Unless you physically reconfigure files to use Vision version 4 format, any files that grow in excess of 2 gigabytes will be unable to hold any more data. It has been noticed that these files can become corrupt and compromise Chris21 data integrity.

So what can you do to avoid this situation?

1. Perform housekeeping and archiving tasks. Regularly running these processes is the best way to keep file sizes under control because data is removed from the data (DAT) file and moved to another file. This file can subsequently be moved to a safe location for archiving. Scheduling regular housekeeping and archiving processes will adequately maintain file sizes.
2. Identify files that are likely to grow large over time. Such as EMTIM (Timesheets), CHADD (Audit), EMPIT (Account History), EMPIC (Component History), and the file repository files, CHFRA, CHRD, CHFRI. All of these files will grow to over 2 gigabytes over time without sufficient housekeeping. Reconfigure these files to use the Vision version 4 format.
3. Regularly review the size of these files in your Chris21 DAT directory to ensure that they are not too large.

See the following blogs for more information that will help you to understand the housekeeping and archiving processes in Chris21:

• Chris21 Database Management – Housekeeping Processes
• Chris21 Housekeeping – What You Need To Know
• Chris21 Archiving – Don’t Forget This Critical Step
• Chris21 Archiving – The Pros and Cons

Creating Vision Version 4 Files

As mentioned above, it is a good idea to convert the data flies that will typically grow larger than 2 gigabytes to Vision version 4. This will safeguard the files from corruption should any grow to exceed the 2 gigabyte limit associated with Vision version 3 files.

Converting files to Vision version 4 entails making a change to the BRE.INI configuration file. In addition to this, you must rebuild each file using the VUTIL Vision file utility. This is a technical process which must be carried out on the Chris21 server. If you don’t think you have this knowledge, please contact me and I will advise.

It’s good practice to regularly run housekeeping processes in Chris21. This will not only make your system easier to upgrade and backup, but also ensure that Chris21 data integrity issues are avoided. This can be a complex and daunting area so please feel free to contact me for advice.

The post Why Regular Housekeeping is Vital in Chris21 – Chris21 Data Integrity appeared first on System Logic.

Ineffective Chris21 database management will result in a database that will grow very large over time. On its own, the size of the database is not a big issue due to the ease of assigning more disk space. After all, the IT department can increase disk space at little cost. The key issues with a database that is growing out of control are:

1. Inefficient database related procedures, such as upgrades and backups.
2. Increased risk of data corruption as individual files become extremely large.

As mentioned, there are two distinct processes in Chris21 that are used to perform database management tasks; housekeeping and archiving. This blog will focus on housekeeping.

Chris21 Database Management – Housekeeping in Chris21

Effective Chris21 database management should include regular housekeeping. If you are not aware of the housekeeping processes in Chris21 have a look at the Background Administrator (FLM) form. This is where you will find all of the general housekeeping functionality that is available to you.

The Background Administrator form is used to maintain the file repository in Chris21. It does this by removing the expired records that you specify. Hence, it is a very effective process for reducing the size of the files that make up the file repository. This is especially noteworthy because the file repository can grow very quickly if left unattended.

What is the File Repository?

The file repository can be broken down to three specific functions. Each of these functions uses its own file and together these three files make up the file repository. These functions and corresponding files are:

• Report repository. The output will be stored on the file called CHFRD.DAT whenever a Chris21 user runs a report. You may already be familiar with the Report Output feature as this is where you go to retrieve a report when it has completed running. By default the system will store each report for 31 days. With many users running reports this file can very quickly become very large.

• File repository. This is similar to the report output but rather it stores files. They include any files that appear on the Files tab of the Report Output window. This information is stored on the CHFRF.DAT file.

• Attachment repository. Attachments in Chris21 are stored in this file. This information is stored on the CHFRA.DAT file. This file can become very large if you attach many documents in Chris21.

The Chris21 system DAT directory stores these files. Therefore, as the report repository files grow so too does the size of your Chris21 database.

I recommend that you run Chris21 Housekeeping processes on a regular basis. Files that become excessively large run the risk of becoming corrupted. Especially relevant is the impact of a corrupt file on the attachment repository. This is because you may lose access to all of the attachments that you have created.

The most efficient way to manage the file repository is to set your parameters on the Background Administrator and then schedule the process to run on a regular basis. See my blog about Scheduling Reports if you’re not sure how to do this.

