tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41546950361560415222023-11-15T09:51:15.738-08:00Degreeworks at UC IrvineDerrekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08654241021674959059noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4154695036156041522.post-88719907571468251142010-11-04T15:45:00.000-07:002010-11-04T16:07:14.343-07:00New Additions to the UCI Degreeworks Team<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uODu-AxP6cU/TNM8lP3VPzI/AAAAAAAAADc/Yc0R9AszBvc/s1600/nrp+045.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uODu-AxP6cU/TNM8lP3VPzI/AAAAAAAAADc/Yc0R9AszBvc/s320/nrp+045.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535834977579908914" border="0" /></a><br />Nancy Gasparotti has retired. She was a great worker and an awesome Degreeworks resource. We had an great Sock Hop themed retirement party. I am very happy for her because she is loving her new retirement life.<br /><br />She gave us plenty of warning of her retirement which helped us acquire and train new scribers. The new scribers are:<br /><br />Mark Fonseca, ifonseca@uci.edu<br /><br />and<br /><br />Jennifer Prescott, jprescot@uci.edu<br /><br />They have been very well trained by Nancy. Feel free to ask them scribe questions or drop them a line.<br /><br />DerrekDerrekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08654241021674959059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4154695036156041522.post-43097129533562913372010-05-24T10:48:00.000-07:002010-05-24T13:20:42.898-07:00One thing fast is better than many things slower.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uODu-AxP6cU/S_rJ4CxxE5I/AAAAAAAAADM/1Sphnj7zDWc/s1600/multitasking.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 286px; height: 317px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uODu-AxP6cU/S_rJ4CxxE5I/AAAAAAAAADM/1Sphnj7zDWc/s400/multitasking.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474910261677724562" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Yes, it been a while but I'm going to make up for it right now. Not only did we move our production account from 772 to 405 we switched CPU's we're now running on RedHat. Why? Money and performance, mostly for performance.<br /><br />Before:<br /><br />7.7.2<br />Sun V880 - 8 x 1.2 GHz<br />RAM - 16GB<br />Hosting: Database, webserver, DGW test and prod.<br />Performance: 15-20 second audits.<br /><br /><br />After:<br /><br />4.0.5<br /><br />2 x Dell T100 - Intel Quad 3.0 GHz<br />RAM - 4 GB<br />Hosting: Prod account only<br />Performance: 1-3 second audits.<br /><br />Yes, that is a HUGE jump. My final grade batches went form 3 days to less than one day.<br />I could run it faster but 405 has some DGWCPUCOUNT issues that prevent me from running<br />simultaneous batches. I've got a SR for it.<br /><br />The best part of this migrations is that my new Dell servers only cost me $1000 EACH!!<br /><br />What happened to the Sun T5220's? I was pretty disappointed. I was hoping to take advantage of it's award winning multi-threading but the problem was that Degreeworks is not a multi-threaded app. I tried EVERYTHING to make the T5220 to work for us. (that's why I hadn't posted in a while.) The ONLY advantage of the T5220 at 1.6 Ghz is that you can batch faster by setting the DGWCPUCOUNT to like 10 and have 10 batch jobs running at the same time.<br /><br />Listen closely now because this is a proven theory.<br /><br />CPU speed is the key to increasing performance.<br /><br />There. I said it. Yes, throw money at it but not a lot. Since DW is single threaded it will never take advantage of multi-threaded processors when it comes to dynamic web audits. So why have a server that does multi-threading at a slow speed (Sparc 1.6 GHz) when the app will never take advantage of it? So I bought a server that does one thread really really fast (Intel 3.0 GHz).<br /><br />*(Note: Sungard also recommends a processor with at 3.0 Ghz and higher)*<br /><br />I know about the WEB09M03 and, in my opinion, it does absolutly nothing. In fact, I think it makes things worst. It basically uses one thread and to jump between several requests. This is an old configuration which helped with managing cobol licenses in the old versions (772 and earlier).<br /><br />Those T5220's didn't go to waste. One is used as a primary database for Degreeworks and the other is used for our test environment.<br /><br />Note that separating the database from the app also made a huge difference. There is a lot of I/O going on. Now Oracle (a major resource hog) and DW don't have to compete for resources any more. This is one thing every site should do.<br /><br />This layout is perfect for us right now. I'm on the verge of releasing what-if to students because it's performing so well. We never could give it to the students because 20,000 students hitting what-if at a rate of 20-second audits on a single thread would give me nightmares.