EVO01.2 - Sage Evolution Sizing Document V1 4

Sage Evolution

Sizing Document

2

Contents Contents ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 2

Copyright ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3

Acknowledgements: .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 3

Version Control: ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3

Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 4

Getting Started ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 5

The database management system ........................................................................................................................................................................ 6

Contributing Factors to the system landscape ..................................................................................................................................................... 7

System Reliability and Availability ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7

System Performance ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 7

Network topology .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 8

Server architecture ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 8

Clients ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 9

Data safety and protection .................................................................................................................................................................................. 9

Creating the Sage Evolution System landscape ................................................................................................................................................ 10

Minimum Requirements .................................................................................................................................................................................... 10

User Count ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 12

Transaction Volumes ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 12

Projected Database Sizes .................................................................................................................................................................................. 13

Reporting ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 16

Hardware Specifications per intensity environment ........................................................................................................................................ 17

Branch Accounting Sync File estimates............................................................................................................................................................... 17

Branch Accounting Sync Interval Recommendations ...................................................................................................................................... 18

Sync Intervals for a branch ................................................................................................................................................................................ 18

Sync Intervals for a head office ........................................................................................................................................................................ 18

Staggered Sync Intervals between a branch and head office. ................................................................................................................... 19

Scenario: Branch 1 sends an IBT to Branch 2 ................................................................................................................................................ 19

Other important factors that could impact the performance of the synchronisation tool ................................................................ 20

Maintenance Strategies .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 20

Backups ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 21

System Owner (Internal IT Engineer or consultant) ..................................................................................................................................... 21

Failover/Mirrored/Cluster Servers ................................................................................................................................................................... 21

Software Prerequisites and Required Applications ........................................................................................................................................... 22

References ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 22

Addendum A: IT Infrastructure Assessment form ............................................................................................................................................. 22

IT Infrastructure Assessment form ....................................................................................................................................................................... 23

3

Copyright

This product is copyrighted to:

Sage, Sage Technology Park, 102 Western Services Road, Gallo Manor Ext 6, Johannesburg, 2191.

Disclaimer: While Sage Pastel takes care to ensure the accuracy and quality of these materials, we cannot guarantee their accuracy, and all

materials are provided without warranty whatsoever, including, but not limited to warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular

purpose. The name used in the data files for this course is that of fictitious companies. Any resemblance to current or future companies is

purely coincidental.

This document may contain links to sites on the Internet that are owned and operated by third parties (the External Sites). Sage Pastel is

not responsible for the availability of, or the content located on or through any External Site. Please contact Sage if you have any concerns

regarding such links or External Sites.

Copyrights: This product is owned by Sage Pastel and is protected by copyright laws and international treaty provisions. All rights reserved.

This publication, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including

photocopying, recording, storage in an information retrieval system, or otherwise, without express written permission of Sage Pastel. All of

the copyright, trademarks, trade names, patents and other intellectual property rights subsisting in or used in connection with the product

including all documentation relating thereto are and remain the property of Sage Pastel.

This document conveys no rights to the software or other products about which it was written; all use or licensing of such software is held

by Sage Pastel and users of this book are required to adhere to licence agreement conditions as specified on the software.

Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not constitute a commitment on the part of the supplier. Sage

Pastel reserves the right to revise this publication and the product, and to make changes to the content thereof, from time to time, without

obligation of Sage Pastel to notify any person or organisation of such revision or changes.

You acknowledge that unless agreement is reached directly with Sage Pastel to provide services (including implementation, training,

consulting and similar) for the software, You are responsible for engaging a qualified party to provide such services on terms that You

negotiate. You also accept the responsibility for independently investigating the skills and qualifications of such party to ensure that they

have and can provide the level of skill and service required. You agree that the Sage shall have no liability whatsoever for any failure

associated with such services, even if the party engaged is an authorised or certified dealer, reseller, consultant, installer, business partner,

trainer or training centre with Sage Pastel.

Sage Pastel shall endeavour to provide appropriate training and consulting at all times. This will be guided by the collection of information

and accurate completion of all analysis sheets and other required documentation. Where such information provided and documentation

completed is inaccurate or incomplete and not in accordance with your business needs, Sage Pastel cannot be held liable.

Acknowledgements:

Sage wishes to acknowledge the following people in the production of this manual.

Content Developer: Brentin Govender

Content Editor: Brentin Govender

Content Verifier: Christiaan Liebenberg and Brentin Govender

Layout and Design: Brentin Govender and Len Eksteen

Proof Readers: Bob Grewar and Len Eksteen

Project Manager: Mohammed Mosam

Version Control: Software Version 6.82

Document Version: 1.4

4

Introduction Before undertaking the implementation of Sage Evolution within the destined environment there are certain

factors that need to be taken into account as they play a pivotal role in the daily use of the software.

Sage Evolution is a real time, off-the-shelf fully integrated solution that caters for diverse industries. By defining

and then combining the business processes between the operations and financial aspects of the business to

create a long term holistic solution.

Like all software applications, Sage Evolution is dependent on a well-balanced IT system landscape that will

allow the business to operate smoothly, efficiently and most importantly provide flexibility with scalability to grow

and adapt for future business strategies and processes.

Within the Sage Evolution Product Suite there are 4 different installation types, namely;

A Standalone Evolution Company

A Branch accounting Online Company

A Branch accounting Offline Company

A Municipal entity.

Planning and understanding the IT system landscape requirements is of paramount importance. For example,

assume the IT system landscape was setup for a standalone company initially and then the business elects to

implement an offline branch accounting environment. The effect of these decisions could potentially mean that

the entire IT system landscape may need to be upgraded or changed completely.

Re-implementing a new IT system landscape is already a challenge but to perform this task in a short space of

time is difficult and unnecessary.

