NEOSYS Technical Support Wiki - User contributions [en]

New Employee Training Checklist

2026-03-03T05:55:24Z

Arvind: /* Day 1 */

==Day 1==
#Go through [[General_Office_Procedures|General Office Procedures]]
#Create a gmail account for your NEOSYS interactions e.g request for leave. Example firstname.neosys@gmail.com. Support Manager will share relevant google drive folders.
#To install and configure various software on Linux platform, see [https://itwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Setting_up_Ubuntu_on_NEOSYS_Support_Computers Setting up Ubuntu on NEOSYS Computers]
#[http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Reset_Browser Reset browsers] and [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Disabling_Popup_Blocker disable pop-up blockers]
# Create an excel password file. The file name should be generic. Save with a password and share the password with your manager. Please refer link to create an appropriate password for the file ([[Procedures#Creating_and_Handling_passwords| Refer Handling passwords]]). The file should be placed under Support Staff folder in Nextcloud.
#Create signature in Thunderbird for all necessary accounts
#Mails are sent out in san-serif font with font size 13
#Create a file to store client info (clients details) column names:- host name, company name, location of company, time zone, which server is the client's NEOSYS hosted on
#Configure your browsers according to [[Procedures#Configuring_Browsers_to_show_Javascript_errors_in_NEOSYS| Configuring Browsers to show Javascript errors]]
#Introduce nagios IT monitor
#Get NEOSYS IT to update Nagios monitoring workstations.cfg file and configure port-forwarding so that nagios can connect to the new employee's workstation
#Get a run down of client backup emails and updating backup spreadsheets.
#Create wiki ID and get NEOSYS IT to allow new users to receive wiki update emails.

==Day 2 ==
#Check the clients file
#Explain backup procedure
#Show backup emails
#Make the candidate do the morning backup-check routine.
#Explain different backup failures
#Train how to investigate a backup failure. Using backup email/nagios.
#Show template emails in Thunderbird and Wiki. Focus on backup email templates.
#Go through wiki [[Procedures]]
#Introduction to NEOSYS frontend e.g login page

==Day 3==
#Do backups for the day and update the backup spreadsheet
#Train on how to schedule downtime on nagios.
#Go through the various errors in Troubleshooting nagios http://techwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Handling_Nagios_Client_Monitoring_System
#Read IT wiki "Documenting NEOSYS systems"

==Day 4==
#Handle possible backup and nagios issues of the morning/day and email clients if they need to be informed about those issues.
#Read [https://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Using_NEOSYS_Generally#Getting_started_with_NEOSYS| Getting started with NEOSYS]
#Explain Media Schedule (Client & Brand file, Supplier file, Vehicle file, Specification, material, dates, free ads, booking, certifying, invoicing)

==Day 5==
#Practice Media module
#Creating various Client & Brand, Vehicle and Supplier files
#Test knowledge so far on using Schedules. Manager to create two assignments of booking, cancellation, rebooking, certify & invoicing.

==Day 6==
#Quiz on Procedures, Nagios and Handling damaged files

==Day 7==
#Explain Jobs Module (Job file, Estimate file, Purchase Order file, Job Type file)
#Practice Jobs Module
#Explain Authorisation file (locks and keys, user ID, various levels etc)

==Day 8==
#Explain DNS Zoneedit
#Replicating client issues

==Day 10==
#Request a quick demo from the new staff
#Introduce nextcloud/IT procedures e.g migration principles
#System configuration file features and testing each field

General Office Procedures

2026-02-24T07:38:17Z

Arvind: /* Working out of hours */

=Working hours=
NEOSYS office working hours are from 9am until 6pm, Monday to Friday. All staff members are required to report to office at 9am irrespective of any meetings during the day. There is a one hour lunch break from 1pm to 2pm.

=Working out of hours=
NEOSYS staff should not work out of hours except in case of real emergency, unless approval has been obtained for the same from NEOSYS management.

Emergencies are only things like dealing with a system crash of NEOSYS own servers that host client services and trying to get clients back online as fast as possible from backups. Failure of client's own systems should be dealt with inside normal office hours only. Since NEOSYS systems have never failed to date, there are practically no emergencies in our work. "Emergencies" are generally for people who don't prepare for the unexpected and/or are disorganised.

Approval for working out of office hours may be granted if there is specific work to be done and you are making up time for being late due to some special circumstances.

Apart from the above, NEOSYS staff should be IN ON TIME and OUT ON TIME.

=Keeping to NEOSYS Office Hours=

NEOSYS management does not want to spend time worrying about staff attendance and punctuality, so these are the traditional rules of attendance for the office.

#If you are late, DO give your apologies but DON'T give any reason. You may be asked, for personal interest, but it is not relevant.
#Be in the office 5 or 10 minutes early every morning and if you are ever late, increase this to 15 minutes early etc.
#Apply the same rules to returning from lunch at 2pm.
#Use your early time in the office to attend to your own business - on your phone/browser etc.
#Always stop work immediately at 1pm and 6pm. Any time you spend in the office after that must be on your own business.

