'The Electronic Newsletter For
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SAFE 6.0 Deployment
And now for the moment you have all been
waiting, some specifics on deploying the upcoming SAFE 6.0. There are two factors which
are important:
1. We're stickin' with Microsoft and Sybase.
2. Size matters. (But, you already knew that!)
Microsoft SQL Server Or Sybase
You can use Microsoft SQL Server or Sybase (iAnywhere). Most of you will
stick with Microsoft solutions because they will be easier to deploy, less expensive, etc.
Sybase will be chosen by users who wish to use a Linux box (a great choice for the
absolute highest performance for your dollar!)
Size Matters
Most of what will be said depends on your size. Generally, users of SAFE fall into
one of three categories: Small, Medium, Large. This is in no way a disparagement; it
simply reflects two metrics: how many concurrent users you have and how many branch
offices they are working from.
Small installations, are those with a single office and within that office, there are up to five concurrent users.
Medium installations are those, basically with a single office using more than five concurrent users (including Internet Access through WebSAFE, Ollie or ThinSAFE.)
Enterprise size: you have more than ten concurrent users at any one office and
Most small users will be able to use SAFE 6.0 free, free, free! No charges, so long as you have a copy of Microsoft Office 2000 or XP Professional or Small Business Server. It turns out that Microsoft (dash cunning) bundles the SQL Server Desktop Engine into these products, just waiting for software vendors like us to come along and install applications. It runs just like SQL Server 2000 for five users or less.
Medium size users will want to purchase a Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Server License. The MSRP for this is $400 plus $80 for each PC. We've been yapping at you over the past three months to get with your Network Provider or 'Computer Guy' on this as we have seen (and are still seeing) discounts of up to 50% on this stuff. If you have a web site, you should strongly consider getting what MS calls a Processor License, essentially, an unlimited user license. This handles licensing of as many people as you can manage on the server, regardless of whether they are using SAFE in house, Ollie, WebSAFE, Ollie, ThinSAFE or SAFE over Terminal Server.
Enterprise size are usually combinations of small and medium sized users. In other words, you probably one or more main locations which will require a Processor License and one or more branch offices with just a few users who will not require any purchase so long as they are using one of the Microsoft programs that already contains the Desktop Engine.
REMOTE OFFICE EXTENSIONS
As previously described, SAFE 6.0 can provide complete data replication
which means no more scripts or iClose-Up! Magically, your data will be updated from remote
offices to host system on a scheduled basis. This will happen during the day, while you
work.
AUTO BACKUP
Also, you will be able to create warm backups of your data as
often as you like. This also happens automatically while you are working,
independently of any tape backup system you have.
WINDOWS 2000 SERVER PLEASE
As stated before, if you opt for SQL Server or the Desktop Engine you will
want to have Windows 2000 Server on your main office server(s). This is no longer
optional, even for you three PC offices. Sorry, no more Windows 98 masquerading as a
'server'. One reason for this is that you must have this type of PC to act as the Host
for replication.
LINUX, SCHMINUX
If you opt for Sybase, then you have the Linux option. This is nothing to
sneeze at. For example, we have a pedestrian Pentium III 500 here running Red Hat Linux
and Sybase and for five users it pretty much runs SAFE as fast as a Pentium IV 1.2GHZ
machine on SQL Server 2000. Comparisons:
Pentium 500: (free - actually it is an old PC
we were going to donate to St. Vincent DePaul and write off @ $200)
Linux: (free)
Sybase 5 User License ($695 MSRP)
Pentium IV 1.2GHz w 512MB RAM, Windows 2000
Server 5 License $1,80
Microsoft SQL Server Desktop Engine (free)
...hmmm. Starting to see why we keep going on about Linux?
DATA CONVERSION
If you have your database properly installed (which we help you with) data
conversion between SAFE 5.1 is completely automatic. One hundred percent. You simply start
SAFE 6.0 and it does all the work.
CONTACT!
It is super, super important that you have a Contact set for every
Customer, Vendor, Employee and Site you use in SAFE. The reason for this is that our trend
to becoming People-Driven is pretty much complete. Which means that when you are
editing a customer, a vendor, an employee or a site, you are really editing a
contact. So: you must have a contact which goes with the customer, vendor, site or
employee. And if you do not, SAFE will create one for you!
Read The Story: Win
A Prize!
The title says it all. You can win a prize,
but you have to read all the way to the end of the article. Ready, OK!
We had all the designers of Simple Accounting in for a visit last weekend. This is
a bit of a job as we are now spread out between Seattle, Detroit, North Carolina, Dublin,
Ireland and Capetown South Africa! Needless to say, it takes a lot to get us all in the
same place these days. So we're all sitting in my back yard. Now the back of my property
is bounded by an eight foot fence. And in front of the fence is a two foot high pile of
sand I have been moving around as part of my big pumpkin gardening project this year. So
here's the scene: Five guys sitting on the patio, drinks in hand, watching my dog stand on
top of the sand pile barking at the dog next door.
One fellow (Bruce Johnson) starts in to razzing my dog, being that he is quite small (the dog, that is; Bruce is normal size). I explain to him, that for short distances, his breed (Schipperkes---don't ask) are amazingly fast and have a fantastic 48" vertical leap. This impresses him. And so a wager ensues. Dr. Johnson wonders if Rory could, in fact, scale the fence, given the fact that he has the sand pile for a boost. Dr. O'Dhonnellaigh feels that this is possible, but only if the dog figures out that he needs a running start up to the sand pile to 'high jump' over the fence. The wager then becomes, how long it will take (no prompting, please) for little Rory to figure all this out and jump the fence. Ciaran Marron decided that it would take no more than fifteen minutes.
Fourteen minutes later, I come outside to witness Rory's 20th or so attempt to do just this while five guys sit, drinks in hand, eyeing a stop watch. And it turns out that he's just about worked out the proper scheme (angle, length of runway, run-up velocity etc.) and so is about to make his Great Escape. In my mind's eye, I am witnessing a $1,000 bill about to fly away (they're expensive, OK.)
The point of this story is this: these guys are great programmers; some of the best I have ever known in any discipline. But, that said, they aren't always looking at things from your point of view. In the above melodrama, they pretty much nailed the situation and what was about to occur. But not one of 'em thought that it was a good idea to, for example, put the dog in the house, or move some of the sand.
As SAFE 6.0 nears completion, we really would like your input on how to make SAFE easier to use, more intuitive and so on. It's getting late, but it's not too late. The best, most complete suggestion we receive will be rewarded with a free Schipperke. No, seriously, we'll have three winners and each winner will receive a $100 gift certificate from Sharper Image (where all the really clever gizmos may be found?)
Ciaran's Corner:
Windows XP
Windows XP Service Pack #1 (SP1) is available
from www.microsoft.com. It's basic purpose is to plug, plug, plug all those nasty little
security holes which people find all the time. And in fact since it's availability, there
have been four hot fixes to SP1 itself.
Til Next Time!
Ciaràn Marron
Technical Support Manager
cm@suntowersystems.com
End of E-News From The Suntower, Volume IV #19
