LS Retail Data Director User Guide - LS One
LS Data Director 3.02.32User GuideDecember 2018 Copyright 2016, LS Retail ehf. All rights reserved. All trademarks belong to their respective holders
Contents1Introduction . 12How the Data Director Works. 13Hardware and Software Requirements . 23.1 Hardware. 23.2 Software . 24Installation . 34.1 Prerequisites . 34.2 Security Considerations. 34.3 Installing the Data Director . 44.4 Update DD2 to DD3. 54.5 TransAutomClient Control . 64.6 Computer Host name and DD . 65Configuration . 75.1 DD Hosts . 75.2 Configuration Data for DD Host . 86Distribution Location Setup and Ports . 226.1 Port and Network Mode Setup . 226.2 Routing via Other DD . 236.3 Routing via backup DD Host . 237Offline & Manual Transfer . 247.1 Dynamic IP Setup . 247.2 Manual Transfer. 248Job Monitoring . 259Event Viewer . 3010 Maintenance . 31A.Data Director Connection Strings. 31B. Install Options . 34C. Use DDConfigClient DLL in PowerShell Script . 35D. Definition of Terms . 36E.Field Type Mapping . 36Katrinartun 2, 105 Reykjavík, IcelandTel: 354 414 5700 · Fax: 354 571 2728
User Guide - LS Data Director 3.021 IntroductionThe Data Director (DD) is a product of LS Retail ehf, the developers of the LS Retail Back Officesystem and the LS POS point-of-sale application. The Data Director is closely tied to theseapplications and plays an integral part in enabling the system to function as a whole in adistributed environment.The Data Director is an application specialized in moving data between databases in a fast andefficient way. It works intimately with the Microsoft Dynamics NAV platform but it is not limitedto that platform. It can just as easily move data between other databases such as MS SQLServer & MySQL. Generally, if the database supports the Microsoft OleDB or ODBC interfacethe Data Director should be able to use it.The Data Director is a flexible tool that can be adapted to a variety of data transfer scenarios.The most commonly used configurations are for: Moving data between the head-office, stores and Point-of-Sale Terminals (POSTerminals) in a Dynamics NAV based retail organization.Moving data from Dynamics NAV based databases into a data warehouse running onMicrosoft SQL Server.2 How the Data Director WorksThe Data Director’s main functionality is to move data between two or more databases asefficiently as possible. It accomplishes this by aggregating data into as few packages aspossible thus minimizing the amount of data transmitted over the network. These packages areprocessed in a multicast like way enabling the Data Director to handle a very high count of endpoints.The Data Director (DD) is run as a service and listens for incoming requests or packages. Theclient component (like the TransAutomClient) is used from LS Retail in order to interact with theData Director Service and tell it what to do. There are two types of interactions: Request to readdata from the database, and request to write data to the database.If the DD receives a read instruction, it will start by connecting to the source database. It thenproceeds to read data from the database and stores it in a package. The package can containdata from more than one database table.Once the requested data has been read, the DD has two possibilities. The first is to write thedata in the package directly into another database or to forward the package to one or moreDDs. Once the package has been received by the receiving DD, it can proceed to write thecontents of the package into one or more destination databases, all according to instructionscontained in the package. This provides an easy and convenient way to transfer data betweendifferent databases, since the DD converts the data along the way, making sure the destinationdatabase understands it.The feature of being able to forward one package to more than one DD is very useful in theretail environment since you often have to distribute price changes or updates to some productitems to all or some of the stores. This is done automatically by the DD once it has beenconfigured, enabling the user to focus on running the stores.The DD and client components do not need to be installed on the same computer. The clientcomponent can connect to a DD running on other host computers. This makes it easy to createa network of Data Directors that can be controlled from one central location.Chapter 1 - Introduction1
