Syncing, best practice?

Still with MobileMe, I'm about to move everything over (iMac, MacBook 10.7.2 and iPhone iOS5) to iCloud.
I've always found the multiplicity of ways to sync (Wi-Fi, or via iTunes, or push, or via iSync etc!)… from the MobileMe site, in each app) confusing.
Does the apparent association of data with the MobileMe account still apply?
Is there a site, link, PDF or other doc which lays out clearly what the new iCloud best practice is to keep only iCal and Contacts (Apple Address Book) in perfect synch (no delays, no duplicates, no fuss), please?
TIA!

Mark Sealey wrote:
1) What's the differece bwteeen http://www.me.com/migrate and http://www.icloud.com/move?
Should be the same. For some MM users the first works, for others the second.
It simply moves Mobile Me data over to icloud and changes the Mail Server settings.
I never migrated, because I never used MM. I am just a new icloud user , so no need for these facilities. You can also opt in to simply create a new account, from the iOS5 setup wizard. Apple doesn't seem to care how many accounts one creates in icloud. But useable is of course only one at a time, better : one per "up to 5 devices".
2) Yes, iCloud is ruled system-wide, not on a per-app setting for OS X.
    But I currently have 'Documents' checked in my iCloud System Preference (without yet having set up iCloud) .     If I uncheck it on my iMac (without having yet set up iCloud), I get a warning,
                        'If you turn off Documents & Data, all documents stored in iCloud will be removed from                                this Mac'!
    Really? :-(
Can safely be ignored on OS X - nothing gets deleted, because nothing is to delete. As I said already no single app makes use of "documents and data" in OS X currently, only selected apps in iOS5 ( and there , in iOS5 the warning is not to be ignored, as it really does delete all documents ).
3) iTunes 10.5 supports Wifi Sync, must be enabled in iTunes' settings. Whenever the device is on Wifi, and there     is something to sync with iTunes, it will do.
   This is the same as traditional USB-cable-sync ( which is at all times also available ) .
But I should not synch this way, should I? I should not let iTunes do it, should I?
Icloud sync per se has nothing to do with iTunes sync. These are two facilities for two very different reasons : icloud will sync adresses,bookmarks, iCloud Mail but for example not your private ( non-store-purchased ) movies or music.
In other words : you use iTunes only to sync to the device what iCloud wont do. iTunes-syncs will not affect the iCloud and vice versa - basically the two don't know about each other.
I can't tell you if you "should" use it. I do, because I want my music on my iPod, I also sync garageband and iMovie projects from and to it. All this icloud doesn't for me.
So the old (MM) way with calendars associated with mobileme accounts is gone?
I don't know what MobileMe did different . iCloud calendar syncs your local OSX iCal entries to the cloud and thus also to the iOS5 devices. All google/hotmail/yahoo entries will not sync to the cloud, only "Mac" local calendar.
You need to be aware that iCloud is not MobileMe but a new product. You wont have a "idisk" to store files in icloud , you wont have Galleries to share pictures online and also no iWeb hosting space. It's really all about syncing. The only "storage" if one can even call it so, is for the mobile iwork apps that they can store office files in the icloud. From a Mac one can then up- and download via iCloud's web-interface at www.icloud.com.
And that option exists only because OSX apps wont sync / mirror your changes you did to a document on pages for iOS5, for example. You must always download to Mac, edit there, upload again , edit on iOS, sync to icloud, download on Mac again ... it is very clumsy as it is now. Most people thought Apple would have made the "document and data" thing available also in OSX ( like you were wondering about your 100GB space .. ) , but they did not. Maybe a future version of iwork will access this, but right now no.

Similar Messages

Ibook to desktop syncing best practices

trying to keep my ibook in sync with my g5 desktop. Client projects in addition to the entourage data files, etc.. I've come across numerous scenarios and recommendations. Anyone with any best practice suggestions, ie: software, syncing scenarios, automation, etc., would be greatly appreciated.

Hello Hugh
The settings that you are looking for are in Itunes. you can choose to sync only unlistened podcasts.
If you go to the podcast section in itunes, there is a filed that says keep and you can choose from the following options:
All episodes
All unplayed episodes
Most Recent episode
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Contact Sync Best Practices?