5

Getting Started

The purpose of this document is to provide a set of guidelines to structure a well-balanced IT system landscape

that will meet the businesss objectives.

The audience for this document would be the following;

- The businesss IT department\team.

- The businesss financial business process owners (e.g. Financial Manager).

- The project implementation team (e.g. Project Manager, Lead Consultants).

The collective term IT system landscape is defined as;

The server computer and the client workstations.

Software applications.

Organisational network structure.

The IT support team.

IT Governance (policies and procedures).

The initial set of questions;

Will the current server meet the clients requirements?

Will the current server be able to cater for technology enhancements?

Will the current client workstations meet the processing requirements?

Will the current client workstations be able to cater for technology enhancements?

What are the expansion plans for the business in terms of users in different physical locations/areas?

What type of platform would the users require to gain access to Sage Evolution?

If the current server/client workstations cannot be used, what type of server/client workstations is

required that would meet client requirements and technology enhancements?

Will the current network layout meet the clients requirements?

What type of network layout will the client require based on the requirements?

What will the architecture of the proposed IT infrastructure be?

To establish a well-balanced IT system the following type of questions need to be asked?

What is the proposed concurrent user count?

What are the expected transaction volumes?

What are the hardware types that are required? (I.e. Processor, Hard drive etc.)

Where are the users geographically located?

What type of network setup will be used to connect users?

What type of internet connectivity is required to connect the user in different locations?

What type of backup strategies will be put in place?

What type of maintenance plans will be put in place to monitor and fine tune the IT system on a

scheduled basis?

6

The database management system A Database Management System (DBMS) is the software used to organise and maintain the database. These

are categorised according to the database model that they support. The model determines the query languages

that are available to access the database.

Sage Evolution uses the MS SQL Server application as its database management system, where a central

database can be accessed by concurrent users performing different functions within the Sage Evolution

application.

Microsoft SQL is based on the Relational Model.

The purpose of the relational model is to provide a method for specifying data and queries. We can directly

request the information the database contains and the information we want from it, and let the database

management system software take care of describing data structures for storing the data and retrieval

procedures for getting queries / requests answered.

Sage Evolution V6.82 will be compatible with all editions of SQL 2008 and 2012. However, the needs of the

business would then determine which edition of the Microsoft SQL Server application would be required.

There are three options available as far as the database management system is concerned:

- A new copy of MS SQL Standard or Enterprise can be purchased.

- A free, scaled down, lower performance version of MS SQL Server called MS SQL Server Express can

be used.

- A pre-existing instance of MS SQL Server can be used for Sage Evolution.

Table 1:

Express Standard Enterprise

SQ

L 2

00

8 R

2

Database Size Limitations 10 GB Operating System maximum

Operating System maximum

Concurrent User Access Limitations

No Limit* No Limit No Limit

Useable Ram (32 Bit) 1 GB only Operating System maximum


Useable Ram (64 Bit) 1 GB only 64 GB 64 GB

Useable processors 1 processor 4 8

Scheduled Tasks / Maintenance Activities

No Yes Yes

Scheduled Backups No Yes Yes

Express Standard Enterprise

SQ

L 2

01

2

Database Size Limitations 10 GB Operating System maximum


Concurrent User Access Limitations

No Limit* No Limit No Limit

Useable Ram (32 Bit) 1 GB only Operating System maximum


Useable Ram (64 Bit) 1 GB only 64 GB 64 GB

Useable processors Limited to lesser of 1 Socket or 4 cores

Limited to lesser of 4 Sockets or 16 cores


Scheduled Tasks / Maintenance Activities

No Yes Yes

Scheduled Backups No Yes Yes

7

Source information:

*It is recommended that SQL Express should only be used up to a maximum of 10 concurrent users, this

recommendation is based on the memory and processor limitations which will affect system performance.

Contributing Factors to the system landscape

System Reliability and Availability

To a business environment a financial information system is the integral and central point of the

business, there are three key values that stand out; i.e. information, system and security (amongst

other). These values can only be achieved if the infrastructure is reliable and made available within the

prescribed business operating hours.

Reliability should be self-explanatory, of all information systems; the financial information system is the

corner stone of any business. It is therefore one of the most crucial assets that needs to be managed

and maintained for continued business success. The reliability of the financial information system and

underlying IT system is critical to this end.

Availability is considered to be one of the most important elements of the system because if the system

is not available then the business is unable to process information or draw reports to measure business

performance.

It is important to assess the extent to which the business is dependent on the system.

It is important to ask, Can the business survive without their financial information system for a day, 2

days or a week?

o If the answer is no, this means the IT system landscape needs to be reliable and available at all

times.

o If the answer is yes, contingency plans would need to be put in place that will address how the

business will trade and operate when the system is down.

System Performance

Performance is a blanket statement that includes the application, server, end-user and network

environments. Each can have a significant effect on the overall performance of the system. More

specifically, performance refers to acceptable response time that a specific processing action should be

completed to meet the requirements of each business process.

To calculate the accepted response times, performance stress testing should be conducted early on in

the project implementation cycle to determine which processing actions will consume a large amount of

system resources. Once this information is present, correct decisions can be made on tweaking or

upgrading the current hardware, software, or infrastructure. If there is a processing action that will

predictably consume large amounts of system resources due to the nature of that business process,

this will allow for efficient strategies to be put in place.

Poor system performance ultimately detracts significantly from the return on investment in an ERP

system. User confidence in the system drops and management then have conflict with staff turn-around

times for deliverables. Poor response times on end-users machines results in decreased turn-around

times for processing of information or transactions potentially requiring additional staff on an already

overloaded system. The fix it later concept becomes a costly exercise.