User Guide - LS Data Director 3.023 Hardware and Software RequirementsThe Data Director requires the following resources in order to run properly:3.1 Hardware At least 1 GB of available RAM. The base processes use around 100-200 MB of RAMfor normal operation. The amount of RAM required depends on size of databasequeries that DD needs to perform.100 MB disk space for the base application. This is the absolute minimum spacerequired. The additional disk space required when moving data depends on theamount of data and how frequently it is moved. You should have at least 10 GB freeon your hard drive for the temporary data generated by the DD.A Dual Core processor or better. The DD is a CPU intensive application, especiallywhen processing data, so a faster processor usually means improved performance.3.2 Software Refer to the release notes of the DD for supported operating systems and databases.The DD needs 2-3 user sessions in the database it is processing data to and from.The number of user sessions depends on the functionality used and Data Threadsetting in the DD Configuration tool. For normal operation DD uses one session forquery data, one session for insert/update and then one or more sessions for incomingTS requests.The databases which the DD needs to connect to should have TCP/IP protocol activeand port open in Firewall.Chapter 3 - Hardware and Software Requirements2
User Guide - LS Data Director 3.024 Installation4.1 PrerequisitesThere are a few things, as listed below, that you need to keep in mind before setting up theData Director on Dynamics NAV with LS Nav. You should have a solid understanding of the TCP/IP networking protocol. You shouldknow how IP addresses can be assigned and be able to use tools such as ping andtracert. You must be able to assign names to an IP number, preferably using a DNSserver or the local hosts file.You should know how to work with Microsoft Windows Services and view events fromthe Event Log.Make sure that you have the necessary permissions to install programs and be ableto start and stop services on the computer running the DD service.You should have a working knowledge of Microsoft Dynamics NAV. The setup of theDD might require an installation of a Dynamics NAV database server.Make sure that you have a Dynamics NAV License file (.flf) that allows you to accessthe DD application objects within Dynamics NAV and the CFront API.4.2 Security ConsiderationsMost data communication tools like the DD will need access to your organization’s databasesin order to move data between them. For security purposes, you should restrict the DD’s accessto the database tables that it needs to read or write into. This is important because, unlikeregular database users, the DD can effectively access any table in your database, as it is notrestricted to viewing data via a graphical user interface. By choosing not to restrict the DD’saccess to your database, you risk giving users access to data that they should not have accessto.Most database systems allow database administrators to set user access permissions relativelyeasily. It is strongly recommended that you spend some time specifying access permissions forthe user account that the DD will use to access your database. For example, the DynamicsNAV security system provides a powerful feature that limits a user’s access to database tablesonly, making the user account useless to regular users since they do not have access to thedatabase’s graphic user interface. Similar features can be found in most other databasesystems. If this feature is available, it should preferably be used for all user accounts the DDuses.Chapter 4 - Installation3
User Guide - LS Data Director 3.024.3 Installing the Data DirectorDD3 Runs on Framework 4.0 so you need to install it before you install DD3. Make sure toinstall Full Framework 4.0, not only the Client Profile version.Install DD3 by running LS.DataDirector.3.02.xx.Setup.exe.If all options are deselected, only DD Client files are installed without the Client Tools. Theseare the files needed for LS NAV or LS One to communicate with Data Director.DD Service: DD Service that handles all the data transfer. If you are installing only clientcontrols for LS Retail product like LS NAV or LS One, to be able to connect to DD Service onanother host, then deselect this option and only the Client files will be installed.Client Tools: Configuration Tool and Monitoring Tools for Data Director. If you do not want thetools to be available on this host, then deselect this option. DD can be configured andmonitored remotely.CFront Files: Files required making a connection to the NAV Database. If you are running anupgrade and have manually updated the CFront files to match your NAV setup, then deselectthis so that the DD does not overwrite the current files.DD2 Client for NAV: If you are installing controls for the LS NAV host and the CodeUnits, useeither CFront Controls or DD Controls from the previous version of DD (DD2), then select thisoption. This installs all the DD2 Client files that are needed for NAV to communicate with DD.There is no need to install LSRetailDDClient-2.28.x.exe anymore. If you already have DD2installed on the host, then there is no need to select this option.DD Client files for NAV 201x RTC Add-ins: Add Client files to the Add-ins folder for latestNAV RTC Client. If there are more than one version of NAV installed, only newest version willget the files. You have to copy the files manually to the Add-ins folder for older versions.DD Client files for NAV 201x SRV Add-ins: Add Client files to the Add-ins folder for latestNAV Middle Tier Server.If the install cannot find the default install path for NAV it will bring up selection windows wherthe install path where NAV is located, both for RTC and Service.Chapter 4 - Installation4