Configuring the Background Administrator form

The screenshot above shows an example of the settings you could apply to the Background Administrator process. Furthermore, you can schedule this process to run automatically according to the time and date you select. As a result, the Background Administrator process requires no manual intervention to run.

Please note: To recover disk space you must rebuild the repository files. This is a process that your Chris21 administrator will need to perform. The rebuild process actually deletes the data, thus reducing the size of the repository files. For more information about this see my blog Chris21 Archiving – Don’t Forget This Critical Step.

Review the results of your settings by looking at the size of the CHFRD.DAT file after the Background Administrator process has run. You will see that the file has significantly reduced in size.

Use the Background Administrator (FLM) form to ensure the file repository is kept at a manageable size. As a result of running this process, you will achieve effective Chris21 database management.

The post Chris21 Database Management – Housekeeping Processes appeared first on System Logic.

This topic is one for the Chris21 administrators. You may not be aware of the Chris21 housekeeping functionality and how it can assist you to maintain your database. Have a look at the Background Administrator (FLM) form to see the housekeeping functionality that is available to you.

 Strictly speaking, Chris21 housekeeping includes archiving. However, this blog is just concerned with the features of the Background Administrator form. For more information about archiving, see my blog Chris21 Archiving – the Pros and Cons.

The Background Administrator form is used to maintain the size of the file repository in Chirs21. It does this by removing the expired records that you specify. This is very important as the file repository can grow quickly if left unattended.

What is the File Repository?

The file repository is used by Chris21 to store the report output that is created whenever a user runs a report from the Report Designer. If you look at your report output you will see a list of reports you have previously run. By default the system will store report output for 31 days. You can imagine how much the file repository will grow if you have a large number of users running reports!

The other purpose of the file repository is to store the attachments that users add to records in Chris21.

You can find the file repository in your system’s DAT directory. Look for the file called CHFRD. When you find this file you may be surprised at how large it is. It is commonly the largest file in the DAT directory.

The most efficient way to manage the file repository is to set your parameters on the Background Administrator and then schedule the process to run on a regular basis. See my blog about Scheduling Reports if you’re not sure how to do this.

Once you have set up your schedule the process will run automatically at the time and date you have specified. Review the results of your settings by looking at the size of the CHFRD file after the Background Administrator process has run. Bear in mind that you can always go back and tweak your settings if the file repository is still too large.

The post Chris21 Housekeeping – What You Need to Know appeared first on System Logic.

If you are familiar with the Chris21 end of year process you will be aware that a number of backups are made of your database prior to running certain critical processes. For instance, one of the final processes is Clear End of Year (CLR) which resets employee year to date figures. This process is irreversible without a backup, it therefore follows that a backup must always be taken before this is done.

As I have mentioned, your final end of year backup is critical in the event that you need to restore data due to an unforeseen error in your end of year processing. But it can also serve another very useful purpose, that is to provide a Chris21 end of year database.

The main benefit of having an end of year database is that Payroll will be able to run reports over the previous year’s data if need be. Bear in mind that once the end of year clear is complete and the new financial year has begun, there will be a lot of information that will no longer be readily available in your live version of Chris21. But you can access this information if you have created an end of year database. I touch on this topic in my blog How to Manage Your Chris21 Environments.

You will need to ask your IT department to create a new Chris21 environment and then copy the end of year backup of your DAT directory to this environment. The DAT directory is the name given to the folder that holds all of your Chris21 data files.

Once this Chris21 end of year database has been created, you will be able to login just as you would in your live system and run reports over the previous financial year’s data.

An added benefit of having an end of year database is that you will be able to access information that may have since been archived from your live system. If you do regularly archive your database, you may be able to find the information you want by looking in your end of year database. This will save you the trouble of asking IT to restore your archived data.

As a payroll professional, having an easily accessible Chris21 end of year database can certainly be of great benefit to you. I think it makes sense to add this to your end of year procedures, especially since you will already have a fresh backup of your database prior to closing off your end of year processing.

The post Why it’s a Good Idea to Create a Chris21 End of Year Database appeared first on System Logic.

While it is true that thorough housekeeping in Chris21 also includes archiving, this blog will focus just on the features of the Background Administrator process. For more information about archiving, see my blog Chris21 Archiving – the Pros and Cons.

The Background Administrator form is used to maintain the size of the file repository in Chris21. It does this by removing the expired records that you specify. This is very important as the file repository can grow quickly if left unattended.

What is the File Repository?

