink HDM User Guide ) 2. Enable File Monitoring in Attaché. File monitoring is an Attaché feature where changes to records in certain files are logged. The HDM uses this log to improve speed because it only has to read records which have changed rather than the whole file. Attaché 7: Go to Tools Company Track Changes Tracking Options. Select Monitor All Changes, Track ODBC Changes and Track Data Transfer Changes and press Accept. Attaché PRO: Go to the System Settings Synch Settings program. Select Synch Tables and Enable and set the PowerLink option to In Use. (See Enable File Monitoring in the PowerLink HDM User Guide ) 3. External Payroll. If you have your payroll in another company, Login to PowerLink and go to Setups System Maintain Companies and enter the company details and press F9-Save. a. Select any unique 3 character code. Eg PAY b. Enter the company data path. page 5
c. Select the Payroll check box. 4. Initialise HDM. Login to PowerLink and go to Setups System Host Data Manager Options. a. Select Initialise. This process may take several minutes. After initialisation, the HDM should appear in the system tray. b. Select Save and Close to exit the options screen. TIP: HDM Initialisation can take a long time, you may want to perform this step remotely or run from another workstation. A login is released while initialisation occurs to allow single user sites to continue PowerLink set-ups on a second PC. 5. Enable Host Data Manager. Login to PowerLink and go to Setups System Host Data Manager Options and select the options most appropriate to your situation and press F9-Save. a. Select Enable Host Data Manager. b. Select the HDM mode. It is recommended that you Run HDM as a Service on the server, rather than locally because it has more features and better performance. The service must be installed on the server for this option. (See HDM Operating Modes in the PowerLink HDM User Guide ) 6. Advanced HDM Options. Advanced options depend on which mode you select. After making your selections press F9-Save. For more information about each option refer to the PowerLink HDM User Guide. a. Service Mode (Server). Options include the ability to purge the Attaché monitor file; automatically create off-line ODBC data tables for faster reporting; b. System Tray Mode (Local). Options include the ability to set the number of concurrent HDM tasks running at any time. (See HDM Options in the PowerLink HDM User Guide ) 7. File Refresh Interval. You can change the default behaviour of the HDM by excluding files and changing the file refresh interval in the Setups System Host Data Manager Options. a. Select File Refresh Intervals. Change the Interval to allow more emphasis (responsiveness) to changes in specific files. page 6
Enable File Monitoring The HDM supports File Monitoring of files if this feature has been enabled. File monitoring is a feature which lets PowerLink know which records and files have been updated, so that PowerLink only needs to update the records which have changed. Currently File Monitoring is available on most master files (such as customers, products, suppliers etc) but will be introduced in the future for transaction files as well. Files which are monitored are clearly displayed in the HDM Status window. Enabling Attaché 7 File Monitoring Support HDM File Monitoring requires that the Attaché 7 Monitor File Changes feature is enabled. 1. Login to Attaché and go to the Tools Company Track Changes Tracking Options. 2. Select Yes to Track ODBC Changes 3. Select Yes to Track Data Transfer Changes 4. Select Yes to Monitor All Changes. Ensure that All Files is selected if you want all changes to be updated in PowerLink. TIP: In version 7.01.200 the Master & Transaction Files option was introduced. This reduces the size of the MONITOR.DAT file, but may cause some file updates to be missed. The HDM now allows automatic monitor file purging to keep the MONITOR.DAT file size at a manageable level so the All Files option can be retained. 5. Press F9-Accept. IMPORTANT: If Tracking Options are already enabled and you are already running the HDM, do not press F9-Accept because you will need to stop the HDM, reinitialise data and re-start it. Enabling Attaché Pro (Prophet) File Monitoring Support If using Attaché Pro or Prophet (NZ users), HDM File Monitoring requires that the Synch Tables feature is enabled. Login to Prophet and go to the System Settings Synch Settings program. Select Synch Tables and Enable and set the PowerLink option to In Use. Manual Data Refreshes File Monitoring Support means that data changes in supported accounting system files will be updated into PowerLink much faster which means you do not have to manually refresh data (using F5-Refresh) as often. Even so, F5-Refreshes are much faster, because they only update records which have changed. You can still perform a full file refresh pressing the CTL-F5 wherever F5-Refresh is supported. page 7
