What are best practices for Empower server management? - WKB269709

ENVIRONMENT

• Empower (all versions)

ANSWER

Best practices to maintain the best Empower server performance:

• Restart the server monthly to improve Windows performance and to clear database orphaned sessions. This reduces the fatal errors and buffering issues between client and database server.
• Clear the Listener log files available at "<Empower install Disk>:\Empower\Oracle\diag\tnslsnr\<Computer Name>\listener\trace\listener.log". Clearing the listener logs improves database performance because a huge listener log can result in poor database log writer performance.
• Clear the Listener log files at "<Empower install Disk>:\Empower\Oracle\diag\tnslsnr\<Computer Name>\listener\alert\Log.xml". This can free up disk space.
• Clear the alert log files at "<Empower install Disk>:\Empower\Oracle\diag\rdbms\<Alias>\<Alias>\alert\Log.xml". This can free up disk space and help increase WDM performance.
• Clear the Database recycle bin logs if Empower is version FR4 or lower.
• Verify WDM (Waters Database Manager) and ensure that there are no warnings related to table space. If table space errors are visible, contact Waters Support.
• Verify that RMAN/Hot/Cold Backup is running daily without any errors. If any errors are seen with backup, contact Waters Support.
• If RMAN backup is running without Rawdata backup, ensure Rawdata backup completion by verifying the designated log file.
• Always ensure that Backup data (Database/Rawdata) is moved outside the server as soon as possible into Tape or Network storage to prevent any data loss during a disaster event. The recommended time gap between Empower backup and Tape or NAS backup is only 1.5 hours.
• Windows events should be checked regularly and monitored for any critical disk errors or shutdown errors. If any critical errors are identified, take appropriate corrective action to prevent data loss.
• It is always recommended that you maintain two power supplies to the Empower server to prevent power failure issues. Power failures can cause hardware issues and database file corruption issues.
• Always ensure that Windows updates and antivirus are installed on scheduled manager to reduce the risk of any cyber attacks. Waters always recommends that you install security patches and Windows updates only after testing. Installation of Windows updates can sometimes cause unexpected system operation issues that lead to unplanned outages. After installation of Windows updates, perform basic Empower operations, such as data review, data processing, and report generation, to ensure that the system is working as expected, and then release it to users for further usage.
• Waters recommends adding Empower-related files and folders to antivirus exclusions, as descrfibed in Waters Tech Note TECN134790604.
• If any firewall is set up between client and server, enable the required ports given in Waters Tech Note 715004286 Ver.08 (Waters Informatics Infrastructure Reference Guide).

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION