ERP Best Practices

 

matherton's picture

Best Practice ERP – Don't settle for piecemeal

Why are we doing this?

Why do we implement ERP?  Ask several different companies and you will get a variety of answers.  The one answer I hear most often, indeed a common refrain from those who are most successful is: “To integrate all facets of our business on a single application platform.”  This makes sense especially when you consider that the 'E' in ERP is Enterprise.

Now, let's ask a different question:  What is the one thing you would do differently?  Again there are a variety of answers but one that is often high on the list and that usually comes from those who struggle after they completed their implementation is: “Avoid a piecemeal implementation.” Read more »

pclark's picture

PostgreSQL Kung-Fu: Migrating between major versions.

Has this happened to you?  You're called in to sandbox the newest version of xTuple for a customer.  "Piece of cake" you think to yourself, "I'll buzz in and buzz out, 30 minutes tops".

"ERROR: syntax error at or near "(" at character 578"

Arrrrgh!  We'll you try again, maybe even open up the update package and poke around looking for a syntax erorr.  "I know this worked on my laptop when I tried it at home..."  Deep breath, keep your cool... We all know that the 10 minute jobs are the ones that end up taking days and years off of our lives.  Read more »

ptyler's picture

Keeping track of version numbers

With the advent of xTuple's new extension architecture, it's easier than ever for software developers to write custom add-ons to the core PostBooks product. This also means system administrators may now find themselves managing multiple applications in addition to their xTuple ERP--each having a slightly different version number than the next. To help everyone keep track of which version goes with which, we've created the xTuple compatibility matrix. We hope you'll visit this page (particularly during the upgrade process). And if you're a third-party developer, we hope you'll add your own application to the growing list.

Publishing the version matrix at this stage was a timely move, as anyone upgrading to the 3.4.0 Release Candidate will need to consult the chart for important update information. Read more »

Source Installing Postgresql on RedHat, Ubuntu and OSX

While xTuple does publish a full Installer which provides PostgreSQL, the preferred method for implementing a production PostgreSQL server is to build PostgreSQL from source. Using the Linux distribution provided packages (apt, yum, rpm, etc) has the potential to introduce incompatibilities and curtail the migration options. The easiest way to support the customer is to keep things simple - and building PostgreSQL from source is simple.

cryan's picture

PostgreSQL: Backing up your data

Backups can be one of the most critical aspects of administering any database, and PostgreSQL is no exception. While the PostgreSQL database is very versatile and resilient, problems can happen. A power failure could occur at worst moment corrupting the database or the hard-drive could fail. You could also have problems with users, authorized or unauthorized, changing or destroying data, we hope by accident, but sometimes malicious people can do bad things when presented the opportunity.

The list really could be limitless, but if you're following ERP Best Practices, then you know the best way to protect yourself is to make regular backups of your database. The depth of the situation you want to safeguard against can dictate your requirements for how often, when, where you store your backups. The first thing is make regular backups. The second is to store them in a safe place. If you are storing your backups on the same server you run your database on it's possible you could lose your database and your backups if the drive fails. Read more »

ptyler's picture

Use your sandbox

We all know what a sandbox is. It's that thing in the backyard our kids play in. The open patch of sand with the plastic shovels and buckets sitting on the surface--and who knows what else buried underneath.

In the world of PostgreSQL database applications and Open Source ERP Software we also have sandboxes. And while they may not be made of sand, they do serve a similar purpose....

The sandbox in our world is a database backup where you can experiment and make mistakes. To follow ERP Best Practices, we recommend that you use a sandbox to play with new things, basically, before you implement them in production. Read more »

 

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