Database Manager help

This utility can be accessed from:

Start | All Programs | IRIS Software Limited | Utilities | IRIS Practice Database Manager

or

and

Introduction

Privileges

Definition of Backup Privileges

Definitions of Integrity Check Privileges

Definitions of General Database Manager Privileges

Database Manager Utility

General Section

Displayed Information Explanation

Taking Backups

Database Manager - Back Up tab

Current Settings Section

Backup Menu Actions

Running the Integrity Check

Database Manager - Integrity tab

Current Status Definitions

Integrity Menu Actions

Running the Integrity Check as part of the IRIS start up

Logged Information

 


 

Introduction

The Data Manager Utility provides a user friendly interface to carry out backups and integrity checks on the IRIS database. The utility provides an excellent view of the configuration, log output and current settings.

The utility has been integrated into the staff member privileges providing both security and flexibility to all staff members.

Backups can be taken from any workstation or directly on the server and will run on both 64 and 32bit versions of SQL Server and from a 64 or 32bit workstation or server.

 

Integrity Checking

The utility invokes the integrity checking of the database prior to every backup taken by the utility, ensuring that the integrity of the database is of a known quantity at time of backup. The utility also now makes it possible to launch the integrity check as part of an automatic daily maintenance routine on entering the Practice software through the IRIS Main Menu. 

This feature is activated and run by individuals who have been given the appropriate privilege. The integrity check runs silently in the background; access to IRIS continues.

Performance can be affected during the running of the integrity check; this will be dependent on the size of the database and performance of the server, or standalone workstation. If an integrity check failure occurs on your database, a warning message will be displayed on the screen of a privileged user.

There is no option to restore the IRIS database within the new utility as this is considered to be an administrative task taken outside of the IRIS application.

 

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Privileges

Unless a staff member is allocated an individual privilege under the Database Manager section of the staff privileges, all options and tabs will remain greyed out.

The default installation setting made in IRIS allocates all privileges to the MASTER user only – all other users are disallowed from performing any action within the Database Manager Utility.

  1. From the System Maintenance menu select Staff | Staff Maintenance

  2. Select a staff member and click View.

  3. Select the Privileges tab.

  4. Scroll down to Database Manager privileges.


 

Definition of Backup Privileges

 

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Definitions of Integrity Check Privileges

'IRIS has detected an inconsistency in your database, please contact IRIS Customer Support. We recommend you only use the database in a read-only capacity whilst the problem is investigated'

The staff member must have this privilege set along with 'Can run the integrity check functionality on opening the main menu automatically' to see the warning message above.

 

 

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Definitions of General Database Manager Privileges

Can tidy the database manager log - the user has access to the File menu Tidy Log option. Please see the section on Logged Information for further details.

 

IRIS Database Manager Utility

General Section


The File menu drop-down options are:

The Help menu option accesses this help document.

The View Log option opens the log file – see Logged Information section for further information.

The Back Up tab displays settings, current backups, messages and actions related to taking a backup.

The Integrity tab displays the current status, messages and actions related to carrying out an integrity check on the database.

 

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Displayed information explanation

The following summary information is displayed along the top section of the utility:

Taking Backups

Unless you are logging on as the Master user (or where no other staff members exist) you will need to add the specific privilege to a given staff member to enable the appropriate tabs and options.

The privileges section within this document provides details on the definition of the individual privilege. If a tab or option is greyed out, the privilege has not been set for the staff member accessing the Database Manager utility.

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Database Manager - Back up tab


Current Settings Section

Folder - displays the current backup location.+

Auto delete old backups - If this box is checked (via the settings button), old backups will be automatically deleted which fit the criteria of the two filters described below.

The Current Backups tabbed window only displays backups taken by the utility and only those appropriate to the database listed in the top information section.

The Messages tabbed window is only populated when the user selects Run Now and provides the logging details of the current operation.  For a backup, this would display the outcome of the integrity check and if successful the results of the backup.