<br /><br />I could go on and on about this but this is enough to chew on for a while. More posts to come. I promise.Derrekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08654241021674959059noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4154695036156041522.post-24040467450669567502009-04-07T15:16:00.001-07:002009-04-07T15:47:26.867-07:00The only thing constant is change.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uODu-AxP6cU/SdvQzejeytI/AAAAAAAAADE/ZKncxszZAg8/s1600-h/changew.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 279px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uODu-AxP6cU/SdvQzejeytI/AAAAAAAAADE/ZKncxszZAg8/s400/changew.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322076967462161106" border="0" /></a><br />Sorry I haven't posted much in the last couple of weeks. I was a little swamped with DW4.0.1 fixing and debugging.<br /><br />DW4.02 is here and it is packed with new stuff. I consider it more of a mini release instead of a patch because it's got a lot of cool new things. I'm having minor issues with the installation package right now but I will give a full report soon which will include time line and adoption considerations.<br /><br />For standalone users: The BRIDGE has changed once again. (I think twice in just this release of DW4) RAD-DEGREE-DTL and RAD-SCHOOL-DTL has been phased out (although it is backwards compatible). The replacement is RAD-GOAL-DTL and RAD-GOALDATA-DTL. It allows for unlimited calling of major/minor/program blocks.<br /><br />I've only glanced at it and it a little confusing. I'll have to experiment.<br /><br />Stay tuned. I'll give my review soon.Derrekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08654241021674959059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4154695036156041522.post-26419766291563476702009-03-04T11:39:00.000-08:002009-03-04T11:59:33.389-08:00DW4.0.2 - On the way!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_uODu-AxP6cU/Sa7dYRKSq7I/AAAAAAAAAC8/tRVRRHwTXRQ/s1600-h/Plan-it.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 181px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_uODu-AxP6cU/Sa7dYRKSq7I/AAAAAAAAAC8/tRVRRHwTXRQ/s200/Plan-it.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309424419709561778" border="0" /></a>I just closed a Service Request and it mentioned that DW4.0.2 is going to be delivered at the end of the month. So start planning your upgrade implementation!!<br /><br />We notified SGE about a month ago that we wanted to move production in DW4.0.x in March and they have been very responsive to our needs. Most of our problems and defects have been answered.<br /><br />I have a lot of confidence that we will have some sort of mirrored production version of DW402 and 772 at the end of the month. That way our users can use both versions and ease into the DW40x. I did this setup a couple of years ago and it worked out fine.Derrekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08654241021674959059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4154695036156041522.post-84687481080518620372009-03-03T12:50:00.000-08:002009-03-04T12:01:25.912-08:00Database indexing<span style="font-weight: bold;">Problem:</span> Audits getting slower over time but nothing has changed.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Solution:</span> Re-index your database audit tables.<br /><br />At UCI, we use In-progress classes and update them on a daily basis. With 30,000 students in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">DW</span>, a lot of database records get changed, thus database indexing becomes overwhelming.<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">DW</span> and Oracle doesn't know when or how to <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">re index</span> the audit tables so it would be wise to add this to your quarterly maintenance. If I don't re index, our audits take twice as long to process.<br /><br />The tables - <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">dap</span>_audit_<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">dtl</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">dap</span>_<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">audtree</span>_<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">dtl</span><br /><br />The indexes - for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">dap</span>_audit_<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">dtl</span>: (via <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">xsql</span>, select index_name from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">dba</span>_ind_columns where table_name='<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">DAP</span>_AUDIT_<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">DTL</span>';)<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_uODu-AxP6cU/Sa2f-HPA5GI/AAAAAAAAACU/BCL6-2lz354/s1600-h/dap_aud_index.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 277px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_uODu-AxP6cU/Sa2f-HPA5GI/AAAAAAAAACU/BCL6-2lz354/s400/dap_aud_index.