If you subscribe to online backup service and your server's hard drive fails, to recover you download your backup from c9 website.  The backup will contain all your data, including up to the minute invoices right up until the point of the server failure.

The complication though is trying to download your backup file if you have lots of data. Especially if you have parts diagrams  installed in c9 you will have massive amounts of data.  As much as 3 Gb. The process of downloading the data can possibly take upto several hours.  Meaning your downtime could be the better part of a day.

New changes to c9, available shortly, mean this downtime is now much shorter.  When you download the backup file, the download only contains critical information needed to get back up and running as fast as possible.  Things such as diagrams, images, and invoice information older than 12 months is not downloaded.

Once c9 is back up and running it will automatically download the remaining information in the background; getting your system and the online backup into synchronization while you are using c9.

Result is from point of failure you can have system up and running with the database on a new computer and processing sales in as little as 30 minutes.

Antivirus is a necessary evil.  The problem with antivirus is they are as invasive as the malicious software they are designed to thwart; and occasionally damage your ability to compute.

C9 has always recommended Microsoft Security Essentials because it appears to be the least invasive of the lot in terms of interfering with the operation of c9.  But as of Christmas Eve, a number of users of c9 have reported problems with c9 database not working.

We believe the problem is connected to Microsoft Security Essentials and updates Microsoft made to MSSE around about this time.  We need to sit tight and wait until either Microsoft of the community behind PostgreSQL fix the issue.  In the mean time a couple of workarounds exist.

Workaround 1 - start the database manually

This solution is simple but must be done every time you reboot.

The problem appears that the database cannot automatically start when computer is rebooted; it needs to wait until MSSE finishes it's startup tasks first and the databases own startup process gives up waiting for this to happen.  After the server has started and you have logged into the server and things appear to be stable and idle you can try manually starting the database.  There are a few ways to do this. Here are two:

Method 1

Open Computer/My Computer and navigate to local disk C: and then the following folders:

• c9db
• 8.4
• c9install

Double click on entry that says start ( or start.vbs).  You will see following:

Upon clicking, keep clicking the buttons. Sequence should be something like this:

Method 2

Right click on the link below and click "Save Link As..." (or similar) and save it to your desktop.  Unzip it.  Now click on new item on your desktop.  Screen with flash black.   Database should be running.

http://c8software.com.au/download/pg_start.zip

 

Workaround 2 - add an exception into Microsoft Security Essentials

This workaround is harder but permanent so only needs to be done once.

Click/Right click on Microsoft security essentials in bottom right in system tray and click on Open

Click Settings, then click Excluded Processes, then click Browse.

Now navigate to the following file:

• Local disk C:
• c9db
• 8.4
• bin
• pg_ctl.exe

Click OK

Then click Add to copy the selected file to the exception list.

Now click on save changes to apply the exception. From now on system should boot and start the database automatically.

The new backup server is now mostly provisioned.  C9 backup databases and content of c9  powered websites replicate near instantaneously.  Most other non critical resources, including this website comment only replicate overnight. Part of this comment is to verify successful automated replication of less critical data.

Bug fix with hierarchy lists.  i.e. View workshop estimates in standard mode.  When you select and click to modify items sometimes item modified would be a completely different one.  Problem is more obvious for large collapsed lists and when trying to select items towards the bottom of the list screen.  Regression bug caused by recent changes to hierarchy lists.  Now fixed; also included automated regression tests; prior tests only tested behavior of items close to top of the list, not the bottom so tests failed to detect the bug. Tests now test across entire range of items on screen.

Also deployed new version of remote client as bug is likely to manifest in the remote client itself.

Two thirds of C9 customers now subscribe to our online backup service.  Taking ownership of protecting your business data is an awesome responsibility.  C9 is a software company; so protecting our own data against information loss is fundamental to our ongoing success as a business operation also.

As such backups are something we spend alot of time thinking about.  Our backup solution could be considered to be massively over-engineered, yet in spite of this we are constantly thinking about the integrity of the solution.  There is no room for complacency.  You can never have too many backups, or systems of control to ensure the fidelity of those backups.