I've been asked by a friend to help sync his contacts with Outlook 2010. He currently uses a Gmail account which connects over the air with his iPhone 4 using ActiveSync (mail + contacts + calendar) and he wants to see the contacts on Outlook. I plan to setup the email account in IMAP mode.
My past experience with synchronizing stuff with Outlook has been absolutely disastrous. Only Exchange equals trouble-free in my book. I consider iCloud because I assume that enough QA effort went into it and hope to be pleasantly surprised. But if the consensus is that it is not ready for prime time please let me know...
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I gather the answer to question #1 is by all means disable Google Sync before you set up iCloud.
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Best Practice Question: Portal Sync Rules

Hi,
Is there any benefit in combining Inbound and Outbound Flows in a single Sync Rule?
Or does it not matter if Inbound flows have their own Sync Rule and Outbound flows have their own Sync Rules?
Does either option generate more/less EREs/DREs?
Is either option better for performance reasons?
look forward to your comments, thank you
sk

1:
Only the OSR's create EREs, so if you have 4 outbound 3 inbound (assuming a user gets all 4 outbound SR's) the user should have 4 EREs. If the rules were combined into 3 outbound/inbound and 1 outbound, the user still gets 4 EREs.
2:
If my source was AD, I would create a new MV attribute called inAD. Then import a constant "true" from the target, AD for example. Then from my source, HR for example, ill flow in a constant "false". Lastly update the MV attribute precedence for the
inAD attribute to be AD then HR. From there i'd create a custom attribute in the portal so I can use the flag for set criteria.
This might be a long winded way of getting it done, but say you have 10k users in AD and used DRE's. It means 10k more objects in the MV and in the portal.
Disclaimer: Not saying this is best practice, it's just what I do :)

Syncing App IDs across servers -- Best Practice?

This is prompted by a comment chrisstephens made in the thread at non-existent applications in non-existent workspaces reserving app id's
Our developers are convinced that the application id's between our dev + staging
+ production environments need to be synchronized.Our team also keeps our dev, test, and prod server app IDs synchronized -- for instance, the Widget Reporting App is always app # 38 on all three servers. For us, it's not something we see as REQUIRED, but it is convenient, and a general sanity check. If the numbers didn't sync, it seems it would be all too easy to get values mixed up and accidentally field an app to the wrong place (possibly overwriting some other application).
What is the community's opinions on this? Would you consider this an Apex Best Practice? Just a habit for some groups? Or overly rigid thinking?
(I personally fall in the Best Practice group.)

One good reason to keep them the same is so that there are no differences between what is tested in one environment and what is deployed in another. Case in point, just last week someone demonstrated that an application's authentication scheme failed when the application ID was changed from xxx to xxxxxxxxx (a longer string of digits). Of course this was due to a previously unknown bug, but that's what testing should reveal.
Another good reason is to make it possible to export application components (pages, etc.) from one database (say, dev) and install them into an application in another database (say, prod). This is not possible if the application IDs are different.
Scott