Everybody joining NEOSYS has adapted to these rules and come to appreciate them. You are advised to apply them immediately on joining to avoid friction. Your punctuality will be noticed and appreciated.

=Purchases=
If you require to make any purchases on behalf of the company, you must first get approval from your Manager.

=Stationery=
All stationery is kept in the office cupboard. In case there is anything required, you may inform your Manager.

=Sick leave=

You are required to visit your doctor for every sick period and bring original sick note, otherwise claims for sick leave will be rejected and treated as absence without pay or deducted from annual holiday at your choice.

=Claiming Expenses=
You should use an Expense Claim Form to reclaim expenses incurred in the course of your work. Completed claim forms, accompanied by relevant receipts, must be authorised by your Manager before being given to accounts. The expenses claim forms must be submitted to accounts before the end of the month in order for them to be reimbursed with that month’s salary.

If you take business contacts out for lunch or dinner, the expenses can be claimed supported by detailed receipt(s). Expense claims for entertainment, i.e. lunch or dinner, should state the names of the people entertained, including the name of any colleagues.

No expense claims will be accepted more than 60 days after they were incurred.

Please note that if your salary is over AED 6000 per month, no taxi fares are reclaimable.

All expenses claimed must be wholly, necessarily and exclusively incurred on behalf of the Company.

You must not entertain other members of NEOSYS at the Company’s expense without prior authorisation from your Manager.

You may claim back the value of business phone calls made from your home and your mobile phone on producing an original invoice, highlighting the relevant calls. International call claims must have details of the company called.

=Travel=
All business travel must be sanctioned in advance by your Manager. A travel requisition should be submitted to your Manager no less than 1 week in advance of your proposed travel date. Our policy is that economy class travel should be used. When travelling abroad, the Company pays for your accommodation, food and conveyance. To reclaim this amount you should add it to your monthly expenses claim form.

=Mail services=
It is the company’s policy that all documents that commit the company in regards to staff expenditure or contracts are signed specifically by appointed authorised signatories. Employees are welcome to use the company’s PO Box for incoming personal correspondence; however the company cannot be liable for any delay/loss/damages incurred by its use.

=Documents=
ALL personal working files however trivial MUST be stored in Nextcloud and MUST NOT be stored anywhere in personal computer (My Documents/Desktop etc. )

=Computer systems=
Your computer system given by NEOSYS remains the property of NEOSYS at all times.

Your computer should be accessible to your immediate manager at any given point of time. You may store your personal files, but please note that privacy isn’t assured as your computer system might be accessible by your manager at any point of time.

Installing any software, applications, browser add-ons, drivers or devices must be done only after getting prior consent of your manager.

If you are given a laptop, you should not be taking home the same without an approval.

=Network systems=
All NEOSYS networks i.e. Wi-Fi, LAN, VPN, Servers, Storage devices etc are monitored due to the nature of business and to assure our clients that we have the highest possible security measures in place. As such your network and internet traffic might be under surveillance.

=Internet=
NEOSYS internet or VPN can be used for personal purposes outside of business hours or during breaks, however you are restricted from any torrents or file sharing programs because of a high risk of security they pose to our business. Also ensure that you do not use this facility for pornographic or any other illegal activity that is not in line with the Sharia law of the country.

=Dress code=
The office dress code is formal. When visiting clients, you are expected to wear professional business attire at all times. Fridays are considered a “dress down” day.

=General Appearance=
As we are part of the service industry, it is essential to maintain a professional appearance at all times, as you represent NEOSYS when meeting with clients and prospects. Ensure you are well-rested and come to office clean-shaven. For gents, a neat, short haircut is recommended. If you choose to keep a beard, it should be kept neatly trimmed.

=Smoking=
Our office is non-smoking without exception. Smoking is permitted outside the office premises.

=Meetings outside office=
We strongly advise against scheduling early morning meetings with clients, as we believe they are often inefficient. Since you are required to be in the office by 9am, please arrange meetings for after that time. If you have meetings in the old town of Dubai (e.g. Deira), you may go directly from home to the meeting. However, please ensure that your Manager is kept informed of this arrangement.

New Employee Training Checklist

2026-02-24T07:34:09Z

Arvind:

==Day 1==
#Go through [[General_Office_Procedures|General Office Procedures]]
#Create a gmail account for your NEOSYS interactions e.g request for leave. Example firstname.neosys@gmail.com. Support Manager will share relevant google drive folders.
#To install and configure various software on Linux platform, see [https://itwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Setting_up_Ubuntu_on_NEOSYS_Support_Computers Setting up Ubuntu on NEOSYS Computers]
#[http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Reset_Browser Reset browsers] and [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Disabling_Popup_Blocker disable pop-up blockers]
# Create an excel password file. The file name should be generic. Save with a password and share the password with your manager. Please refer link to create an appropriate password for the file ([[Procedures#Creating_and_Handling_passwords| Refer Handling passwords]]). The file should be placed under Support Staff folder in Nextcloud.
#Create signature in Thunderbird for all necessary accounts
#Mails are sent out in Calibri font with font size 11
#Create a file to store client info (clients details) column names:- host name, company name, location of company, time zone, which server is the client's NEOSYS hosted on
#Configure your browsers according to [[Procedures#Configuring_Browsers_to_show_Javascript_errors_in_NEOSYS| Configuring Browsers to show Javascript errors]]
#Introduce nagios IT monitor
#Get NEOSYS IT to update Nagios monitoring workstations.cfg file and configure port-forwarding so that nagios can connect to the new employee's workstation
#Get a run down of client backup emails and updating backup spreadsheets.
#Create wiki ID and get NEOSYS IT to allow new users to receive wiki update emails.

