RemoteWare Overview – Beyond Retail Polling Don Coop Product Manager, Sybase iAnywhere

RemoteWare Overview –
Beyond Retail Polling
Don Coop
Product Manager, Sybase iAnywhere
[email protected]
Monday August 7, 2006
1:00 – 2:30 pm
Agenda
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Trends in Retail
Delivering Success at the Frontlines of Retail
Case Studies
RemoteWare 4.3
Beyond 4.3
iAnywhere
ALWAYS
AVAILABLE
ARCHITECTURE
HETEROGENEOUS
ENVIRONMENT
SUPPORT
INTEGRATED
SECURITY
OPTIMIZED
MANAGEMENT
iAnywhere Business Areas
Developer
Enterprise
On-Demand Services
• Mobile and embedded database
• Mobile e-mail
• Synchronization and messaging
• Mobile media services
• Device management
• Mobile application development
• Mobile CRM solutions
• Security
• Mobile device solutions
• Hosted mobility services
• Application enablement
• RFID
The Bottom Line
 iAnywhere provides software solutions that enable
applications used on the front lines of business to be
just as reliable, secure and available as those at
headquarters
• IT can confidently control and support frontline enterprise
applications
• Developers can focus on business application, not on
solving frontline challenges
• Built for front lines to overcome challenges by making
applications "Always Available," and through Integrated
Security, Optimized Management, and Support for
Heterogeneous Environments
Delivering Success on the Front Lines of Retail
The Simple Days
 Non-IP dial-up
communications
 Velocity of business was 24
hour cycle
 Overnight batch polling
 Legacy POS systems
VAX/VMS
IBM 4690
DOS
Unix
Today: A Complex Environment
 Higher speed, persistent
IP connections
 Business updates
throughout the day
 Right-time data
movement
 Many devices, or Points
of Action
Manager’s
station and
laptop
Win32 POS
PDAs
Wireless
manager
Line busting
M2M/RFID
Employees’ kiosk
Barriers to Success
 Security on Windows-based
POS, back office systems
and handhelds
 Ability to drive actions and
automate processes
 Bandwidth
 User adoption of new store
systems
 Visibility
 Heterogeneous systems
 Systems management
 Compliance
Beyond Polling….
iAnywhere Frontline
Management Software
….Beyond Polling
Frontline Systems Management
Manager’s
station and
laptop
Win32 POS
PDAs
Wireless
manager
Line busting
M2M/RFID
Employees’ kiosk
RemoteWare
RemoteWare
Process Automation
+
Heterogeneous Systems
+
Bandwidth Optimization
+
Scalability
+
Support
=
RemoteWare
Process Automation
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File and Folder Movement
Extensive Logic
System and User Variables
File and Folder Commands on server and client
File, Folder and Disk size
Reboot Command
Registry Commands
Execute programs on server and client
Interactive Session
Remote Control – Windows clients
Process Automation
 Powerful & Flexible Scheduler
 Inbound / Outbound
 Dependent Sessions
 Process-Only Sessions
 Retries & Alternative Resource
 Session Recovery
 Extensive Logging and Reporting
 Integration via ECF, API and command line
Heterogeneous Systems
 Windows
• XP, 2000 pro & server, 2003 server, NT, 98
 DOS
 Linux
 Unix
• AT&T, AIX, SCO, HP-UX
 IBM OS/2
 VMS
• VAX, Alpha, Intel
 IBM 4690
Bandwidth Optimization
 Compression
 Checkpoint Restart
 Differencing: File and Byte Level
 Offline Processing
 Segmented file delivery
 Flexible packet/window sizes
 TCP/IP and Async
 What client OS’ in the stores do you support today?
 What is your network connection to the stores?