IPhone Best Practices - A Work In Progress

Hello all. I've been tasked with introducing my coworkers into the inner workings of the iPhone, and there are a good number of pointers that I find myself saying over and over again. I'd like to share my best practices with everyone, as well as collect more pointers and opinions from the community at large.
Care and Handling:
First - wash your hands, often. Now I know we all do this often anyway, but I'd like to point out that a healthy amount of hand washing will really go a long way to keep your iPhone screen smudge free. The worst offender, unfortunately, is doughnuts. A small layer of sugar will render that area un-tappable, without any real indication that it has done so. If you are frantically tapping the screen on the iPod button and nothing is happening, clean your phone before you do a hard reset.
Second - Pockets. Keeping your phone in your front pocket is natural and what most of us do. In these summer months, however, keeping your phone in a sweaty front pocket can do a good deal to the dirt level of the screen. If you find yourself cleaning your phone constantly, try a belt clip.
Lastly - Battery Life. Your iPhone's battery life is in your hands, literally. Being aware of your power consumption and planning accordingly is going to be infinitely more important that the battery's native charge-holding ability. This goes especially for the day of purchase - as tempting as it may be to open the box and activate, immediately running around the house watching YouTube, it is best to let the phone charge for 12 hours before use. Charging the phone every night is an absolute must, skipping a day will kill the battery life as your ride the bottom edge the following day. Most of us have access to a USB port while we're at work, best idea will be to plug in your phone when you sit down at your desk.
iPod:
Large Libraries: In the opening weekend, I got many complaints that you cannot manually manage your music. There is a workaround that has made me change the way I work with all of my iPods: the iPhone specific playlist. Simply create a playlist with all of the music you wish to put on your phone and sync that one playlist. This also helps with sync time - you have a start sync and an end sync, not a constant sync all throughout your music management, slowing your computer down in the process.
TV Shows: I watch a lot of MST3K, which I have organized into iTunes as TV shows, split into seasons, the works. The problem that has arisen, therefore, is the one of selective synchronization - you cannot specifically select the TV show you want to sync to the device, instead getting the choices to sync all, unwatched, or latest shows. This is problematic when each show is 700MB large. Here's the work around - select all of the episodes of a specific show and right click, selecting "Mark as Not New", removing all of the little blue dots from the episodes. Select the one, three, or five episodes, and right click them, selecting "Mark as New", then sync the last one, three, or five unwatched episodes. The shows you selected will sync.
iPhoto:
Many users are complaining that iPhoto opens whenever the phone is connected. This is not a preference of the phone, but rather iPhoto. Remember when you first launched iPhoto and it asked you if you wanted to use iPhoto whenever your camera was attached? iPhoto is detecting that your phone is a camera and launching, just as you told it to do.
Mail:
POP accounts - too many unread messages: When first adding a POP account, all of the messages downloaded to the phone arrive as unread. Tapping a message, tapping back, and then tapping the next message can get tedious. Here's the workaround - tap the small down arrow to the upper right hand side of the screen, watching closely to the number next to Inbox. When that number goes down by one, tap the arrow again. If that number hasn't gone down yet, wait a sec, and do not try to tap tap tap tap tap, you'll flood the input queue and crash Mail.
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This message has not been downloaded from the server: This message has snagged a couple users, but upon investigation, these users have filled their iPhones to the absolute brim with music and video. It hasn't been downloaded from the server because there is no space to download to - this also applies to the Camera application dumping to the Home screen. Because there is no space, it can't add any new data. Make some room, then be patient as the mail client gets to that message in cleanup (often a sync or reboot will clear it up).
Safari:
Safari and iPod: Many users have reported iPod stopping in the middle of browsing, often pouting and pursing their lips crying, "This is terrible, I can't even browse the web and listen to music at the same time?". I then check their phone, and lo and behold they have upwards of eight separate pages open at the same time. This device (like every other computer out there) has a finite amount of memory, each page taking up a significant portion depending on how busy the page is. I've routinely gotten through entire albums while browsing through Safari, but I've got one page open in total, and it's usually mostly text. Keep it to one or two pages open and iPod will run forever if you let it.
Web Apps: "This web app is terrible, it keeps booting me to Home!" When was your last reboot? How many other pages are open? In the same vein as Safari and iPod, Web Apps need a good deal of breathing room - give it to them. Close down other pages, stop iPod, or even reboot. Give the app a clean slate and it will perform, every time. iPhoneRemote users will attest to this.
iCal:
Multiple Calendars - Default Calendar: When adding a new appointment, it adds to the default calendar. Appointments can't be shunted to the correct calendar until after sync anyway, so create an "iPhone" calendar and make that the default. Because it's in that calendar, you'll know enough to move it to the appropriate calendar after sync.
Please feel free to add your own best practices, and ask questions, too.

is there any application you can get for the iphone to enlarge text and phone numbers ?
If included with an email or on a website, yes with no application needed.
If you are referring to the text size for your iPhone's contact list, no.
can you insert a phone number from your contact list into a text message ?
No.
i cant seem to figure it out, does the alarm clock work if you turn off the phone at night,
No - powered off with the iPhone means powered off. Any phone that provides for this is not powered off - it is in deep sleep or deep standby mode, which the iPhone does not support. If you don't want your phone ringing or don't want to receive SMS at night but you want to use the iPhone's alarm feature as a wake-up alarm, you can turn on Airplane Mode before going to bed, which will also conserve the battery if your iPhone is not plugged in at night.
can you send a multi media text message ?
No.

2nd Mac - best practices using iPhoto on both?

Hi -
I just got a new MacBook and have an iMac that is still the "hub" of my photo library. It is, in fact, about a 180 GB iPhoto library. I know that I can't sync libraries between Macs (a shame - someone should come up with a way to that assuming they haven't already!) so I'm just looking for any best practices?
I got the MacBook to be able to work on some photos while on the road - I can at least work on post processing in Photoshop, etc. I'm thinking now that my best strategy is to possibly work with the images on my MacBook, importing them into the iPhoto library if desired. Then use my Photo sharing service - Phanfare - to "sync" them? It requires me to download them on the other side and pull them again into the iPhoto Library on the iMac?
I don't use the Mobile Me Gallery but I suppose that would be another way to have access to them on the alternate computer?
Any other best practices or suggestions?
Thx!

So, if there are times when I'm not home to access my external drive, then going with the two libraries is the best solution, yes?
Perhaps, but you can get very small and portable external HDs these days.
I'm not sure though if I should really make both a 180 GB iPhoto library, do you? It is a back up true, but seems like a chunk to move
But you only do it once. The first time. Thereafter you're simply updating the other with the changes.
At least maybe I could split into pictures from 2009 - 2010 and have that library for both my iMac and the MacBook. I very rarely access before then (only if I need something specific) so then I could access that via the iMac exclusively?
That would be viable.
I would maintain a +full Library+ on the Desktop, the mobile versions a Smaller subset.
I'm sort of ruling out the one library on the external solution because it eliminates the possibility of being remote -
As I said above you can get tiny portable drives...
unless there is some swanky Login to My Computer or something that works with a Mac that can go remotely to my computer and then to my external drive.
*_This_* might help.
Regards
TD

