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.

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

• Do not allow creation of  dealer estimate
• Supplier specific instructions on order sheet.  Instructions are set via utilities -> edit franchise/edit supplier
• Secure minimum margin on parts.
• If margin on any single part, after factoring discounting is below a preset %, an authorising clerk key is required.
• Only applies on spares sales.
• Does not apply to freeform items
• Test will apply for parts on order.
• Configure on edit staff. New check box.
• Print customer address labels via miner
• Phonebook - allow search by phone number
• Phonebook - visual fixes and tweaks
• Staff - allow zero labour rate
• Customer search by phone, allow search to match with or without state prefix for customers in same state as dealership. For example, in Victoria, a phone number '03 9123 4567' will be indexed as both '0391234567' and '91234567'.  Previously, c9 would only index the shortened version
• Orders
• Print/Export order requires a clerk key on initial execution. It also records date print/export occurred
• View order : display information captured above
• Receive order : get clerk key, print clerk on receive sheet. Display clerk in browse received orders
• UI behaviours lost in conversion from c8 to c9
  • Old c8 would allow an empty list of have keyboard focus.  C9 considers such controls unfocusable.  Tweaked to recapture old c8 behaviour.
  • Tab traversal via Ctrl+Tab and Ctrl+Shift+Tab now working, just like old c8.
• Print customer phone on spares invoice
• Spell checker, take whether word is fully upper cased, or first letter capitalised when making spelling suggestions
• Bug fixes
• Promise report contained a subtle bug: running it would in some circumstances prime the instance of c9 for later failure, i.e. selling parts to a job.  Now fixed.
• Changes made to miner a couple of months ago broke remote access. You could not view miner query results via remote access. Now fixed.
• Closed floorplan report : was incorrectly including partially curtailed units.  Fixed.
• Unit deal.  If you manipulate deposit and then invoice parts on a deal in the same 'modify deal' session. The details of the deposit changes will be forgotten; as though you never keyed them in.  Now fixed.
• Spares: Freeform items on order need to have unique identifiers so that printing and receiving can discriminate separate freeform items as indeed being separate.  There is a situation where this fails and freeform items are combined on printing and receiving order: when merging onto an existing invoice.  Now fixed.
• Spares: when offering to merge order onto existing invoice, make sure invoice is locked first, so that another terminal is not simultaneously invoicing received parts for same invoice.
• Workshop: sell spares via workshop. Was not asking for a clerk key. Now fixed.