==Day 2 ==
#Check the clients file
#Explain backup procedure
#Show backup emails
#Make the candidate do the morning backup-check routine.
#Explain different backup failures
#Train how to investigate a backup failure. Using backup email/nagios.
#Show template emails in Thunderbird and Wiki. Focus on backup email templates.
#Go through wiki [[Procedures]]
#Introduction to NEOSYS frontend e.g login page

==Day 3==
#Do backups for the day and update the backup spreadsheet
#Train on how to schedule downtime on nagios.
#Go through the various errors in Troubleshooting nagios http://techwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Handling_Nagios_Client_Monitoring_System
#Read IT wiki "Documenting NEOSYS systems"

==Day 4==
#Handle possible backup and nagios issues of the morning/day and email clients if they need to be informed about those issues.
#Read [https://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Using_NEOSYS_Generally#Getting_started_with_NEOSYS| Getting started with NEOSYS]
#Explain Media Schedule (Client & Brand file, Supplier file, Vehicle file, Specification, material, dates, free ads, booking, certifying, invoicing)

==Day 5==
#Practice Media module
#Creating various Client & Brand, Vehicle and Supplier files
#Test knowledge so far on using Schedules. Manager to create two assignments of booking, cancellation, rebooking, certify & invoicing.

==Day 6==
#Quiz on Procedures, Nagios and Handling damaged files

==Day 7==
#Explain Jobs Module (Job file, Estimate file, Purchase Order file, Job Type file)
#Practice Jobs Module
#Explain Authorisation file (locks and keys, user ID, various levels etc)

==Day 8==
#Explain DNS Zoneedit
#Replicating client issues

==Day 10==
#Request a quick demo from the new staff
#Introduce nextcloud/IT procedures e.g migration principles
#System configuration file features and testing each field

General Office Procedures

2026-02-24T07:01:01Z

Arvind: Reorder

=Working hours=
NEOSYS office working hours are from 9am until 6pm, Monday to Friday. All staff members are required to report to office at 9am irrespective of any meetings during the day. There is a one hour lunch break from 1pm to 2pm.

=Working out of hours=
NEOSYS staff should not work out of hours except in case of real emergency, unless approval has been obtained for the same from NEOSYS management.

Emergencies are only things like dealing with a system crash of NEOSYS own systems providing client services (e.g. ex1 server) and trying to get clients back online as fast as possible from backups. Failure of client's own systems should be dealt with inside normal office hours only. Since NEOSYS systems have never failed to date, there are practically no emergencies in our work. "Emergencies" are generally for people who don't prepare for the unexpected and/or are disorganised.

Approval for working out of office hours may be granted if there is specific work to be done and you are making up time for being late due to some special circumstances.

Apart from the above, NEOSYS staff should be IN ON TIME and OUT ON TIME.

=Keeping to NEOSYS Office Hours=

NEOSYS management does not want to spend time worrying about staff attendance and punctuality, so these are the traditional rules of attendance for the office.

#If you are late, DO give your apologies but DON'T give any reason. You may be asked, for personal interest, but it is not relevant.
#Be in the office 5 or 10 minutes early every morning and if you are ever late, increase this to 15 minutes early etc.
#Apply the same rules to returning from lunch at 2pm.
#Use your early time in the office to attend to your own business - on your phone/browser etc.
#Always stop work immediately at 1pm and 6pm. Any time you spend in the office after that must be on your own business.

Everybody joining NEOSYS has adapted to these rules and come to appreciate them. You are advised to apply them immediately on joining to avoid friction. Your punctuality will be noticed and appreciated.

=Purchases=
If you require to make any purchases on behalf of the company, you must first get approval from your Manager.

=Stationery=
All stationery is kept in the office cupboard. In case there is anything required, you may inform your Manager.

=Sick leave=

You are required to visit your doctor for every sick period and bring original sick note, otherwise claims for sick leave will be rejected and treated as absence without pay or deducted from annual holiday at your choice.

=Claiming Expenses=
You should use an Expense Claim Form to reclaim expenses incurred in the course of your work. Completed claim forms, accompanied by relevant receipts, must be authorised by your Manager before being given to accounts. The expenses claim forms must be submitted to accounts before the end of the month in order for them to be reimbursed with that month’s salary.

If you take business contacts out for lunch or dinner, the expenses can be claimed supported by detailed receipt(s). Expense claims for entertainment, i.e. lunch or dinner, should state the names of the people entertained, including the name of any colleagues.