Best practices for managing Movies (iPhoto, iMovie) to IPhone

I am looking for some basic recommendations best practices on managing the syncing of movies to my iPhone. Most of my movies either come from a digital camcorder into iMovie or from a digital Camera into iPhone.
Issues:
1. If I do an export or a share from iPhoto, iMovie, or QuickTime, what formats should I select. I've seem 3gp, mv4.
2. When I add a movie to iTunes, where is it stored. I've seen some folder locations like iMovie Sharing/iTunes. Can I copy them directly there or should I always add to library in iTunes?
3. If I want to get a DVD I own into a format for the iPhone, how might I do that?
Any other recommedations on best practices are welcome.
Thanks
mek

1. If you type "iphone" or "ipod" into the help feature in imovie it will tell you how.
"If you want to download and view one of your iMovie projects to your iPod or iPhone, you first need to send it to iTunes. When you send your project to iTunes, iMovie allows you to create one or more movies of different sizes, depending on the size of the original media that’s in your project. The medium-sized movie is best for viewing on your iPod or iPhone."
2. Mine appear under "movies" which is where imovie put them automatically.
3. If you mean movies purchased on DVD, then copying them is illegal and cannot be discussed here.
From the terms of use of this forum:
"Keep within the Law
No material may be submitted that is intended to promote or commit an illegal act.
Do not submit software or descriptions of processes that break or otherwise ‘work around’ digital rights management software or hardware. This includes conversations about ‘ripping’ DVDs or working around FairPlay software used on the iTunes Store."

Best Practices for Passwords

Is there a "Best Practices" guide on setting passwords for HandHelds?
When we create accounts for users, we can either do it one at a time via
ConsoleOne or bulkload, and we usually put in the same temporary
first-time password. This gets them into their PC, portal, etc.
How would this work for HandHelds? I'd like to do the same thing. Who
has done this, what does it take to do, and what do you recommend?
Thanks!

Jason Doering wrote:
> JimmyV wrote:
>> Thanks Jason.
>>
>> I had hoped to get more feedback from people.
>>
>> Can I implement Password policies on a Handheld just as I can for a PC?
>> Complexity, length, etc?
>>
>
> Have a look at screen shots in the documentation:
> BlackBerry Security Policy:
>
http://www.novell.com/documentation/...9.html#ajla0a2
> Palm Security Policy:
>
http://www.novell.com/documentation/...9.html#ah36cbk
> PocketPC Security Policy:
>
http://www.novell.com/documentation/...9.html#ah36cc6
>
> As stated before, I have my Palm and PocketPC settings to use the
> eDirectory password. This way, it inherits whatever requirements I have
> set for that, and so far my users have preferred this to a separate
> password for their device.
>
> The first time a user syncs a device, it prompts them to enter the
> eDirectory password. If a password already exists on the device, the
> user gets prompted to enter the existing device password and then the
> eDirectory password. In either case, the device password then gets set
> to the eDirectory password. When the eDirectory password gets changed,
> the user will need to enter the old device password and the new
> eDirectory password.
>
Having done the both IP only version and the regular desktop sync I can tell
you that the user administration is probably not similar enough to what you
have been used to with desktops. Most handhelds (of any kind) are not
capable of multiple profiles (multi-user) on the device. So the catch is a
single user and single profile of that user on a handheld is going to have
the device access (NOT THE PROFILE) password set to the eDir password. If
another user were to need to login to the device and the eDir controls are
in place then the device access (power on password) would change to that
user. The profile would not change nor would the devices relationship with
anything it sync's with.
Sorry - long answer and late. This is not a very active forum.

[SOLVED]xpra + winswitch - best practice due to /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/*