Scalability
Total
Licenses
% Total
Licenses
Largest
Install
391,034
83%
8,610
US Govt Agency
2%
OS/2
29,675
6%
27,500
Retail Marketing
93%
SCO UNIX
13,092
3%
2,565
Hardware Store
20%
DOS IP
10,050
2%
10,050
Department Store
100%
OpenVMS
9,653
2%
8,303
Video Store
86%
DOS
6,373
1%
2,737
Video Store
43%
IBM 4690 POS
4,440
1%
2,325
Grocery Store
52%
Linux
3,194
1%
1,956
Consumer Goods
61%
HP-UX
1,006
0%
980
Bank
97%
950
0%
707
Grocery Store
74%
61
0%
30
Grocery Store
49%
469,528
100%
Client Types
Windows
AIX UNIX
AT&T UNIX
Total Licensed Clients
Largest Customer
% 0f
Type
Support
 800+ Customers
 Operating
• 469,528 RW Basic clients
• Plus 524,857 RW Client
Products
• On 1,309 RW Servers
• 193 Clusters
• 1,034 Portables
 In 37 countries
• 58% in NA
• 38% in EMEA
Overview of Product Support Team
 2 Office Locations for RemoteWare Technical Support
 Alpharetta, GA – Supports all geographies but EMEA
 Maidenhead, UK – Supports EMEA
 We may expand RemoteWare support to other
worldwide support locations in the future.
Product Support Metrics
 2005 Support Case Metrics*
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Total Cases - > 5000 cases per year
Same day closure rate – 42%
Next day closure rate – 64%
Closed < 7days – 93%
Closed < 30 days – 97%
Cases closed with KB article – 64%
Average days to close – < 7 days
 * Includes Afaria and RemoteWare cases; does not include cases escalated to engineering.
Supported Versions of RemoteWare
Product
Version
Status
RemoteWare
4.2
Active
RemoteWare
4.1
Active
RemoteWare
4.0
Limited
(Planned Archive Date: next release of RemoteWare)
CONNECT: Remote
3.31
Limited
(Planned Archive Date: next release of RemoteWare)
CONNECT: Remote
3.3
Archived
CONNECT: Remote
3.2
Archived
RemoteWare for OS/2
2.51
Limited
(Planned Archive Date: March 31, 2007)
Support
Years of RemoteWare Experience in the current team:
 Product Support = 60 years
 Quality Assurance = 25 years
 Development = 47 years
 Product Management = 7 years
 In the customer base:
 Average of all 800 Customers = 8 years
 Largest 25 Customers = 11 years average
 Largest 100 Customers = 10 years average
RemoteWare
Manager’s
station and
laptop
Win32 POS
Wireless
manager
Employees’ kiosk
Case Studies
Beyond Polling…..
 Can you install a patch to an application in all 600 store
locations -- tonight?
 Key application data has become corrupted on a store
system. Do you have backups? How quickly can you
restore data?
 Will you have the latest virus signatures on your store
systems in time to detect a deadly virus?
 You’re ready to upgrade a store application. Do you know
how much hard disk space remains on each system? What
other software is installed and running?
 How quickly can you integrate the 50 new stores from the
company you just acquired?
Discussion Questions
 What do you use RemoteWare for?
 How do you manage your store systems today?
 Do you use any RemoteWare add on products?
 What products should we consider adding?
 What role do mobile and handhelds play and how are
those devices managed and secured?
