Monthly Data Maintenance Procedure (server)
The Data Maintenance routine is a necessary part of database management. This routine ensures database and index integrity. We recommend to use this routine as a preventative maintenance tool, although it can be recommended to address specific acute database issues as well.
***Our recommendation is that Data Maintenance should be performed on a monthly basis for optimal performance of your system.***
***DO NOT RUN ANY OF THE OTHER UTILITIES IN THE MAINTENANCE & SECURITY CENTER UNLESS EXPLICITLY DIRECTED TO DO SO BY ACCTVANTAGE SUPPORT.***
1. Log Off All Users
All users must be logged out of AcctVantage prior to running the maintenance routine. You can use the Users tab on the server window to "drop" any users who have not logged out.
2. Open the Maintenance & Security Center
On your AcctVantage Server, navigate to the Help menu ➤ Maintenance Security Center.
These functions are only available on the server hardware (i.e. this can not be done from the client-side).
Note: The AV Server Application will close and reopen in Maintenance mode. Be patient, this might take a minute or two.
3. Run the Standard Repair utility
- Select the Repair Tab on the left side-bar.
- Select the Standard repair option (this is the default option and should automatically be selected).
- Click the Repair button and the maintenance process will begin.
DO NOT click either the Verify or the Compact buttons! If you accidentally do this please STOP. Do not proceed. Please call AV Support 828-692-3301.
*DO NOT Compact your data file or Verify Records and Indexes.
4. The Data File Has Been Repaired.
- When the Repair process is complete you will see a message stating: The data file has been repaired. This indicates the maintenance process has finished.
- Click the red X in the upper-left (macOS) or upper-right (Windows) to close the Maintenance and Security Center window.
5. The application will now quit.
Click OK to quit on the message below. You can now restart the AV Server Application.
6. Post-data maintenance routine
There are a few considerations after the data maintenance routine is finished.
- When you restart the AV Server application, an index file will be automatically rebuilt. This part of the process depends on how large the data file is -- the larger the data file is, the longer rebuilding of indices will take. Usually this will take between 5-20 minutes but could take longer for large data files or slow hardware.
- When the reindexing process is complete and the AV Server is running, you can have your AV Clients log in and return to using AcctVantage.
- As part of the data maintenance routine, the system moves the original data file into a "Replaced Files" folder (in the same directory as the 4DD file). The maintenance utility then rebuilds the data file, at which point the original 4DD file essentially becomes a temporary backup of the database. We recommend to delete the "Replaced Files" folder AFTER your next scheduled backup is complete. In most cases this will be the following day.