Running xpra causes some headaches.
The application builds fine and installs just perfectly, the troubles comes from the default Xorg configuration is no longer stored in /etc/X11/xorg.conf, it's now stored and read from numerous files under /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/ where just so happen to be my 5-nvidia.conf.
Starting xpra via:
xpra start :100
Causes:
X.Org X Server 1.14.3
Release Date: 2013-09-12
X Protocol Version 11, Revision 0
Build Operating System: Linux 3.11.0-1-ARCH x86_64
Current Operating System: Linux archie 3.11.2-1-ARCH #1 SMP PREEMPT Fri Sep 27 07:35:36 CEST 2013 x86_64
Kernel command line: root=/dev/sda1 rw initrd=../initramfs-linux.img BOOT_IMAGE=../vmlinuz-linux
Build Date: 13 September 2013 01:28:59PM
Current version of pixman: 0.30.2
Before reporting problems, check http://wiki.x.org
to make sure that you have the latest version.
Markers: (--) probed, (**) from config file, (==) default setting,
(++) from command line, (!!) notice, (II) informational,
(WW) warning, (EE) error, (NI) not implemented, (??) unknown.
(++) Log file: "/home/torxed/.xpra/Xorg.:100.log", Time: Thu Oct 3 19:56:30 2013
(++) Using config file: "/etc/xpra/xorg.conf"
(==) Using config directory: "/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d"
setversion 1.4 failed
Initializing built-in extension Generic Event Extension
Initializing built-in extension SHAPE
Initializing built-in extension MIT-SHM
Initializing built-in extension XInputExtension
Initializing built-in extension XTEST
Initializing built-in extension BIG-REQUESTS
Initializing built-in extension SYNC
Initializing built-in extension XKEYBOARD
Initializing built-in extension XC-MISC
Initializing built-in extension SECURITY
Initializing built-in extension XINERAMA
Initializing built-in extension XFIXES
Initializing built-in extension RENDER
Initializing built-in extension RANDR
Initializing built-in extension COMPOSITE
Initializing built-in extension DAMAGE
Initializing built-in extension MIT-SCREEN-SAVER
Initializing built-in extension DOUBLE-BUFFER
Initializing built-in extension RECORD
Initializing built-in extension DPMS
Initializing built-in extension X-Resource
Initializing built-in extension XVideo
Initializing built-in extension XVideo-MotionCompensation
Initializing built-in extension XFree86-VidModeExtension
Initializing built-in extension XFree86-DGA
Initializing built-in extension XFree86-DRI
Initializing built-in extension DRI2
Loading extension GLX
(EE)
Fatal server error:
(EE) xf86OpenConsole: Cannot open /dev/tty0 (No such file or directory)
(EE)
(EE)
Please consult the The X.Org Foundation support
at http://wiki.x.org
for help.
(EE) Please also check the log file at "/home/torxed/.xpra/Xorg.:100.log" for additional information.
(EE)
(EE) Server terminated with error (1). Closing log file.
2013-10-03 19:56:30,893
2013-10-03 19:56:30,893 Xvfb command has terminated! xpra cannot continue
2013-10-03 19:56:30,894
2013-10-03 19:56:30,895 removing socket /home/torxed/.xpra/archie-100
tl;dr: 5-nvidia.conf is trying to get loaded after xf86-video-dummy is loaded (which is the default for xpra).
Now to the question: What's the best practice because there's no information about this issue, and i can't be the only one who's run in to this since the xorg.conf was removed. At the moment I move all my nvidia configs out of the way, start xpra and move them back in. This works for the better part as long as i execute xpra with my own scripts.
But is there a better way (which doesn't perhaps include recreating xorg.conf since that appears to be something you should walk away from)?
Last edited by Torxed (2013-10-04 10:29:35)

Good thinking! (xpra is basically just screen but for x, or a X11 tunnel via SSH).
After a really quick poking around and remembering that xpra really just uses xorg-server-xvfb and at the very bottom of /etc/xpra/xpra.conf there's a line that says:
xvfb=xpra_Xdummy -dpi 96 -noreset -nolisten tcp +extension GLX +extension RANDR +extension RENDER -logfile ${HOME}/.xpra/Xorg.${DISPLAY}.log -config /etc/xpra/xorg.conf
Appending -configdir appears to be working.
Here are the full steps:
[torxed@archie ~]$ sudo cp -r /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d /etc/xpra/
[torxed@archie ~]$ sudo rm /etc/xpra/xorg.conf.d/*nvidia*
[torxed@archie ~]$ sudo sed -i '$s/$/ -configdir \/etc\/xpra\/xpra.conf.d/' /etc/xpra/xpra.conf
*nvidia* would have to match your graphic-driver-config that would cause xorg-server-xvbf to crash.
I'll update the wiki and put a mention on the package about it because this either has to be standard or well known from the start because it really just breaks the package all together.
Last edited by Torxed (2013-10-04 10:29:09)

Best Practice for Portable Home Directories

What are the 'best practice' directories to sync for Portable Homes - at login and in the background. I want to make my user experience a little better than it is now.
Login and logout take about 2 minutes - even over ethernet 100Mb, and longer using Airport, and 'background' home directory syncing seems to always suck all of my network bandwidth - making apps like Safari unusable - even though I have barely changed anything in the folders I am syncing.
My personal home directory is 1.5Gb, and I keep my Music, Pictures and Movies on the network - as Apple suggest.

