Licensing
Like any software, You can only use Business Administrator if you have a licence to use it. The Business Administrator software is offered on a loan basis, which you're welcome to use on the proviso that you have a licence.
At the time of writing, there are two types of licence available...
- Full licence which you pay for annually and can use at will. Note that if you don't have enough full licences, or the full licences you have expire, then you are offered AdBoard licences, which Business Administrator can automatically acquire if it has an open Internet connection. These can be converted to full licences.
- The AdBoard licence is a way of having advertisers pay for your use of the software. Here, the condition is that you have a licence and are willing to allow advertising onto the system, and that you keep it up to date. AdBoard licences are what is distributed if you need emergency licences and are, in fact, AdBoard licences.
The licences are designed to provide a number of benefits;
- You don't need to spend hundreds of thousands on buying capable business management software
- You don't need to spend money or time regularly upgrading the software – Business Administrator will check for upgrades frequently if it has an open Internet connection
- Your copy of Business Administrator will always be up to date
- Within reason, your Business Administrator will be able to cope with the latest legal and financial issues
- You don't need to worry about auditing the software – Business Administrator’s comprehensive systems will ensure you are properly licensed
- The license monitoring system also helps protect your data against fraud
There is no relationship between the number of licenses you have, and the number of installations you have. You can install Business Administrator on as many computers as you like (provided you own those computers), even if you have only one licence. However, you can only open Business Administrator as many times as you have licenses, but on whichever computers you like.
For example, if you had ten computers and bought two licenses, you could install Business Administrator on all ten computers, for convenience sake, but you could only open two of them (on any of the computers), at any one time.
If a third person tried to log on to the system, Business Administrator will first look for unused licenses, and, failing to find one, will seek non-usage (where somebody is logged on, but is not using the system). In the first case, the third user will be given the available licence, but in the second case Business Administrator (because of its quest for efficiency) will log the redundant user off, and give the licence to the third person. The user that was logged off will lose access to the system and will have to wait until a licence becomes available. If he chooses to force the issue, and if it can, then Business Administrator will acquire an AdBoard licence, and allow the user onto the system.
Network systems
Business Administrator Server is included in the Business Administrator product and it fulfils two roles: firstly, it centralises common Shadow Functions taking the load off the users and the data server and, secondly, offers administrators the opportunity to remotely manage the system and protect the data and the entire system. Note that system administrators do not normally control who does what – this is left to HR people and business objectives. Also note that whilst Business Administrator Server and the data reside on the same computer, the data server does not require a running Business Administrator Server to function – if Business Administrator Server was closed, or crashed, then the data should still be available to other satellites.
If the server crashes, or is shut down for some reason, Business Administrator will try to find a new server to cover it – Business Administrator knows that it is critical for the Shadow Systems to continue running for the business to continue full, uninterrupted operation. Generally, it will look for the open front end system that is being least used: the satellites are also capable of running the server functions.
If this new controlling machine were to crash, and the Server continued to fail, responsibility for operation of the Shadow Systems falls to the next working system – it daisy-chains until there are no computers left, or Business Administrator Server restarts, whence the responsibility is handed back.
If Business Administrator is not open on any computer, or the Shadow Functions can't work, then your business is not benefiting from Business Administrator: more than that, if your business relies on Business Administrator then you have just entered a high risk situation.
This suggests that Business Administrator should run 24 hours a day. The guideline is that either Business Administrator Server, or a satellite, plus the data serving computer, should be running whenever your business is operating. Of course, if your business runs 24 hours a day, then so should Business Administrator.
For the front end that covers the Server’s failure to run the Shadow Functions, the user will note an increase in the workload on Business Administrator, and response to their requests could slow dramatically. The user has some control over this: in The Managers, Preferences the user can slow or speed up the heartbeat of the system. They cannot stop it, and they can only control functions that are not currently critical. Business Administrator chooses what's critical and what's not. As for speed, it should be set as fast as possible, but one that will allow the user to get on with their work reasonably efficiently.
When the failing Business Administrator Server restarts operation, it will retake operation of the Shadow Functions, freeing the user to regain full effective use.
If the computer holding Business Administrator’s data were to crash, or the network became disconnected, then Business Administrator would completely cease to function. If the data computer continued to function, but the network crashed, then you could use the front end to Business Administrator, installed alongside Business Administrator Server (it is recommended that you use this only in emergencies lest this data computer crash). Again, a failing system could be a major business threat, and answers to it should be drawn up in your IT and disaster plan policies.
The backup systems
Because Business Administrator is the new holder of your business information, it has a mandate to do everything possible to protect that information. One way it does this is through backup procedures, performed daily (assuming it is run daily).
Business Administrator Server has backup tools with which you can choose the backup path and the cycle.
The default path for backups is the Backup folder on the same hard drive (c:\administrator\ backup). However, benefiting from a network, you ought to back up to a completely different computer – another big threat to data is a collapse of the hard drive.
Business Administrator only backs up data – it does not back up the system. Despite this, each backup consumes nearly as much space as Business Administrator itself, so beware disk space.