8

Network topology

Sage Evolution is a client server application that supports the following deployments:

Single-user: Client/Server via a LAN (Workgroup or Domain)

o The traditional application model that consist of a client and server that are connected on the

same network. The client will have the Sage Evolution application installed and the server will

have the Microsoft SQL Server instance installed to house the SQL Database across a local

network.

Private or public cloud solutions:

o Sage Evolution can be placed in an offsite location (e.g. Datacentres), users will have to log-in

via a terminal server, remote desktop session or via a thin client application to launch Evolution

Server architecture

The server environment within the Sage Evolution landscape is critical and necessary for responsive processing

actions and timeous delivery of data to computers across the network environment.

Upon reviewing the server environment intended for Sage Evolution, the following hardware components need

to be considered carefully;

Processors:

o Processors process information. Instructions or input is fed to a processor or group of

processors so that a calculation or result (output) can be achieved. The more processors one

has, the more input can be processed and more output obtained.

o The more instructions fed to processors the more they are utilized until capacity reaches 100%.

Hereafter instructions are queued until the workload decreases sufficiently to allow the

processor to return to under 100% utilization. Users of server environments that consistently

exceed 80%utilisation will experience frequent delays in processing (invoicing) or extracting

information (reporting).

o Utilization of the server environment must be restricted to business applications only. Using

servers for multiple functions (for example terminal server/mail server/document server installed

alongside SQL) is not recommended for business critical systems like Sage Evolution.

Memory:

o Memory allows instructions that require processing to be queued but can also store information

that has not changed thereby freeing-up processing time. For example if sufficient system RAM

is available, the same report pulled by two different users can load significantly quicker for the

2nd, 3rd or nth user. SQL makes excellent use of memory.

o Generally applications (including Sage Evolution) are designed to take advantage of memory to

improve overall system performance.

o Memory is also an economical method to improve system performance and where possible,

extra RAM should be added to systems intended to be used for SQL; where possible the

amount of RAM installed should be equal to or exceed the estimated size of the database(s)

over 3 years.

Storage:

o Storage should be carefully planned to ensure sufficient hard disk performance for SQL and

Sage Evolution. It is not sufficient to cater for disk storage space alone. Hard disks are a major

influencer of SQL performance. Solid state aside, the 3 main factors affecting performance are;

hard disk interface, spindle speed and physical size.

The Interface (e.g. IDE, SAS, SCSI or SATA) governs the speed at which information can be

transferred to and from the hard disk.

Spindle speed determines how fast the disk can spin affecting how much data the head can

read or write in a second. Older SATA disks ran at 5200 Revolutions per Minute (RPM), newer

9

SATA disks can run at up to 7200 RPM. Older SCSI interfaces typically spin at 7500 RPM and

more recently SAS hard disks can spin at 10,000 or 15,000 RPM

The physical size of the disk affects how big the disk platters are. Data is read from or written

to platters. The smaller the platter, the faster the disk head can move from one location to

another and the less the disk platter has to spin for the head to reach the sectors it needs to.

This all affects the amount of data that can be read or written to the disk per second.

o Solid-state disks are a significant development in recent disk history. Numerous solid-state-disk

configurations exist each with their own advantages and disadvantages, it is recommended

that businesses intending to deploy solid state disk storage environments engage with qualified

personnel to ensure that current and future, performance and redundancy requirements are

met.

Operating System:

o The operating system manages the computer system and its resources. Refer to the minimum

requirements for the Microsoft operating systems that are supported.

o Depending on your processor bit architecture, this will state which operating system can be

installed, i.e. 32 bit or 64 bit. 64bit operating system allows users to address more memory

compared to the (typical) 4GB limit on 32 bit operating systems.

Clients

Clients are stand-alone, networked or thin. In single-user or stand-alone environments, Sage Evolution is

installed on a single users system. In multi-user networked environments, Sage Evolution is installed on multiple

users systems or on application servers (e.g. terminal servers) which will the allow them connect to the

assigned SQL Server.

The specifications for the client systems or application servers are dependent on the user activities that will be

performed, for consistency the specifications of the client workstations should be similar for minimum

recommendations, refer to the sizing table.

Data safety and protection

Raid Configurations:

o There are 3 main types used by most organizations.

RAID 0 gives you the best performance but no redundancy, requires at least 2 disks.

RAID 1 gives you the worst performance but the best redundancy. It is also the most

expensive. For every disk there must be a mirrored disk, requires at least 2 disks.

RAID-5 is the common ground between RAID0 and RAID1, it is not the best

performance but better than RAID1. It requires at least 3 disks to implement and can

tolerate 1 disk failure.

o RAID0+1 and RAID1+0 configurations also exist called striped mirrors and mirrored stripes,

which fall out of scope for this document. These RAID configurations require many disks and

detailed understanding of disk performance and suitability of each implementation is dependent

on disk throughput requirements.

o There are two main categories of RAID configuration control. Software and hardware control. In

hardware control, performance is typically much faster and battery back-up allow for

uncommitted writes to be written when power is restored. Software RAID should not be

considered for SQL. This is where the OS controls RAID, this may be suitable for cheap file-

servers or archive servers where performance is not of concern. Dont use software RAID with

SQL.

Use of Cluster SQL Servers:

10

o There are two main types of clusters, active and passive. All clusters require at least two

members or nodes. One node of the cluster acts as a fail-over for the other. If one node fails,

the other node takes over the services that were running on the other.

o In a passive cluster, only 1 node is live at any given point. This means that the other node

effectively sits idle whilst the other node does the work. SQL only supports passive clustering.

o What many organizations do is to use each node of the cluster as a fail-over node for the other.