HDM Operating Modes The Host Data Manager (HDM) can be run as a Windows service on the Server or as a local system tray application. You can select which mode you want in the HDM Options. When run as a service, you only need one instance of HDM to run on the server. This can greatly reduce network traffic and CPU usage as all file reads and writes are local. It can also run without users needing to be logged into PowerLink or Attaché and can service multiple companies. Service mode is recommended for most users, especially for those with large data sets and transaction volumes. When run as a system tray application, the HDM will run locally on a user s workstation or session while logged into PowerLink. Windows Service Mode (Server) The Host Data Manager can be run as a Windows service on the server without the need for PowerLink or Attaché to be running, and is the recommended mode for most sites. Multiple companies can be automatically serviced: You can enable which companies will be updated by the service by selecting the option in the Setups System Host Data Manager Options program, (which writes to the PLHDMSRV.INI file in the Attaché program folder). Always On: The HDM service runs whenever your server is running, and not just while you are logged into PowerLink. So even if you do not use PowerLink everyday, the HDM will still keep you data up to date so it will be instantly available when you next log in. Stand By Mode. The HDM service will assume standby mode when no activity is detected. In stand-by mode all connections to data files are closed and no updates occur which greatly reduces CPU activity, disk and network access making it very efficient to run all the time, and will not interfere will data backups scheduled in the middle of the night. External Payroll: If you run your payroll from a separate Attaché company, the HDM can keep your payroll data synchronised in the primary accounts company. Off-Line ODBC: Attaché ODBC data can be stored off-line to speed up reporting. The HDM service can be configured to rebuild selected ODBC tables at regular intervals. CPU Affinity: If your server has multiple processors, you can specify which CPU you want the service to use so the affect on your other applications is minimised. Mapped Drives: If your data resides on the servers local in a different location to that specified in Attaché, you can specify a mapping parameters for the service to use. Monitor File Maintenance: The HDM uses the Attaché monitor file to make data updates as efficient as possible. If this file gets too large, Attaché performance can be affected. The HDM service can automatically purge this file when it exceeds a certain size. PowerLink Database Maintenance: The HDM is constantly updating your PowerLink databases. If this file gets too large, PowerLink performance can be affected. The HDM service can automatically compress this file at a scheduled time. page 8
Installing the Service When you install PowerLink, the HDM service installation program SetupPLHDMSRV.msi is automatically copied into your Attaché program directory (in the PLINK folder) and must be run before you can start using the service. 1. Logon to the server as Administrator (or as a user with Administrative rights). 2. Go to Control Panel Regional and Language Settings. a. Select English (Australia). The date format must be DD/MM/YYYY and the time must be HH:MM:SS AM (or PM not a.m. or p.m.) b. Go to the Advanced tab and select to Apply all settings to the current user account 3. Go to the PLINK folder in the Attaché program directory and run the HDM Service installation program SetupPLHDMSRV.exe a. Check that the correct folder is entered (<Attaché Program Folder>\PLINK folder). 4. Enter an account name (eg. administrator) and password for the service to use via Start Run SERVICES.MSC, Select PLHDMSRV. Select Action Properties and go to the Log On tab. 5. Start the service. Select PLHDMSRV and then select Action Start. The service should now say Started. To check that the service starts, there should be a Service started successfully event in the APPLICATION Event Viewer Log (Start Run and type eventvwr.msc and select Application ). Note: You can also start the PLHDMSRV service via Start Run NET START PLHDMSRV. Enabling and Starting the Service By default, the HDM service will not be enabled for any companies. To enable the service for a company: 1. Login to the PowerLink company 2. Goto Setups System Host Data Manager Options 3. If this is the first time you have used the HDM, select Initialise to initialise data. 4. Select Enable Host Data Manager 5. Select Windows Service Mode 6. Press F9-Save to accept settings TIP: You can control the behaviour of the service by setting some of the other options. Refer to the Setup section of the User Guide for more information. page 9
Pause and Resume the Service During period end processing, the HDM service should be paused. 1. Goto Setups System Host Data Manager 2. To pause the service, press Stop. 3. To resume the service press Start. The service will also be restarted when you next login to PowerLink. page 10