I generally recommend the following for the least impact on user experience:
1. Put your server and clients that will use mobile accounts and portable homes on a Gigabit Ethernet switch. It's a small price to pay for much more customer satisfaction.
2. Put more RAM in the server, especially if you're dealing with a few users with large homes or several users with moderately-sized (less than 1.0GB) ones. This will also let you employ server-side tracking (for 10.5 server).
3. Only sync and login/logout. Use Workgroup Manager to define all portable preferences. Choose to manage login/logout sync, and specify the items to sync; for the whole home, use "~". Omit things like ~/.Trash. Choose to manage the background sync, but remove all items from the "sync these items" list. Choose to manage the background sync interval by setting it to manual. This way, the user doesn't accidentally configure a background sync: we've told it to sync nothing only we say it can.
--Gerrit

SAP PI conceptual best practice for synchronous scenarios

Hi,
 Apologies for the length of this post but I'm sure this is an area most of you have thought about in your journey with SAP PI.
 We have recently upgraded our SAP PI system from 7.0 to 7.1 and I'd like to document best practice guidelines for our internal development team to follow.
I'd be grateful for any feedback related to my thoughts below which may help to consolidate my knowledge to date.
 Prior to the upgrade we have implemented a number of synchronous and asynchronous scenarios using SAP PI as the hub at runtime using the Integration Directory configuration.
No interfaces to date are exposes directly from our backend systems using transaction SOAMANAGER.
 Our asynchronous scenarios operate through the SAP PI hub at runtime which builds in resilience and harnesses the benefits of the queue-based approach.
 My queries relate to the implementation of synchronous scenarios where there is no mapping or routing requirement. Perhaps it's best that I outline my experience/thoughts on the 3 options and summarise my queries/concerns that people may be able to advise upon afterwards.
 1) Use SAP PI Integration Directory. I appreciate going through SAP PI at runtime is not necessary and adds latency to the process but the monitoring capability in transaction SXMB_MONI provide full access for audit purposes and we have implemented alerting running hourly so all process errors are raised and we handle accordingly. In our SAP PI Production system we have a full record of sync messages recorded while these don't show in the backend system as we don't have propogation turned on. When we first looked at this, the reduction in speed seemed to be outweighed by the quality of the monitoring/alerting given none of the processes are particularly intensive and don't require instant responses. We have some inbound interfaces called by two sender systems so we have the overhead of maintaing the Integration Repository/Directory design/configuration twice for these systems but the nice thing is SXMB_MONI shows which system sent the message. Extra work but seemingly for improved visibility of the process. I'm not suggesting this is the correct long term approach but states where we are currently.
 2) Use the Advanced Adapter Engine. I've heard mixed reviews about this functionaslity, there areh obvious improvements in speed by avoiding the ABAP stack on the SAP PI server at runtime, but some people have complained about the lack of SXMB_MONI support. I don't know if this is still the case as we're at SAP PI 7.1 EHP1 but I plan to test and evaluate once Basis have set up the pre-requisite RFC etc.
 3) Use the backend system's SOAP runtime and SOAMANAGER. Using this option I can still model inbound interfaces in SAP PI but expose these using transaction SOAMANAGER in the backend ABAP system. [I would have tested out the direct P2P connection option but our backend systems are still at Netweaver 7.0 and this option is not supported until 7.1 so that's out for now.] The clear benefits of exposing the service directly from the backend system is obviously performance which in some of our planned processes would be desirable. My understanding is that the logging/tracing options in SOAMANAGER have to be switched on while you investigate so there is no automatic recording of interface detail for retrospective review.
 Queries:
 I have the feeling that there is no clear cut answer to which of the options you select from above but the decision should be based upon the requirements.
 I'm curious to understand SAPs intention with these options -
 - For synchronous scenarios is it assumed that the client should always handle errors therefore the lack of monitoring should be less of a concern and option 3 desirable when no mapping/routing is required?
 - Not only does option 3 offer the best performance, but the generated WSDL is ready once built for any further system to implement thereby offering the maximum benefit of SOA, therefore should we always use option 3 whenever possible?
 - Is it intended that the AAE runtime should be used when available but only for asynchronous scenarios or those requiring SAP PI functionality like mapping/routing otherwise customers should use option 3? I accept there are some areas of functionality not yet supported with the AAE so that would be another factor.
 Thanks for any advice, it is much appreciated.
 Alan
Edited by: Alan Cecchini on Aug 19, 2010 11:48 AM
Edited by: Alan Cecchini on Aug 19, 2010 11:50 AM
Edited by: Alan Cecchini on Aug 20, 2010 12:11 PM

Hi Aaron,
I was hoping for a better more concrete answer to my questions.
I've had discussion with a number of experienced SAP developers and read many articles.
There is no definitive paper that sets out the best approach here but I have gleaned the following key points:
- Make interfaces asynchronous whenever possible to reduce system dependencies and improve the user experience (e.g. by eliminating wait times when they are not essential, such as by sending them an email with confirmation details rather than waiting for the server to respond)
- It is the responsibility of the client to handle errors in synchronous scenarios hence monitoring lost through P-P services compared to the details information in transaction SXMB_MONI for PI services is not such a big issue. You can always turn on monitoring in SOAMANAGER to trace errors if need be.
- Choice of integration technique varies considerably by release level (for PI and Netweaver) so system landscape will be a significant factor. For example, we have some systems on Netweaver 7.0 and other on 7.1. As you need 7.1 for direction connection PI services we'd rather wait until all systems are at the higher level than have mixed usage in our landscape - it is already complex enough.
- We've not tried the AAE option in a Production scenarios yet but this is only really important for high volume interfaces, something that is not a concern at the moment. Obviously cumulative performance may be an issue in time so we plan to start looking at AAE soon.
Hope these comments may be useful.
Alan

Best practice for distributing/releasing J2EE applications.