So two unique instances of SQL are installed on each cluster node. This allows both nodes to

be used simultaneously. For example one can run 1 database on a unique instance of SQL on

one node, and another database on another unique instance of SQL on the other. If one node

fails, both instances will run on one node. Arguably this does affect performance for both

databases during this time; however in real world examples, if the servers are of sufficient

specification, it is more important that the disk performance is sufficient.

o Both nodes participating in the cluster must be of similar hardware specification, software build

(Windows Enterprise required, SQL Standard or better), same service pack level, same hot-

fixes, same windows updates etc.

o 3rd party storage is required. Either serial attached storage to both nodes or a SAN.

All of the above information is basic guidelines that aim to provide information that will assist in consulting with a

certified IT Consulting Company.

Creating the Sage Evolution System landscape To summarise, the above sections refers to the role the hardware components perform in a system landscape.

However, hardware alone is not going to create the well-balanced landscape that the business requires.

There are several factors or variables that we need to consider which are listed below and we will go into detail

as well:

- Minimum Requirements

- User Counts

- Transaction Volumes

- Projected Transaction Volumes

- Branch Accounting Sync Files

- Internet Bandwidth

Minimum Requirements

The Sage Evolution minimum requirement benchmarks your starting point and from here you build on to create

your system landscape.

11

Table 2:

Areas Single User Workstation Server

(Less than 10 users)

Server

(11 - 20 users)*

HARDWARE:

Minimum Single-core 1 Ghz Single-core 1 Ghz Dual-core 2 Ghz Dual-core 2 Ghz

Recommended Dual-core or more

2 Ghz or faster

Dual-core or more

2 Ghz or faster

Quad core or more

2 Ghz or faster

Quad core or more

2 Ghz or faster

Please Note: 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) processors are supported.

OPERATING SYSTEM:

Minimum Microsoft Windows 7

Professional Edition

Service Pack 1 or later

Microsoft Windows 7



Windows Server 2008 R2

Standard Edition



Standard Edition


Recommended Microsoft Windows 7/8



Microsoft Windows 7/8




Standard Edition



Standard Edition


Please Note: Windows 7/8 Starter, Windows 7/8 Home and Windows RT editions are not supported by Sage Evolution.

RAM:

Minimum 2GB 2GB or more 4GB or more 4GB or more

Recommended 4GB or more 4GB or more 6GB or more 8GB or more

Please Note: Minimum 1GB (32-bit) orr2 GB (64-bit).

SCREEN RESOLUTION:

Minimum 1024 x 768 1024 x 768 1024 x 768 1024 x 768

DATABASE SERVER:

Recommended Microsoft (TM) SQL Server 2008 R2 - Service Pack 1 or later.

Supported Microsoft (TM) SQL Server 2012.

ADDITIONAL SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS (SERVER AND WORKSTATION)

Minimum Microsoft Excel 2007 or later (for the Business Intelligent Centre module).

Minimum .Net 4.00 framework (included in installation DVD).

FTP (FILE TRANSFER PROTOCOL) SERVER:

Recommended Microsoft FTP running IIS 6 or later (for Branch Accounting environments).

EVOLUTION MOBILE SALES

Hardware Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 N8000 / Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 P7500 / iPad 2 or later.

Operating System IOS 5.1.1 or later.

Web Service Internet Information Services (IIS) 6 or later.

Connectivity 3G or WIFI

ADDITIONAL IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

Recommended We strongly recommend you speak to your Sage Evolution Business Partner regarding the system requirements

recommended for your specific environment.

OTHER SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

DVD-Rom, 256 Colour VGA or SVGA Video Graphics.

The on-line help requires Internet Explorer version 6 or higher, or a compatible browser.

To use touch capabilities in Windows 8, you need a table or a monitor that supports multi-touch.

Up-to-date network drivers, service packs and updates for your network and operating systems.

Windows 7 and 8 personal computers/notebooks need to ensure that the recommended RAM memory requirements and Video

Graphics adapter are met.

The above serves as a guideline. Hardware requirements may differ depending on the operating system and the version of SQL

Server. For Microsoft (TM) SQL Server 2012, please note that there are additional software requirements to adhere to. Please

refer to the SQL Server specifications documentation for more information.

12

User Count

The user ultimately drives the input and output from their processing actions. The number of users that are

logged into Sage Evolution application at any given time are regarded as concurrent users. Concurrent users

affect the server workload and response times. The business will have different types of users and some users

will be performing a certain functions in the business that will create a massive workload for the server to

process, where as other users will not create massive workload for the server to process because of their

processing functions.

For example: An invoicing clerk may process 10 invoices per hour and an accounting clerk might capture a

cashbook 3 times a day. The invoicing clerk requires more resources from the server than the accounting clerk

does.

Transaction Volumes

The most important variable the system landscape must cater for is transaction volumes. Estimating transaction

volumes is never an easy task due to seasonal spikes, business trends etc. To assist with estimating the

expected transaction volumes 3 intensity environments have been defined.

If any of the criteria fall within the Medium Intensity Environment, the entire setup should be understood as

Medium Intensity. Likewise if any single criteria falls within High Intensity then the entire environment is

understood as High Intensity.

