-In this Issue-
	ELM 6.5 - New Database Details! September Curiosity Poll Results - Tablets in the Workplace October Curiosity Poll - Windows 8 Developer Preview ELM 411 - Preparing for an Upgrade On Your Mark, Get Set, Carve 100% Developed & Supported in the state of Washington, U.S.A.

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 ELM 6.5 - New Database Details!

A few months ago we mentioned one of the big features of the ELM 6.5 release - a new database design. With the new database structure being introduced, those who are collecting and storing mountainous volumes of event records should see some remarkable improvements.

"Initial tests in our production environment are showing reductions in database size up to 50% for event records," said Martin Schneider, Product Manager at TNT Software. "Although that much reduction in space will vary depending on the network and level of auditing enabled, we expect that the more events collected the percent of reduction should grow."

This dramatic size reduction was made possible, among other things, by normalizing event parameters. Dimension tables in the database will eventually plateau as they've seen the entire event population, and these tables remain even after archiving occurs. New events coming in are parsed into the corresponding tables and redundant or unnecessary data is not stored, resulting in massive savings.

The release of ELM Enterprise Manager 6.5 is just around the corner! Stay tuned for upcoming announcements as the new version is launched!

 September Curiosity Poll Results - Tablets in the Workplace

You see people carrying them around like the old days of the "dayplanner" - at soccer practice, school, camping, restaurants, just about anywhere. Are they useful in the workplace as well? Good question - so last month we asked...

Has your company introduced tablets into the workplace?

And as of the publishing of this newsletter here's what respondents had to say:

Interestingly enough, over 50% of respondents said they are seeing tablets "at work" already and another fair number said they expect them to be coming soon! Does that mean the PC or laptop will be disappearing from desktops? Probably not.

You'll more likely just see fewer paper tablets and more shiny screens showing up at meetings.

 October Curiosity Poll - Windows 8 Developer Preview

Big news at the recent Microsoft BUILD conference: the Windows 8 Developer Preview is available for public consumption. While some can't wait, others may care less. So we're wondering...

Have you downloaded the Windows 8 Developer Preview to have a look?

 The "ELM 411" - Preparing for an Upgrade

When it's time to think about upgrading the applications you depend on daily, it's always best to do some prep work before rolling out the latest release in your environment. As the saying goes, "prior planning prevents poor performance." This especially holds true for applications that may be spread across your entire network.

This month we'll take a quick look at the steps and best practices to prepare for an upgrade of ELM, in this case to the upcoming version 6.5

Step One: Update to latest build

There may be a few different builds of ELM Enterprise Manager within the same version. This happens when we release what are commonly referred to as maintenance builds, updating known issues and resolving any problems that have been detected since the previous build. Maintenance builds of ELM typically come out every 3-6 months. Prior to an upgrade it is important to update to the latest build of ELM.

For version 5.5 products that is Build 141

For version 6.0 products that is Build 245

Step Two: Backup Config Files

The ELM Server stores the majority of its configuration data in the ELM installation directory (c:\Program Files(x86)\ELM Enterprise Manager). Best practice is to back your configuration files prior to making any changes as typically a lot of time and customization has been put into your deployment. Another option which may be preferred is to backup this entire directory rather than select files within listed below.

appSettings.xml
The appSettings.xml file stores settings for ELM reporting options, directories, timeouts and the home/standby server settings. Updates are relatively infrequent and do not use the internal notification mechanism like with the .dat file. Therefore the ELM Server service does not need to be stopped to backup this file.

databaseSettings.xml
The databaseSettings.xml file has the connection string and credentials for ELM to connect to the databases, the database pruning filters as well as the pruning schedule. Just like the appSettings.xml file, the ELM Server service does not need to be stopped to backup this file, but all ELM Wizards should be closed.

EEMSVR.dat
This file stores the majority of the configuration settings in ELM including:

• Monitor Items
• Notification Rules
• Notification Methods
• Include/Exclude Filters
• Event Views
• ELM Console snap-in security settings

EEMSVR.bak
The ELM Server is notified internally when its configuration changes. If no more changes occur for a fifteen second period, then the ELM Server writes the changes to its current configuration in the .dat file.

When the ELM Server is started, it loads the configuration in the server .dat file. If this loads successfully, the ELM Server then makes a .bak copy of the configuration. Stopping the ELM Server service and backing up both the .dat and .bak files provides a copy of the current configuration and the prior configuration.

We recommend backing up at least the .bak file to backup media. If many changes have been made since the last time the ELM Server service was started, then we recommend stopping the ELM Server service, making a backup of the .dat, and then restarting the ELM Server service. Note that this will momentarily interrupt data collection and notifications.

Depending on the magnitude of your monitored environment of course, the total file size for backup of these components is likely less than 15MB.

For more details on creating backups as well as how to restore ELM Server Configuration settings we encourage you to visit the Administrator Guide section of the Help File, then Planning Guide > Backup Guidelines.