Additional Functionality for Retail Systems
 RemoteWare (W32)
• Multicast
• Inventory Manager
• Software Manager
• Remote Control
• Workshop
• Subscriber
• Remote Control
• OneTouch
 Afaria (W32, HH, Java)
• Inventory Manager
• Software Manager
• Patch Manager (W32)
• Session Manager
• Security Manager
• Configuration Manager (HH)
• Backup Manager
• Document Manager
• Remote Control
• OneTouch
RemoteWare Products for Windows
Total
Licenses
% Win32
Client
Licenses
Largest
Install
296,255
76%
8,610
Software Manager License
85,133
22%
11,300
Inventory Manager License
74,053
19%
Workshop License
27,690
Subscriber License
Multicast Client License
Client Products
Remote Control Client License
One Touch
Total Add On Clients
Largest
Customer
%
Type
US Govt Agency
3%
Clothing Store
13%
8,180
Department Store
11%
7%
2,000
QSR
7%
25,840
7%
2,000
QSR
8%
13,050
3%
3,400
Clothing Store
26%
2,836
1%
2,755
Retail Marketing
97%
524,857
RemoteWare 4.3
RemoteWare 4.3 CD Release
New Remote Control option - NetOp v9 from Danware
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Smaller footprint
Faster
Centralized Windows and AD authentication
IP address filtering
4 levels of encryption
Easier deployment with NetOp Transform Editor
No reboot required for installation
Text, Audio and Video Chat
Host “Request for Help” feature
Monitor Mode – cycle through selected Hosts
Available to all current RW Remote Control customers
RemoteWare 4.3 CD Release
New architecture for scheduler data
 Currently, all active sessions stored in indexed flat file
 Issues:
• Limit of 16,000 active sessions
• File contention for high volume Gig network customers
 Solution: session data in SQL Server tables
• 4.3 will keep 16,000 session limit to minimize risk
• Improved stability
RemoteWare 4.3 CD Release
Enhanced control over SQL Server administration
 SQL Administration Tab
• Change SQL Server user name and password
• Change database / server
– Logging data
– Schedule data
RemoteWare 4.3 CD Release
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Add support for MS SQL Server 2005
Drop SQL 7 support
Includes RemoteWare 4.2 hotfixes
Target release late Q3 2006
Beyond 4.3
Beyond 4.3
Core Principles: Stability – Performance – Relevance
 Update client certification – WePOS, Lunix, Unix
 Update Subscriber, Workshop, Inventory Manager
 Improve AD admin support
 Update compiler & UI
 Improve stability and scalability
 Expand workobject capability
• User data table, Inventory data, embedded VB scripts
 Workstation / Remote Desktop Support
 Sybase database support
 Linux Remote Control, Express Send and Byte Level Difference
 Check file version number or MD5-type hash
 Product Enhancement Request (PER)
Beyond 4.3
 What other functionality would you like to see in
RemoteWare?
 Is your company interested in WePOS or other OS’ for
POS?
RemoteWare Customer Communications
 RemoteWare Customer Meetings
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Columbus – March
UK – May
Atlanta – May
West Coast – June
Dallas – June
NY/NJ – tbd
4.3 Release - September
 RW Customer Advisory Council
 Sybase TechWave
Current Support Website
 Search the knowledgebase
 Case management
 Download product updates
 Download product and technical documentation
 Subscribe to monthly Support newsletters
 Support contact info and holiday schedule
 Supported versions
 Register for customer meetings
Future RemoteWare Forum
 Discussion Groups
 Mailing lists
 Download early adopter software
 Share workobjects, ECFs, API’s, utilities, programs,
tools, documents
Beyond polling….
Maximizing RemoteWare
Functionality
Ellis Zsoldos / Dan Antonio
Professional Services, Sybase iAnywhere
[email protected]
[email protected]
Monday August 7, 2006
2:45 – 4:15 pm
Energy Management and
Environmental Monitoring &
Control for Retail & Hospitality
Chad Cheek
Manager of Business of Development, Stratapult
[email protected]
Monday August 7, 2006
4:30 – 5:30 pm
The Enterprise’s Reliance on the Frontlines
 Over the years, we’ve learned that Retailers, Restaurant
and C-Store Chains need to:
• Collect and Aggregate Data Centrally
(POS, Time & Attendance, Inventory)
• Gain Remote Visibility and Achieve Remote Control
(Customer Satisfaction, Compliance, Energy Consumption, Pricing)
• Collect, Correlate and Automate Operational Data Across “Silos”
(Stock Levels, Sales w/ Customer Counts, POS w/ Security)
• Make Data “Actionable”
(Liberate managers and stakeholders, build actions around key business rules)
• RESPOND!
