Download ProgressBook Suite Maintenance

ProgressBook Suite
Maintenance
SQL and Web Server strategies to combat the mob
activity of school systems
• Maintenance Plans and SQL Jobs
– Recommended
– Indexes and fragmentation
– Log table growth
• SQL Settings
– Log file growth
– Shrinking databases
– TempDB files
• ProgressBook Suite logging
• Config File Settings
– Connection string application names
– Debug and logging settings
– 64 Bit applications
• Windows Updates
Maintenance Plans and SQL Jobs
Why?
How?
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• Database
integrity/consistency checks
• Rebuild/reorganize indexes
• Database backups
• Error Log cleanup
Dynamic data
Data corruption
Disk allocation fluctuation
Unused logging
Maintenance Plan
Options
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Custom Maintenance Jobs
• Manual setup through scripts
• SQL server agent
• https://ola.hallengren.com/
Maintenance Task Wizard
• Easy to use
• Not very customizable
Consistency/Integrity Checks
• Checks to make sure each object is
where SQL says it should be allocated
• Checks to make sure each piece of
data is the data type that SQL says it
should be
• Resource intensive on large databases
like StudentInformation
• Physical only
– Allows for quick, resource light
execution
– At the cost of detailed check (skips
indexes and more)
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Recommendations: Run an integrity
check once a week at night for
StudentInformation and GradeBook.
Additional: Nightly with Physical_Only for
StudentInformation
On Error:
– Backup recovery
– Drop/recreate bad tables, if possible
– Repair command
Rebuild and Reorganize Indexes
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Check fragmentation often using Physical
Statistics Report.
– Right Click >> Reports >> Standard
Reports >> Index Physical Statistics
Report
Rebuild fragmented indexes during
emergencies using the rebuild command.
– Right click index >> Rebuild
• Reorganize fragmented index during
heavy usage, if necessary
• Lightweight
• Can be done online all the time
• Right click index >> Reorganize
Rebuild and Reorganize indexes
(Continued)
• Recommendations:
• StudentInformation
– Rebuild on weekends
– Reorganize nightly
• GradeBook
– Rebuild on weekends
Log Table Cleanup
• Software Answers creates large
logging tables
• Ongoing problem checks
• Must create SQL Job
• Recommended:
– Pb_master: Truncate Elmah_Errors
table nightly
– CentralAdmin: Delete security
audits older than 30 days
• Stored procedure is set up in
CentralAdmin
• Dbo.DeleteOldSecurityAudits
– StudentInformation: Delete log
table values older than 30 days
Backups
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Stores a copy of your database
Full
– All the data
– Stores snapshot at the time of the backup execution
– Also used to recover pieces of data that may have been
mistakenly removed
Differential
– Cumulatively adds the changed data to a current full
backup after a specified amount of time
Transactional
– Backs up transaction logs
– Can restore to a specific point
– Resource intensive
Recommended:
– All databases: nightly full backups
– Keep databases for a week
– Sufficient for the size and activity of Software Answers’
products
– Simple recovery set on databases
Maintenance Task Option
• Maintenance plan easiest
to first create through the
wizard
– Once done, you can edit the
task
– Set properties after wizard
• Can also run scripts
through a maintenance
task
Shrinking Databases
• Used to release large quantities
of freed disk space
• Pros:
– Regain disk space from allocated
• Cons:
– Reallocation (auto-growth) of new
disk space during uptime can
cause poor performance
– Growth can cause fragmentation
• Recommendations
– Only shrink after very large log
table truncation/deletion when
trying to free up disk space
– Set Database/Log autogrowth to:
• StudentInformation: 2GB, Unlimited
• GradeBook: 500 MB, Unlimited
Adding TempDB Files
• Recommended:
– 1 TempDB file per logical CPU
– All SQL server instances
• Helps complete I/O faster
through having multiple
channels
• Improves performance
Logging For
ProgressBook
Applications
Where to look for particular application errors
•
ELMAH: ParentAccess and Virtual
Classroom
Elmah errors
– Error logging modules and
handlers
• Accessed 2 ways
– Log table
pb_master.dbo.ELMAH_Error
– Page in ParentAccess
• …/elmah
• Report of latest ELMAH errors
• Errors on page reflect table
• User column provided to narrow
results to particular parent
Log4Net_Log: Gradebook & PublishService
• File and DataBase table
• Level adjusted in config file
– ALL or INFO – For gathering
every action
– ERROR – Errors and ratal errors
• Applications
– GradeBook
– Report Card Publish Service
– ParentAccess Events
• Provides less descriptive results than
elmah
SpecialServices Errorlog
• SPS writes to pb_district.dbo.ErrorLog table on each error page
• Contains a studentID and UserId column to search from scope of
error
StudentInformation and Vendorlink
• Log Table
– VendorLink calls
– DataMap errors also
• Symptoms to look in Log table
– Failed VendorLink calls
– 500 Errors
• Emailed DASL Exceptions
– These are not logged in database
Central Security Audit
• CentralAdmin.Audit.Security
• Audits every user login/logout
• Easy access to prove malicious
logins of particular users
• Provides application and security
actions handled for the user
– Sign in/out
– Locked account
– Password reset
Config Recommendations
• StudentInformation
– Debug = False
• Adjusted in 15.0
• ConnectionStrings
– Rename Application Name value
to proper app name
• GradeBook
• ParentAccess
• Log4Net logging
– Set to “Error” unless problem
arises
– GradeBook
– ParentAccess
– Report Card Publish Service
Other Recommendations
• Software Answers tests on the latest
Microsoft Updates.
– Recommended:
• Keep Windows and SQL server updated
• Recommended: Change
application pool to 64 bit–except for
GradeBook
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StudentInformation
ParentAccess
CentralAdmin
SpecialServices