System Tray Mode (Local) The Host Data Manager can be run as a local system tray application. For most users, Service mode (Server) is recommended over System Tray (Local) mode because of its more flexible features. Single Company: Only the company you are currently logged into will be processed by the HDM in local mode. The HDM only runs while you are physically logged into PowerLink. Concurrency: While the HDM only runs while you are logged in, you can run multiple instances of the HDM. As each user logs in the HDM will start. A maximum number of instances can be specified in the options. External Payroll: If you run your payroll from a separate Attaché company, the HDM can keep your payroll data synchronised in the primary accounts company. Off-Line ODBC: Attaché ODBC data can be stored off-line to speed up reporting. The HDM can be configured to rebuild selected ODBC tables at regular intervals. Enabling and Starting By default, the HDM will not be enabled for any companies. To enable the HDM for a company: 1. Login to the PowerLink company 2. Goto Setups System Host Data Manager Options 3. If this is the first time you have used the HDM, select Initialise to initialise data. 4. Select Enable Host Data Manager 5. Select System Tray Mode 6. Press F9-Save to accept settings TIP: You can control the behaviour of the HDM by setting some of the other options. Refer to the Setup section of the User Guide for more information. Pause and Resume the HDM 1. Goto Setups System Host Data Manager 2. To pause the HDM, press Stop. If the HDM is in the middle of processing a file, you may receive a message asking you to wait until it finishes processing. 3. To resume the service press Start. The HDM will also be restarted when you next login to PowerLink. page 11
HDM System Tray Menu You can access features via its system tray menu by right mouse clicking on the system tray icon. View Status You can view the status of the HDM using this program. Version Information: The current build date for the HDM is shown in the bottom panel. HDM Mode: The HDM operates in 2 modes; File Monitoring mode, Full Refresh Updates mode. A third temporary mode is when the HDM is transitioning from Full Refresh to File Monitoring mode. This is called File Monitoring Initialisation mode. If File Monitoring is enabled in the accounting system, then File Monitoring mode is used, otherwise Full File refresh mode (which is less efficient) is used. Run (File) Mode: The HDM can run in 3 different file modes; Refresh All Files (default); Refresh Master Files; Refresh Transaction Files; This setting is automatically determined by the HDM based on system load. File Update Status: The update status of each file is displayed showing the Last Checked along with any current activity or errors. If File Monitoring mode is enabled, then files monitored are shown in blue and have an action status of Monitored. They will not have a last check or file date as they are updated whenever records are changed. These changes are recorded in the _MONITOR table shown at the top of the list. Activity Pane: Users currently running instances of the HDM are displayed in the top panel. The last activity is shown. HDM pings every 5 seconds, so the Last Accessed date should always be reasonably current. Exit Select Exit to manually shutdown the HDM. The HDM may take up to 5 minutes to respond as it may be in the middle of processing an update. To force an immediate shutdown, you can select Exit a second time; however, this should only be attempted if the HDM has encountered a serious problem. You should not need to use Exit, as PowerLink will instruct the HDM to shut down when you close PowerLink. page 12
page 13
Setups Host Data Manager Options The HDM Options can be accessed from the Setups System Host Data Manager Options. The settings are described below. Initialise Data Data must be initialised before the HDM can be enabled. You can click on this button to start the initialisation process. Initialisation involved reading all master files and transaction files and then saving pointers so that any changes from now on can be read, without having to refresh entire files. This process requires that you have enabled File Monitoring in Attaché. (See Enable File Monitoring in earlier section). Initialisation can take several minutes or several hours depending on the size of your data files and the speed of your computer and network. You will be given the option to run the initialisation in Unattended Mode. This allows you to continue using PowerLink on another workstation without consuming a login. PowerLink will write warnings and errors to a log file called INITLOG.TXT and close on completion, but will open the log file. A progress indicator will attempt to calculate an estimated completion time, but this may not be very accurate on some systems. After restarting PowerLink after Data Initialisation, the HDM can be enabled and started. Enable Host Data Manager (HDM) You have to enable the HDM by selecting this option before it can be used in either System Tray or Service mode. Windows Service Mode: Select this option if you want to run a single instance of the HDM on the server. The server must be the same computer where your Attaché programs and data are stored. The HDM service will run irrespective of whether you are logged into PowerLink and can refresh data from multiple companies. Service mode requires that the HDM service has been installed (SETUPLHDMSRV.MSI) and started (NET START PLHDMSRV). Refer to the section Installing the Service for more information. System Tray Mode: Select this option if you want to the HDM locally on your workstation or terminal services session. HDM will only be active while you are logged into PowerLink. page 14
