How often should you back up your data?

When it comes to protecting your data, one of the biggest questions you’ll have is how often should you back up your data? Unfortunately, there isn’t a clear cut answer as the truth is it varies from company to company. The answer to this question for your specific organization has a follow up of sub-questions such as what your legal, financial and regulatory requirements, and how much your company can afford to lose. Stuart Burns, virtualization expert in VMware, system integration, disaster recovery and systems management, shares an article on TechTarget on how to determine when your organization should do data backups. “Most organizations use a recovery point objective (RPO) to decide backup frequency, says Burns. “RPO dictates how close to the current point in time the company’s restored data should be after data restoration.” While there might not be a single answer to the question of how often should a company perform data backups, Burns points out, there is no doubt that it must be done on a regular basis. Options such as automation, differential and incremental backups, other data back up solutions, or hiring consultants to regularly back up and maintain your data are great options for your data back up strategy.

According to Burns, “Automation is a common go-to when increasing the number of backups, because it means that the process is no longer reliant on someone being available to start a backup. Automation removes these variables from the equation, but it’s critical to actually check the backup logs manually every day to ensure the correct items are being backed up and no failure or errors have occurred.”

If you can’t back up your data every day, this is where differential and incremental backups come in. “Differential backups start by copying all changes since the previous full backup. After the first differential backup operation, these types of backups continue to copy all data changed since the last full backup,” says Burns. “Incremental backups copy the files that have changed since the last backup of any type, not just full. For example, to restore on Thursday from a full backup from the previous weekend, the administrator would have to restore from the weekend and the Wednesday evening using a differential backup. Doing the same with an incremental backup scheme would mean restoring the weekend backup and then the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday backups to get the same result.”

If you don’t have the resources or have too much on your plate for these data backup projects, the other alternatives could be to have an automated software solution that backs up and archives your data regularly. Alternatively, you could also hire a consulting firm to conduct data archival back ups every few months or however often your company decides to run backups.No matter how often or what direction you take to run data backups, the key is regular date maintenance to ensure better data management and security.

 

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The Green IT Revolution

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Lawson Portal: Requestor does not exist error when logging in to Portal and selecting the shopping link for RQC

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At times your user may get the error “Requestor does not exist” when logging into Lawson Portal and selects the Shopping link for Requisition Center.

 

This is because a valid Requestor must exist in Manage Identities in the Lawson Security Administrator (LSA) application.  To verify this, follow these steps:

1)  Login to the LSA Application

2)  Select User Management

3)  Select Manage Identities and verify the correct Requestor is populated

4)  Upon entering RQC/Shopping and the User’s Profile in Shopping where you see the user’s Requester, if it’s not showing the correct Requester, have the user click on the “New” button in the bottom-right-hand corner of the screen.

 

Note:  After any changes are made in LSA, upon re-entering RQC XML, you need to go into the Utilities link (rqc/html/utility.htm) and click on the RQC IOS Cache Refresh button before accessing the Shopping link again in RQC.

Infor Nexus and LSQ Partner to Expand Supply Chain Finance Programs Across the Globe

Infor Nexus and LSQ, a leading provider of working capital finance and payments solutions, recently announced an agreement that provides the Infor Nexus network of suppliers access to early payments through an LSQ FastTrack® supply chain finance program. Vikas Shah, LSQ’s chief revenue officer, says of the agreement, “The agreement opens up a world of opportunity for global suppliers to seize the advantages of LSQ’s supply chain finance program and improve their working capital — all within a system they already use with their buyers. With this new partnership, we are removing the barriers created by inventory-in-transit, cross-border payments, and international procurement processes.” Per the press release, the partnership solution is currently implemented with international suppliers of United Legwear, an existing LSQ supply chain finance customer. The suppliers can access early payments from their Infor Nexus system with the push of a button. Several other buyers are in the early stages of integration to enable global suppliers to join the LSQ supply chain finance program. “Traditionally, international suppliers encumber their accounts receivable by factoring their invoices or standing up cumbersome lines of credits with their local banks,” said LSQ’s Shah. “All of that friction and paperwork is now eliminated with a seamless procurement, payments, and finance solution provided through a single, unified user experience.” Moreover, as part of the strategic partnership, LSQ, in addition to funding, is providing payments automation, credit management and a variety of financial insights to help buyers and suppliers manage their working capital.

