This article describes the Appeon’s recommendations to ensure successful deployment of applications to a production environment.  It is important the Client follows these recommendations.  A problem caused by not following these recommendations will not be eligible for Technical Support.

Performance Tuning

The PowerBuilder source code should be optimized to ensure high performance and high scalability.  Most PowerBuilder applications exhibit some level of performance and scalability issues when run over a WAN and or larger number of application users.  Performance and scalability issues can cause the application response time to fluctuate drastically, cause the application to stop responding, and even possibly cause the application server to crash.  To ensure good performance and scalability the application code should be optimized such that:

1) The response time of any given function is 5 seconds or less over a WAN and 3 seconds or less over a LAN;

2) The database is locked for the minimum time possible, usually 5 seconds or less; and

3) No database deadlocks occur.

Functionality & Environment Testing

A malfunctioning application (where a particular functionality doesn’t work) is virtually always due to improper testing.  First, all unsupported PowerBuilder features/code (PowerBuilder features/code not supported by the Appeon Software Programs) need to be removed or rewritten.  Next, all application functionality needs to be tested carefully in the Web application and ensure it is functioning as expected.  Then, the Appeon Server log and the database log should be checked to ensure no errors are thrown.  Lastly, proper environment testing needs to be performed where the Web application is tested on the same environment as production (e.g. Windows OS and browser version, Appeon Software Program version, database version, database file, network connection, etc.) 

Windows PC Maintenance

The most common cause of emergency problems on a Windows PC are environment related, for example improper configuration of the Windows PC, a virus, network connectivity issue, or hardware failure. 

It is recommended that the IT or system administrator perform the first deployment of the Appeon Software Program to the Windows PC.  It will require the Web URL to be added to the Internet Explorer trusted sites list and that security zone set to Medium or lower.  Also, the Web application must always be accessed via the index.htm page NOT the application.htm page (even though after accessing from index.htm it automatically redirects to application.htm) so the correct URL should be bookmarked for the user.

Anti-virus software should be installed, Windows updates should be promptly applied, and the machine should be frequently scanned for viruses.  Viruses are the most problematic as they can remain undetected and cause the Internet Explorer or Windows OS to malfunction or even crash.

The IT or system administrator should perform a network connectivity test to ensure that the Windows PC configuration, anti-virus, and firewall are correct and that the connection can be established.  Also, a network QoS test should be performed to ensure 0% packet loss, max latency <150ms, and minimum throughput of 50KB/sec per user.

The hard drive should be regularly monitored to ensure there is enough free disk space.  Inadequate disk space can cause the Windows OS to slow-down or malfunction.  It is recommended to keep at least 15% free disk space or 10GB, whichever is greater.

The most common hardware failures on a Windows PC are the hard drive and fan/power supply.  It is recommended to regularly clean the fans to prolong the life and minimize heat.  An overheated machine can cause the Windows PC to slow-down or malfunction.

 Server Maintenance

The most common cause of emergency problems on the server is license related and environment related, for example improper configuration of the server OS or application server, a virus, network connectivity issue, or hardware failure. 

The IT or system administrator should login to AEM (Appeon Enterprise Manager) and ensure that the Appeon Software Programs license is activated and there are no license errors displayed.  Then it is recommended that every 2 weeks this step is repeated to ensure there are no license errors.  Appeon’s licensing mechanism allows a minimum of 15 day grace period for license errors.  It is important to note that license files cannot be generated by Appeon on-demand (i.e. 24x7).

The AEM error log mode should be set to “Standard” mode.  On a weekly basis the AEM log files (AppeonServer.log and AppeonError.log) should be checked for any new errors.  If any new errors are detected those should be promptly reported to Appeon Technical Support and Appeon will advise if anything should be done about them. 

Anti-virus software should be installed to the server, only HTTP/HTTPS port 80 should be exposed to the public, OS and application server updates should be promptly applied (provided the software major version is unchanged and Java or .NET framework versions are listed in Appeon documentation as supported), and the server should be frequently scanned for viruses.  Viruses are the most problematic as they can remain undetected and cause the application server to malfunction or even crash.

A network connectivity test should be performed to ensure that the server configuration, anti-virus, and firewall are correct and that the connection can be established.  Also, a network QoS test should be performed to ensure 0% packet loss, max latency <150ms, and minimum throughput of 50KB/sec per user.

The hard drive should be regularly monitored to ensure there is enough free disk space.  Inadequate disk space can cause the server to slow-down or malfunction.  It is recommended to keep at least 25% free disk space or 50GB, whichever is greater.

The most common hardware failures on a server are the hard drive and fan/power supply.  It is recommended to regularly clean the fans to prolong the life and minimize heat.  An overheated machine can cause the server to slow-down or malfunction.