Distributed Navision

Fisherman

Does anyone have any advice/documentation on deploying Navision in a distributed environment? We have around 14 locations in 4 states. We had previously intended to deploy Navision at HQ and provide terminal servers from each off-site location, but we're concerned about redundancy and centralizing so many site-specific modifications.

I've looked into hub-and-spoke, but I can only find short, FAQ type documentation. It looks like this would be more appropriate if HQ was running Axapta/SAP/etc... anyway, so I'm looking for advice.

Thanks.

ssingla

Is distributed database policy exist in Navision Licence for a single legal entity (I guess Fisherman is talking 14 locations for 1 company).

If each location is seprate legal entity then probably consolidation functionality can be of some use.

Fisherman

Yes - 14 locations for one company.

All 14 locations are under one corporate umbrella - so they are not separate legal entities.

What do you mean by "Distributed Database Policy"?

ssingla

The best example for Distributed Database can be LS retail where thru a scheduler the data posted on offline stores is updated in Mother database. I know a company which has used the same model for Standard Navision though I doubt its legality in terms of micriosoft licence as the licence is for single instance database.

Fisherman

I had thought about using DTS for synchronization on a timed schedule, but I'd rather use SQL Publication and Subscription. I've not found any information where anyone has been able to do this, however, with Navision.

If you can't tell - I'm using the SQL Server option.

ssingla

I will try to get the info where they did it and will provide you if I can.

The implementation was pretty big so I guess they must also be using sql.

David_Singleton

Fisherman wrote:

I had thought about using DTS for synchronization on a timed schedule, but I'd rather use SQL Publication and Subscription. I've not found any information where anyone has been able to do this, however, with Navision.

If you can't tell - I'm using the SQL Server option.

Hi Fisherman,

although the technical issue of how to get the data from place to place, looks like the issue, it really goes further than that. The technical side can always be handled.

The problem starts when you start working remote and are not connected to the live database. In retail you are looking at just one small component of a businesses operations (in Navision terms), but with a huge user base. Thus it makes sense for companies to invest in the development of a specific vertical solution that will handle this.

But if your situation is not POS, but in fact something more complex like Manufacturing and selling of your products, then you have many synchronizing issues that need to be worked out. Issues that for POS were worked out over the last 10 years.

The issues are things like number series, consistent item numbers, duplicate customer and vendors, invoice numbers. Then what happens when one system crashes, what was synced and what not. When is the synchronization performed, what data is allowed to be created at remote locations, and what is created at central (items, customers etc). If local, then how are these propagated back to central and then dispersed to all the other locations. What happens if two locations create the same item on the same day.

... the list goes on...

yes all these issues are resolvable, but you need to list ALL the issues, and its a huge development project for a one off install.

My recommendation is to further investigate the Terminal Server (or Citrix) route, with a though to the future as offered by the new Tier three client coming out next year. I thin that the cost of a high availability server will be much less than the development and on going cost of doing it in software.

PS if you really want to go that way, then start here :

http://www.databackbone.com/domsite/backbone2.nsf/start/$First?opendocument

Kloster were the first people to do what you are looking for on Navision, and can tell you if it can be done or not. In which case just consider my comments as "A list of questions to ask them". PS you want to speak with Michal Bock, he is the expert on this.

Fisherman

David,

I appreciate the information.

We are currently using Terminal Services to deal with this... but my issues with this solution are redundancy (LAN, WAN, and actual machine), as well as modifications. Each of our locations does things just differently enough to require modifications to Navision. I don't want those modifications to begin to run over each other. So... answer this for me... Are objects global in scope? If I set up each location as a different company, would each company get its own set of objects?

We had considered using a product like VMWare ESX to run multiple terminal servers on the same box as well -but this does not resolve WAN redundancy... and if you're not accustomed to Louisville, then you have to understand that most of the downtime that we've experienced in the past 2 years have been attributed to two things: A fiber cut or a router problem. I can deal with the router by having two, but a fiber cut on AT&T's network is harder. Most of the ISP's around here work off of AT&T...

Can hub-and-spoke work with a Navision backend at corporate as well as Navision points-of-presence in the branch locations?

ara3n

Navision wasn't build with capabilities for offline usage. I hope Dynamics will have this capabilities.


RDP/Citrix simple solution and for downtime due to connectivity, I would have backup server at those location. Once the connection goes down, you can use the backup server for information purposes only.
If you want to can limit to certain things that they can do, and when the network is back online, you would write routines to take changes and redo them at headquarter.

David_Singleton

Fisherman wrote:

...

Can hub-and-spoke work with a Navision backend at corporate as well as Navision points-of-presence in the branch locations?

I can see your issue.

Yes definitely this can work, and now thanks to Navision's new licensing policy it can be done legally (since you are paying a flat cost per seat, and not per server).

But its not a small task. As I mentioned, the actuall getting the data back and forth is not a huge issue, you can just create one big SQL replication server, and use DTS or what ever to get it in one place, and to send it back. Its more the business logic that is the issue.

As a starting point, what are the areas of business that need to run on the remote locations. (eg sale manufacturing purchase) etc.

Secondly would it be possible to "fake it" by making the locations (from Navision's view point) look like customers of the head office, allowing them to act semi independently, and then say do a once per month Accounting consolidation.

Thirdly this would be a fun project 8)

Fisherman

As a starting point, what are the areas of business that need to run on the remote locations. (eg sale manufacturing purchase) etc.

Everything except financials. Financials would certainly need to exist at the "child" sites, but Accounting is only located at Corporate HQ, so no one else should have their hands in it.

David_Singleton

By Financials do you mean payments, cash receipts, collections etc?

Fisherman

Presumably - invoicing/collections/receivables and purchasing/payables would be done at corporate, although (obviously) the costs and prices of those sales, purchases, and production would be incurred at the branch location.

davmac1

I did not see an answer to your question - are objects global in scope.
Objects are saved in each database.
So if you want different mods for each location kept separately, you will need one database per location.
This also means patches and upgrades would have to be applied to each database as well.

BTW - a long time ago - mid 1980s - I did contract work for Dairymen in Louisville - are they still around?