User Guide - LS Data Director 3.02Installing DD with NAV 2009 or older, select DD Service, Client Tools, CFront Files and DD2Client for NAV.Installing DD with NAV 2013 or newer (and not support for older NAV), select DD Service,Client Tools and DD Client files for NAV 201x both for RTC and SRV Add-ins.Installing DD with LS One Site Manager, select DD Service and Client Tools.Installing DD Client files for POS that will not include DD Service, deselect all options and onlythe client files will be installed.Depending on what options are selected, changes to DD Configuration will be made to matchthe selection if this is new installation.DD3 can also run with DD2 Service installed, if you want to have both DD2 & DD3 on samecomputer, you need make sure that either one of them is running or change the Incoming Porton DD2 to another than the Default port 16750.No configuration is needed to start up DD3 with default settings. After install, the DD will startup with a default configuration. If DD should connect to database with a trusted connection, youneed to add Login to the DD Service to log on as a User that has access to read and write thedata onto the database.Open the Configuration Tool and upload the DD license, a demo DD license is installed whenthe DD is installed. If the DD is connected to NAV 2009 or older, upload the NAV Licenses filealso under App Config tab.NOTE: When installing DD for LS Retail NAV 6.x or older you need to change the Path toCFront in the Distribution Location card to point to the new folder where CFront is installed.The path is different from the default path that comes with the NAV standard data.For install options via command line, see Appendix B4.4Update DD2 to DD3When updating current systems running on DD2, the same method is best as recommendedbefore. Start by updating Head Office with DD3, while stores and POS can still run on DD2. IfHead Office had many DD or TS Services running on different ports, you can assign all of thoseServices and ports in the Configuration Tool. Type all services name into Aliases under theBasic Config tab and port numbers into the Data Ports field under App Config. No changes arerequired at the Stores and POS still running DD2.You need to change the Distribution Location data at HO for each Host still running DD2 soDD3 can a send job to the old DD2. The port and communication mode needs to be added tothe Distribution server name like this: HOST:16750:DDOLDWhen the Store or POS has been updated to DD3, you can remove the extra port and modevalues from the host name.No change in Location Setup is needed at the POS or Store running DD2 to be able tocommunicate to HO running DD3.Chapter 4 - Installation5
User Guide - LS Data Director 3.024.5 TransAutomClient ControlWith LS Retail NAV 6.2 and earlier, it is best to use the old DD2 client controls, as mentionedabove. DD3 comes with a new TransAutomClient that is registered when you install DD3. Tobe able to use the new control, you need to change the TransAutomClient Automation controlin all codeunits that communicate with DD. If the codeunit is using the older TransClient.ocx orDDClient.ocx, these need to be replaced as well to use Automation and point toTransAutomClient.dll.Changing the control should be possible without any other change of code; all functions are thesame and should stay the same after the control swap.If you decide to use the TransAutomClient that comes with DD3, the name of the new controlin the Automation list is TransAutomClient and the Class is TransAutomClient. You should alsochange out this call in the Code unit to get better error messages from the DD. Old code: ) New code: DataClient.GetLastErrorMessage()This change will display the real error message from the DD System, and not some numberthat usually does not tell us much.4.6 Computer Host name and DDDD works on host names but can also accept IP Address as Distribution Server name. Whenusing IP Address DD needs to be able to map the IP Address to its host name, if not, it willreject the job.When the DD starts up, it generates a default configuration file using the current Host of thecomputer it is running on. If you need to change the name of the computer, you need toregenerate the configuration file.In Configuration Tool, go to System Config and press Reset Config button. This can be donealso on remote DD host.Current Configuration File can also be deleted or opened and change the host name within thefile.This file, lsretail.config is located on newer OS, like Win7 and Win2008 under \ProgramData\LSRetail\Data Director and on older OS like XP and Win2003 under \Documents and Settings\AllUsers\Application Data\LS Retail\Data Director.NOTE: DD Service needs to be restarted after resetting the Configuration file or host namechanges. The old host name needs to be removed from the Configuration Tool, and either typein new host name or restart the Configuration tool and it will add the current host name to itslist.Chapter 4 - Installation6