Step 3: Export Any Custom ELM Editor Reports

Depending on how many custom reports you have created in ELM Editor there are a couple options to consider. If you have only create a handful of reports you can simply right-click and export them as a file (XML) one by one. If you have too many reports created to do them one-by-one in a realistic timeframe, it would be much more efficient to create new folder within ELM Editor, move all of the custom reports you created into this folder, and export the entire folder. Note- You DO NOT want to export all of the ELM Editor reports as you will end up with duplicates upon reimporting them into a new install or upgrade.

Step 4: Copy License Key

Make sure to have a copy of your current license key somewhere. This is "just in case" or if you decide at some point to do a complete reinstall of ELM.

Step 5: Review System Requirements

Before you get started with the actual installation of ELM Enterprise Manager, it is very important to note that SQL Server 2008 or newer is now required. Installation will not continue without an instance of SQL Server 2008 available.

Best practice is to have the Primary ELM Database on a separate server, and the Failover ELM Database on the same server as your ELM installation.

With the new database schema being introduced in ELM 6.5, all data prior to the 6.5 installation will only be available through reports. Event Views will not be available with archive databases from version 6.0 and prior.

Step 6: Changes to Notification Rules and Event Views

After installation of version 6.5 one of the first things you'll notice are a few changes with the way notifications work and that your list of Event Views most likely has grown. In version 6.5 Notifications will be tied directly to Event Views, basically following the principle of "what you see is what you get."

Event Views that have a notification assigned to them will be easy to identify by the different icon associated with them.

If your list of Event Views with notifications assigned has grown longer than you prefer, now would be a good time to clean up and consolidate those Event Views by combining filters and renaming the Views accordingly. (Then getting rid of the old, unnecessary ones.)

Another handy feature in ELM 6.5 is the ability for the email (SMTP) notification to tell you which Event View triggered the notification. Say you're getting numerous emails about an event occurring you really don't care about, you want to turn it off but are unsure where it's coming from? Now you'll know.

All new SMTP notifications created in ELM 6.5 include this variable in the body of the email as a default. For upgraders who want to take advantage of this highly recommended feature you will want to modify your existing SMTP notifications and add the Variable %ViewName% to the body of the message.

This is just a glimpse of some of the improvements and features you'll find in ELM Enterprise Manager 6.5. We encourage you to prepare and plan for your upgrade accordingly and as always, our support engineers are happy to help and answer any questions you may have.

We hope that you found this article informative and wish you continued success with your ELM deployment!

NOTE: All ELM 411 articles are written based on ELM Enterprise Manager Version 6.0 and instructions may not be accurate for previous ELM Versions. If you would like assistance upgrading to ELM 6.0 so you can use these tips - please contact support@tntsoftware.com.

Share your own ELM tips!
Have a tip or trick with our ELM products you'd like to share with our newsletter subscribers? Send your ideas and any applicable screen shots to info@tntsoftware.com with "ELM 411" in the subject line. We'll take a look and if usable you'll see it published here in the ELM 411 section of upcoming newsletters!

Dates to Remember

October 10
Columbus Day Observed

October 16
National Boss Day

October 24
United Nations Day

October 31
Halloween

On Your Mark, Get Set, Carve

It's almost that time of year, when you and/or your kids dress up like ghouls and princesses and go around asking for candy treats from complete strangers. This month we've gathered up some tips and tricks for the ultimate of iconic Halloween decorations - carving the pumpkin.

Pumpkins are ready to harvest when the vines start to dry up and the pumpkins turn the expected color, whether that's orange, white or some type of combination. You don't want to pick your pumpkin too soon, because it will stop changing color once it's cut.

Check to make sure the skin has hardened enough so that poking it with your fingernail will not crack it.

Select an unbruised pumpkin, the size doesn't matter (although bigger is better!). You can always enlarge your pattern; shrinking a pattern can be very difficult for a detailed design. Also check for discoloration and soft spots.

Pumpkins that are flat and won't roll off your porch tend to work best.

Look for pumpkins with a sturdy stem; this is the sign of a healthy pumpkin. Don't lift the pumpkin by the stem though as this can damage the pumpkin and even make it age faster.

Check the bottom of the pumpkin to see if the base is damaged. Sometimes the bottom of the pumpkin is thin and can get punctured. Bad things can grow in your pumpkin.

Tap the pumpkin gently and listen for a slightly hollow sound. If the pumpkin feels heavy and sloshes around on the inside put it back. It could be rotted from the inside out and you don't want to know what's inside...

If it sounds good but is still heavy the rule of thumb is the heavier the pumpkin, the thicker the walls. Thick walls block the candle light and carving details will be lost. If worse comes to worse, you can shave the walls from the inside.

The tall, oblong-shaped varieties tend to be stringier inside, making it difficult to make precise cuts.

Your jack-o'-lantern will start to dry and shrivel as soon as it is cut and exposed to the air. If you need to carve your pumpkin a few days before you'll be displaying it, try these tips to keep it fresh longer:

• Keep it in a cool spot, out of direct sunlight.
• Spray it with an anti-transpirant, like Wilt-Pruf.
• Drape the entire pumpkin with a damp towel.
• Protect it from animals that might be tempted to take a bite.
• Don't leave it outdoors if there's a threat of frost.

Sources: About.com, Wikipedia, Walt's Pumpkin Carving Secrets