IT Best Practices for
Sage Timberline Office
(STO)
October 14, 2011
Introductions
Chris Elekonich
Professional Services Manager
Rod Hatley
Technical Services Manager – Atlantic Division
About Aktion
Partnering with Customers for Growth and Profitability
 Founded in 1979
 Over 4,000 Customers in the Midwest , MidAtlantic and Southeast
 Profitable, Stable Growth
 90+ Employees
 5 Office Locations – Maumee, OH (HQ),
Columbus, OH, Charlotte, NC, Indianapolis, IN,
Aurora, IL
 Complete IT Services Including Network
Infrastructure, Custom Applications, Application
Hosting
Industries of Expertise
• Architects and Engineers
• Professional Service Businesses and
Organizations
• Construction and Real Estate
• Supply Chain
• Not for Profit
Network Engineering
• 15 Network Engineers
• 12 States in the Midwest and Atlantic
Coast
• Remote Support – 80%
• Managed Services
– Hosting
– Remote Monitoring and System Admin
Network Engineering
• Network Assessments
• Security Assessments and
Vulnerability Testing
• Virtualization
• Disaster Recovery and High
Availability
• “Break Fix”
Software Engineering
• Custom Programming
• Integration to other applications and
Excel and Word
• Aktion Authored Applications
– ePayStub, eTimeCard
• Productivity Enhancing Programs
• .NET, C#, Java, Python, etc…
• MS SQL, MySQL
Our Partners
Rod Hatley
IT Services Manager
Agenda
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Optimizing the STO System and Data
Optimizing the Network for STO
Remote Access to STO
Backup Strategies STO
Managing STO day-to-day
Optimizing STO System
• Data Optimization
– Move Transactions to History
– Fun File Doctor to compress data (run at server)
• Clear STO log periodically
– v9.5 and v9.6 must upgrade to v9.7 to do this
– Log can be cleared in v9.7 and higher
IT Issues that impact STO
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Antivirus scanning
Internet Name Resolution
Network Communications
Server disk I/O
Server RAM Utilization
Antivirus
• Necessary Evil, we need antivirus solutions
• Real-Time scanner of antivirus should be
reviewed, default is to scan all files
• Real-Time scanner should NOT be set to scan all
files.
– Sage recommends excluding many folders in
KB116381
– Aktion recommends setting antivirus to scan only
specific files types that can have a virus, not all files.
Name Resolution Problems
• STO uses Internet Name Resolution to find
your server.
• DNS problems can have a performance impact
on running STO
• All workstations should use the server’s Active
Directory integrated DNS server, not public
DNS server.
Network Problems
• 10 Mb network will transfer (Copy / Paste) a files
at 1 MB per second.
• Duplex mismatch issues can seriously degrade
the network when the network gets busy.
• Managed Switches will show CRC Errors or
truncated packets in the log.
• Problems can be address by not using auto
settings for duplex on the switch and / or
network adapters (typically only done if a
problem is found)
Disk Queue Problems
Sources of Disk Problems
• Fragmentation. Use standard Windows tool
to defragment the drive. Run it periodically
after hours when no one is on the system.
• Out of date disk drivers
• Physical disk problems
• Out of date hardware or over utilized system
Server RAM Utilization
• 32 bit OS can only address 4 GB RAM
• Memory Hogs:
– MS Exchange Server
– MS SQL Server
– STO Document Management
Remote Access
• Must use remote desktop product like
– Citrix XenApp Server
– Microsoft Remote Desktop Server (Terminal Server)
• Other remote desktop products will probably
work (LogMeIn, GoToMyPC), but are not
supported by Sage.
• Running STO over a WAN / VPN WAN is NOT
supported when STO server is remote from
where the STO client is installed on the
workstation
Citrix / RDP Server Tweaks
• Install as you would any application on a Citrix /
Terminal Server (via Install Mode)
• Set the Pervasive Workgroup.SQL Service to use a
domain account that has access to STO data
• Use Pervasive Control Center (PCC) to disable
Cache under MicroKernal Router.
– Fixes issues with files left open in PVSW when users
are done
– Will show proper username of connected users in
Pervasive Monitor
• Apply security settings per STO KB244
Threats to your data
• Natural disasters
– Fire, Flood, Tornado, Lightning, etc.