We are currently in the process to adding another backup server into our solution.  The server will serve dual roles, as another backup server and also as a backup to our primary web server; so that if there is a hardware fault with our web server, we can switch internet traffic to the secondary server if necessary.

Whenever you raise an invoice in c9, if you have online backup that information is within a few seconds copied onto:

• 4 physically separate computers. (Our main server, three backup servers)
• 7 different hard disks (under c9's direct control)
• In addition to the above, CDP server is managed by our internet partner, web24, precise disk topology is unknown to us, but I would expect it to be at least a 3 disk RAID 5 array; this is in addition of the 7 disks we directly control.

The addition of a new backup server increases backup coverage from 3 servers and 5 disks.

Online backup is more than just backup. It provides:

• Infrastructure for web based access, web sites. mobile remote inventory management, aussie bike finder and bikesales listings
• Active read verification that the backed up data is both accurate and readable.  Even the most diligent users of c9 do not test that their backups can actually work.  Online backup does this automatically and invisibly in multiple tests and contexts

Server computers do fail, typically we receive one support call every two months relating to server/hard disk failure.

New online backup network infrastructure looks like this:

Includes database changes.  Upgrade will force you to log all terminals out first

• Print/export/receive orders  : tweaked so that clerk key test is on a new clerk key setting : handle orders.  On upgrade any staff member with spares permission will have handle orders permissions.  If you want to disable clerk keys on orders, goto setup/general and untick the handle orders option
• Staff report : benchmark result was not factoring in fact that work on jobs may of involved work done outside reporting period. Now fixed.

A new version of remote access tool has been uploaded.  A number of tweaks:

• Tree lists now work correctly
• Miner query results list now works
• Recent UI changes are also reflected here. Specifically:
• changes  to list control focus rules (empty lists can gain keyboard focus)
• Sheets can be traversed via ctrl+tab and ctrl+shift+tab

Includes database changes. You will be forced to log terminals out during upgrade

• Bugfix with workshop profit report: was mis reporting labour due to rounding errors. If minute component was >=50 minutes, it would round the hour up.  i.e. 4:55 becomes 5:55.  Whereas 4:45 was okay.  Now fixed.
• Bulk mailer via miner.  Increased allowed email body size from 8k to 24k.  8k too small for typical HTML messages
• Introduced benchmarks on workshop jobs.  On a job type you can configure ideal time the task should take and ideal $ you expect to charge for job type.  This information is reflected on workshop staff and profit report.  It shows a +/- against the report entry; + indicates performance above benchmark and - indicates performance below.  Measure is in ratio percentage.  i.e. +50.0 = %50 above the benchmark.  System includes following smarts:
• Does not report benchmark on jobs in progress.  Because c9 does not know how close or how far away the job is from completion, it cannot meaningfully benchmark the job.  Only completed & invoiced jobs report benchmark
• Jobs with multiple job types are handled. (benchmark figures are added together)
• Staff report copes with multiple staff working on same job by taking a ratio of their relative contribution to the job into account.

More regression bugfixes relating to last version. Mainly to do with lists.

• Miner : load existing query, could not modify entity if query loaded contained only one item. Now fixed
• Unit purchase: clicking on modify in resale list crashed c9.  (Actually bug has been there for a while)
• Unit purchase: resale list buttons now disable/enable depending on content of list and selected item
• Focusability of lists without any rows.  Prior version switched back to c8 model, empty lists are focusable.  But there is merit in c9's prior approach of skipping over empty lists.  Implemented compromise solution; Database driven lists are focusable when empty, whereas other lists, such as tree lists and memory lists (like unit purchase line items) are not focusable.

Bug fix : last version injected a potentially serious regression.  If you go to print an order, and click cancel on new clerk key feature, this will setup that terminal for later possible failure, i.e. subsequent generate stock order for example.  The bug is serious because when terminal in such a 'ready to fail' state, selling parts on order will also fail meaning parts will not be actually ordered and you will be forced to re-invoice parts on a new terminal.