Windows Service Mode (Server) Options Monitor Purge Settings These settings allow you to control the automatic purging of the Attaché Monitor File (MONITOR.DAT) file by the HDM Service. The MONITOR file can affect Attaché performance if it becomes too large. The HDM can purge it (and reduce it in size) when it has finished with it. Maximum Size: This is the size which the file must get to before it is purged. The default is 50MB. If you notice performance is degraded you can try reducing this value. Idle Time: This is the time in minutes which Attaché must be idle before a purge is attempted. The default is 4 hours. Start Time: This is the time of the day that the purge will be attempted. The default is 2:00 AM. Idle Time and Start Time should not conflict. For example, an idle time of 4 hours and a start time of 10:00AM would mean that the purge would not occur during the working week. PowerLink Database Compression Settings These settings allow you to control the size of the PowerLink database files (PLINK*.MDB) by the HDM Service. These files can affect PowerLink performance if they become too large. The HDM can automatically compress it (and reduce it in size) at a scheduled time. Schedule Compression: This is the frequency in which the compression will be attempted. The default is Never. Start Time: This is the time of the day that the compression will be attempted. The default is 2:00 AM. Day: This is the day that the compression will be attempted. The default is Monday or the 1 st day of the week (Monday) or month. Idle Time: This is the time in minutes which Attaché must be idle before a compression is attempted. The default is 4 hours. These settings should not conflict. For example, a daily cycle with an idle time of 4 hours and a start time of 10:00AM would mean that the compression would not occur during the working week. Backup: Select this option if you want the databases to be zipped and archived prior to compression. This is strongly recommended and is enabled by default. Preserve Previous Backups: You can select to overwrite previous backups or preserve previous backups and create a new backup each time. If disk space is an issue and the cycle is Daily, the Overwrite (default) option is recommended. Backup Location: You can specify where backups will be written to. This should be a location that is local to the server (not a mapped network drive). The default is the PLINK\ARCHIVE folder in the Attaché program directory. TIP: The database compression performed by the HDM service is the same as pressing the Compress button at the login screen. page 15
Off-Line ODBC Settings ODBC tables can be exported to off-line databases to improve the performance of reports or where live ODBC reporting is too slow. The service must know the DSN, user name and passwords for update to offline ODBC to occur. Accounting DSN, ID and Password: Enter the Attaché DSN name, user name and password as it has been configured in the Attaché DSN Administrator for the accounting company. Payroll DSN, ID and Password: Enter the Attaché DSN name, user name and password as it has been configured in the Attaché DSN Administrator for the payroll company. TIP: To include an off-line ODBC table, it must be added by creating a report which uses an ODBC off-line data source (SQL Data Updates tab in the Reports Designer), and it must have a valid File Refresh Interval (HDM Options). Advanced Settings CPU Affinity: If the service is running on a server with multiple CPU cores, you can restrict it to run on its own core and not affect performance of programs running on other cores. By default, CPU Affinity is disabled (AUTO). Map Drive: If the data is located on a mapped network drive it is necessary to map it to a local server drive for the service to access it. For example, if the data is setup in Attaché as being located in F:\ATTACHE\DATA and F: drive is actually the local C:\DATA drive of the server, you must supply a map parameter F: C:\DATA. Stand By Pulse: This is the number of minutes which the service will wait before going into Stand-By mode when there is no activity in Attaché. For example, if it is set to 2, then the service will wait 2 minutes before checking for further activity after it has finished updating data for a company. System Tray Mode (Local) Options