No expense claims will be accepted more than 60 days after they were incurred.

Please note that if your salary is over AED 6000 per month, no taxi fares are reclaimable.

All expenses claimed must be wholly, necessarily and exclusively incurred on behalf of the Company.

You must not entertain other members of NEOSYS at the Company’s expense without prior authorisation from your Manager.

You may claim back the value of business phone calls made from your home and your mobile phone on producing an original invoice, highlighting the relevant calls. International call claims must have details of the company called.

=Travel=
All business travel must be sanctioned in advance by your Manager. A travel requisition should be submitted to your Manager no less than 1 week in advance of your proposed travel date. Our policy is that economy class travel should be used. When travelling abroad, the Company pays for your accommodation, food and conveyance. To reclaim this amount you should add it to your monthly expenses claim form.

=Mail services=
It is the company’s policy that all documents that commit the company in regards to staff expenditure or contracts are signed specifically by appointed authorised signatories. Employees are welcome to use the company’s PO Box for incoming personal correspondence; however the company cannot be liable for any delay/loss/damages incurred by its use.

=Documents=
ALL personal working files however trivial MUST be stored in Nextcloud and MUST NOT be stored anywhere in personal computer (My Documents/Desktop etc. )

=Computer systems=
Your computer system given by NEOSYS remains the property of NEOSYS at all times.

Your computer should be accessible to your immediate manager at any given point of time. You may store your personal files, but please note that privacy isn’t assured as your computer system might be accessible by your manager at any point of time.

Installing any software, applications, browser add-ons, drivers or devices must be done only after getting prior consent of your manager.

If you are given a laptop, you should not be taking home the same without an approval.

=Network systems=
All NEOSYS networks i.e. Wi-Fi, LAN, VPN, Servers, Storage devices etc are monitored due to the nature of business and to assure our clients that we have the highest possible security measures in place. As such your network and internet traffic might be under surveillance.

=Internet=
NEOSYS internet or VPN can be used for personal purposes outside of business hours or during breaks, however you are restricted from any torrents or file sharing programs because of a high risk of security they pose to our business. Also ensure that you do not use this facility for pornographic or any other illegal activity that is not in line with the Sharia law of the country.

=Dress code=
The office dress code is formal. When visiting clients, you are expected to wear professional business attire at all times. Fridays are considered a “dress down” day.

=General Appearance=
As we are part of the service industry, it is essential to maintain a professional appearance at all times, as you represent NEOSYS when meeting with clients and prospects. Ensure you are well-rested and come to office clean-shaven. For gents, a neat, short haircut is recommended. If you choose to keep a beard, it should be kept neatly trimmed.

=Smoking=
Our office is non-smoking without exception. Smoking is permitted outside the office premises.

=Meetings outside office=
We strongly advise against scheduling early morning meetings with clients, as we believe they are often inefficient. Since you are required to be in the office by 9am, please arrange meetings for after that time. If you have meetings in the old town of Dubai (e.g. Deira), you may go directly from home to the meeting. However, please ensure that your Manager is kept informed of this arrangement.

Procedures

2026-01-15T05:11:00Z

Arvind: /* Placing Licence Restrictions */

Here are procedures to be followed by Support Staff in respect to various technical matters in day to day operations of client issues.

Once Support Staff have learnt how to follow these procedures & rules, you then start learning when and how to not follow them. Common sense trumps all rules! i.e. don't follow procedures and rules blindly all the time. Analyse the problem and solve it practically.

BUT if you are doing something off-piste deliberately, then just add an appropriate comment about why you are.

==Handling Clients with Overdue Invoice==
In order to maintain good payment speed by clients NEOSYS needs to restrict support to clients that dont pay their bills on time, however the degree of restriction needs to depend on an intimate knowledge of the client which cannot be expected from all NEOSYS support staff. Therefore we will use a simple escalation policy as follows:

===Overdue Support List===
NEOSYS SUPPORT will maintain an overdue list on Thunderbird support inbox. Generally, clients will go on the list immediately when their invoice is overdue and come off only after satisfactory commitment to pay have been obtained.

The latest overdue list email MUST always be starred until there are no clients left on the overdue list (apart from the permanently overdue clients). When a client is added to the overdue list, support must set up a filter to move client support emails to the overdue folder. When a client is removed from the overdue list, client emails must be moved back into the support inbox. This way support team will know that there are still clients on the overdue list and will not mistakenly provide support to those clients.

[[image:FilterOverdue.jpg]]

For the first week of each quarter of the year, normal support should be provided for server failures and backup failures (including hung processes as it could eventually lead to backup failures).

For any other support requests from overdue clients, respond with the following letter (where XYZ is the overdue client):

Dear <user>,
There is an issue with your company's account. We have requested our Accounts team for approval in order to provide support to you and other <company_name> users.

Support staff MUST then provide the required support to the overdue client only after 4 working hours. Support Staff need not actually contact the Accounts team for approval, although that is what is mentioned in the letter. This delay in support is to encourage clients to settle their payments on time.