Table 3:

Criteria Low Intensity Environment

Medium Intensity Environment

High Intensity Environment

Number of users 5 < 30 >= 30 +

Number of concurrent companies

2 2 500 < 5000 >= 5000

Number of customer accounts

< 1000 > 1000 = 5000

Number of supplier Accounts

< 1000 > 1000 = 5000

Number of stock items < 2000 > 2000 < 10000 >= 10000

Number of cash book lines per cash book batch

100 < 400 >= 450 < 500

Number of journal lines per journal batch

100 < 450 >= 450 < 500

Number of customer invoices/credit notes processed per day

100 < 300 >= 300 < 500

13

Average number of transaction lines per customer invoices/credit notes

= 20 < 100 >= 100

Average number of grvs processed per day

< 10 > = 10 < 250 >= 300

Average number of transaction lines per grv

< 10 > = 10 < 100 >= 100

Average number of job costing documents processed per day

< 10 >100 < 450 >= 500

Average number of transaction lines per job card

< 10 >100 < 200 >= 200

Number of manufacturing processing per day

< 10 >100 > = 100

Average number of transaction lines per manufacture process

< 50 > 50 < 200 > = 200

Average number of bill of material recipe lines within a manufacture process (i.e. Including sub manufacture)

< 25 > = 25 < 100 > = 100

Single annuity billing run < 1000 >= 1000 < 5000 >= 5000

Branch Accounting Environment

Branches N/A < 4 >= 5

Number of Sync Monitors

N/A 1 More than 1

Frequency of Sync N/A > 6 hours intervals < 2 hours intervals

Note: The above values in Table 3, are guidelines and are based on a standard configuration and processing

environment within Sage Evolution and exclude 3rd party applications.

Projected Database Sizes

Defining the system landscape is a long term strategy which requires preparation and understanding of the

volume of transactions that will be processed now and for next 1 3, 5 years. The variable factor that needs to be

dealt with is how the database will grow?

14

This section can also be used to establish whether the current landscape would be able to cater for the growth

of the system. Thus there could be a saving on capital outlay of hardware to get the system operational for the

next 2 years (as an example).

The size of a new Sage Evolution company database is approximately 30 MB.

Numerous amounts of transactions will be processed through the application, but the end result is that there are

6 main tables that will be processed and updated 80-90% of time.

The following values will be kept at a constant to facilitate the estimate calculation that will be based on the

number of transaction that will be processed.

10 Inventory items per transaction

Average number of trading days in a year (Excluding weekend and public holidays) = 249

Projected transaction growth per for year 2 on year 1 = 25%




Table 4:

Type Year No. of Transaction (per day)

No of Transaction (per year)

Size Per Transaction

Size Per Day

Total per Year

Overall Total (Year on Year)

Accounts Payable Transactions

Purchase Order (PO)

Year 1 35 8 715 16 KB 560 KB 136.2 MB 136.2 MB

Year 2 44 19 671 16 KB 704 KB 171.2 MB 307.4 MB

Year 3 56 33 615 16 KB 896 KB 217.9 MB 525.3 MB

Year 4 70 51 045 16 KB 1.09 MB 272.3 MB 797.6 MB

Year 5 87 72 708 16 KB 1.36 MB 338.5 MB 1 .136 GB

Goods Receive Voucher (GRV)

Year 1 24 5 976 9 KB 216 KB 52.52 MB 52.52 MB

Year 2 30 13 446 9 KB 270 KB 65.65 MB 118.18 MB

Year 3 38 22 908 9 KB 342 KB 83.16 MB 201.34 MB

Year 4 48 34 860 9 KB 432 KB 105.05 MB 306.39 MB

Year 5 60 49 800 9 KB 540 KB 131.31 MB 437.70 MB

Supplier Invoice (SINV)

Year 1 21 5 229 1 KB 21 KB 5.11 MB 5.11 MB

Year 2 27 11 952 1 KB 27 KB 6.57 MB 11.67 MB

Year 3 34 20 418 1 KB 34 KB 8.27 MB 19.94 MB

Year 4 43 31 125 1 KB 43 KB 10.46 MB 30.40 MB

Year 5 53 44 322 1 KB 53 KB 12.89 MB 43.28 MB

Completed Purchase Order (I.e. PO + GRV + SINV)

Year 1 24 5 976 24 KB 576 KB 140.06 MB 140.06 MB

Year 2 30 13 446 24 KB 720 KB 175.08 MB 315.14 MB

Year 3 38 22 908 24 KB 912 KB 221.77 MB 536.91 MB

Year 4 48 34 860 24 KB 1.13 MB 280.13 MB 817.03 MB

Year 5 60 49 800 24 KB 1.41 MB 350.16 MB 1.167 GB

15

Table 5:

Type Year No. of Transaction (per day)

No of Transaction (per year)

Size Per Transaction

Size Per Day

Total per Year

Overall Total (Year on Year)

Accounts Receivable Transactions

Complete Sales Order Invoice (I.e. SO + INV)

Year 1 56 13 944 21 KB 1.15 MB 285.96 MB 285.96 MB

Year 2 70 31 374 21 KB 1.44 MB 357.45 MB 643.41 MB

Year 3 89 53 535 21 KB 1.83 MB 454.47 MB 1.097 GB

Year 4 111 81 174 21 KB 2.28 MB 566.82 MB 1.664 GB

Year 5 137 115 287 21 KB 2.81 MB 699.58 MB 2.364 GB

Retail Invoice

Year 1 76 18 924 13 KB 988 KB 240.25 MB 240.25 MB

Year 2 70 36 354 13 KB 910 KB 221.28 MB 461.53 MB

Year 3 96 60 258 13 KB 1.22 MB 303.47 MB 764.99 MB

Year 4 126 91 632 13 KB 1.60 MB 398.30 MB 1.163 GB

Year 5 161 131 721 13 KB 2.4 MB 508.94 MB 1.672 GB

To summarise the above projected customer and supplier transactional data over a five year period, we will

have the following figures.