Maximum HDM Tasks: You can restrict the number of concurrent instances of the HDM using this setting. The default is 1. Increasing this value to more than 1 may improve HDM performance, but can affect overall server performance especially on a network. Host Data Manager Status The HDM status displays useful information about the current state of the HDM. HDM Status: Enabled, Disabled or Not Initialised. If the status is Not Initialised, then the HDM cannot be enabled until it is initialised. Attaché File Monitoring Status: Will display File Monitoring in use and the type of monitoring employed. When in use, All Files or Master and Transaction Files can be selected. All Files is recommended for most sites. Operating Mode: Service Mode or Tray Mode. The last time that the HDM processed an update is displayed as Last Ping. This time should approximately correspond to the last time data was entering into Attaché. File Versions. As the HDM consists of several components, the file dates and names are displayed here. page 16
Common Mode Options Status: The HDM status displays the following information: Initialise: Data must be initialised before the HDM can be enabled. You can click on this button to start the initialisation process. Refer to Initialise Data earlier in this section for more information. Start: In System Tray mode, this button will manually start the HDM and will also automatically start the HDM when you login next, if the number of concurrent instances of the HDM is not exceeded. In Service mode, the HDM is running all the time; however you can block it processing a company using the Stop button. When you login next, or press Start, the block will be cleared. Stop: In System Tray mode, PowerLink will automatically signal the HDM to stop when you exit PowerLink. You can also manually stop the HDM by pressing the Stop button. You can also shutdown the HDM by selecting Exit from the HDM system tray menu (in the windows status bar). If the HDM does not immediately shut down it is because it must finish processing the current update which could take several minutes. You can force an immediate shutdown by selecting Exit a second time. In Service mode, the HDM is running all the time; however you can block it processing a company using the Stop button. When you login next, or press Start, the block will be cleared. Enable Transaction Rollback: When Transaction Rollback is enabled, the HDM will leave data files in the pre-updated state in the event of a serious error (such as a hardware, database or network error). While it does consume slightly more resources it is recommended that this option is enabled. Some earlier operating systems (such as Windows 95/98) may not support this feature. Update Data When Printing Reports: When the HDM is enabled, data used in reports is automatically refreshed regularly in the background. You can however, force a manual update immediately before a report is printed by selecting the Update option on the report screen. This is not necessary for many reports because the HDM is already taking care of data updates, or many reports do not require immediate data (eg. historical sales. File Refresh Intervals Interval: Records in files which are monitored are updated almost immediately. Files which are not monitored have are refreshed at regular intervals. You can specify the refresh interval, or disable file refreshes altogether. You can tweak the interval between refreshes for each file to tune PowerLink for better performance for your situation. Payroll related files, for example, may not be as critical for updating as Customer Transactions files, so you can change how frequently these files are checked and refreshed. Using the Interval parameter you can set the priority of each file. Files with zero (0) are refreshed as soon as possible. Table: The PowerLink table names are shown. Note: External payroll files are prefixed with X and the company code. While you can set the refresh interval of these files, they will only be checked and refreshed when the HDM processes refreshes for the primary company. Lock: While files are being updated, they are locked by the HDM. This flag indicates the locked status of a file. page 17
Refreshed: This is the date / time that the file was last refreshed. This will be blank if the file has not been refreshed, or the actual date / time stamp of the file. Checked: This is the date / time when the file was last checked for a refresh. Error, Refresh Error: If a serious error occurs (eg. corrupt data) while the HDM is refreshing a file, it will be flagged here with the associated error message, and may be excluded from further refreshes until the problem is resolved. Users will be alerted to errors via a message appearing in the status bar on the desktop toolbar (also known as the ViewPoint toolbar). Current Action: Displays the current action being performed by the HDM. Lock Retry Time Out (seconds): If the HDM cannot lock the file (due to another user locking it during a manual refresh) to perform