After the first week of each quarter of the year, respond to any support requests from overdue clients with the above letter but MUST NOT PROVIDE SUPPORT even after 4 working hours. Instead, Support Staff must refer the support request to NEOSYS Support Manager.

Managers may well instruct support to provide support on a case by case basis even if clients are on the overdue list. Being on the overdue list does not necessarily indicate a major issue with accounts.

If the client provides proof of payment (e.g. cheque deposit slip), then carefully check all the details as mentioned in [https://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Sales_FAQ#When_can_NEOSYS_support_staff_start_installation_of_NEOSYS When can NEOSYS support staff start installation of NEOSYS], before getting approval from NEOSYS management to remove the client from the overdue list.

===Placing Licence Restrictions===

If a client that does not already have a licence restriction is on the overdue list for more than 15 days, then place a [[Restricting_usage_of_NEOSYS_to_licence_period | licence restriction]] on the client's database after discussion with manager and approval from SB.

How frequently the client was placed in the overdue list in the past should be taken into consideration when making this decision.

===Handling complaints about Licence Restrictions===

If support places a new licence restriction for a client, users will not be able to create and save documents dated outside the licence period. Due to this sudden restriction, clients may raise complaints about the restriction placed.

Support MUST simply inform them that licence restrictions are a default procedure followed by NEOSYS and is applied to all clients with overdue invoices. This will encourage the client to avoid delaying the payment in future.

===Handling complaints about emails from NEOSYS Accounts Department===

If a client calls Support team to complain about emails from NEOSYS accounts department (e.g. invoice payment reminder), then immediately make them realise that they are wasting their time talking to support, because support should not involve themselves in client invoices and reminders procedure.

Support: "Terribly sorry, but I handle Support, you will have to contact Accounts."

Client: yaddah yaddah yaddah for as long as they like

Support: "Terribly sorry, but I handle Support, you will have to contact Accounts."

Client: "Can you put me through to Accounts?"

Support: "Sorry, Accounts is not in the office at the moment."

Client: "When can I call to get through to accounts?"

Support: "I'm afraid I don't know."

Client: "Can you get accounts to call me back?"

Support: "I will pass on the message"

==Handling Frozen NEOSYS Installations and Databases==

Some clients retain fully operational NEOSYS installations or just particular databases even after they stop using them for some reason, either because they move to some other software, or because they terminate an operational division, or other reasons, and this can either be on NEOSYS or their own servers.

In this case, various NEOSYS upgrade and maintenance processes may be suspended, downgraded or completely skipped especially if instant access to the server is no longer available. This does not mean that it should never be done, and pros and cons need to be assessed and documented in support emails on a case by case basis.

*Upgrading NEOSYS version
*Upgrading/standardising NEOSYS database configuration and other files for consistency, security or other issues
*Patching Windows/IIS configuration for consistency, security or other issues

==Handling Links and Email Attachments==

'''DO NOT TRUST ANY LINK OR ATTACHMENT IN ANY EMAIL EVEN FROM HIGHLY TRUSTED PEOPLE OR ORGANISATIONS'''

These days you can no longer trust links or attachments in emails from anybody - even emails from highly trusted people like your bank.

If a personal computer or intermediate email server is hacked then even genuine emails sent out from it can be infected and modified in a hidden way that can result in the recipient being infected if they click or open anything in the email.

Therefore you should know and understand how to avoid, as far as possible, getting tricked and infected via emails.

Malware authors generally rely on the fact that most people devote no time at all to security precautions so a moderate cautious approach, slowing down a little to spending some time on security, even where it is apparently not required, is enough to defeat most attacks.

===Links===

Do NOT click on links, especially in emails that you are not expecting, but also anywhere else that you see links, without taking various precautions. The links in an email, even from someone you know and trust, can LIE to you about what website they will open and they can lead you to websites that mere browsing can infect your computer and then others inside our network.

WHAT LINK/WEBSITE WILL BE OPENED MAY NOT BE WHAT IT SAYS IN THE BODY OF YOUR EMAIL!

Therefore, to use a link in any and all emails, first hover your cursor over it and check the status bar at the bottom of the screen where you can see exactly what website will be opened, or, to be more sure exactly what website you are opening DO NOT click links in emails at all. COPY/PASTE the link to your browser, AFTER following the below points.

*Make sure you know and trust the website being opened.
*Carefully inspect the spelling of the domain name to avoid tricky look-alike fraudulent links eg hcsb.com instead of hsbc.com
*If you trust the sender but you do not personally know the website then get independent confirmation from the sender. Reply to the email so that the sender can check the link you received has not been tampered with.

Example 1:

Below is an example of a phishing email that you can easily tell is malware

[[image:Scamscreenshot1.png]]

*You don't expect it because it says "before your sign up is complete" ... but you didn't just sign up.

This doesn't mean that links in emails that you ARE expecting ARE safe to open. All the usual cautions apply to emails you DO expect.

