Why does SYSPRO freeze, crash or hang?
The most common reasons that Syspro freezes, crashes or hangs are:
- Operator error
- Underlying infrastructure
- Your network
- Unnecessary storage of queries
When your ERP system doesn’t perform as it should, the logical conclusion to draw is that the programme itself is at fault. However, that’s not always the case.
Sure, things can, and do go wrong with software, but a system like SYSPRO will have been tested again and again in all sorts of scenarios to ensure it can deal with whatever you, the user, can throw at it. So where to look next?
Frequently, ’OE’ or ’Operator Error’ is the problem. That’s right – someone, somewhere in your organisation will have done something to cause the problem. Often, just asking the question: Have you tried turning it off and on again? can often resolve the problem.
But a recurring problem is likely to be something else again.
Next you need to look at your hardware and more specifically for an enterprise level application, the underlying infrastructure. That’s where things can start to fall apart and cause major, organisation-wide headaches.
A typical SYSPRO installation is made up of six components not including the actual software; The Network, Data storage, Physical hardware (CPU, RAM etc), Windows Server, Active Directory Services and SQL server.
That little lot provides an awful lot of opportunities for things to go awry and it can be a simple problem in one element that has a dramatic effect on the other five.
For example, if your system is slow to respond to a query or to run an operation, your network might be at fault. It might be that your physical network is poorly configured, or your internet connection to your cloud servers is inadequate. It doesn’t really matter because to your end users, the result is slow performance, frustration and wasted time.
Or it could be that your SQL server is set up to store every query ever processed, instead of releasing expired queries. The result is a massive incremental increase in unnecessary storage, wasted time in querying a bloated database and extra load placed on your physical hardware. For your users, it means slower performance and more frustration.
Often, these issues develop over time because the infrastructure has not been reviewed in line with the needs of the business. There is an expectation that everything will simply work, when in reality there will come a day when SYSPRO hanging, crashing or freezing becomes something far more sinister.
At Sentis Managed Solutions, we offer free initial audits of your infrastructure to see if it is really up to scratch as well as quarterly reviews to all our clients to ensure the worst case scenario never becomes a reality.