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309075425182409826" border="0" /></a></div><br />for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">dap</span>_<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">audtree</span>_<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">dtl</span>: (via <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">xsql</span>, select index_name from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">dba</span>_ind_columns where table_name='<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">DAP</span>_<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">AUDTREE</span>_<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">DTL</span>';)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uODu-AxP6cU/Sa2g1Df1RoI/AAAAAAAAACc/HvdMH8XEDaA/s1600-h/dap_audtree.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 233px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uODu-AxP6cU/Sa2g1Df1RoI/AAAAAAAAACc/HvdMH8XEDaA/s400/dap_audtree.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309076369072014978" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br />Two options in <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">re indexing</span>:<br /><br />A) Simply rebuild the index in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">xsql</span>:<br /><ol><li><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">login</span> to the account.</li><li><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">login</span> to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">xsql</span>.</li><li>type the rebuild index command for each of the indexes: "alter index <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">DAP</span>_AUDIT_<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">DTL</span>_A rebuild unrecoverable;"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_uODu-AxP6cU/Sa2jYN_sHWI/AAAAAAAAACk/H0UJk02U29s/s1600-h/index_command.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 73px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_uODu-AxP6cU/Sa2jYN_sHWI/AAAAAAAAACk/H0UJk02U29s/s400/index_command.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309079172208663906" border="0" /></a></li><li>Do this for each index. (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">DAP</span>_AUDIT_<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">DTL</span>_A, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">DAP</span>_AUDIT_<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">DTL</span>_B... etc.)</li></ol>B) Rebuild the index in a new <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33">tablespace</span> (recommended for very large <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34">FTE's</span>):<br /><ol><li>Same as above but add the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_35">tablespace</span> command: "alter index <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_36">DAP</span>_AUDIT_<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37">DTL</span>_A rebuild <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_38">tablespace</span> <new> (tablespace name) unrecoverable;"</new></li></ol>Option B recommended by Oracle <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_39">DBA</span> for very large tables because instead of using temp space to create the new indexes, it just builds them in the new <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_40">tablespace</span>. Plus this is a much faster process.<br /><br />Our I alternate between two <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_41">tablespaces</span> that are 6 GB large just for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_42">dap</span> audit indexes. Yes, that is very large. Our tablespaces just for audits are 20 GB.<br /><br />** Please consult with your IT staff at your site before experimenting with this. ***<br /></div></div>Derrekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08654241021674959059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4154695036156041522.post-58184075253102450362009-02-17T10:20:00.000-08:002009-02-17T10:59:21.548-08:00DW4.0.1 Testing (Update)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uODu-AxP6cU/SZsI5XPLuiI/AAAAAAAAAB0/ZbBZrvnPzCU/s1600-h/Smurfs_Color_Pictures_Stop_Sign_Smurf.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uODu-AxP6cU/SZsI5XPLuiI/AAAAAAAAAB0/ZbBZrvnPzCU/s200/Smurfs_Color_Pictures_Stop_Sign_Smurf.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303842767742155298" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Recommendation:</span> Wait til the release of DW4.0.2. Sungard didn't tell us when it would be released.<br /><br />In DW401, 2 out of 4 critical SR's went to defect. Here's how it went down:<br /><br />1) Program Block not being pulled in. - <span style="font-weight: bold;">Defect</span> - we got an updated dap32s.c. It works well. The SR states that the fix won't be delivered until 4.0.2. No date yet.<br /><br />2) Exceptions un-hooked - <span style="font-weight: bold;">Defect</span> - Major show stopper. I go into more details <a href="http://degreeworksatuci.blogspot.com/2009/02/exceptions-falling-with-772-to-dw401.html">here</a>. Sungard decided to modify the old 772 database entries with a sql script and continue with the new DW401 format. I don't know how they are going to deliver this. I just got the fix Friday. I assume it will be in 4.0.2.