(Notify, Acknowledge, Automate, Remediate)
Stratapult’s RemoteReliefSM Services
Hosted and Support
Solutions
Management & Security
Mobility Applications
• Client environment
management
• Remote Systems
Management Consulting
• Sales Force Automation
applications
• Hosting of hardware and
software
• Device security and
encryption solutions
• Route sales and distribution
solutions
• 24x7 support and
maintenance
• Software installations and
upgrades
• Web content and applications
• Tiered support services
based on client need
• Enterprise system integration
• Disaster recovery services
• Strategic planning and
training
• Mobile subscription services
• Device security solutions
Solutions to Sync the Frontline with the Enterprise
Retail, C-Store and Chain Restaurant Challenges
 Sky Rocketing Energy Costs
 Highly Competitive Market
 Inefficient/Archaic Energy Management Practices
 Ineffective Reporting and Analysis
 No “Big Picture” Story at Corporate Level
 Lack of Data Integration from Remote Locations to HQ
Energy Management Solution - Background
 Targeted Problem:
• Rising energy costs for high energy-use restaurant/retail chains
• Lack of visibility to energy consumption in stores
• Local personnel cannot always be relied on to optimize energy use
• HACCP compliance (FDA’s Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point
requirements to maintain lifecycle audit trails of food temperatures)
 Current Alternatives:
• Old-line building automation vendors like Honeywell provide energy
consumption monitoring ($$$)
• Utility company programs for remote management of energy
consumption in return for reduced charges
• M2M start-ups (machine-to-machine) deliver solutions that leverage
wired or wireless IP connectivity and proprietary hardware
Energy Management Solution
 Solution Overview:
• Remote monitoring solutions built on RFID Anywhere to manage
food storage and cooking temperatures, and energy consumption at
restaurant/retail sites
• Middleware linking in-store sensors and controllers to backend
alerting and management consoles
• Business rules engine to automate alerts and actions
• Record log of temperatures to satisfy food safety reporting
requirements
• Fully extensible to a broad range of monitoring scenarios including
indoor and outdoor lighting, thermostats, security equipment, building
and storage doors, etc.
Energy Management Solution
 Key Differentiators:
• Incorporates open standards for interfaces and communications
making the system easy to scale and integrate with other
technologies
• Near zero-footprint client installation perfect for remote management
in chains
• Easy extension to additional data management and control
equipment such as RFID, barcode, programmable logic controllers,
etc.
Leveraging domain expertise in retail solutions, we
seamlessly aggregate remote data to drive business
VALUE ACROSS THE ENTERPRISE
Sample Solution Diagram
Chain Restaurant Layout
Head Quarters
Retail Store/Restaurant
Walk-In Freezer
Counter
Central Mgmt
Console
<<<<Business rules and commands
Temperature data & other data points >>>>
Audit DB
Prep
Area
Reach In
Coolers
Refrigerated
Units
Customer
Area
Light Switch
LED Alert Display
Store
Office
Thermostat
Wireless Temperature transmitter
...Freezer Temp 36o... Check Door…
Receiving Unit
Wireless Data Transmission
Wired Data Transmission
RFID Anywhere Key Features
 Distributed architecture
 Abstraction of hardware, protocols, data
 RFID Simulator Application allows load and content
testing without hardware investment
 Supports disparate device types
(readers/printers/PLCs/Sensors/Actuators/etc…)
 Real-time alerting and recovery from Power/Connectivity
Loss and other exception conditions
 Centralized management
• Zero tech activity at the site
 Enterprise-class security
 Ease of use
Leverages and Extends Industry Standards
• Web Services interfaces support n-tier integration with applications,
databases and middleware
– Ability to notify registered clients via different protocols
(e.g. HTTP, TCP/IP, RPC, SOAP, etc...)