Table 6:

Transaction

Type Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

Purchase

Order 136.17 MB 307.36 MB 525.23 MB 797.58 MB 1 136.06 MB

Goods Receive

Voucher 52.52 MB 118.18 MB 201.34 MB 306.39 MB 437.70 MB

Supplier

Invoice 5.11 MB 11.67 MB 19.94 MB 30.40 MB 43.28 MB

Complete PO 140.06 MB 315.14 MB 536.91 MB 817.03 MB 1 167.19 MB

Sales Order

Invoice 285.96 MB 643.41 MB 1 097.89 MB 1 664.70 MB 2 364.28 MB

Retail Invoice 240.25 MB 461.53 MB 764.99 MB 817.03 MB 1 167.19 MB

Total In MB 860.07 MB 1 857.29 MB 3 146.30 MB 4 433.12 MB 6 315.70 MB

Total in GB 0.85 GB 1.81 GB 3.07 GB 4.33 GB 6.17 GB

The values in Tables 4, 5 and 6 are estimates based on a standard setup of evolution without any configurations

or customizations.

Example: Item Groups (controlling the posting of the general ledger account transactions) or multiple

warehouses etc.)

16

Reporting

One of the key driving factors for a financial system is better and efficient reporting in a timely manner. It is

common belief that the architecture of the transacting company database is and will be structured around how

the financial and operational departments/personnel requires these reports, right down to the granular levels of

data, fonts and formats.

Initially, drawing reports while transactions are being processed may be achievable but as the database grows

the reporting will gradually slow down on high volume reporting (e.g. Daily or monthly transaction listing, Stock

movements over periods etc.). The reason for this is simple, new committed transactions (writes) are given

priority over reporting (reads).

The following table describes the reporting requirements for the 3 intensity environments:

Table 7:

Criteria Low Intensity Environment Medium Intensity Environment High Intensity Environment

Reporting Intervals

Would be able run high volume transaction standard reports during transaction processing

Would be able run high volume transaction standard reports during transaction processing.

Would be able run high volume transaction standard reports outside transaction processing times.

Recommended: High volume transaction reporting should be printed after hours or scheduled to print.



Suggested: A Data warehouse or cube reporting tool.

Suggested: A Data warehouse or cube reporting tool.

To further elaborate how reporting requirements can change values from table 4, 5 and 6 have been used to

substantiate the growth of the database (only isolating on customer Sales Order Invoices). It is evident that

reporting on year on year performance or figures will require an offline reporting tool or after-hour scheduling of

reports as the company grows.

Table 8:

Year Database Size

Transaction Volumes on SO Invoices

Accumulated transaction total (year on year)

Accumulated GL transactions.^

Accumulated Stock transactions.^

Accumulated Customer transactions.^

Intensity Environment

Year1 0.85 GB 13 944 13 944 69 720 139 440 13 944 Low

Year2 1.81 GB 31 374 45 318 226 590 453 180 31 374 Medium

Year3 3.07 GB 53 535 98 853 494 265 988 530 53 535 High

Year4 4.33 GB 81 174 180 027 900 135 1 800 270 81 174 High

Year5 6.17 GB 115 287 295 314 1 476 570 2 953 140 115 287 High

17

^ Calculations

Accumulated General Ledger Transactions:

By default 5 transactions are processed per invoice. (Excluding grouping etc).

Accumulated Stock Transactions: Based on the example: 10 individual stock items was processed per invoice.

Accumulated Customer transactions: By default 1 transaction lines is processed for the customer.

For more information consult an IT Consulting Company for more information.

Hardware Specifications per intensity environment

Once the transaction numbers and projected growth of the database have been estimated, a game plan for the

IT infrastructure can be devised.

The recommend procedure that should be followed is to consult an IT consulting firm to provide the type of

hardware and solutions for the system landscape taking into account the budget or required delivery times.

Branch Accounting Sync File estimates

The Branch Accounting offline environment transports encrypted compressed files between the head office and

its branches via a central FTP site.

A tool referred to as the Sync Monitor monitors the central FTP for files and then downloads and imports those

files into the receiving database. To export information it works on the last change concept, meaning only the

last update changes or new transactions will be exported and not the entire database each time.

Depending on intervals and transactions this will affect the size of the file, further impacting the time period it will

take to transport the file to the FTP etc. Below is a list of examples of file sizes one can expect;

Example 1: 5 Purchase Order + 5 Supplier Invoice + 10 Sales Orders:

Average of 10 stock items per document

Single Supplier Account

Single Customer Account

File Info Summary

Compressed Sync File Size

SQL Backup Size Restored Sync Database Size (Uncompressed)

373 KB 3.31 MB 5.07 MB

File Info Detail

Table Name Table Description Row Count Lines

INVNUM Document Header Table 20

_btblInvoicelines Document Lines Table 200

POSTST Stock Transactions Table 150

POSTAP Supplier Transaction Table 5

POSTAR Customer Transaction Table 10

POSTGL General Ledger Transaction Table 120

WHSESTK Warehouse Stock Table 10

STKITEM Stock Master Table 10

CLIENT Client Master Table 1

VENDOR Supplier Master Table 1

Example 2: 17 Purchase Order + 17 Supplier Invoice + 42 Sales Orders

18

Average of 10 stock items per document

Single Supplier Account

Single Customer Account

File Info Summary



392 KB 4.11 MB 5.62 MB

File Info Detail

Table Name Table Description Row Count Lines

INVNUM Document Header Table 76

_btblInvoicelines Document Lines Table 760

POSTST Stock Transactions Table 590

POSTAP Supplier Transaction Table 17

POSTAR Customer Transaction Table 42

POSTGL General Ledger Transaction Table 448

WHSESTK Warehouse Stock Table 10

STKITEM Stock Master Table 10

CLIENT Client Master Table 1

VENDOR Supplier Master Table 1

Example 3: Other instances of files sizes

File Info Summary



530 KB 6.42 MB 8.87 MB

795 KB 6.92 MB 8.62 MB

1.16 MB 10.1 MB 13.8 MB

1.67 MB 15.1 MB 19.2 MB

2.92 MB 27.1 MB 34.6 MB

Branch Accounting Sync Interval Recommendations

The following information illustrates the procedure in determining the sync intervals across the type of internet

bandwidth listed below;

Sync Intervals for a branch

Line Speed Synch Interval

128kpbs Not recommended for Branch Accounting

256kbps 120 + minutes

384kbps 90 - 120 minutes

512kpbs** 60 - 90 minutes

1mpbs 30 - 60 minutes

4mbps 15 - 30 minutes

Sync Intervals for a head office

Line Speed Synch Interval

128kpbs Not recommended for Branch Accounting

19



512kpbs** 60 - 90 minutes

1mpbs 30 - 60 minutes

4mbps 15 - 30 minutes

Staggered Sync Intervals between a branch and head office.