<br /><br />3) "Apply here" applies something else - head scratcher - We couldn't reproduce it.<br /><br />4) Custom Dtls - ucx table correction - Back in 772, we could be lazy and not specify element numbers. Now in DW401 you have to specify the element numbers. I put in R323 for the data element and R322 for the Edit Element 1. This is stated on page 81 on the DGW Technical Guide UCX.<br /><br />Again, we are all different clients. We're old clients moving from 772 to DW401. If you are a new client starting in DW401, these may not be issues.<br /><br />We have other Service Request open but are fairly minor. I'll post them if they make it to Defectville.Derrekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08654241021674959059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4154695036156041522.post-28789399518260956612009-02-10T10:34:00.000-08:002009-02-10T11:58:44.049-08:00Exceptions falling with 772 to DW401 migration.Our <a href="http://degreeworksatuci.blogspot.com/2009/01/dw401-testing.html">#2 show stopper</a> for going live with DW4.0.1 is showing to be a major problem. Identified and confirmed by us and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">DW</span> development, all exceptions will fall off if a site migrates from 7.7.2 to DW4.0.1.<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Explanation</span>:<br />The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">dap</span>_<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">exc</span>_buffer is database field that holds the course info that the exceptions is using. In 7.7.2 it looks like this:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uODu-AxP6cU/SZHN7U52DKI/AAAAAAAAABU/ZnxAFaTWXPg/s1600-h/e1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 299px; height: 67px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uODu-AxP6cU/SZHN7U52DKI/AAAAAAAAABU/ZnxAFaTWXPg/s320/e1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301244655499087010" border="0" /></a>After the database conversion step in the upgrade the field and data stays the same. But when you run a new audit, the auditor will read it starting two bytes off. It's now looking for, "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">OG</span> 13" as the discipline and "0" as the number. I confirmed this by entering a exception in the new DW4.0.1 account exactly like the previous one and queried the database table and compared:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uODu-AxP6cU/SZHOunr00gI/AAAAAAAAABk/1oJLlfXaqk4/s1600-h/e2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 305px; height: 82px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uODu-AxP6cU/SZHOunr00gI/AAAAAAAAABk/1oJLlfXaqk4/s320/e2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301245536713888258" border="0" /></a>Very different from before. A possible COBOL to C conversion problem.<br /><br />As of right now, we haven't received a solution or a way to proceed. Here's my guess solutions: 1)Change the database entry for ALL the 772 to read old entries. 2) Release a hot fix to go back to the way the buffer is made. 3) Write code to have the two different layouts be valid.<br /><br />I'll let you know if I get the fix before you do.Derrekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08654241021674959059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4154695036156041522.post-50945115943521970422009-02-02T11:02:00.000-08:002009-02-02T11:41:43.385-08:00Nancy: kerfuffle with wildcardI'm excited that <a href="http://degreeworksatuci.blogspot.com/2009/01/nancy.html">Nancy</a> would like to post stuff on this blog. I'll tag these with her name so that all the scribers can easily find her entries.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Kerfuffle with Wildcards</span> by Nancy<br /><br />When testing 4.0.1 (we are on 7.7.2 in production) I noticed that wildcards used in scribing course numbers were not behaving correctly. I filed a service request with my example. After some discussion of what should be happening, I was told to try changing a new flag in D20 DAP13. The new flag is named "Wildcard Character Match". The flag had been set to "0" as a default, meaning a wildcard matches 0 or more characters. A wildcard has always matched 1 or more characters.<br /><br />It seems to me that the default for a new flag should be the way the product has always behaved. A user wanting the new functionality should be the one to go in and set it.<br /><br />After I changed the flag to "1", the audits were OK. So, make sure this flag is set to 1 if a wildcard means 1 or more characters for your scribing.Derrekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08654241021674959059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4154695036156041522.post-50676246342479710112009-01-22T13:39:00.000-08:002009-02-02T11:11:53.936-08:00Sun versus Red Hat<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uODu-AxP6cU/SXjnzll2dwI/AAAAAAAAAA0/kOHuUtw_1DU/s1600-h/sunmicro.