 

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Error: ‘Access/Excel connection is no longer supported

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Description:

Error: ‘Access/Excel(DAO) connection is no longer supported…’

Report based on Excel, Access, or a Text file fail to refresh in Crystal Reports.

Could successfully refresh the report in previous version of Crystal Reports.

When refreshing a report connecting to MS Excel, or MS Access, or a Text file in Crystal Reports, it fails with the error:

 

“Failed to load database information.

“Details: Access/Excel(DAO) connection no longer supported,

use another alternative if possible, e.g. ODBC/JDBC.”

 

Followed by:  “Failed to load database information.”

 

 

Steps To Reproduce:

  1. In Crystal Reports 2016 or below, create a new report.
  2. In the Database Expert, under “Create New Connection” double click on “Access/Excel (DAO)”
  3. Select the MS Excel, or MS Access file to report from.
  4. Refresh the report, and it successfully display data.
  5. Save the report.
  6. In Crystal Reports 2020, open the same report, and refresh it.

It generates the error: “Failed to load database information. Details: Access/Excel(DAO) connection no longer supported,…”

 

Cause

  • The report connect to Excel, Access, or a Text file using Microsoft Data Access Objects (DAO), which used Microsoft JET Engine.
  • This 32bit only connectivity technology have been deprecated by Microsoft.
  • Previous versions of Crystal Reports were 32bit applications, and could still use the deprecated Microsoft DAO technology to connect to Excel, Access or a Text file, as a legacy connection type.
  • Crystal Reports 2020 is a 64bit application, and therefore it is no longer possible to connect to Excel, Access, or a Text file using DAO, since there is no 64bit version of this deprecated Microsoft Technology.

 

Resolution:

  • Use an ODBC connection to connect to one of the following data sources in Crystal Reports:
    • MS Excel
    • MS Access
    • Text file
  • For MS Excel, and MS Access, you can also use an OLEDB Connection.

 

To use an ODBC Connection:

  1. Launch the 64bit Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator. (C:\Windows\System32\odbcad32.exe)
  2. In the 64bit Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator, under the tab “System DSN”, click “Add…”
  3. Select the ODBC Driver corresponding to the type of document you want to report from:

– For MS Excel, select   : Microsoft Excel Driver (*.xls,*.xlsx,*.xlsm,*.xlsb)

– For MS Access, select : Microsoft Access Driver (*.mdb, *.accdb)

– For a Text file, select  : Microsoft Access Text Driver (*.txt, *.csv)

 

Note

If you do not see the ODBC Drivers, then it is either because you have a 32bit version of MS Office installed, or do not have a 64bit MS Office installed. To download and install the 64bit version of the Microsoft Office ODBC drivers, go to the Microsoft website, and search for: “Microsoft Access Database Engine”, then download and install the 64bit Microsoft Access Database Engine.

  1. Then click “Finish”
  2. Add an ODBC DSN Name and select the MS Excel, MS Access, or Text file you want to report from, and click “OK”
  3. In Crystal Reports, open your report based on MS Excel, MS Access or a Text file.
  4. Under the menu “Database”, select “Set Datasource Location”
  5. In the “Replace with” section, expand “Create New Connection”, and double click on “ODBC (RDO)”
  6. Select the ODBC DSN created in the previous steps to report from MS Excel, MS Access, or aText file.

Note: For MS Excel, if the Excel sheets are not visible, then:

  1. Right click on the “Connection”, and in the contextual menu, select “Options”
  2. In the “Options” window, check the option “System Tables”, and click “OK”
  3. Back to the “Database Expert” window, right click on the connection, and select “Refresh”
  4. The MS Excel sheets will now display. Select the desired MS Excel sheet.

 

  1. Once connected, in the section “Replace with”, select the new ODBC connection, and in the section “Current Data Source”, select the current connection, and click the button “Update”
  2. Once the connection is updated, click “Close”
  3. Back to the report, save the report.

 

To use an OLEDB connection

  1. In Crystal Reports, open your report based on MS Excel or MS Access.
  2. Under the menu “Database”, select “Set Datasource Location”
  3. In the “Replace with” section, expand “Create New Connection”, and double click on “OLE DB (ADO)”
  4. Select the Microsoft Office Access Database Engine Provider.