User Guide - LS Data Director 3.025 ConfigurationNo special configuration is needed to start up the DD with default settings. When the DD Serviceis started for first time, the DD takes care of setting up default values. To access theconfiguration data, open up the Configuration Tool. The Configuration Tool takes care of allsetting for the DD Service, Debugging and Status Monitoring. This tool can also connect to theremote DD Host and manage the configuration and debug the remote side.When you open up the Configuration Tool, you get the configuration for the DD at the LocalHost. To get live configuration from the remote system, press the Get Config button. The hostname will have green color if the configuration has been loaded, otherwise it is red. Bold Blackmeans that the host is selected. If you hover over the field with the mouse, you can findinformation on what each field does.5.1 DD HostsThe fields above the Configure area are to add more DD3 hosts that you want to be able toadministrate remotely. Enter the Host name of the DD host you want to add, and click on theUpdate button. If the DD Service is not running on the default port and network mode, enterthe port number and then select the network mode. If you need to pass through another DDHost to be able to access this Remote host, select the Passing through host in the Host list,and click on the Set as Parent button to add it as Parent for this DD Host. The Connectionstring is only used for testing connections to databases from the DD Service. To test aconnection to the DD and DB, click on Test Connection button.To change any information for a DD Host, double-click on the host in the host list and theinformation for that host will be loaded into the fields. To update the data, click on the Updatebutton.Chapter 5 - Configuration7
User Guide - LS Data Director 3.02To remove a host from the list, select the host in the list and right clickon the host choose Remove from the menu.To Import long list of hosts into the list, right click on the list and chooseImport List, select the file to import and press OK. The Host list canalso be exported to text file. The File to import should have the HostNames set one host per line, with no other information. Sample of a Host file to import wouldbe like this:DDST01DDST02DDST03To Filter Hosts or to look for specific hosts, you can type in the filter field above the host listsome filtering text, this filters the host containing the filter. If you type in POS, you will get allthe Hosts with POS somewhere in the host name.5.2 Configuration Data for DD HostIf you change any settings, click on the Save Config button and then restart the Data DirectorService to reload the configuration. If the DD system is already running on a local host and youwant to update the configuration directly, click on the Get Config button and the configurationdata will be loaded from the DD’s memory. To send new configuration data back to a live DDsystem, click on the Send Config button and the data will become active right away, and norestart is needed.You can also connect to remote DD Host and fetch the configuration setup from the remotehost, by selecting a host from the list, and clicking on the Get Config button. You can changethe settings, and then resend the configuration back to the host by clicking on the Send Configbutton. When the configuration is sent back, it will be reloaded live on the remote host, so thereis no need for a restart on the remote host.You can select more than one host in the list to get configuration data or an update. Press theShift or Ctrl button while you select more hosts. All values that are same for all selected hostsare open for editing. You can also send DD and NAV license files to many hosts at once.You can also use this method, Get and Send Config to update the Configuration data afterupgrading DD to newer version as there may be some new configuration values added that arenot include in the older version.Chapter 5 - Configuration8
User Guide - LS Data Director 3.025.2.1Basic ConfigBasic configuration for base DD Service like location of data files, archive files and Portssettings for the DD. In addition, there are some values that the Router uses to deal with the JobQueue.Install FolderData FolderAliasesReturn IP AddrDD Class IdTCPS PortTCP PortErrors in MemoryChapter 5 - ConfigurationBase Folder where the DD binaries are installed.Main folder where DD puts all its working files. This includes Jobfiles, Data files, Debug files, Manual Job files and Temp files. Thisfolder can contain a large amount of data, so there should be atleast 10GB or more available.By default, DD works on local Computer Host name. You can assignHost Alias names to the DD Service so it will accept and processjobs with