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 102px; height: 105px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uODu-AxP6cU/SXjnzll2dwI/AAAAAAAAAA0/kOHuUtw_1DU/s320/sunmicro.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294236235424233218" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">versus<br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uODu-AxP6cU/SXjoF-LJorI/AAAAAAAAABE/ty4pbivi-CI/s1600-h/rh.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 104px; height: 104px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uODu-AxP6cU/SXjoF-LJorI/AAAAAAAAABE/ty4pbivi-CI/s320/rh.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294236551260775090" border="0" /></a><br />7.72DW2.0 was the first release of Degreeworks with the Red Hat as an option. Before I bought my hardware I had the opportunity to test both environments. My Review:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Red Hat</span>:<br /><br />Pros: Cheaper. Much Faster CPU's (up to 3.0 Ghz), thus faster audits.<br />Cons: Limited to only Intel processors. NO AMD's! Less cores.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sun</span>:<br />Pros: Sun hardware allows for more core/multi-thread processing, thus more batches/simultaneous audits.<br />Cons: Expensive. Slower CPU's (1.0 - 1.66 GHz).<br /><br />That's basically what it boils down to. They both run DW exactly the same. Obviously the RH server ran the audit 2-3 times faster but only has a 4 core limitation. Sun processors go up to 8 cores.<br /><br />I tried to run a Sun server and a RH server connected to the same database account (hybrid server) and it didn't work because of steno. Eventually this will be a option once steno has been phased out of DW. 1-2 years?<br /><br />I chose the Sun because eventually we are going to need to run more batches for the Curriculum Planning Assistant. I will blog about this soon. It's has some costly needs.Derrekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08654241021674959059noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4154695036156041522.post-68148385230127571572009-01-21T14:58:00.000-08:002009-02-17T10:05:01.938-08:00DW4.0.1 TestingDW4.0.1's new interface is great. I love it. The fact that I don't have to use shpentry to customize the interface is GREAT! Shpentry drove me crazy to the point that I didn't customize any more and created my own interface all together. I've done some hacking and I've created a new shpkey which creates a new tab for UCI degree customizing.<br /><br />One of the best breakthrough with DW4.0.1 is the removal of Microfocus Cobol. No more license errors!!<br /><br />Another great break through for us older clients is Linux is now an option. I'll post an entry about my Solaris vs. Linux experience.<br /><br />BUT, we do have problems as of today. I remember at the DW symposium endorsing DW4.0.0 but today I wave a yellow caution flag. <a href="http://degreeworksatuci.blogspot.com/2009/01/nancy.html">Nancy</a> and I have identified and resolved some problems but we are currently working with major deal breakers. Of course, these may not affect other clients because we all use DW differently.<br /><br />1) The auditor isn't pulling PROGRAM blocks. It's identified as a defect and we are awaiting it's resolve.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uODu-AxP6cU/SXi-hx-YE3I/AAAAAAAAAAM/YIOXJUk_4x4/s1600-h/1-22-2009+10-17-52+AM.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 58px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uODu-AxP6cU/SXi-hx-YE3I/AAAAAAAAAAM/YIOXJUk_4x4/s320/1-22-2009+10-17-52+AM.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294190849533940594" border="0" /></a><br />2) Exceptions are un-hooked. Courses Disciplines names have been corrupted somewhere during the install and so the auditor drops these exceptions. Not good for move to production.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uODu-AxP6cU/SXjBXK3cHgI/AAAAAAAAAAU/bkgEo2zT_e8/s1600-h/1-22-2009+10-45-31+AM.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 54px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uODu-AxP6cU/SXjBXK3cHgI/AAAAAAAAAAU/bkgEo2zT_e8/s320/1-22-2009+10-45-31+AM.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294193965772054018" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">3) Apply Here Exceptions applies a different course than the original intended course.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uODu-AxP6cU/SXjBX4iRPOI/AAAAAAAAAAk/fMVEUIgP16M/s1600-h/1-22-2009+10-52-03+AM.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 26px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uODu-AxP6cU/SXjBX4iRPOI/AAAAAAAAAAk/fMVEUIgP16M/s320/1-22-2009+10-52-03+AM.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294193978031291618" border="0" /></a><br />Same student, previous audit.<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uODu-AxP6cU/SXjBXSjC5KI/AAAAAAAAAAc/zufmNEuszy8/s1600-h/1-22-2009+10-50-19+AM.