• Serialized Binary Transmission of transactional data shared across peer
connections
through .Net Remoting interfaces
– Critical for scaled implementations - Faster than XML
• Leverages standards defined by the EPC Global organization
– Also supports non-EPC ISO & proprietary tags
• CIM-based Management Interface for dynamic management of entire
device population/logic layer - allows device additions and profile
alterations on-the-fly without stopping applications and other devices
• CIM Provider allows seamless integration with existing device
management
infrastructures such as OpenView, Tivoli, Afaria, Unicenter, etc …
• LDAP Directory Integration controls device, tag and data access rights
• Remote Web Administration
RFID Anywhere Architecture
Business Rule Management Console
Solution Architecture
PRESENTATION LAYER
End User Access Presentation
Probe
Business Logic/
Rules Engine
PROCESS
LAYER
Readings, Logs
MESSAGE LAYER
PERSISTENCE
LAYER
Alert
Device - Network Services
MIDDLEWARE
(RFID ANYWHERE)
Notify
Manage
Device Connectors
Temp
Monitor
Door
Alarm
RFID
Reader
RFID
Printer
Other
Devices
PHYSICAL SENSORS
AND CONTROLLERS
Temperature/Device Management
Active & Passive Reader/Tags/Standards
Point 6, Opto 22
EPC X, ISO 15693 , ISO 18000-6, 802.11x
Enterprise Management Portal
Message and Alerts Processing and Routing
Dashboard Analytics
Business
Dashboards
Alerts and
Notifications
Integration
!
•Messaging
•Web
Services
•RDBMS
•HL7, EDI
•ERP, CRM
•Adapters
Connectivity
Real-time
Event
Management
Solution Lifecycle
Project Lifecycle
Energy
Usage
Survey &
Feasibility
Study
• Site Evaluation
• ID Candidate Energy
Saving Areas
• Quantify Potential
Savings
•
•
•
•
•
•
Key
Process
Design &
Technical
Architecture
Scope
Definition
Problem statements
High level flow
Existing data
Tagging candidates
Read areas
Security
•
•
•
•
•
•
EM Architecture
Sensor Read testing
Reporting/Analytics
Archival
Performance
Sizing
Projects:
Processes
Integration
Rules
Alerts
•
•
•
•
Detailed use cases
Specific alerts
Specific notifications
Integration needs
In Conclusion
 Flexible, Open Architecture Solution That Provides
• Hard dollar energy cost savings
• Enhanced monitoring and remote management capabilities
• Improved enterprise-level business intelligence and analytics
Enhancing your
Frontline Management Solutions
Dan Antonio / Ellis Zsoldos
Professional Services, Sybase iAnywhere
[email protected]
[email protected]
Tuesday August 8, 2006
8:00 – 10:00 am
Frontline Management Products - Afaria
Afaria
• Architected for IP based connections
• Ideal for mobile environments & end-point management
• Handles many different client types
• Flexible client based scheduling
• Used to secure the device and data flowing to and from the device
• Web-based management
Frontline Management Products - RemoteWare
RemoteWare
• Suited for more traditional polling model
• Ideal for fixed-site remote environments (i.e. Retail)
• Built in support for dial-up environments
• Supports legacy environments (DOS, UNIX, 4690)
• Used in Sales-Force automation to collect mission critical data on a
daily basis
Frontline Management Products
Summary of RW vs. Afaria
• RemoteWare is a polling engine with some systems management
functionality, where as Afaria is stronger as a systems
management tool
Most popular RemoteWare extensions
 RemoteWare Solution Packs:
• Patch Manager for RemoteWare
• Cluster Manager for RemoteWare
 Other Custom RemoteWare Solutions:
• Job Scheduler
– This solution is designed to work around the RemoteWare scheduler limit for
scheduled sessions. It takes an external data store (database, etc) of
scheduled sessions and feeds them to the RemoteWare Cluster in smaller
chunks.
• Scan Files
– Scans directories on server to see if there are any to send to client. If there files
to send, then a session is triggered.
• Custom Reporting and Data Analysis
– Custom reports can be generated to help analyze the effectiveness and
efficency of the RemoteWare cluster. (SQL Reporting Services, Crystal
Reports, etc)
Most popular RemoteWare extensions
 Patch Manager for RemoteWare
• Benefits
– Uses Microsoft technology to centralize patch management and
distribution throughout your organization.