Hi All,
We are developing a J2EE application and would like some information on the best
practices to be followed for distributing/releasing J2EE applications, in general.
In particular, the dilemma we have is centered around the generation of stub, skeleton
and additional classes for the application.
Most App. Servers can generate the required classes while deploying the EJBs in the
application i.e. at install time. While some ( BEA Weblogic and IBM Websphere are
two that we are aware of ) allow these classes to be generated before the installation
time and the .ear file containing the additional classes is the one that is uploaded.
For instance, say we have assembled the application "myapp.ear" . There are two ways
in which the classes can be generated. The first is using 'ejbc' ( assume we are
using BEA Weblogic ), which generates the stub, skeleton and additional classes for
the application and returns the file, say, "Deployable_myapp.ear" containing all
the necessary classes and files. This file is the one that is then installed. The
other option is to install the file "myapp.ear" and let the Weblogic App. server
itself, generate the required classes at the installation time.
If the first way, of 'pre-generating' the stubs is followed, does it require us to
separately generate the stubs for each versions of the App. Server that we support
? i.e. if we generate a deployable file having the required classes using the 'ejbc'
of Weblogic Ver5.1, can the same file be installed on Weblogic Ver6.1 or do we
have to generate a separate file?
If the second method, of 'install-time-generation' of stubs is used, what is the
nature/magnitude of the risk that we are taking in terms of the failure of the installation
Any links to useful resources as well as comments/suggestions will be appreciated.
TIA
Regards,
Aasif

Its much easier to distribute schema/data from an older version to a newer one than the other way around. Nearly all SQL Server deployment features supports database version upgrade, and these include the "Copy Database" wizard, BACKUP/RESTORE,
detach/attach, script generation, Microsoft Sync framework, and a few others.
EVEN if you just want to distribute schemas, you may want to distribute the entire database, and then truncate the tables to purge data.
Backing up and restoring your database is by far the most RELIABLE method of distributing it, but it may not be pratical in some cases because you'll need to generate a new backup every time a schema change occurs, but not if you already have an automated
backup/maintenance routine in your environment.
As an alternative, you can Copy Database functionality in SSMS, although it may present itself unstable in some situations, specially if you are distributing across multiple subnets and/or domains. It will also require you to purge data if/when applicable.
Another option is to detach your database, copy its files, and then attach them in both the source and destination instances. It will generate downtime for your detached databases, so there are better methods for distribution available.
And then there is the previously mentioned method of generating scripts for schema, and then using an INSERT statement or the import data wizard available in SSMS (which is very practical and implements a SSIS package internally that can be saved for repeated
executions). Works fine, not as practical as the other options, but is the best way for distributing databases when their version is being downgraded.
With all this said, there is no "best practice" for this. There are multiple features, each offering their own advantages and downfalls which allow them to align to different business requirements.

Best practice on 'from dev to test'move.

Hello.
My Repository 10.2.0.1.0
My client 10.2.1.31
I am writing to ask someone what would be the best practice and most common_sense_oriented way to move OWB from dev to qa/test environment?
I have read a number of recommendations on this forum and other oracle docs and it seem somewhat tedious exercise...
At the moment i am either having to simply copy and paste (ye not very professional but works a treat!) then just re-sync the tables to point to correct location on some of the smaller of my projects.
Now i have a huge project with hundreds of maps with different source locations etc.
I want to move it into test.
My test environment is where we test ETL process before implementing it in live as oppose to UAT test.
I imported the tables into OWB etc from the test, now i want to move my maps from dev to test and this is where my HOW TO comes.
I have different runtime repositories on my test as per oracle recommended (same names apply to dev and test and live repositories for the consistency purposes). Importing the maps from the export of dev to test doesn't really work and i don't really want start tweaking with export files.
for some reasons the import only imports it back to the project the export was taken from.... (which is as useful as a smack on a head, in my humble).
copy and paste the re-sync all tables would be madness, misery and pain all in one!
So what do i need to do?
1) OK i imported all the tables and views from the test environment into OWB
2) How do i move my maps from dev to test?
3) even if i copy them over - would i honeslty have to then resync tables in every single map (i am already crying by the thought of it)?!
It seem a little tidious to me.
I can imagine that there is no silver bullet and everyone have different ideas, but someone please share your experience on how would do it?
Here is something from the user guide and no matter how many times i read this - i just don't get how i can relate it to what i need to achieve.
The following quote is from "OWB User Guide", Chapter 3.
"Each location defined within a project can be registered separately within each Runtime Repository, and each registration can reference different physical information. Using this approach, you can design and configure a target system one time, and deploy it many times with different physical characteristics. This is useful if you need to create multiple versions of the same system such as development, test, and production."
As i said - i have all my tables imported from DB to OWB, now how do i make my maps to appear in repository on test? I can see the relevance of location to deploy maps into the test runtime repository, but before then i somehow have to make them to appear in my test runtime repository in Design and make sure they are referencing correct tables etc.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Kind Regards
Vix

