MAS-90 v. MAS-200; Number of Users

[LandonMiller]

Good Day;

Has anyone herein seen information about the upper limit of users for MAS-90, and for MAS-200? We have a subsidiary presently running MAS-90, and are considering converting numerous inventory and order functions to the appropriate Sage product. The vendor is pushing MAS-200 CS, but we are unsure whether we need it?

Any information is very appreciated, as I am a MAS-newbie.

 

[DaveSatIBP]

I belived that MAS200 CS is just a version upgrade from MAS90. We are currently running MAS90 CS v.3.41 and our maintenance support has provided us with MAS200 CS v3.6

Hope this helps.

 

[tomcmp]

MAS200 formally MAS90 Client Server is designed for systems from 10- 200 users. The largest system I have seen is 55 users however. MAS90 is typically recommended for 1-10 user systems. There are other differences as well but that's typically the rule of thumb with regards to # of users.

Tom Lawrence

 

[dgillz]

I'll second Tomcmps post. You can run into some performance problems with larger numbers of users and/or larger databases with Mas90. Mas200 is specifically designed to address these issues. The conversion is a piece of cake from a user standpoint, it basically just takes Sage's prouduct to a true client-server product. Software Support for Sage Mas90, Macola, Crystal Reports and Goldmine
Dgilsdorf#altavista.com
714-348-0964

 

[cjoe]

Let me first acknowledge that I'm not a Mas200 expert but I am a software developer / architect.

I am consulting at a site where they use Mas200 V3.4x. They are experiencing tremendous problems with Mas200. Initially, they were told that Mas200 can support 250 users. Their operation involves around 85-95users who require around 3-4 session which translates to approximately 260-320 Mas200 processes.

They are running on a Compaq Proliant dual xeon (700Mhz 2GB Ram) system. In spite of the hardware, performance is pathetic. During peak usage, users can not log in and applications will not open. Users try to grab as many session as possible when they start so they do not have to open new sessions during peak hours.

Users who grabbed their sessions early on encounter no problems but users who need to move between the various modules/applications experience utter frustration because they can not login or open new apps.

Mas200 is very GDI resource intensive and causes the server monitor to go crazy and not update properly. We will be upgrading to the 3.6 version this weekend. Hopefully this will improve overall performance.

I do not recommend this product for installations with more than 50users. There seems to be several problems with the architecture: 1) each process requires 5Mb of memory, 2) Mas200 uses a ProvideX Interpreter, 3) the product is GDI resource intensive. These are just a few of my complaints.

They should be using a thin client/appserver environment so that the applications can be re-entrant. My recommendation to this client is to migrate to a full blown ERP type of system.

Good Luck.

cjoe#adelphia.com

 

[zumatech]

MAS 90 will function correctly with up to 200 users, and then some if properly configured. MAS 200 is NOT a replacement for MAS 90. It is the version that is better able to handle high transaction volume or wide area network requirments (better thin client architecture).

The number of users is not as important as transaction volume, and many times the ratio of transaction volume to number of users is not always consistent between companies.

I would be more interested in your subsidiaries transaction volume, IT resources and Best partner who is providing support. The number of users is secondary.

 

[Guest_imported]

Having made the mistake of trying to run my company on Mas90, I have this to say about it.

It is awful...

Sage is worse that most bad software companies in this regard... They charge for the patch and see if that fixes your problem cycle.

Whenever I call tech support they go on and on about how when something doesn't work, it is probably the hardware. Total BS. They won't even admit that their software is incomplete/extremely buggy.

If you are looking for accounting software, keep looking because Mas90/200 isn't it.

I would loath to be the real world IT tech who had to maintain MAS90 for 200 users...

Constantly fixing Ghost terminals
Constantly fixing broken record locks
Simply printing a sales order in that environment would take hours.... if not days

By the way, the Bar Code master module simply doesn't work, Same with the office integration module.

Visual integrater works I guess. But hey some people are into S and M.

 

[Guest_imported]

And another thing...

because the way this software works, you can't use proper security, Every Mas90 user has to have full access to the mas 90 directory...

Which brings me to another point? Why the heck do they bother putting a buggy security system in a product that requires that every user in your hypothetical 200 user environment can simply go to the mas90 directory and press delete and wipe out the company when they get fired???