The Fourth Shift™ SQL Architecture     

SQL Server background

     Microsoft SQL Server is a Client/Server Relational Database Management System (RDBMS).Clients use a query language called TSQL to interact with server side database management system.A Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) is responsible for:

• Storing and making data available in tables
• Maintaining the relationships between tables in the database
• Ensuring the integrity of data by making certain that rules governing the data values and defining the relationships between tables are not violated
• Recovering all data to a point of known consistency in case of a system failure

Benefits of SQL database compared to Titanium databases:

• Open architecture
• Robust database management system
• Performance and Multiprocessor support
• Disaster recovery

SQL Components

Titanium Database System Architecture

     The Titanium database developed by MDBS Inc is the old database manager used by Fourth Shift™. The architecture incorporated 32 MRP files split between manufacturing and financials. The database came with a few dos based management tools, but was primarily a closed architecture. Each MRP file had a space restriction, which caused database storage space issues and the database engine was not very resilent with database corruption being relatively common

SQL Database System Architecture

The Microsoft SQL server is the preferred database solution for Fourth Shift™ providing many benefits including better data access, performance and resilence.

The Fourth Shift™ SQL Administrator Console

The Fourth Shift™ SQL Administrator Console accessible at Start menu-All Programs-Fourth Shift™ Tools enables you to:

• Start and stop Fourth Shift™ database services
• Configure Fourth Shift™ SQL database
• Create database users

SQL Transactions settings ( MR properties (right-click on MR))

• Implicit – this executes an insert, delete or update transaction as a separate transaction
• Explicit – this is a group of transactions which must start BEGIN TRANSACTION and end COMMIT TRANSACTION
• Transactions are generated from the 2 FS database services by converting the old MDBS instructions and utilising SQL stored procedures
• Don’t disable using implicit commit setting

Fourth Shift™ SQL Folder structure

      All system folder locations and internal system variables are found in the FS.CFG file which is the main configuration for the Fourth Shift™ system. Typically the Fourth Shift™ system can be located on a drive M: If M: drive is the designated drive for Fourth Shift™ you can locate the configuration file at M:\Mfgsys\FS.cfg

Root folder (typically M: drive)

Batch execution folder

Mfgsys folder

Mfgsys\I folder

FS_Apps folder

Getting Fourth Shift™ Help

Fourth Shift™ help in the product

Pressing F2 on any field gives more detailed information about that field

Pressing F3 on any screen gives full information about the entire screen

Fourth Shift™ Quick Reference help

The Quick reference accessible at Start Menu-All programs-Fourth Shift™ Tools-Fourth Shift™ Help is  useful aid for general help, batch execution tasks, reports and administration. Help sections include: 

• Overview
• Operations
• Interfaces
• Error Messages
• System Administration Manuals
• Online manuals library

Fourth Shift™ SQL Architecture advance topics

Microsoft SQL objects and the Fourth Shift™ database 

Managing Fourth Shift™ database size

Fourth Shift™ SQL database locking

Fourth Shift™ SQL database replication

Fourth Shift™ SQL performance monitoring and tuning  

Need help with any of these topics?

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