– Patches only have to be downloaded once. (Not once per client as
Windows update will do.)
– Allows tracking of patch installations through the familiar RemoteWare
environment.
– Client does not require an internet connection
– Client only requires intermittent connection to RemoteWare Server
Most popular RemoteWare extensions
 Patch Manager for RemoteWare
• Example Usage Scenario
– Define Profiles (Who, What & How Patches should be handled)
Test Environment
Production Environment
– Scan Production Clients to find what patches are missing from general
client population
– Download & Assign new (unapproved) patches to Test Profile
– Apply Profile (RemoteWare Session & Work Objects) to Test Clients
Scan Clients for missing patches
Deliver missing patches to client
Install delivered patches
Reboot (as necessary)
– View/Verify Results
– Approve Patches
– Assign new (approved) patches to Production Profile
– Apply Profile to Production Clients
– View/Verify Results
Most popular RemoteWare extensions
Components
• Patch Management Server
• RemoteWare Server
• RemoteWare Client
Demo of
Patch Manager for
RemoteWare
Most popular RemoteWare extensions
 RemoteWare Cluster Manager
• Was authored to provide near 100% uptime in the event of any
type of failure.
• Allows uptime to persist even through system upgrades or hotfix
applications.
 Enhancements afforded by Cluster Manager
• Web-based interface makes RemoteWare more accessible to use.
• Allows greater remote-administration without using PC Anywhere
or similar tools (No 10 Workstation Limit)
• Allows for greater scalability of RemoteWare system by making
multiple clusters more manageable.
Most popular RemoteWare extensions
Overview
Cluster Manager
Demo
Most popular Afaria extensions
 Afaria Solution Packs:
• Xpress (Handheld Device Provisioning) for Afaria
• Multicast Server for Afaria
• ECF Server for Afaria
 Other Custom Afaria Solutions:
• Content Management for Afaria
• Custom Reporting and Data Analysis
• Tools & Utilities:
–
–
–
–
–
Server Manager / Server Statistics
WiFi Utility
InfoWindow
ShowMessage
SyncDir
Most popular Afaria extensions
 Xpress (Handheld Device Provisioning)
• Supports PPC, WM, WM5, Win32
• Scripting Tool
–
–
–
–
Install Software
Update Registry Entries
Configure WiFi Settings
Connect to Afaria Server
• Typical use case:
– Autorun on Storage Card runs Xpress Script
Installs Afaria client
Configures Network
Associate the device with the correct user
Starts Afaria connection
– Afaria Channels used to restore device / user data
Xpress Demo
Most popular Afaria extensions
 Multicast Server for Afaria
• Allows system administrators to distribute files to a large number of
Afaria Clients with a single communication session from the Server
• Multicast transmissions:
– provide highly scalable, highly reliable one-to-many data multicasting
over multicast-enabled networks
– dramatically reduce bandwidth requirements for data broadcast
transmission
– improve network efficiency
– optimize real-time data delivery through data stream recovery
– support both terrestrial or satellite environments
– support any data type
Demo of Afaria Multicast
Most popular Afaria extensions
 ECF Server for Afaria
• Similar to ECF Server that comes with RemoteWare
• Allows the administrator to trigger events within Afaria through the
use of ECF files
– ECF files are text based instruction files which are dropped in a folder,
then automatically processed.
• Types supported:
– Worklist ECF
– Client Group ECF
– Outbound Notification ECF
Most popular Afaria extensions
 Content Management (not released yet)
• Similar to document manager but does NOT require Channel
Viewer.
• Separates Content Manager from Afaria Administrator
• Ability to expire content
• Ability to target content by Groups
Most popular Afaria extensions
 Content Mgmt Overview
Most popular Afaria extensions
 Custom Reporting and Data Analysis
• Custom reports can be generated to help analyze the
effectiveness and efficiency of the Afaria Server and/or
Farm.
• SQL Reporting Services, Crystal Reports, etc.
