Some operations in c9 require more memory than c9 may have available and are very memory hungry.  i.e. importing and processing high resolution Harley catalog diagrams.  Normally, java's default behaviour in terms of memory is more than ample for c9's relatively modest needs.  Though there are exceptions.  You only need to worry about contents on this page is c9 support have explicitly directed you here.

Firstly, to check how much memory c9 allocates. Select From top menu, Terminal and the System Monitor.  A window will appear in bottom left. The second number indicates amount of memory allocated. e.g.  from below ~ 450  MB.  c9 will comfortably run with 50Mb.  Most terminals will have java allocating itself approx 120Mb or 240MB: which is more than what c9 needs for normal day-to-day usage.

To run c9 and specify amount of memory. First make sure java is not running by selecting File - > Exit and Restart java. Then put following on command line. 512m means 512 MB. Substitute this with amount of memory you want to allocate.

c:

cd \c9

java -Xmx512m -jar startup.jar

After restarting. Select system monitor to ensure memory change was applied.

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Modified networking architecture of the service responsible for receiving backups, SMS/Email, and back channelling weborders etc to use non-blocking IO.  Previous version was limited in number of simultaneous connections it could handle to only a few hundred whereas new system should be able to handle thousands of simultaneous connections.  Which is not a pressing issue because typically there is only one connection from each shop. But I want to eventually modify c9 so all terminals sign into the web server, and remove the messenger altogether.

More modifications of backup service.  Fixed regression with multiple messengers running.  Fixed bug causing all backup streams nation wide to serialize to a single thread of execution (poor performance and could trigger replication race conditions).

• Spares Alter Deposit.  Allow alter deposit on reserve parts
• Freeform reserve parts where not appearing on reserve. Now fixed
• Web site : web content was constrained 3k - which typically is only a few paragraphs of web content. Increased to 32k
• KPI reporting : internal technical changes to make it easier/faster for barney to build complex KPI reports. No functional outcomes yet (HD work in progress)

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

• Workshop clocking changes
• Ability to clock as idle (at work but not on a job) and clock as on break/smoko.
• Clocking now memorizes job you were last working on so no need to rekey in job number whenever you clock off then clock back on
• Tweaks to reports to reflect above information
• Ability to Set staff type. i.e. 2nd year apprentice. To be used by KPI/Anaytics reports : namely/firstly Harley
• Catalogues.
• Import PartSmart Catalogs. i.e. Harley Davidson and Buell
• Increased max size of model name and yearcode to accommodate Harley's epically long model names (from 50 to 80 chars)
• Bug fix with utilities catalogue utils/manage catalogues. Was not displaying catalogues correctly
• Make re-generate categories option available
• New option - browse uncategorised diagrams
• When modifying fiche diagram, system now writes a rule into rule database mapping name to category. So when you import new catalogs or run re-generate option, this rule will apply to diagrams with similar name
• Category mapping : include option to 'crowd source' mapping from other dealers.  At the moment software is in place but it is not yet functional.  I need to add some new things to c8 website to enable it.  More on this in a post in a day or two.
• Tweaks
• Print date range on statements if statement date range is greater than a single month
• Website structure. Added ability to set a 'reference' on a menu item. This will be for use with web API, for web programmers that want to reference content pages by a reference string instead  of an ID. Will also look at building it into URLs for easier iframe construction
• KPI: Added cloud based KPI hook for Harley Davidson. Temporary setup to help progress KPI items on Harley. Will revert in a week or two.

This version includes database changes and will force you to log all terminals out first.

• Web orders. Include ability to capture CVV.  To enable this on website, please contact Barney.
• Email notification: include ability to specify different senders. i.e. instead of all emails coming from enquiries@bikeshop.com.au for example you can have different sender times, i.e. some from sales, some from admin etc.  Currently this is configured on a per terminal basis. i.e. Depends on what terminal is used to perform notification operation.
• Customers  -  added a notion of a comment. Provides ability to add comments against different customers and track reminder dates on comments for later follow up. Provides basic shared, customer oriented calendar/schedule system to provide simple Customer Relationship Management (CRM).  These differ from existing ability to add notes on a customer because you can have multiple comments, they are dated and ordered in order of creation and you can setup/clear reminder dates on comments.