*Hover mouse over the button and check the link visually

In the example above, the email is supposed to be from Dropbox, but hovering the mouse over the button shows the below link, which is obviously wrong:

<pre>http://fxloraisdoxbraxsil.com.br/dropbox.html</pre>

*Even if the link looks genuine e.g. something from a service that we use that we didn't expect, be careful for misspelt links that look like genuine links e.g. drobbox.com, which could trick you if you are sloppy.

Never click on links in emails unless you are absolutely 100% sure that the email and link is genuine.

Copy the link using right click copy link then paste into your browser if there is the slightest doubt.

Example 2:

In the following case, hovering over the first two links seem to go to real UPS website, BUT this is NOT sufficient to be sure since slight misspellings and other tricks can lead you to a totally different website.

However, hovering over the third "link" shows that clicking the apparent link would go to some website: <pre>http://behappy.vn</pre> (Vietnam) so clearly this is a DECEPTION.

[[image:Scamscreenshot.png]]

Example 3:

In this case, an unknown organization behind the phishing attack is pretending to work for Leaseweb sales company and is sending emails from an email address similar to Leaseweb’s, and with Leaseweb’s footer. They claim that the original payment was declined and ask to wire or transfer money to a new account. These kind of emails are quite sophisticated and require you to be vigilant.

Try to confirm the sender’s identity before replying to email requests and before opening attachments or clicking on links, even if they appear to come from a legitimate source.

Below is an example of a fraudulent email request:

<pre>
Your payment has been declined!
Your invoice (100421) with Office 365 Service is due.
To make a payment, please log in with your email address and password at

https://leaseweb.com/payment/100421
Once logged in please click select the Make a Payment icon in the Billing Tab. You may complete payment by Credit Card or Paypal on this page.

Once paid no further action is needed and your account will remain active.
We thank you for your continued business and assistance in helping us to get this resolved.
Feel free to contact us if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.

Regards; </pre>

===Attachments===

Please follow these rules strictly:

*<nowiki>*NEVER* open an attachment that you did not expect.</nowiki>

*<nowiki>*NEVER* be curious to see what is in an attachment.</nowiki>

*<nowiki>*NEVER* open an attachment if there is some other way for the info to be sent e.g. Screenshot of document.</nowiki>

If the rules above are followed then:

*You can open an attachment if you have requested it and if sender is unable to take a screenshot.

*You can open an attachment if you get a good explanation of its contents from the sender and they are unable to take a screenshot.

It is okay to save an attached eml file and open it with GEDIT as text, as it will not trigger any virus.

This does NOT mean that you can open attached files freely. As per the procedures above, you should NOT open any unknown or unexpected attachments without CONSIDERABLE thought.

But saving and then opening files with GEDIT to get an idea of their contents even if the view is mangled is okay. Although, there is little point in opening files like ZIP in gedit.

There is no way to determine if an attachment, even from someone you know, has not been infected and is therefore, dangerous.

The only protection is to rely on anti-virus/anti-malware e-mail filters and staff vigilance!

You can check the names and file types/extensions of attached files to spot any obviously strange or unexpected attachments, but this is not very effective. The filename of an attachment could be spoofed. An attacker could potentially exploit this by tricking the user in to opening an attachment of a different type to the one expected.

Attachments ending in .jar or any other unusual extensions shouldn’t be opened without SB's permission.

If there are a lot of attached files, don't assume they are all safe, make sure you asked for each of them.

==Handling emails from unknown email addresses==

Any sort of contact from an unknown email address must be ignored entirely, i.e. no response whatsoever from Support, as these emails could be from a fraudulent source. If the email is genuine, then the sender can surely contact their managers.

Support should keep in mind that hackers can send emails that look genuine, aiming to get private/confidential information and so should always stay alert when dealing with such emails.

==Handling junk/spam email==

In order to get better automatic spam email filtering please mark as many obviously spam emails as Junk, instead of just deleting them. Marking them will delete them so it takes not much longer to do.

*DO NOT delete emails from Junk or Spam folder because they are used to identify future junk and spam emails.
*Any email identified as junk should be marked as Junk so that they automatically go into the Junk folder. The spam filter in the mail server will use these emails in the Junk folder to decide what is moved into the spam folder.
*You MUST ensure that all clearly junk/spam emails are marked as Junk/Spam in ALL email inboxes. In other words they MUST be moved to Junk/Spam folders and not left in our inboxes or other main folders.
*Any emails which are not clearly junk/spam emails or are similar to genuine emails, but you know are spam/junk MUST be deleted i.e. NOT left in inbox NOR moved to Junk/Spam folders.

Failing the above we will have the following problems:

*Real emails disappearing into junk/spam folders by our email server.
*More junk/spam emails appearing in our inboxes than necessary.

The Junk email folder contains emails that have been manually marked as spam/junk whereas the "spam" email folder contains emails that have automatically been filtered out by the email server.

==Avoid burdening email servers with excessive graphics==

Support MUST install the "Auto Resize Image" addon in Thunderbird to reduce the size of images in emails resulting in a significant reduction in email size. See [[Configuring_Thunderbird#Configure_Auto_Resize_Image| setting up auto resize image]] for details.