Most popular Afaria extensions
 WiFiUtil
• Sets WiFi connection information on PPC devices.
• Can be part of your provisioning process.
• DEMO of WiFiUtil (Channel)
Most popular Afaria extensions
 InfoWindow
• Pop-up box to present information to user.
• Does not require Channel Viewer to present information.
• Can be shown or removed within the Session Manager script.
• DEMO of InfoWindow
Most popular Afaria extensions
 ShowMessage
• Shows a popup message on a PPC device
• DEMO of ShowMessage
Most popular Afaria extensions
 SyncDir
• Provides synchronization functionality between the Afaria
server and the client.
• Deleted files and directories are also synchronized.
• DEMO of SyncDir
What do YOU need?
RemoteWare
Disaster Recovery
Dan Antonio / Ellis Zsoldos
Professional Services, Sybase iAnywhere
[email protected]
[email protected]
Tuesday August 8, 2006
10:30 – 12:00 pm
Why disaster recovery is so important
 Critical
• For many customers RemoteWare is a critical part of their
infrastructure.
• 99% of all RemoteWare customers consider RemoteWare a
mission critical application.
 RemoteWare supports other critical applications
• If other applications rely on RemoteWare to transport data or to
execute processes and RemoteWare fails then these other
applications also fail if the RemoteWare server goes down.
 RemoteWare is inherently reliable
• Some RemoteWare systems run for years without failure.
• What happens if hardware fails?
• What happens if an OS upgrade fails?
Recovery: Preparing for the challenge
 It’s not a question of “if”, but rather of “when” !
• Prepare for the unexpected.
• System failures don’t happen at the most convenient times.
• Be prepared!
 Using GENALL
• GENALL can create ECF files that can re-generate your
RemoteWare system.
• Critical tool to run on a regular basis.
• GENALL ECFs can be used to restore your system in short order
• GENALL can be run as a scheduled process for automated
backups.
Recovery: Preparing for the challenge
 Best practices
• Keep multiple-generations of GENALL ECF files.
• Keep an off-site backup. (Regardless of how many boxes or drives
you replicate your data to.)
• Backup your SQL database.
• DOCUMENT your system. (UserIDs, PWs, etc.)
 TEST your restore process
• How do you know if your backup is good?
• How do you know your restore procedure is good?
• The time to find out is BEFORE you need to know.
• Be sure that the restore procedure is documented.
Restoration of your RemoteWare system
 Restore your SQL DB (if needed)
 Reinstall your RemoteWare server
• Apply any hotfixes that you had in your previous RemoteWare
system.
• Previous hotfix installations are documented in the RW registry.
 Restore any other data files
 Copy your GENALL created ECF files files into \[RWSDATA]\ECF.
• Allow time for the ECF server to process the files.
• Restart your RemoteWare service.
 Restart the RemoteWare server
Drawbacks to this approach
 Time spent offline …
• While this method works extremely well and has saved the day in
many RemoteWare shops it is not without it’s drawbacks.
• Downtime is required while you restore your system. This can be
costly in terms of time and productivity.
• A typical system may take several hours to do a GENALL-based
restoration.
What if there were a better way?
RemoteWare Cluster Manager
 RemoteWare Cluster Manager
• Was authored to provide near 100% uptime in the event of any
type of failure.
• Allows uptime to persist even through system upgrades or hotfix
applications.
 Enhancements afforded by Cluster Manager
• Web-based interface makes RemoteWare more accessible to use.
• Allows greater remote-administration without using PC Anywhere
or similar tools (No 10 Workstation Limit)
• Allows for greater scalability of RemoteWare system by making
multiple clusters more manageable.
• Allows view of network and cluster status from a web-browser
RemoteWare Cluster Manager
Overview
RemoteWare Cluster Manager
 Benefits
• A cluster can be taken down and not lose system availability.
• Allows for near 100% uptime during maintenance cycles
• For most functions can replace workstation.
• Master data is in the SQL database.
Cluster Manager
DEMO