Best Practices for Act! for Workgrooups 2006 1

[TrainingCnsrtm]

I am the IT Manager running about 10 computers connected to a 2003 server hosting the main Act! database that all the users are connecting to, with 2 off-site users synching via VPN.

We are planning on scaling up the company rapidly, and I would like to hear from some other Act! users out there the do's and don't(s) of Act! networking best practices.

Right now, I have all the users just connecting to the server and opening the .pad file from a shared folder. the issues I am most concerned about include (but are not limited to):

* How does having 20, 30, 100 users connecting this way affect the network performance?
* If using Synchronization in-house, how often should I have each database synchronize?

Your replies are appreciated greatly!

Cameron Wells
"Yeah, I can do that!

 

[GLComputing]

What version of ACT!?

What sort of server would you be running on? Disk speed, RAM, Processor... would it be dedicated to ACT!?

ACT! 8/9 is pretty good on network performance as most of the work happens on the server

Only sync with remote users

Regards,
Mike Lazarus
ACT! Evangelist
GL Computing, Aust

http://www.GLComputing.com.au

 

[TrainingCnsrtm]

Act 8 (2006 for Workgroups) running on Server 2003, not dedicated. Running 2G of ram on a raid setup with 7200 RPM 250G disks.

The server is running the DHCP, DNS, and working as a file server and Active Directory service as well. It's being very overworked as it is. Would it be better to set up a new server dedicated to running ACT!?

Why only synch remote users?

Any other tips?

 

[GLComputing]

I'd go with ACT! 9 if possible... for larger numbers, the new .Net2 and SQL 2005 makes it more efficient at the larger volumes

This should give you some ideas of the specs necessary for a standalone ACT! server at volume -

http://www.act.com/products/premium07/sysreq/index.cfm

I'd also recommend a 10K rpm or faster drive for more than 25 users

There is no need to sync local users, they can directly access the database from the server

If you want a really sucessful implementation of a large volume, I'd get a consultant to assist you... the extra investment at the begining will more than pay for itself with reduced headachs. If you let me know your area, I can possibly recommedn on... I know most of the good ACT! consultants globally

Regards,
Mike Lazarus
ACT! Evangelist
GL Computing, Aust

http://www.GLComputing.com.au