It reduces the burden on NEOSYS and NEOSYS client's email servers. This is especially important on long conversations about subjects that include many screenshots, since for just a simple one line reply, the email can consume many MB of space. It massively wastes the email server space and makes backups massive and generally a total waste of resources and time.

To be able to refer back to graphics in previous emails, add the SIZE column to your email program so that you can locate large emails with graphics rapidly without searching back one by one.

==Client Communication Policies==
===Client Meeting Report Policy===

After every Client meeting online or otherwise Support MUST send a Follow-Up email to the Client which is open and fully informative and not brief, stating the events during the meet and any action required by either or both parties. The email to the client must not shrink from discussing contentious issues due to a false sense of politeness or timidity to address issues face on. Obviously one should not be rude but it is not rude to address issues openly.(cc Client managers and NEOSYS Managers)

The follow-up email MUST be sent within 24 hours of completion of the meeting so that the points discussed during the meeting are fresh in all the meeting participants' minds. This means that reports for meetings on the day before the weekend MUST be sent on the SAME day.

In addition to above email if there is some information that needs to be shared internally and cannot be said in public to the client then send a Client Meeting report to Support.

Support must also update the Client Contact Record file in Google Drive immediately after sending out the follow-up email.

===Follow Up of Support Issues===

All voice/chat communication MUST also be followed up with an email confirming at least the gist of the communication to keep the whole support team updated on the issue.

If not possible to contact for any reason, then an email MUST be sent stating so and suggesting or requesting a time to connect.

cc Client managers (and/or BCC NEOSYS Managers) MAY be done if thought to be useful and/or appropriate.

===Handling Contentious Emails from Clients===

If emails requesting support become contentious, then voice, phone call or chat is REQUIRED to save time. However, client support via phone call should be done only on local or low-cost calls. High-cost international calls should not be used except in extreme circumstances.

If clients become deliberately combative or uncooperative then Support team is supposed to kick back a little but still emphasise the point. Perhaps it could be done better with a little ironic humour or a smiley. Avoid using !! while responding to contentious emails.

===Apologising to clients for issues===

We only need to apologise for major issues that are a) definitely our fault and b) we wish to indicate that there is some general issue in NEOSYS procedures and that we are dealing with it.

We do not want to invite bullying by some clients by seeming to lack confidence in our ability.

An explanation of the cause and possibly FP is of more value to the client, since an apology doesn’t really make any difference.

===Discussing Billing===
Support team MUST NOT discuss billing with clients without prior discussion with SB and accounts. Aside from standard pricing for new clients, all other billing is outside of support's area of expertise and knowledge.

All discussions about pricing must be done only in Sales inbox. If clients bring up pricing discussion in support emails, support staff must move the conversation to Sales Inbox and respond as sales@neosys.com .

==NEOSYS Support Response Time Policy==

NEOSYS contracts, in the few cases where we have a written contract with the client, specifies that maximum response time is one business day generally and one business hour for complete stoppages of the system. Obviously we have to do far better than this in practice.

Support staff must inform clients of the progress of the issue if it is not resolved the same day but only if they contact at least 1 hour before office closing.

Deciding to wait on issues is fine (also refer to: [[Procedures#Handling_users_who_do_not_act_upon_standard_messages|Response to standard messages]]), but support MUST at least spend up to 5 minutes on issues to see if they can be handled quickly. Support MUST respond quickly to issues that can be handled quickly, otherwise the client suffers unnecessarily.

When an issue is fixed or a client request has been implemented in NEOSYS, Support must immediately let users know that the issue is fixed, so that clients can continue their work without any further delay. Quick and prompt responses from Support will gain the client's appreciation.

For routine requests for service where there is a reasonable expectation of delay by the client then no need to send rapid reply.

==Default Browser for support staff==

NEOSYS supports and develops for Firefox primarily but other browsers such as Chrome and Edge MUST also be tested working fine. Support team currently uses Firefox for all work related tasks in Ubuntu which includes testing, wiki work etc.

Also refer to [http://itwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Setting_up_Ubuntu_on_NEOSYS_Support_Computers#Mozilla_Firefox Setting up Mozilla Firefox]

==Handling errors discovered by support staff==
{{Handling errors}}

==Handling browser script errors==

If a script error is faced, support should take a full screenshot of the script error including the script name, line number, etc.

Include every detail available regarding the script error and also the steps to replicate it and escalate this to the programmer.

Chrome JavaScript Error Notifier extension shows all the details available in the initial script error message itself.

==Various checks done by Support to investigate errors==

A list of logs/reports that Support must look at, depending on the situation, to solve issues or investigate errors.