The file repository can be broken down to three specific functions. Each of these functions uses its own file and together these three files make up the file repository. These functions and corresponding files are:

• Report repository. Whenever a Chris21 user runs a report the output will be stored in the file called CHFRD.DAT. You may already be familiar with the Report Output feature as this is where you go to retrieve a report when it has completed running. By default the system will store each report for 30 days. With many users running reports this file can very quickly become very large.
• File repository. This is similar to the report output except that it stores files used as input for chris21 processes and files generated by reports including any files that appear on the Files tab of the Report Output. This information is store on the CHFRF.DAT file.
• Attachment repository. This is where attachments in Chris21 are stored. This information is store on the CHFRA.DAT file.

These files are stored in your system’s DAT directory. When you look at these files you may be surprised at how large they are, in particular CHFRD.DAT. If regular housekeeping is not performed, this file will quite often be the largest file in the DAT directory.

It is very important to ensure housekeeping in Chris21 is performed on a regular basis as files that become excessively large run the risk of becoming corrupted. The biggest impact of a corrupt file repository is that you may lose access to all of the attachments that you have created.

The most efficient way to manage the file repository is to set your parameters on the Background Administrator and then schedule the process to run on a regular basis. See my blog about Scheduling Reports if you’re not sure how to do this.

The screenshot above shows an example of the settings you could apply to the Background Administrator process.

Once you have set up your schedule the process will run automatically at the time and date you have specified. Review the results of your settings by looking at the size of the CHFRD.DAT file after the Background Administrator process has run. Bear in mind that you can always go back and tweak your settings if the file repository is still too large.

Please note: The repository files will need to be rebuilt to recover disk space. This is a process that your Chris21 administrator will need to perform. The rebuild process actually deletes the data, thus reducing the size of the repository files. For more information about this see my blog Chris21 Archiving – Don’t Forget This Critical Step.

The post Housekeeping in Chris21 – Managing Your Database appeared first on System Logic.

While this two database configuration is sufficient, a much better set up is to have four Chris21 databases. Four Chris21 databases will provide efficiencies for both the Payroll department and the Chris21 Administrator or IT department. Below is a suggested setup:

• Live – this is your production Chris21 database.
• Test – maintain your test system as the exact same version as your live system.
• Development – this is the system you should apply upgrades and updates to.
• End of Year – critical for Payroll so that they have access to last year’s data if need be.

These four Chris21 databases each have their own specific purpose and if used correctly will allow you to manage Chris21 in the most correct and efficient manner.

Importantly, your Test, Development and End of Year Chris21 databases should be installed on a different server from your Live system. This is critical as it will eliminate any downtime to your Live system during upgrades. You need to shut down services during upgrades and sometimes while testing. If all of your databases are on the same server you will lose access to your Live system as well.

I want to explain in more detail how each of your Chris21 databases should be used. The Live system should only be used for entering live data so that one is self-explanatory.

Test environment

Your test system should be a faithful copy of your Live system. This means that the version number and any updates should be the same as those in Live. It’s important that these systems are identical so that you can troubleshoot any problems that you may discover in Live. If you can isolate and fix a problem in Test then you can be sure that this fix can be safely applied in your Live system.

Development environment

Use this environment to upgrade to new versions of Chris21 and also to apply any updates that may be required to fix issues. Once upgrades and updates have been applied, you can use this environment to thoroughly test for any potential issues. As a minimum you will want to run a full payrun and check results for accuracy. For this reason it is a good idea to copy your Live data to the Development database prior to the upgrade so that you have fresh data to test with.

If your testing is successful you can then upgrade your Live and Test system.

End of Year environment

The End of Year environment can be very useful for Payroll. As a payroll officer there will be times when you will want to run reports over the previous year’s data. The End of Year environment is ideal for this. During EOY processing you will come to the step where you need to clear data ready for the new financial year. It is just prior to this step that you should copy your data to the End of Year database.

Another advantage of having an EOY database is that you can access archived data. What I mean is that if you are regularly archiving your data throughout the year, you can always use your EOY database to access data that may have been archived rather than having to restore this data into your Live database. See my blog Chris21 Archiving – the Pros and Cons for more information about archiving and Chris21 housekeeping.

I hope this article has given you some insight into a best practice approach to your Chris21 database management. This setup will let you manage your upgrades and testing will as little impact as possible on your Live environment. You may do things differently and that may work well for you. If so, leave a comment. I would be interested to hear about it to get a different perspective.

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