Includes DB changes. You will be required to log all terminals out as part of upgrade.

• Catalogs
• Added support for Polaris
• Bugfix with PFG/Softway : radio button to select PFG or softway based login was not working
• Tweaks and bug fixes
• Part buy/sell - now shows parts ordered where there was no original c9 order. i.e. part received into c9 via orders but was not actually ordered via c9.  Previously these would not be displayed.
• Part buy/sell - is now accessible via view invoice, view order and view received order.  Makes tracking movement of parts even easier
• Ad Hoc order : if no supplier was selected and click on OK, system would popup select franchise window; instead of select supplier window
• Ad Hoc Order: will ask you to add freeform part into stock. Should never do this.
• Point of Sale, F2 Deposit. If you press F2 and then press F10 immediately it will clear deposit but keep discount rate.  Normally if user does this it is because the clicked on F2 accidently. Fixed by disabling F10 button until they explicitly set discount rate or discount amount to reduce risk of data entry error
• Refund parts; default discount to be given to not exceed discount on original invoice less discount already refunded.  Can be overwritten later, via F10+F2
• Order ready notification. Previously email notifications would send email when any parts where ready, whereas SMS notification could be configured so that sms is only sent when all parts are ready. Rationalisation for email being different is that in email message we explain/list what parts are still on order.  But this can cause confusion and lots of annoying emails.  So modified so that email behaviour is exactly the same as SMS behaviour: either wait for all parts or send on any part: configured during original point of sale.

Upgraded our backup server infrastructure over weekend.  Added in larger and faster hard disks.

C9 websites have had a number of new features added to them

• Ability to configure web special prices. Example of how looks visually.
• Ability to add a spare part onto the website many times, in different locations.
• C9 configured freight options and banner logo
• Improved image caching; means website should be even faster.
• Improved database indexing. Even faster websites.
• Average web page load for c9 website is now <150 ms. Very quick; compared to other motorcycle dealer websites which tend to hover around double this.  Hosting in Australia, while arguably more expensive, gives a much better result than offshore hosting esepcially when most of your web visitors are from Australia.

Changes to backup server email notifications to further reduce false positive alarms.

Added more network monitoring to server. Because of image caching problem, we went well over billing limits this billing period. Shortly I will include weekly reports on website activity.  i.e. # of unique visitors, # of page hits, etc.

This version includes database changes and will force you to log all terminals out first.

• Workshop fixes
• Workshop invoices would not print discount line if discounts were only line item discounts. Now fixed
• Spares discounting: if line item is set to 0.00, do not treat as a 100% discount, just set line item value to 0.00.  Change is because dealers typically do this because of warranty claims; and a warranty claim is not a discount.
• Website enhancements
• Ability to configure freight options inside c9
• Ability to configure website banner logo inside c9 (for this to be enabled, your website needs to be configured to use logo setup in c9. Contact barney to arrange)
• Configuration above allows you to prefix order number on import web order to indicate freight option. i.e. '[EXPRESS] Web Order: 12345'.

This version includes database changes and will force you to log all terminals out as part of upgrade

• Accounts : add new flag - trade customer. This can be used for filtering on spares profit report and in miner.
• Website changes. Changes in c9 only. Not yet reflected on website. Coming soon
• Ability to configure web discount on stocked items. Will be displayed on website showing old and new price.  On receive order, discount is imported as a line item discount
• Ability to map a stock item to multiple web categories
• Bug fix : miner. Linking other entities to business activity item would not work. Now fixed

Note: I wanted to add ability to configure web freight options from within c9 in this version but did not quite make it. Next version, next week.

http://www.facebook.com/C9Software

Mainly created to facilitate advertising campaign for Aussie Bike Finder.  But if you feel the urge, click on like.  If enough people do it I'll start posting some stuff there too. Though you should probably be shelving received stock; not wasting time on FB.