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 30px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uODu-AxP6cU/SXjBXSjC5KI/AAAAAAAAAAc/zufmNEuszy8/s320/1-22-2009+10-50-19+AM.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294193967833998498" border="0" /></a><br />4) Custom Dtls not working. We have on average 8-10 custom-dtls per student and the auditor chooses to use only half of them. This screws up the layout of all the students. Weird.<br /><br /><br />Our next window to update our production account is in late March and we hope to these get resolved by then. We've reported all these and the response times from the help desk have been very good.Derrekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08654241021674959059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4154695036156041522.post-68393011473310014692009-01-21T12:49:00.000-08:002009-01-21T14:57:18.202-08:00NancyShe's the genius <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Scriber</span></span> and Audit Engine Expert. I honestly think the success of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">DW</span></span> at UCI is mainly because of her.<br /><br />Many of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">DW</span></span> community knows her but I just wanted to formally introduce her. She was very active in the past as the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">DW</span></span> module rep.<br /><br />She's made her mark on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">DW</span></span> in many ways. Especially in the way the audit engine works and some of the way scribe is created. Here is some of her influences on the product.:<br /><br />- Exceptions "With <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">DW</span></span>___"<br />- <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">StandAlone</span></span> Block<br />- Proxy Advice<br /><br />Lately she did a testing for the In-Progress Revision. (The biggest problem with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">DW</span></span>, in my opinion. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">IP</span> classes pushed completed courses out of a rule making the audit inaccurate.) I'm glad to report that it went well and we might see this resolved in the next patch.<br /><br />I hope for her to chime in on this blog from time to time.Derrekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08654241021674959059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4154695036156041522.post-69844288172889218332009-01-21T12:40:00.000-08:002009-01-21T14:57:44.422-08:00Patch DW4.0.1Easy. No complications. Just do it.<br /><br />I had one problem and submitted at Service Request for it and it was immediately resolved. Sungard didn't deliver a set of files.Derrekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08654241021674959059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4154695036156041522.post-43525963271573120042009-01-15T15:35:00.000-08:002009-02-02T11:12:30.190-08:00Installing 4.0.0Back in October, I was the first standalone client to upgrade from 7.7.2 account to DW4.0.0. (And the fastest.)<br /><br />The install is fairly painless. Since I was the first, I obviously ran into problems. But they were mostly from my end.<br /><br />If you properly read the doc all should go well. I am pretty satisfied with the process. The resulting software after the install is a different story. I'll post that later.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span>Only piece of advice:<br /><br />Copy the database schema to a new space. Use the default <span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">dwschema</span></span> for the name of the user/schema. It is recommended in the instructions but I think it's a must for two reasons: a) It cleans up the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">tablespaces</span> and indexes. b) It cuts out any problems during the conversion.<br /><br />I'm going to try the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">multiple</span>-entity site db setup soon. It was explained to me at the user conference and found many advantages from my prospective. I'm putting this one on the list to try out.<br /><br />If all goes well, one could install this in one day of work. I thought the database conversion would take the longest but it didn't. The database export/import to the new schema will take the longest depending how large the schema is. It took me about 3 hours to load the new schema from backup.<br /><br />Upgrade times:<br />New account: 30-40 minutes.<br />Existing account: <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">approximately</span> 2 hours.<br /><br />Not bad. Thumbs up to the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Sungard</span> Install Team.Derrekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08654241021674959059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4154695036156041522.post-54608856614582422282008-12-19T15:27:00.000-08:002009-01-23T12:30:26.325-08:00Hardware... a key to DW success.What we have:<br /><br />Two Sun <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Sparc</span> T5220 with 4 core threads.