Example: Head Office with 5 branches

Location Details

Branch Using 384kbps line

Head Office Using 1mbps line

Synch Interval at Branch 90 minutes (business day from 8am until

6pm)

Synch Interval at Head Office 30 minutes (business day from 8am until

6pm)

First Sync Second Sync Third Sync

Branch 1 08:00 09:30 11:00

Branch 2 08:02 09:32 11:02

Branch 3 08:04 09:34 11:04

Branch 4 08:06 09:36 11:06

Branch 5 08:08 09:38 11:08

Head Office 08:00 08:30 09:00

Scenario: Branch 1 sends an IBT to Branch 2

Should a scenario then occur where Branch 1 sends an IBT to Branch 2, with the above synch setup, the

transactions would be received and processed as per the table below. It is important that proper consideration

is given to the operational requirements of a business in order to determine the best synch interval. Should the

synch intervals be too great for business requirements then a line upgrade is recommended.

20

08:00 08:30 09:00 09:30 10:00

Branch 1

Synch

Runs, IBT

is synched

to HO

HO

IBT

received at

HO

Branch 2

IBT

received at

Branch 2

at 9:32

synch

Other important factors that could impact the performance of the synchronisation tool

1. All of the above recommendations are calculated using the benchmark synch file size of 500kb. Should

there be a greater file size sent on a regular basis this would then need to be looked at on an individual

basis.

2. Set up is critical and at all times only duly certified and authorised personnel should have access to the

Sync Monitor. Should any of the settings be changed this could result in the synchronisation not

happening.

3. The Sync Monitor must be open and running on both the Branch and Head Office servers at all time in

order for the synchronisation to work. This will mean that the server machines must also be booted up

and running.

4. The internet connection must be running in order for the synchronisation to work. If users are unable to

access the internet or e-mail and this line is shared with the Sync Monitor then the synchronisation will

more than likely also be affected.

5. The FTP folder is the domain of the clients IT service provider. Should any changes be made to the

FTP it must be tested to ensure that the Sync Monitor is able to connect to the FTP from all locations.

6. The above recommendations have been determined based on a typical Branch Accounting

environment. There may be additional external factors which affect the performance of the

synchronisation and are unique to a site. These will need to be investigated and further

recommendations made thereafter.

Maintenance Strategies Once the setup of the Sage Evolution System landscape has been structured to handle the proposed day-to-

day processing and activities of the business, contingency plans need to be put in place to mitigate any

downtime that may arise.

The relationship between maintenance and downtime is simply put down to where preparation and

maintenance is pivotal to the upkeep of the business by ensuring that there are policies and procedures in place

that will prevent or cater for any scenarios that cause downtime.

21

Backups

Take the scenario where the company SQL database is no longer accessible or the server has crashed, as

unlikely as these scenarios may seem they are valid and can occur. It is recommended that backups are made

on a regular basis and stored off-site. Even if it means that it may not be easily retrieved by the users in the

event when required, the premise is that there is a backup of the data that can be restored, mitigating the risk of

data loss.

The Microsoft SQL Management Studio (the database management system) provides the tools that can

facilitate manual or automatic backups (automatic backups not available on SQL Express versions). There are 2

options available that are commonly used:

Type Backup Procedure Suited for;

Full Backups: Creates a complete backup of the Sage Evolution Company SQL Database.

For all databases that may not be regarded as significantly large and required large amounts of disk space and time to backup or restore.

Differential Backups: Creates an initial complete backup of the Sage Evolution Company SQL database and thereafter adds records or information since the last full backup.

For large database that require a significantly large amounts of disk space and may take a longer time to backup or restore. Shorter differential backup intervals are required.

For more information on what type of backup that would be required please consult with an IT consulting

company.

System Owner (Internal IT Engineer or consultant)

The role of a system owner is to maintain the system landscape by monitoring and addressing the following;

System performance

o Hard disks usage (read/writes)

o Memory usage

o CPU usage

Database performance

Fine tuning the system landscape

Troubleshooting and resolving system issues.

Planning of upgrades

Planning of maintenance and system testing

Failover/Mirrored/Cluster Servers

For larger, high intensity environments or even were downtime is not an option, the system landscape can be

setup to route users to another server that will have an exact copy of the database (as at the last database

mirroring cycle) and application.

For information on how this procedure can be setup and the costs involved please discuss disaster recovery

solutions with an IT consultant.

22

Software Prerequisites and Required Applications Sage Evolution will install the following prerequisite applications as part of the installation process;

Windows Installer 4.5

Microsoft .Net Framework 3.5 SP1

Windows PowerShell 1.0

Microsoft Data Access Component (MDAC 2.8)

Sage Evolution is designed to work with the following applications to enhance and ease the user processing;

Microsoft Office Suite

Mail Client

Internet explorer

Adobe

Notepad

*Refer to Table 2.

