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Updating the Program

Updates of MONITOR should be installed on the database server. Log on to the server with an account that has administrative rights. You must for example have complete user rights to the Monwin directory and all its subdirectories on the server to perform this.

Please Note! It is very important that you have a current backup copy of the database and program files, as mentioned under point 2 and 3 below, so that you can quickly restore the database/databases and the entire program, if necessary. E.g. a server crash or a power failure (without power backup) during an on-going update would probably corrupt the database.

You should primarily follow the installation instruction which you have received along with the update since new specific actions might have been added for a certain update. Below you will find a description of the different steps that you in general have to perform when updating the program.

Block for Logon in MONITOR before Update

There is a function you can use to prevent that users try to start MONITOR during an on-going update. Before the update you can open the Logged-on Users procedure in the Global Settings module and click on the button Activate block for new logons. In the Closedwindow that opens when you click the button you can determine if the block should apply for all companies or only the company which you are currently in. You can also enter an optional information text.

Function to block logon attempts for the users in MONITOR.

The information text will then be displayed as a Closedmessage to the user who attempts to start MONITOR.

Message saying that logon in MONITOR is blocked.

After the update is finished you have to remove the block. This is done by clicking on the same button again in the Logged-on Users procedure.

Update of Server

  1. Make sure that no user is running MONITOR at this time. This is most easily seen in the Logged-on Users procedure in the Global Settings module. From that procedure you can also disconnect logged-on users. Please Note! No user can be running MONITOR when you start an update!
  2. Then activate the block for logon so that the users cannot logon to MONITOR during an on-going update (see above).
  3. Start MONITOR Backup from the program group MONITOR ERP System under the Start menu on the database server. Then start the existing backup work item of the database/databases manually, by right-clicking on the work item and selecting Run. Read more about MONITOR Backup in the Database Copying in MONITOR section, under the Security heading. To run a backup of a database that is approximately 1 GB takes about one minute.
  4. Recommendation: When the MONITOR Backup is completed, we recommend that you copy the Monwin directory including all its sub-directories, except for the sub-directories called Db* and Dbbackup*, to another location. It is always good to have a backup copy of all program files on hand when you are going to update the system.
  5. If an Agent server is run on the database server it must be shut down (before the update is started).
  6. If you have received the update on a CD it is now time to place it in the CD-ROM. If you received the update via FTP you should select the file path to the update directory instead of to the CD-ROM unit in the next step. If you have downloaded the update from MONITOR Update you should select to run the self-extracting .exe file. Then go ahead to item 8.
  7. Select Run… on the Start menu and find the setup.exe file on the CD.
  8. Follow the instructions on your screen and the special installation instruction you received along with the update. The program will first update the Sybase SQL Anywhere database manager, if needed. After that MONITOR's program files and databases will be updated.
  9. Restart the computer.
  10. Start MONITOR from the database server, and you can for example start by reading the Newsletter. If you chose to skip the form generation during the installation you will now be prompted to do it.
  11. If an Agent Server was run on the database server, it must be re-registered.
  12. Remove the block for logon that you activated under item 2.
  13. If an update of the clients is required then it should be performed now. Once this is completed, you can allow users to start running the system.

* The subdirectories Db and Dbbackup should not be included in the copy because that it is under DB that the database/databases that are running are located. These databases are locked by the database server service. In the Dbbackup there is already a backup copy of the databases that was created by the MONITOR Backup.

Update of Client

In certain cases the users have to make a new client installation of MONITOR. This most often is the case when a newer version of the database manager has been added. If so, a message regarding this is displayed on the client computers when MONITOR is started. You are required to have administrator rights in order to perform the client installation.

The update of clients can also be administered centrally by distributing ("rolling out") the installation to the client computers in the network via a group policy object (GPO) in the Active Directory (AD). The installation packages should be added under "Computer Configuration" in a GPO in the AD. Larger companies are known to use special deployment systems in order to make installations. Examples of such systems are Microsoft System Center, Landesk Manager Suite, Altiris Deployment Solution, etc. Find out more about this in the installation instructions that accompany the update.

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