<br />4 GB of RAM<br />292 GB of Storage.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uODu-AxP6cU/SXooxzpqA4I/AAAAAAAAABM/0gohE5g2j7k/s1600-h/First+Load+220.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uODu-AxP6cU/SXooxzpqA4I/AAAAAAAAABM/0gohE5g2j7k/s320/First+Load+220.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294589148071068546" border="0" /></a><br />It's Sun's base model. This is sufficient for our needs and it fit our budget at the time of purchase.<br /><br />We named them sole and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">luna</span>, it's Italian for sun and moon. One server acts as the primary server and the other acts as an axillary server for student what-if processing and CPA batching.<br /><br />Our previous inadequate server was a Sun <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Sunfire</span> V880. It had served <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Degreeworks</span> for 8 years and wasn't good at all. We were only able to manage because I setup a queue so that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">DW</span> could run no more than 5 simultaneous audits. Any more than 6 audits at the same time would make the machine run like a turtle in molasses.<br /><br />Now many clients have been successful and happy with this server but I couldn't wait to take it out back and beat it with a Louisville Slugger.<br /><br />One reason why we weren't happy was the poor I/O bus speeds on the V880. We set up a software RAID (hardware RAID isn't available for this server) on the drives and writing takes up to many resources. Thus, a longer wait time.<br /><br />The other big problem that might be key for other institutions of similar size is the complexity of our scribing. Our requirements for GE is filled with group rules. For many small college clients, an audit will process in about less than 5 seconds. For us, it's about 15-20 seconds. This may not seem like a lot, especially for other sites with less than 8,000 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">FTE's</span>, but we have 28,000 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">FTE's</span>.<br /><br />On a side note, we're not the slowest audit. I think Boston University is running at 25-30 second audits for 30,000 students. They wrote programs similar to us to manage this issue.<br /><br />We had <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">DW</span> consultants look into our situation and they couldn't help us. We were stuck with this setup for about 8 years.<br /><br />Enough with our history. I know <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Sungard</span> never endorses a machine and gives you a hand out on what they recommend. I've given them permission for new clients similar in size and capacity to contact me to help them with their hardware decisions. This is what I send.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">My Suggestions for Hardware Purchase:<br /><br /></span>1) Faster CPU = faster audits<br /><br />2) More <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">CPU's</span> or threads = faster batches (from the V880 to T5220, a new grade processing goes from 48 hours to 6 hours.) This will be important if you plan to use the Curriculum Planning Assistant.<br /><br />3) More memory = More accounts. We only have room for Test and Prod, we like to get more resources for a Dev account. This basically has to deal with Oracle and the need to create a db instance for each account. If you host the DB on a different machine, you won't have this problem.<br /><br />Having more accounts is a definite recommendation. Especially for debugging <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">DW</span> updates. (And you will debug the new updates. I'll post details later.)<br /><br />4) Maximum hard drive space!!! You won't believe how much space the product takes. Although the product needs about 5-7GB of space, your database is going to be enormous. Our Prod account is roughly 50-60 GB. Yes, no joke. Half for just audits and the other half for the CPA warehouse. We have 28K students and growing.<br /><br />Retention is an issue but I've got a work around to store the audit "page", not the audit tree, in a separate DB table. This saves time and resources for batch auditing.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span>Good luck finding hardware!Derrekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08654241021674959059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4154695036156041522.post-59065818910257965452008-12-19T15:14:00.000-08:002008-12-19T15:27:27.796-08:00Hello.Hi Everyone,<br /><br />I'm a programmer at UC Irvine who works mainly on the Degreeworks project. In this space I'd like to document my journey and experience so that other clients, old and new, can benifit from my discoveries. I hope this will be of service.<br /><br />DerrekDerrekhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08654241021674959059noreply@blogger.com0