• Intentional damage
– Malicious user or hacker deletes, modifies or
removes data
• Unintentional damage
– Service disruption, system issues, software
upgrade / change issues
Backup Routines
• Daily Full Backup with capacity for multiple
restore points over the past several weeks.
• On the fly backups. STO has a backup tool,
but it only backs up data. Need to use 3rd
party backup tool to backup everything.
• Periodic backup for historical purposes
(quarter end / year end)
Ten Tape Rotation
• Mon, Tues, Wed, Thu tapes used each of these
respective days.
• Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Month 1, Month 2,
Month 3 used on Friday nights in rotation.
– W1, W2, W3, M1
– W1, W2, W3, M2
– W1, W2, W3, M3
– W1, W2, W3, M1
Example Schedule
For Friday’s Tape
Date
Tape
Date
Tape
April 1st
WEEK 1
June 10th
WEEK 3
April 8th
WEEK 2
June 17th
MONTH 3
April 15th
WEEK 3
June 24th
WEEK 1
April 22nd
MONTH 1
July 3rd
WEEK 2
April 29th
WEEK 1
July 8th
WEEK3
May 6th
WEEK 2
July 15th
MONTH 1
May 13th
WEEK 3
July 22nd
WEEK 1
May 20th
MONTH 2
July 29th
WEEK 2
May 27th
WEEK 1
August 5th
WEEK 3
June 3rd
WEEK2
August 12th
MONTH 2
STO Backup Goals
• Full Backup every day
• Multiple Restore Points
• Off-Site Storage
Managing STO day to day
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Upgrades and Updates
Locked files in Accounting
Ghost Users in Estimating License Manager
ODBC on 64 bit systems
STO Upgrades vs. Updates
• Upgrade
– Physical media which will arrive via UPS (CD/DVD)
– Typically has changes to features / capabilities
– Takes more time to complete and system requirements may change
• Updates
– Distributed via a download link in email alert from Sage
– Patches / changes for your currently installed (CD) version. Commonly
these changes are for Payroll or other tax reporting reasons. There
can be updates for other reasons.
– Quicker to install and typically no system requirement changes
• Full System Backup before doing Upgrade or Updates
• Launch full application (not Sage Desktop) and Help -> About to find
version.
STO Updates
• Not all updates apply to all clients. Read the alert to
see if the update is worth the effort for your specific
installation.
• Updates are cumulative. Update 3 has all the previous
fixes / enhancements included in Update 1 and Update
2.
• New workstation setup will have NO update.
• Recommend putting the currently used update in the
WININST folder for easy reference in the future.
• Server and all workstations must use the same update.
Version Problems
• If the server is running a different version of
the software from the workstation, you will
get a TS 6102 Error.
• Check the version at the server or other
workstations to see what version and update
they are using.
Find CD Version and Update
Locked Files in Accounting
• Periodically, exclusive access to data is desired
– Installing upgrades / updates
– Closing Month / Year
– Running File Doctor
• Run Pervasive Monitor at the server console
– Start  Run  W3MONV75
• Use as tool to gracefully get users out of STO
Pervasive Monitor
Ghost Users in Estimating
• Occurs with Estimating License Manager on
server, not with security device connected to
workstations.
• Have all users exit Estimating
• At the server use Windows Services
management tool to restart the Sentinel RMS
License Manager service.
ODBC on 64 Bit Systems
• x86 = 32 bit
• x64 = 64 bit
• Timberline ODBC is 32 bit only. 64 bit systems
have both 32 and 64 bit ODBC tools installed.
Menu will only show 64 bit versions.
• Stick with 32 bit MS Office 2010.
• 32 bit ODBC Administrator
– Start  Run 
• ODBCAD32
• C:\windows\sysWOW64\odbcad32.exe
64 vs. 32 bit ODBC Admin
64 bit
32 bit
Questions
36
Contact Us
• Rod Hatley – rhatley@aktion.com
• Chris Elekonich – celekonich@aktion.com
• Or reach out to your Account Representative,
Application Consultant or Network Engineer
• www.aktion/com
Thank you for attending.