Data Purging // home-grown BPCS archiving

Dear Sean,

If Tom Molyneux elects to share his archiving code with you, please
consider reading these notes before you turn it loose on your system.

In our view, minimum requirements for archiving software include:

  >> Strict compliance with the BPCS rules for purging data ... plus ...
  >> Additional verification logic to ensure that data that may appear to
        be ready for archival is not removed when, in fact,
              -- it requires further processing, or  ...
              -- it's necessary for data history integrity, or ...
              -- premature removal would orphan other data.
  >> Archived data must support interrogation/reporting using
        existing BPCS inquiry and reporting programs.

Locksmith Archiving software satisfies those requirements.
www.unbeatenpathintl.com/locksmith_bpcs/source/1.html

When we compared Locksmith functionality with the functionality
Tom Molyneux described for his code we found that Tom had:

  ***  Missed some critical files
             (e.g. 10 missed files in  "Customer Orders" alone)

  ***  Missed some important areas
             (e.g.  OLM, ACP, ACR, User Profiles, Item Master,
                       Customer Master, Vendor Master and Lot Master.)

  ***  Apparently missed some crucial linkages
              (e.g. can't archive ITH without validation to ensure that
                       lot history is not lost.)

  ***  Archived some data that shouldn't be archived
             (e.g. KMR)


Warmest regards,
Milt Habeck
Unbeaten Path International
North America: (888) 874-8008
International: (262) 681-3151
www.upisox.com




+++++++++  +++++++  +++++++  +++++++  +++++++  +++++++
From: McGovern, Sean
To: SSA's BPCS ERP System
Sent: Monday, February 12, 2007 3:53 AM
Subject: Re: [BPCS-L] Data Purging

Would you consider sharing your code ?
Regards,
Sean McGovern



+++++++++  +++++++  +++++++  +++++++  +++++++  +++++++
From: Molyneux, Tom
To: SSA's BPCS ERP System
Sent: Monday, February 12, 2007 3:21 AM
Subject: Re: [BPCS-L] Data Purging

We are on V6.04. Some time ago we had problems, not so much with disk
usage as the fact that, if left to it's own devices, BPCS builds up data
at a staggering rate of knots and standard tasks begin to take ages to
complete as programs plough their way through millions of records.

To alleviate this and before I knew what archiving tools were available,
I wrote some programs of my own to take data off live BPCS files and put
them onto archive files that could still be accessed by in-house
enquiries and reports and retrieved back to the Live system in case of
problems. From there it would be a short step to actually deleting data
to make disk space.

I archive the following data :

  Customer Orders : ECH, ECL, ECS and ESN
  Shop Orders : FSO, FMA, FOD, FLT and ESN
  Purchase Orders : HPH, HPO and ESN
  Pick List Pribt File : IPP
  Print Detail Work File : ZPD
  Material Requirements File : KMR
  Inventory Transaction History File : ITH
  Promotions & Deaks Master File : PDM
  Special Prices File : ESP
  Cost Master File : CMF

You need to carefully determine your criteria to make sure you don't
archive/delete anything you need.
After consultation with our Accounts Department, we also archived some
old years off the G/L files - eg GLH, GHH, GSB - that were completed and
this took off millions of records.

So, if you can find software that does the job for you - great. But if
not, there are ways of doing it yourself.

Tom Molyneux



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From: Al Mac
Sent: 09 February 2007 04:35
To: SSA's BPCS ERP System
Subject: Re: [BPCS-L] Data Purging

I wanted LOCKSMITH, because it works for ALL files, then we could
decide what to purge from there, but company profit margin too low to
support add-on software I thought we needed for improving productivity
 (not just LOCKSMITH), so I had to develop a series of programs to:

    *  Identify BOM & Routings for parts we have not needed in X years
               <snip other constructive advice>
    *  Some files you gotta be careful with ... such as customer orders
        use line #s to navigate ... you can't just get rid of lines that are
        dead, and be able to access rest of the order.

               <snip other constructive advice>