Hello Oleg.
Thank you very much for such detailed and very helpful reply.
You are correct - i have my Design Centre and within it two projects - dev and test.
Dev has all the locations pointing to the Development DB and it has it's own runtime repository/control centre configured.
Test has all the locations pointing to the Test DB and it also has it's own runtime repository/control centre configured.
I have one design centre and two runtime environments.
both dev and test have identical tables etc. I moved the logic over form dev to test (all the functions, procedures etc), i have also imported tables and logic from TEST DB to the test project.
All i want to do is now move over the maps from DEv to TEST. Which is not a problem (copy and paste are helpful), but then the copied maps are still point to the tables in Dev. Which means i have to sync it with test tables - i hope i am making sense here!
I was hoping that there is some clever way of just changing something to effectively tell table in the map 'to point to the table in this database'. If the map is already configured - the only way to do it is to sync the tables, which will enable you to select the DB and table you want your table in the map to be pointing to.
The reason i do not use imp/exp between projects - it is not really reliable. Have to then jump through the hoops ensuring all contrains etc are there. It is safer to just import whatever i need from DB - ensuring all my constrains etc are there.
I do regular exports as a means of 'having a backup copy of the project', but never managed to import anything from one project to another (was easier with OWB 9 where it was possible to amend the .mdl file). It works fine to import back to the project the export was taken from.
I don't have problems with the location etc - took me hours to set everything the way i wanted it to be and now all the deployments are going to the right schemas, DBs etc.
Is there are any other way re-pointing the tables in the map to another DB? Like in the falt files - there is an option to choose the location of the file. So once the location is define/registered etc - you can choose whatever one is needed fromm the drop down on the left of the map.
I hoped there would be something similar for the tables. Like a big bulk option for 'tick here if you want all tables in the maps to be pointing to identical tables in another DB) type thing. Guess something like bulk sync option...
Oh well, guess i just have to stick with sync option (sobbing uncontrolably) and it hasn't stopped raining here for days!
Once again - thank you very much for all your kind help and advice.
Kind Regards
Vix

Best Practice for Distributing Databases to Customers

I did a little searching and was surprised to not find a best practice document for how to distribute Microsoft SQL Databases. With other database formats, it's common to distribute them as scripts. It seems that feature is rather limited with the built-in
tools Microsoft provides. There appear to be limits to the length of the script. We're looking to distribute a database several GBs in size. We could detach the database or provide a backup, but that has its own disadvantages by limiting what versions
of the SQL Server will accept the database.
What do you recommend and can you point me to some documentation that handles this practice?
Thank you.

Its much easier to distribute schema/data from an older version to a newer one than the other way around. Nearly all SQL Server deployment features supports database version upgrade, and these include the "Copy Database" wizard, BACKUP/RESTORE,
detach/attach, script generation, Microsoft Sync framework, and a few others.
EVEN if you just want to distribute schemas, you may want to distribute the entire database, and then truncate the tables to purge data.
Backing up and restoring your database is by far the most RELIABLE method of distributing it, but it may not be pratical in some cases because you'll need to generate a new backup every time a schema change occurs, but not if you already have an automated
backup/maintenance routine in your environment.
As an alternative, you can Copy Database functionality in SSMS, although it may present itself unstable in some situations, specially if you are distributing across multiple subnets and/or domains. It will also require you to purge data if/when applicable.
Another option is to detach your database, copy its files, and then attach them in both the source and destination instances. It will generate downtime for your detached databases, so there are better methods for distribution available.
And then there is the previously mentioned method of generating scripts for schema, and then using an INSERT statement or the import data wizard available in SSMS (which is very practical and implements a SSIS package internally that can be saved for repeated
executions). Works fine, not as practical as the other options, but is the best way for distributing databases when their version is being downgraded.
With all this said, there is no "best practice" for this. There are multiple features, each offering their own advantages and downfalls which allow them to align to different business requirements.

Syncing, best practice?

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