Operations

Backup

Overview

The data and database files should be backed up regularly to preserve the reliability of the processes and their associated data.

• It's strongly recommended to perform the file and database backup at the same time. To enforce data integrity, it's also recommended to stop IIS and database services.

• The following procedures apply to MS SQL Server only.

Full (applications and data)

Application and data files

Back up the DRIVE:\Inetpub\wwwroot\wfgen folder.

If you've applied file storage, back up the folder as indicated in the ApplicationDataPath parameter in the web.config file.

Database

Perform a standard SQL database backup using your DBMS tools.

Data only

Database

Perform a standard SQL database backup using your DBMS tools.

Data files

Back up the DRIVE:\Inetpub\wwwroot\wfgen\App_Data folder.

Moving the WorkflowGen database

SQL Server database

To move the WorkflowGen SQL Server database from one server to another:

1. Stop IIS services on the production server.

2. Detach the WorkflowGen database.

3. Copy the .mdf and .ldf files to the new location.

4. Attach the file to the new database server.

5. Update the connection string in the Administration Module Configuration Panel.

6. Restart your IIS services.

Moving the WorkflowGen application

To move the WorkflowGen installation from one server to another:

1. Stop IIS services on the production server.

2. Set up the same version of WorkflowGen on the new server.

3. Copy the DRIVE:\Inetpub\wwwroot\wfgen\App_Data folder from the old server to the new one if you haven’t applied file storage externalization.

4. If you have created your own web forms, SDK applications, or web services:

   1. Copy their folders in the corresponding tree structure of the new server. For example, if you have created a web service named MyWebService located in DRIVE:\wfgen\wfapps\WebServices\MyWebServices then you need to copy the entire folder to the same place on the new server.

   2. Create the IIS application with the same directory security options on the new server for the applications you have copied.

   3. For web services or SDK Applications, make sure to update the application URL in the Administration Module.

   4. For web forms, be sure to update the FORM_URL data in the process definition to point to the new URL.

   5. Repeat this process for every custom application you've created.

5. Update the application URL from the Administration Module Configuration Panel.

Monitoring

Storage space

File data

The only folder that you need to monitor for storage space is DRIVE:\Inetpub\wwwroot\wfgen\App_Data. The other folders should always keep the same size because everything that is generated over the time is placed in this directory.

Database

The database size can be determined by checking the .mdf and .ldf files if you're using SQL Server, or using your DBMS tools.

Storage space needs may vary depending on whether or not the Store file content in database process data storage option is selected during the process definition.

Directory synchronization

The directory synchronization log files can be found in the \wfgen\App_Data\LogFiles\Dir\Synchro directory. Alternately, you can consult and manage the logs history directly in the WorkflowGen Administration Module.

Windows Services

Windows Services should be set to run automatically when the server starts. Periodically, Windows Services will perform the following necessary tasks:

• Raise overdue exceptions

• Send overdue notifications

• Delete inactive delegations

• Delete ghost activities (activities initialized but never started)

Usage

Requests/actions by day

A statistics module and charting functions are provided in the User Portal to generate detailed reports on the requests and actions. You can customize reports using filters.

Attachment file size

Attachments to requests submitted using web forms are saved in the DRIVE:\Inetpub\wwwroot\wfgen\App_Data\Files\EFormASPX temporary folder and are automatically deleted 24 hours after their creation.

WorkflowGen will copy those runtime files to a permanent location. If the Store file content in database process data storage option is enabled, then they are stored directly in the database. Otherwise, they're stored in the file system as determined by the ApplicationDataPath configuration parameter (e.g. \App_Data\Files\DataSet\runtime).

If you know that a process takes too much space on the disk because of the process data, or too much space in the database because of file attachments, you can turn off the Archive action associated data option in the process definition. This will prevent the attached file from being stored for each action of every request. Only the data after the last action will be kept on the disk or in the database.