other host/service names. If you are upgrading from DD2setup, then add all previous DD2 Service names in here. You cansee what DNS Entries are found on the host by click on the DNSbutton.IP address to use for external host to be able to send reply back tothis host. If host name is not registered in DNS or Host file atdestination, it will not be able to send reply back. If IP address isset, it will be used to replace the host name with IP address so thedestination host can send reply back to this host.Class ID used in Monitoring system. This is to identify a group ofDD networks together under one Class ID and can be used to groupthem together. This is for information only.Secured Connection port for incoming connections. The DD serviceneeds to run on a user account/domain that is available on bothhosts which has rights to communicate between the hosts.Default Connection port for incoming connections. This is astandard open Connection between the hosts. It can be used whendata is going from a Domain to a workgroup network where notrusted connection is available.DD stores the latest error messages that it has reported in itsmemory. Indicate how many messages it should keep here. Even ifthere are errors in memory, it does not mean that the DD currentlyhas a problem, it may be that the problem has already been solved.The purpose of this is just to look at the latest errors that havepopped up in the DD. These errors can also be seen in the Eventviewer under the LS Retail Events folder.9
User Guide - LS Data Director 3.02Job Memory TimeoutError WaitMax Error RetryRelease Job Off HoldOffline to ManualKeep Archive DataStatus Check TimeHost Conn. TimeoutSend DD LicenseShow LicUpdate ProgramAllow Program UpdateChapter 5 - ConfigurationDD stores all jobs it has processed in its memory. This is to set forhow long the DD should hold onto this information after the Job isDone. When using the Job Monitor to monitor the DD, it loads thislist into the grid, when it connects, so you can see list of processedjobs from the last x min(s). This value does not apply to anyunprocessed jobs or jobs that are in an error state. Jobs that havebeen removed from memory can be found in the Archive folder.The time for DD to wait till it will try to process job on error again.The number of tries DD will try to process a job on error until it willput the job On Hold. If the Value is set to 0, DD will try to processthe job until it can or until job gets Canceled. Go to Job Monitor torelease job Off Hold.After jobs have been put On Hold, either manually or due to MaxError Retry limit, DD will release the job Off Hold after x min and tryto process it again. If there is still error, job will go On Hold again ifMax Error Retry is set.The time to waiting for Offline host to Pull jobs. When time expires,the jobs will be moved from job queue to Outgoing folder for manualtransfer. Jobs can be put back to processing in Job Monitor.The number of days to keep the Job data files in the Archive folderif Monitor Collection is not set up. If it is, then the Archive data fileswill be deleted as soon as the data has been collected.The time between DD Service checks for statuses on allunprocessed jobs locally and on Destination hosts. If DD does notget status update due to some problems or network connection itwill send a status request to the Destination host and check forstatus update. This can also be done manually from the Job Monitorwith Re-Check Status.The time to close TCP/IP connection to Destination host after jobhas been transferred. Reason for holding connection open is tosave connection time on frequent small job transferring.Send DD License to Local or remote DD hosts. Select Hosts fromhost list, press this button, choose the license file and press OK.This will generate DD License file Job that will be sent with DD toall destination hosts. See Job Monitor for result.Show the DD License information at the DD Host.Send DD Setup file to update remote DD hosts, not local host.Select Hosts from host list, press this button, choose the new setupfile and choose the install options that you want the install to includewhen the installation job is executed at the destination host. Thiswill generate DD Update Job that will be sent with DD to alldestination hosts and DD Service will be shut down, Setup will runand DD Service will be started up again. As the setup does notreport back whether it was ok or not, you need to check the locationto see if it has the new Version number after the update. You cansee the Version number under the Debugging tab.Allow a Remote DD program update. If not selected, Update DDremotely does not run on this host.10
