As part of our series for global technology professionals focused on the functionality within the DATASCOPE software and how it can be configured to your specific business needs, we recently hosted a webinar covering the DATASCOPE WMS System Manager.
The webinar was presented by Anton Jurgens, president of DATASCOPE North America. He was joined by our technical expert and Chief Software Architect, Steven Cooper, who led attendees through the intricacies and processes of the System Manager. Here are some of the takeaways from the webinar.
WHAT IS THE SYSTEM MANAGER? WHO NEEDS IT?
System Manager is a tool used outside the core DATASCOPE WMS product. It’s used to configure all the infrastructure elements and prerequisites, from database linkups to SQL server, and set it up on the WMS server. When you’re commissioning a new site or server, System Manager is the first tool installed.
Who needs it? The System Manager is best suited for the DATASCOPE Solution Providers (DSPs) and whoever is going to be doing WMS installs. It also applies to larger IT departments who want to make changes to the WMS configurations
DOWNLOAD/INSTALLATION
SYSTEM CONFIGURATION
System configuration from the System Manager perspective consists of all infrastructure settings, as opposed to the actual configuration processes. It is entirely registry-based and includes things like:
- SQL Servers
- SYSPRO
- WMS
- Databases
What’s My SQL Login?
The SQL server can be your name or IP address. It’s recommended that you not use the SA account here. Instead make a dedicated account for your WMS system. You can put a colon and a port number, and it will also connect to the SQL server if you’re running on a non-standard port.
Where is my SYSPRO server?
SYSPRO uses E.Net business objects and those can be installed at this point. If you’re running web services (legacy), we need to know the site name. If you’re running WCF standard or WCF load balances, we need to know the name and port number. This license type will support standard and runtime licenses from an E.Net perspective.
What’s its IP address?
The last part of this process is the WMS name and/or IP address, and the port number. (The default is 808.1.). Here, the system verifies the SQL details and runs other validations.
What databases are involved?
The next step is configuring the databases. If it’s a non-standard name (we use SYSPRO DB), you’ll get a warning message. Just select the correct name from the dropdown list and specify if this is a WMS-controlled company. You’ll need the company password. Select the SYSPRO databases and the main catalog, then the inventory catalog.
After completing the base configuration, you should know where the servers are, how to login, how to interact with SYSPRO and what databases to query.
DOWNLOADS & UPGRADES
Downloads and Upgrades are two separate but related portions of the System Manager. Downloads allows you to download a port while Upgrades lets you take the port and actually apply it to your site. Downloads aren’t only limited to upgrades; different download types include:
- Prerequisites
- Port/Upgrade
- Installs/Service (legacy versions)
- Core Services
To save time, you can pre-download your ports and apply them when you’re ready. There are comprehensive release notes that explain the changes that have been applied for every single ticket logged in the system. Within Downloads, you’ll also find a Tools section, with tools like a Business Objects Harness, Client-Site Printing (for cloud-based environments), GAC Manager, Pick Face Import, and many more.
All files are downloaded to DATASCOPE WMS System Manager > Download. You are able to delete unnecessary files from the Download folder (if they’re not being used during an upgrade). For an upgrade, you have pre-downloaded files and configured SQL Connect. Every time you run an upgrade, it validates:
- Downloads
- Settings
- SQL connection
- Table sizes
The longest step of the upgrade process is updating the database structure. At this stage, the system does a series of checks, looking to see if you’ve pre-downloaded the ports, configured Oracle settings, and checking if SQL is running and correct. During the upgrade, you can go to your Temp directory and see it filling up with files. You’ll get a warning about shutting down IIS and the web API, so the system is essentially offline for any users. You’ll see the green checkmarks appear as the process is completed.
There are a couple of MSI packages that need to be updated as well. They are located in the Download > Temp > Install folder(s):
- Web API
- SDK
- Web apps (HTML5 interface and KPIs)
- Core services
…and these get uninstalled and reinstalled.
As a safeguard, a folder is created for every upgrade and that’s where the files that are going to be replaced are located. You also need to do your SQL and other backups prior to the upgrade.
If your tables are really large, you can clean them up, but this will usually depend on the changes you want made. It also depends on how the upgrade script affects the tables. Ideally, you’ll want to keep them as controlled as possible. Large tables can be easily truncated.
CLEAN INSTALLS
If you have a fresh server and you’re running commission WMS from scratch – or if you’re wanting to install a new WMS server – you’d want this option. A clean install is a process-driven approach combining elements such as prerequisites, the license, configuration, installation, and post-configuration into a streamlined approach. Especially important are the prerequisites. These give you the exact server roles and services that need to be installed on each role.
Clean Install is a separate item, but it takes all the components of the System Manager mentioned previously to guide you through the process in a logical way.
SERVICES
In the past, DATASCOPE included many individual services that are installed (e.g. pick face replenishment, black box monitoring system, queue readers) but, unfortunately, are not pulled through during an upgrade. Those needed to be managed and upgraded separately…until now.
With our Core Services, you now have the option to activate and deactivate different services within the System Manager from a single place and keep all services up to date with every port and upgrade. Not all services have been migrated to the Core Services but many have and migrating the rest is one of our top priorities this year.
NEXT WEBINAR: APRIL 7, 2022
The next webinar will feature the various picking strategies within DATASCOPE WMS from a functional perspective. It will again be presented by DATASCOPE President Anton Jurgens and led by DATASCOPE Chief Software Architect, Steven Cooper. We hope you enjoyed this webinar. If you have any questions or would like to submit any feedback, please fill out our contact form and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can!