a refresh, it will attempt again after a timeout period which can be specified. This defaults to 30 seconds. Error Log Errors encountered for all HDM sessions while processing file updates are logged and can be viewed from this tab. Work Station: This is the serial number (or ID) of the workstation running the HDM session which encountered the error. The ID is displayed on the login screen. If the HDM is running in service mode then this value will be PLHDMSRV. User: This is the Attaché user name that was logged in on the workstation running the HDM session which encountered the error. If the HDM is running in service mode then this value will be SUPERVISOR. Event Time: This is the date and time when the error occurred. Count: This is the number of times the error has occurred since error logging started or was last cleared. The count will always be 1 unless the Logging Level has been changed from Detailed to Summary. Summary level logging can make recognising serious errors easier because it consolidates errors. TIP: You can change logging level and the type of notifications in the Setups System Options Data Access. Type: The type of error or warning and details are displayed. Not all errors and warnings should be of concern. For example, a serious error is logged if the HDM is unable to open a file due to a network problem. While an error is logged, it will try again later and if successful the original error still remains. (See HDM Error Log Messages for more information about errors and warnings). Print Error Log: You should regularly print the error log and save it as a PDF and then clear the error log. If you are concerned about any errors, you can send the error log to PowerLink Support. Clear Error Log: Clears the error log. If the HDM has encountered an error, then a message is may also be displayed on the desktop toolbar in the status area. The full message cannot be displayed in this limited space, so you will need to click on the message to see the full details. There can be multiple errors messages so you should always check for new messages and resolve them as quickly as possible. page 18
The latest advice on action to take with HDM errors are available in the Known Issues and Troubleshooting pages which can be accessed from the Support section in the Members area on our web-site. To get to the Members area, go to www.yearone.com.au. Select Login from the Quick Links. After login, select Members from the Quick Links. Load Balancing Restrict Processors: Select which CPU you want processing to be restricted to. For example, on a 4 processor system, you may want processing to be restricted to CPU 0 and CPU 1, leaving all other program exclusive use of the CPU 2 and CPU 3. Load Balancing: Select if you want to restrict each PowerLink session to a single processor. As users login in other sessions, they will be assigned the next available CPU. For example, for the following scenarios, if you have 4 CPU s (or cores) on your Terminal Server, then the table below indicates which users (indicated by a letter A K assigned in the order they login) will be assigned to each CPU. 1. Load Balancing OFF, CPU Restriction OFF. This is normal mode with no Load Balancing settings. All users share all CPU s. 2. Load Balancing ON, CPU Restriction OFF. Each user users a single CPU but will share with others. 3. Load Balancing ON, CPU Restriction ON (CPU 2 and CPU 3). As per scenario 2, except two CPU s are available for other applications. 4. Load Balancing OFF, CPU Restriction ON (CPU 0 and CPU 1). As per scenario 1, except two CPU s are available for other applications. Processor Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Scenario 3 Scenario 4 CPU 0 A K AEI A K CPU 1 A K BFJ A K CPU 2 A K CGK ACEGIK CPU 3 A K DH BDFHJ If you have available processors, scenario 3 or 4 should give the best overall performance. User Preferences User Preferences can be set which control how the HDM operates for each individual user. These can be accessed from the Setups System User Preferences. The settings which relate to the HDM are described below. Host Data Manager Options Note: These options only apply if the HDM is running in System Tray mode. page 19
Use System Default: if selected, the system options for the HDM will be applied for this user. If disabled, then you can turn off the HDM for the current user. Refer to the Host Data Manager Options for more information about a specific feature. Using HDM with External Payroll Companies You can use the Host Data Manager (HDM) to refresh data from external payroll companies. After enabled, whenever data in the payroll company is changed, it will be updated when your accounts data is updated. To enable this feature: 1. Create a link to the external payroll company via Maintain Companies (Setups System menu). a. Ensure that the Payroll module checkbox is selected. b. Press F9 - PowerLink will automatically add these files to the HDM file list. c. Press F11 Initialise to read payroll history and master files now. 2. Enable the HDM via HDM Options (Setups System menu). a. Select Enable HDM check box. b. Select the Operating Mode (Windows Service Mode is recommended). Note: The HDM Service must be installed and started on the server where your Attaché programs are installed. c. Press F9 Save. page 20