Each set of messages is written to the log file which can be viewed and tided through the File menu – see Logged Information section below.

 

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Backup Menu Actions

Refresh - refreshes the list of current backups if this has been altered outside of this run of the utility

Run now - activates the integrity check followed by a full SQL database backup

Settings - allows for the editing:

Delete - delete backup manually:

There are no backup files selected. Please select the file(s) on the Current Backups tab required to be deleted and select Delete again.

Confirm deletion of the selected backup file(s).

If the user does not have delete permission on the specified folder a windows permission error displays.

After the deletion(s) you will have fewer than the recommended minimum number of backups remaining. Confirm deletion of the selected backup file(s).

After the deletion(s) you will have no backups remaining. Confirm deletion of the selected backup file(s).

 

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Running the Integrity Check

Integrity failures are typically caused by faulty hardware for example, disk drive errors or by the hardware failing for example, a power failure.

Integrity failures mean that the underlying structure of the database is damaged and access to the data can be impeded and or lost.

Some errors can go unnoticed in the IRIS application until vital maintenance is carried out by the SQL engine itself for example, a re-indexing or structural checks or even backups of the database – these functions are routinely carried out at upgrade time, but can be part of your normal maintenance plan or overnight schedules.

The integrity check is performed as part of the backup sequence when using the IRIS Database Management Utility, however if you wish to either run the integrity check manually or as part of the IRIS start up the following information applies.

 

Database Manager - Integrity tab

 

 

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Current Status Definitions

Last started - the date and time which represents the time that the integrity check started

Last finished - the date and time which represents the time that the integrity check finished

Current Status - the real time status of the integrity checker:

Last completed status - which includes the following statuses which represented the last run result:

Last notification sent to IRIS - includes the date and time which represents the time that the Phone Home data was sent to IRIS formatted as DD Month YYYY HH:MM for example, 09 January 2012 14:25.

Timeout (minutes) - includes the value in minutes that the integrity check will run for before exiting automatically. Large databases on slow hardware may take more than the default value of 120 minutes. Please contact Customer Support to discuss, evaluate and change this setting if necessary.

Disable the automatic run of the integrity check (selected - this option controls whether the integrity check will run automatically on the main menu starting for any staff member who has been given the appropriate privilege (can run the integrity check automatically on opening the main menu). The default is Disabled = ticked (that is, it will not run).

 

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Integrity Menu Actions

Refresh – this option refreshes the values as documented in the Current Statuses Definitions section above.

Run Now - the integrity check will run through a pass even if there has been a previous run on the same.

Timeout - a staff member with the correct privilege set (can change the integrity check timeout value) may change the value of the time out period. This action should be taken with consultation from the Customer Support Team.

Enable/Disable – a staff member with the privilege (can enable/disable the automatic integrity check for all privileged users) can enable or disable the automatic start-up of the integrity check on logging into the main menu.  

 

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Running the integrity check as part of the IRIS start up

It is important that integrity checks are run regularly on your IRIS database.

On a failure it is recommended that the IRIS database is used in a read only mode whilst investigation takes place.

Three privileges can be set:

The default for all privileges is with the MASTER user enabled only.

The integrity check will run on the current database each time that a privileged staff member logs into the Main Menu with the following provisos:

 

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Logged information

A log is provided for each run of an integrity check or backup taken on the database. Although log files generally do not take up a huge amount of space, overtime they can require some maintenance as they will hold obsolete data. From the File menu on the utility, the option Tidy Log can be selected by privileged users (can tidy the database manager log).

The option displays a dialog entitled Months to keep. After entering the number of months, the utility will archive the existing log and then truncate the log information in the log file accordingly.

The log file is named Database_Name DBMLog.txt and is kept in the logs folder within the IRIS installation folder. 

The archived log file has the .txt extension changed to .bak and can be archived off the system.

 

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