The installation and management of Comarch ERP Enterprise system involves a large number of components. This article provides a description of stages which need to be completed in order to install the system. Descriptions of particular areas may be found in corresponding documents.

System structure

A correct production installation of CEE system should be composed of interdependent systems:

• Production system – a system used to support regular company activities
• Test system – a twin copy of the production system used to test fixes and modifications before uploading them in the production system
• Development system – an original system used to install new fixes and applications. It makes it possible to add a compiler and create system modifications. In addition, it allows resolving development conflicts after the installation of fixes or modifications.

A correct flow of version upgrades or fix and modification installations should proceed as follows:
Development system -> Test system -> Production system.

It is possible to use a production database copy in a test environment. However, a test system database cannot be used in a production system.

System requirements

The article System Requirements provides a description of platforms supporting the system and contains hardware and software requirements which need to be fulfilled to run CEE system.
It needs to be made sure that the installation environment meets at least minimum requirements.

License

To create a new system, it is necessary to have a system license. A separate license is issued for each system. Licenses contain information on available system frameworks, applications, and languages. Their content depends on frameworks purchased.
In order to obtain a license, it is necessary to submit an appropriate request in the Issue Tracking System or contact a sales representative.

Installation of a database engine

An appropriate database engine needs to be available in the environment. The following engines are supported (depending on the operating system):

• MS SQL Server
• PostgreSQL
• Oracle
• DB2

More information on supported database engines may be found in the article System requirements.

Comarch ERP Enterprise system documentation

Before starting the installation, it is recommended to read the system documentation available at https://help.comarch.com/cee/.

System installation

Installation instructions are available in relevant articles concerning a selected system and database engine. The articles provide a detailed description of actions which need to be performed to install Comarch ERP Enterprise system.

• Installation of CEE on Linux (CentOS 7.0 and PostgreSQL)

Creation of a new system

Once the installation system has been installed, it is necessary to import a license and complete the first configuration of the OLTP database by providing basic information, for instance, about a country, default currency, or time zone. A relevant instruction is available in the article Create a New System.

Post-installation tasks

Once the system has been created, it is necessary to perform additional configuration activities. More information on those activities may be found in the article Post-Installation Tasks.

Organization configuration in the OLTP database

After installing the new system and configuring the OLTP database, it is possible to begin mapping company processes and organization-specific data within the system.

Content-based authorizations

The administrator can use content-based authorizations to control what data may be processed by which users and as part of which organization. In addition, the administrator may adjust access permissions to applications, availability of operations in a given application, and access permissions to other system objects.
For these purposes, the following objects are used:

• license types of users assigned to the system (System cockpit -> System -> Editor tab -> User assignments subtab)
• authorizations appropriate for a given authorization role (Authorization roles application)
• partners (Partners application) and organizations assigned to them

Batch applications

As users are working with the system, recurring tasks may be performed in the background according to a time schedule. Additionally, users may run batch applications (according to a processing queue). This way, they can continue their work with no need to wait for ordered tasks to be completed.
For this purpose, processing queues can be defined in the system (System cockpit -> Processing queues).

Queues are assigned to an application server through workers of the Batch category. To limit their usage, it is possible to apply relevant authorization roles granted to users.

Management of external devices

Comarch ERP Enterprise system allows the definition of external devices, such as a virtual printer, printer hardware, or an e-mail server.
For this purpose, it is necessary to configure one of the following services:

• SOM (Standard Output Manager) – Windows system only
• Java-SOM (Java Standard Output Manager)

Creation of other systems

As mentioned in the System structure chapter, a production environment should be composed of at least three systems. The number of development and test systems may be greater than one.

The following articles provide information on the configuration of users, databases, authorizations, certificates, application server parameters, etc.; therefore, they are relevant for the purposes of system setup and management:

• Authorizations – it discusses possible adjustments of authorizations
• Naming conventions – it discusses naming conventions used for objects and systems
• Create a new system – an instructional document discussing how to add a new system to an existing one
• Application server – it discusses the role of application servers and their configuration
• Standard Output Manager – it discusses the configuration of external devices
• System cockpit – these documents discuss possible configuration settings adjusted in the System cockpit application
• Generate certificates – it discusses the process of generating certificates for new and current users

Software update

The system makes it possible to install packages with updates and fixes, additional frameworks, and translation updates. Such packages may be installed with the application Software update cockpit. Prior to installation, packages to be installed need to be placed in the folder refreshes\import in the main program folder.

Configuration and performance

The system makes it possible to improve the performance of processes used by the client by defining relevant settings affecting system performance which should be adjusted according to the client’s needs and specifics.
For this purpose, it is necessary to read the entire documentation concerning installation and configuration, and apply selected (client-specific) information, recommendations, and hints.

Server parameters

Startup parameters or parameters affecting system behavior may be adjusted to the needs of particular application servers in the files system.properties and server.properties.
More information on these files may be found in the article concerning installation.

Configuration checklist

Before operating CEE system as a production system, it is necessary to refer to the document Checklist: System Configuration in order to make sure that all basic system settings have been adjusted.

Printouts

The system allows the definition of custom printouts in Crystal Reports.
Designed printouts may have a considerable impact on performance. Therefore, optimal queries should be used when creating such printouts.

Performance monitoring

The applications Performance monitors and System cockpit (Performance information tab) make it possible to objectively monitor the system’s performance and its utilization.

More information on performance monitoring may be found in the System Cockpit documentation.

Individual indexes

For the purpose of improving performance, the system makes it possible to create additional indexes in the database for selected business objects. Such indexes should be used in the case where the performance of access to specific system objects is unsatisfactory.

OpenSTA

The system supports the open-source utility OpenSTA used to carry out performance tests.

Extensions

The system can be extended with new features, while the already used ones may be adjusted to the client’s needs. For this purpose, it is necessary to have access to a development system and development environment.

Comarch ERP Enterprise has been designed in Java; the development environment requires a compiler, for instance, Eclipse.