Troubleshooting Check File Monitoring is Enabled In version 7.01.200 Attaché introduced a new option in the Tools Company Track Changes Tracking Options called Master & Transaction Files. This option was designed to reduce the size of the monitor file at high volume sites and to improve performance. It also means that some records may not be detected which may give the appearance that the HDM is not working. For example, updates to join and extension files will not logged, so if you edit the country field of a customer, the CUSTMASX.DAT file is updated, but the HDM will not be advised of this change. The change will eventually be picked up when the main file CUSTMAST.DAT is updated for the customer. To check if you are affected: 1. Login to PowerLink, go to Setups System Host Data Manager Option 2. If the Status displays File Monitoring in use All Files then all record changes in all files will be advised to the HDM. 3. If the Status displays File Monitoring in use Master and Transaction Files then all record changes in all files will not be advised to the HDM. IMPORTANT: If Tracking Options are already enabled and you are already running the HDM, then changing this option will require you to stop the HDM, reinitialise data and re-start it. Check that the Service is working The HDM Service only processes data updates when something happens in Attaché such as entering a transaction or performing master file maintenance. If you suspect that the service is not working you can check the last activity time in the HDM Options as follows: 1. Login to PowerLink, go to Setups System Host Data Manager Option 2. The HDM Status should display Service Mode. Last Ping: <date> <time>. The date and time should correspond approximately to the last activity in Attaché. TIP: You can test this by making a change to the Comment field in a customer master file record and then checking that the <date> <time> has changed. You may need to allow up to 5 minutes for the HDM service to detect the change. If the Last Ping is not updating, you can check that the service (PLHDMSRV.EXE) is working and refreshing data for a company, by stopping and restarting the service and then checking the Event Viewer log. 1. Stop the service via Start Run NET STOP PLHDMSRV 2. Clear all entries in the Event Viewer PLHDMSRVLog Log. page 21
3. Start the service via Start Run NET START PLHDMSRV. Wait 1 minute and Check that service starts and reads the INI file properly. There should be 3 log entries in the PLHDMSRVLOG Event Viewer Log. a. PLHDMSRV started at b. PLHDMSRV.INI read at c. Launching PLHDMREFRESH Reinstalling the PLHDMSRV Application If the HDM service was working and then has stopped working or you have attempted to install it unsuccessfully, then it is recommended that you remove it and reinstall it. All steps should be followed to ensure the best chance of success. Do not go on to the next step, unless you have successfully completed the previous step. 1. Stop the service via Start Run NET STOP PLHDMSRV 2. Remove PLHDMSRV via Control Panel Add or Remove Programs 3. Delete or rename the PLINK folder in the Attaché program directory. 4. Clear all entries in the PLHDMSRVLOG Event Viewer Log. page 22
5. Go to Control Panel Regional and Language Settings. a. Select English (Australia). The date format must be DD/MM/YYYY and the time must be HH:MM:SS AM (or PM not a.m. or p.m.) b. Go to the Advanced tab and select to Apply all settings to the current user account page 23
6. Reboot your PC. 7. Reinstall PowerLink. 8. Log in to PowerLink and go to the HDM Options. Disable the HDM (de-select the Enable HDM check box). Press F9-Save. Close and re-open the HDM Options. Press Initialise Data. Do not enable HDM yet. 9. Run SetupPLHDMSRV.msi from the PLINK folder in the Attaché program directory. Check the APPLICATION Event Viewer Log to see that it installed OK (Start Run and type eventvwr.msc and select Application ). page 24
10. Enter an account name (eg. administrator) and password for the service to use via Start Run SERVICES.MSC, Select PLHDMSRV. Select Action Properties and go to the Log On tab. Note: The account name Password must have a Password otherwise you may get a message Could not start the PLHDMSRV on Local Computer. Error 1069: The service did not start due to a logon failure. 11. Log in to PowerLink and go to the HDM Options. Enable the HDM. Select the Windows Service Mode. Press F9-Save. Press Start. page 25
12. Start the service via Start Run NET START PLHDMSRV. Check that service starts. There should be an event in the APPLICATION Event Viewer Log (Start Run and type eventvwr.msc and select Application ). After about a minute, there should also be 3 log entries in the PLHDMSRVLOG Event Viewer Log. page 26
page 27