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Computrition Finally Computes

With the help of Dave Mc and John Rushing we were finally able to install the new Computrition software on a Windows Server and an Oracle 11g database.  It was very interesting installing the Oracle db on a Windows OS.  The concepts were similar, and the install went pretty well, except the db Configuration Manager erred out in the end.  That error didn't seem to matter for the install - the db is actually installed correctly.

The end result is that Computrition is now housed on its own server, and in a certified configuration.  Before, our implementation included an Oracle database on a Solaris platform, which is not certified by Computrition.

We have one last step to perform which is enabling a local webserver connection to the new database so that a homegrown menu app will continue to work.  The webserver is scheduled for a quick bounce later this afternoon.

This has been quite a headache for the past 3-4 weeks so it is nice to get this app squared away.  Fortunately, we suffered minor data loss in one part of the program only, which is amazing considering the extent of the problems we encountered.

Doing a Little Programming

SWAMP has been pretty stable of late, however some new requirements have made it necessary to share more of our purchasing information with our accountant - Laura.  I modified one of the main work order reports, which lists out all time, materials, and issues for a particular project.  The original report can now be selected (this is a report sent to customers for billing purposes), or the new, modified version can be selected.  The modified version does not report on labor or issues, but gives additional detail on materials such as vendor info and purchase order number.  This information is useful for tracking down expenditures.

While I was at it, I also created a "secret" search form for Laura to use.  In SWAMP you can search all past purchases by about 15-20 different criteria.  This is helpful when looking through history, or when you only know a little bit about an expenditure, such as the exact cost, where it was purchased, or a part of item description.

Moving Aero to New Hardware

March 28th is "the" day for us to move our production database onto newer disks.  This is an interesting process in that we will be using Solaris to copy and sync up our existing server to a new location.  By shutting down the database, listener, and OEM we will be able to rsync the new hardware with the old, and simply restart the database in it's new home - such is the theory anyway.  The purpose of the move is to get the database off our dated disks, hopefully before they crash and burn.  The 28th was selected as it's in the middle of Spring break on our campus, so is a slow time.

My First Blogger Blog

Western Oregon has moved its blogging on over to Google apps/Blogger, and I've finally made the jump.  This will be my blogging home now, and it is pretty nice - a bit of a fixer-upper, but a good neighborhood.