References Microsoft, (2013). Features Supported by the Editions of SQL Server 2008 R2. Retrieved from

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc645993(v=SQL.105).aspx

Microsoft, (2013). Features Supported by the Editions of SQL Server 2012. Retrieved from

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc645993(v=SQL.110).aspx

Microsoft, (2013). Introduction to Backup and Restore Strategies in SQL Server. Retrieved from

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms191239(v=SQL.105).aspx

Microsoft, (2013). Creating Full and Differential Backups of a SQL Server Database. Retrieved from

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms190412(v=SQL.105).aspx

Microsoft, (2013). Database Mirroring. Retrieved from http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-

us/library/ms189852.aspx.

Addendum A: IT Infrastructure Assessment form Included in this document is an assessment form to conduct an IT infrastructure assessment on the company

that will aid the IT Consulting company with providing information and guidance for creating the system

landscape.

23

IT Infrastructure Assessment form

The IT consulting company ____________________________________________ that will be performing the

assessments will be referring to the Business Partner from here on.

1. Purpose

The purpose of this document is to provide the Business Partner and Evolution, pre-sales, technical teams

with a clear understanding of the existing network topology and IT management framework within which the

customer intends deploying Sage Evolution.

A clear understanding of these elements allows for accelerated information sharing between the Business

Partner technical personnel and isolation of potential problem areas before, during and after deployment.

The information provided must be as detailed as possible. Do not provide limited information for phased

deployments i.e. 1 branch. Provide as full and detailed, accurate and long-term information about the

organization as possible.

It is intended for this document to be completed electronically

For more information about completing this document, speak to the Business Partner IT technical lead

2. Contact details (key technical personnel)

Customer / IT relationship: Is IT internal to the organization or outsourced to a 3rd party?

Business Partner project lead:

Email address:

Mobile number:

Business Partner IT technical

lead:

Email address:

Mobile number

Customer IT relationship:

Customer IT technical lead:

Email address:

Mobile number:

24

3. Customer WAN and LAN details (copy table cells for additional branches)

Users (app): No. of users using the current product. 1 user with multiple products counts as 1 user.

Users (total): Total no. of users connected using WAN resources.

LAN (users): LAN connectivity type to user workstations e.g. 100MB switch or 10MB hub

LAN (servers): LAN connectivity type to servers e.g. 1GB switch or 100MB switch

Firewall: Firewall type (if any) between the WAN and LAN

WAN link type: Type of connectivity in place, e.g. ADSL, DIGINET, Wireless

WAN link size: Link size specified in kilobits/s or megabits/s e.g. 512Kb or 1Mb

WAN statistics: The latest 3 months statistics, at least error counts or avg. utilization (office hours).

Number of branches (incl. HO)

Head office location:

Users (application)

Users (total)

WAN link type

WAN link size

WAN statistics

Firewall

LAN (users)

LAN (servers)

Location of branch NN*:

Users (application)

Users (total)

WAN link type

WAN link size

WAN statistics

Firewall

LAN (users)

LAN (servers)

* NN is a placeholder for the branch number i.e. 03 or 13

25

4. Server environment

Database size: Estimated size of the primary application database after 36-months.

Existing server: Does the customer have an existing server that they intend deploying onto?

1. If YES, audit tool results attached. Obtain the audit tool from Business Partner IT personnel

2. If NO, hardware specifications to be provided by Business Partner IT personnel

Database size:

Existing server?

If existing server:

Audit tool results attached:

If new server:

Hardware specifications

attached

5. Risk / recovery review

This is not intended to supersede or replace any existing business continuity plans the customer may

have. Generally the financial system is critical to any business organization and can be affected by a

variety of factors beyond the scope of this document.

The purpose of this section is to ensure that customers are made aware of high-level, worst-case

scenarios to ensure overall business continuity.

Mitigating risks can be costly. Recovery times may change depending on the cost of mitigating these

risks.

RTO (Primary database server): Recovery Time Objective of the primary database server. How long can

the primary database server be un-available before unacceptable consequences or losses to

businesses as a result of the interruption

RPO (Primary database server): Recovery Point Objective of the primary database server. What is the

acceptable amount of data loss in a worst-case-scenario

RTO (branch locations): How long can the branch be un-available before unacceptable consequences

or losses to businesses as a result of the interruption

RPO (branch locations): Recovery Point Objective of branch locations. What is the acceptable amount

of data loss in a worst-case-scenario

Backup (primary and branch locations): What type of backup solutions are implemented at these

locations

26

RTO (primary database

server):

RPO (primary database

server):

RTO (branch locations):

RPO (branch locations):

Backup (primary database

server)

Backup (branch locations)

6. Application network utilization:

The following is based on high-level assessments and is intended as a guideline. Extremes can exist for

over and underutilization. Where in doubt consult with your IT service provider(s).

The values represent the minimum recommended, dedicated amount of bandwidth required.

Network utilization can be influenced by the number of modules, users, size of database etc. as well as

network client protocol used.

Sage Evolution client, bandwidth utilization:

Sage Evolution (start-up) - 3192 Kb/s sustained between 2 and 3 seconds

Sage Evolution (running averages) 512 Kb/s (rounded)

Sage Evolution (printing averages) 296 Kb/s (rounded), 1-page

- 322 Kb/s (rounded), 2-page


Sage Evolution on terminal server, bandwidth utilization

This does not account for additional applications or systems required to be running for the client at the

same time.

Sage Evolution (running averages) - 64 Kb/s (rounded)

Sage Evolution (printing averages) - 296 Kb/s (rounded), 1-page



27

7. The Business Partner to complete:

Full contact list:

WAN/LAN diagram (existing):

WAN/LAN diagram (new if required):

Server specifications (existing):

Server specifications (new if required):

Risk / mitigation steps-list provided:

Business Partner IT reference number:

Documents

EVO01.2 - Sage Evolution Sizing Document V1 4