User Guide - LS Data Director 3.025.2.2App ConfigThese are special values needed for each DD Process that runs in the background. You canactivate or deactivate some functionalities of the DD here.NAV SQL Replace ChrDecimal FixIsoLevelIgnore Extra FieldsUse TruncUse WSTimeoutFOB TimeoutSQL TimeoutCFrontChapter 5 - ConfigurationThe character to replace in Table/Field names to when using SQLto access NAV Database. If empty, defaults will be used, otherwiseput in the chars that should be replaced withDefaults are: NAV 2009 [.'/] NAV 201x [.'/%] No replacement [X]Fixes Rounding issues with decimal Data transfer. F05 indicates 5decimal places. When dealing with large Decimal values that don’tneed high decimal places set it to BIG. BIG will only use 4 decimalplaces which leaves mores space for the main value.Default locking and row versioning behavior of Transact-SQLstatements issued by a connection to SQL Server.Ignores any extra fields in job that is not available in the source ordestination databases.If jobs include Delete all data, using Trunc will speed up deleteprocess on large tables. This only works on SQL databases andTable cannot have any foreign key for this to work.User LS Nav Web Services for Source location. When pulling datafrom WS, it is done in batch of 100 records by default. This batchsize can be modified by set batch value to Interger field in SchedulerJob - Object Setup section.The Idle Timeout for Database Connection to stay open after jobprocessing. If set to 0, Database Connection is not keep alive butit may slow down processing. Each Database thread will take up 1user session on the Database server.FOB Import/Export Processing Timeout (only for NAV 2013 ornewer)SQL Command Timeout. Gets or sets the wait time beforeterminating the attempt to execute a command and generating anerror.Support CFront to communicate with NAV 2009 or older. Whenchecked, extra number of DDDatabase86 processes will beexecuted, depending on Data Thread Limit. If not checked only x64version of the DDDatabase process will run.11
User Guide - LS Data Director 3.02CodeUnit PermissionCFront PathSend LicenseOld DD SupportData PortsMon PortTimeoutAllow File TransferOffline / Pull SupportPull HostCheck IntervalPull PathPull NowJob Scheduler ServiceJob IdReload Trig / Run JobTest ConnConn StringType FilterNav ModeSleepChapter 5 - ConfigurationThe CodeUnit used to set Permission for Data Director to accessthe Database.The path
User Guide - LS Data Director 3.02 Chapter 4 - Installation 5 Installing DD with NAV 2009 or older, select DD Service, Client Tools, CFront Files and DD2 Client for NAV. Installing DD with NAV 2013 or newer (and not support for older NAV), select DD Service, Client Tools and DD Client files for NAV 201x both for RTC and SRV Add-ins. Installing DD with LS One Site Manager, select DD Service and .
Core-Retail Sales: n/a Number of Stores: 182 Jobs in Retail: 3,345 YUKON Total Retail Sales: 799.8 million Core-Retail Sales: 508.8 million Number of Stores: 186 Jobs in Retail: 3,630 BRITISH COLUMBIA Total Retail Sales: 84.3 billion Core-Retail Sales: 54.0 billion Number of Stores: 20,398
Core-Retail Sales: n/a Number of Stores: 182 Jobs in Retail: 3,345 YUKON Total Retail Sales: 799.8 million Core-Retail Sales: 508.8 million Number of Stores: 186 Jobs in Retail: 3,630 BRITISH COLUMBIA Total Retail Sales: 84.3 billion Core-Retail Sales: 54.0 billion Number of Stores: 20,398
clarify allowable retail and non-retail activities and sales under the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the TDA retail meat permit. As a result, a draft educational publication was developed to document, clarify and summarize the regulatory issues related to retail and non-retail meat sales in Tennessee. Finally, in November
RETAIL CHAIN BUSINESS PLAN II. Company Description Starting a new retail business in the United States of America is a good idea. The retail industry is growing in different parts of the world. Both Brick & Mortar and online retail businesses are successful in this region. The name of the new retail chain is Fine Retail Corporation.
Navigating the new retail reality Views of Middle Eastern Retail CEOs . 2. Contents What’s trending? Online retail gathers pace 6 10 13 Macro influences 3. In 2018 and 2019, PwC Middle East, in association with The Retail Leaders Circle conducted 10 interviews with Middle Eastern retail CEOs to gain
retail and e-commerce Source: investindia.gov.in, IBEF 2017 2021F 75% 88% Unorganised retail 18% 9% Organised retail 7% 3% E-commerce Retail Industry 14. Pre-COVID-19 era The retail industry was estimated to grow from USD 0.79 Tn in 2017 to USD 1.2 Tn by 2021. The market size of organised
if there is any conflict between the Retail Operations Manual and the Retail Sales Agent Agreement, the Retail Sales Agent Agreement prevails over the Retail Operations Manual. The underlying intent of this manual, the policies herein, and the Retail Sales Agent Agreement is to support, augment and fulfill the OLCC's efforts as a regulatory body
retail workers. About 47 per-cent of first-line supervisors of retail workers were women, compared with 53.4 percent who were men. Black and Hispanic retail workers were less likely than White retail workers to be in supervisory positions like first-line supervisors of retail sales work
