The Database (DB) Maintenance Scheduler is where you establish a schedule time frame for the system to perform various functions. It makes sense to establish the parameters you desire here after first installing [i] Merchant, and then simply letting the system perform the duties designated here on the schedule you have defined.
To access the DB Maintenance Scheduler program:
From the Main Menu, select Tools-Administration-Database Maintenance-DB Maintenance Scheduler. The DB Maintenance Scheduler window pops up.
The top of the window is where you will select a Backup directory and a Report directory for the tasks you will define in the lower portion of the window.
Choose a Backup directory by clicking on the Browse button to the right of the "Backup" field. We recommend that your backup directory be housed on an external storage device, which can be moved out of the building.
Choose a Report directory by clicking on the Browse button to the right of the "Report" field. We recommend choosing a Report directory on a machine other than your [i] Merchant server.
There are five maintenance procedures to be scheduled. They are located at the lower portion of the window . There is a "Days of Maintenance" column header, where you define the frequency (or day of the week) for the task in question to be run. We recommend setting each procedure to "Everyday". However, it is your call.
The "Backup Copy" field indicates how many files should be kept in the Backup directory. If set to 1, only one file will be stored. When the next file is created, it will replace the file that had been in the folder. If you choose 5, then up to five files will be stored in the Backup Directory at the same time. Set this value to whatever you desire.
The "Report Copy" field works identically to the "Backup Copy" field. The only difference is the Report Copy field pertains to the maximum number of files you want housed in the Report Directory at any one time for a given task (Type of Maintenance).
The five "Types of Maintenance" are as follows . . .
"Full Database Backup" backs up the entire [i] Merchant database.
"Log Backup" backs up the [i] Merchant log file.
"Check the Integrity of Database" checks to make sure that your [i] Merchant database is okay.
"Rebuild all Index" makes sure that all indexes are kept in order.
"Update Weekly and Monthly Information" is an End Of Day function that you can run via the EOD program, but it can be set to run automatically here. We highly recommend that you set this to run automatically every day, having the scheduler launch it just after midnight.
If you want or need to run the DB Maintenance Scheduler manually, simply click on the Run button at the right of the window. However, it would be better to set the program up to run automatically every day via the Microsoft Windows Scheduler application.