 

Note

If you do not see the OLEDB Provider, then it is either because you have a 32bit version of MS Office installed, or do not have MS Office installed. To download and install the 64bit version of the Microsoft Office ODBC driver and OLEDB Provider, go to the Microsoft website, and search for: “Microsoft Access Database Engine”

  1. Change the Office Database type to: Excel, or Access
  2. Select the MS Excel, or MS Access file.
  3. Leave the User ID and Password blank.
  4. Once connected, in the section “Replace with”, select the new OLEDB connection, and in the section “Current Data Source”, select the current connection, and click the button “Update”
  5. Once the connection is updated, click “Close”
  6. Back to the report, save the report.

5 network requirements for cloud computing

The emergence of cloud computing and Software as a Service (SaaS) architectures has without a doubt disrupted the entire IT industry. Now it has extended to networking. This is due to the convenience of being able to easily connect and access resources from anywhere in the world has encouraged companies to embrace this technological revolution. VerlaineMuhungu, Freelance Network Technician and IT specialist, shares an article on TechTarget laying out 5 network requirements for cloud computing. Muhungu explains as companies move to the cloud, they want to scale, attract customers and generate more profits. “But it’s not always easy for network engineers to tackle cloud strategies or work with cloud teams. Collaboration between networking and cloud teams helps companies meet their cloud expectations,” he says. Those teams should consider the following networking requirements for cloud computing:

  1. Bandwidth and latency optimization.
  2. Security.
  3. Network resilience and redundancy.
  4. Quality of service (QoS).
  5. Network automation and orchestration.

 

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Dine Without ERP Worries

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Dairy Digitizes Through the Infor Multi-Tenant Cloud

Infor recently announced that dairy processor Cremo SA has selected Infor CloudSuite Food & Beverage to optimize its processes and ensure product quality is always up to meet the highest standards. Per the press release, Cremo needed to meet customer requirements and guarantee the flow of information within the company, thus a secure and powerful IT infrastructure was required. The previously used enterprise resource planning (ERP) system no longer met the requirements in terms of process optimization and product quality. Infor CloudSuite Food & Beverage, specifically tailored to the needs of the food and beverage industry, provides unique capabilities for dairies. In addition, Infor’s public cloud strategy can help Cremo adopt best practices and capabilities that have proved itself at many food and beverage manufacturers and, more specifically, dairy processors. The solution also meets the industry’s expectations of innovation, traceability, regulatory requirements, margin pressure and transaction speed. The scalability and security of the multi-tenant industry cloud platform powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS) were further reasons that made Infor the right choice. Moreover, to ensure the success of this project, Cremo and Infor identified the relevant value drivers and held workshops with the process owners at Cremo to understand their way of working. This made it possible to evaluate the level of coverage of Infor CloudSuite Food & Beverage.

 

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Refresh user list in LID

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If you have added environment users in Lawson, and you are not seeing the new users in listusermap, there’s an easy fix for that.

You will need to run it with the command -a.  This will refresh the cache and show all users in NT order.

listusermap -a

 

If you would like to run other commands, here are some other tips for the listusermap usage:

-a – list all users,

-c – list from cache (Default),

-n – clean up cache,

-u – find user,

-p – find account,

-h – find historical user (NTxxxxxxxx),

-o – show historical user names in list,

-k – list archived user cache

El Florido Boosts Its Supply Chain with Infor WMS

Infor recently announced that El Florido supermarket chain has chosen Infor WMS (Warehouse Management System) solution to optimize its operating times throughout the supply chain. The solution will be implemented by Infor partner Cerca Technology. Per the press release, El Florido’s constant growth required a leading solution to digitize all processes for supply, demand planning, storage, and the delivery of orders. Infor WMS provides real-time information, helping El Florido measure processes and productivity accurately, centralize procedures, and provide greater flexibility in the planning and attention of orders from its customers. The implementation of Infor WMS is only the first step of the digital transformation to reach the performance and processes that are required and integrate a system that supports transportation management. Moreover, Alejandro Luna, country manager of Infor Mexico, explains, “Infor WMS will benefit the activities of the distribution centers of El Florido in an integral way. This solution combines warehouse assortment with integrated labor management and analytics to reduce complexity and enable optimized operational execution. Infor WMS is a state-of-the-art, best-in-class warehouse operations solution around the world, designed with ease of setup and intuitive use in mind.”

 

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