#Support inbox emails: Check old emails in Thunderbird. This is the quickest way to handle issues/errors that were handled recently.
#Logs/reports available in NEOSYS Menu
#*Request Log (Support -> RequestLog) - These logs can be checked to see what request were made and by which users etc., not as detailed as the xml logs mentioned under "Logs found on the server".
#*NEOSYS logs (Support -> Log) - Log of alerts sent out via email, e.g. backup email, login failure, etc.
#*What's New report (Help -> What's new in NEOSYS) - Contains a list of all the features added in NEOSYS
#*List of Database processes (Support -> List of Database Processes) - Status of processes windows running on the server.
#*List of documents in use (Support -> List of Documents in Use) - Currently used documents.
#*User details page (Help -> User Details) - To check logins and IPs and password reset details.
#*Version logs of files - The history of edits made to files in NEOSYS. This is available at the bottom of files in NEOSYS (e.g. Schedule file, Voucher file, etc.)
#*Usage Statistics (Support -> Usage Statistics) - Shows no. of requests made per user, per department, per database, per hour etc.
#Logs found on the server:
#*
#*journalctl - Contains all systemd, kernal and journal logs of the server so use cleverly and filter as required
#*Xml logs - These logs can be checked to see what request were made and by which users etc. in detail.
#*Tmux screen 10 - Monitor for NEOSYS client processes sorted by total time spent and by processor time.
#*Tmux screen 11 - Similar to journalctl, but filtered by NEOSYS client requests.
#*Tmux screen 12 - Quick check if live/test is down. Displays the last time the svr file was updated.
#NAGIOS - Monitors the status of all hosts and services.

==Handling Cheques from Clients==

NEOSYS staff are not to accept deliveries from clients that might be cheques without prior instructions to accept the same. They can ask courier to wait a few minutes until NEOSYS accounts or management agrees but they may not be immediately available and probably will not agree anyway. If accounts or management is not immediate available, then cheque MUST not in any circumstances be accepted, otherwise client can cause problems in our accounts and we waste time visiting the bank to deposit.

NEOSYS payment terms do not accept cheques although clients are free to deposit cheques by themselves.

==Client Password Policy==
All client user passwords, including their initial one, are to be obtained via the user's email address using the password reminder/reset button on the login screen. [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Using_NEOSYS_Generally#What_is_NEOSYS_password_policy.3F (NEOSYS password policy)]

NEOSYS staff should never know users passwords therefore NEOSYS will not obtain and grant user passwords. The reason for this is that in the event that users lose their passwords to other people who then login unauthorised then suspicion could fall on the NEOSYS staff who know their password.

All parties concerned, including client management, client users and NEOSYS support staff, benefit greatly from trusting that if something in a NEOSYS database is registered as having been done by a particular user then it was not in fact somehow done by NEOSYS support staff. Nothing should be done that would break such fundamental trust. To achieve this, NEOSYS support staff must never log in as particular users, never ask for users passwords and generally enforce the idea that all work logged as being done by users IS done by users.

Very limited amounts of work by NEOSYS support staff either in person or remotely using teamviewer is acceptable while a user is logged as long as the user login was performed by the user themselves, the user is present and the user specifically agrees with the work being done.

===Support requests from ordinary client users===
Any support requests concerning inability to obtain passwords should be forwarded to known skilled users on the client staff since this is the most efficient (not fastest) way to handle such issues.

===Support requests from senior client management===
Any support requests concerning inability to obtain passwords by senior client management users shall be handled directly by NEOSYS support staff in any way convenient to resolve the issue in the quickest possible time rather than the most efficient.

Bearing in mind that NEOSYS staff should never know user's passwords this will probably involve NEOSYS staff using the Password Reminder/Reset button to send a new password to the user.

===User Defined Passwords===
NEOSYS will provide user defined passwords in very special cases which must be pre-approved case by case by NEOSYS management. NEOSYS will not approve this due to the reasons mentioned [[Procedures#Client_Password_Policy|here]].

If the user login gets blocked due to multiple login failures and the user requests support team to reset the password to the user defined password again, support MUST delay the response to this request by at least 1 hour in order to force the user to be more careful when typing the password.

Currently permission for user defined password has only been granted to one NEOSYS client with several hundreds of databases.

==Handling client issues and requests==

All support issues must be dealt with through phone/email/chat. Support Staff can schedule client visits for User Training but should not schedule client visits solely for providing support for petty issues.

ALL Support staff should check all the previous day's inbound emails for reply flags once in the morning. All Support staff will therefore be held responsible for any unreplied inbound email.

Support MUST NOT waste time and delay support by investigating issues WITHOUT SUFFICIENT INFORMATION.

Support must NOT get involved in any discussion about any document that is not directly out of NEOSYS, so that Support is able to reproduce it from NEOSYS screenshots of screen options that the client used.

Support should look for similar issues when solving a particular problem to avoid similar issues in future. This saves the time and energy of Support as well as the Client.

When sending screenshots to clients, support team should economise on space by minimising to the minimum that will show the problem clearly. This is because not every user will be viewing their emails on large wide screens like NEOSYS support team. Browser windows reformat their contents to suit the width available so this is particularly effective in most NEOSYS screens.

Support team MUST be cautious while sending screenshots so that no private/unnecessary information is sent to Client. If you cannot avoid taking the screenshot without unnecessary information then you should hide it in the screenshot.

Support team MUST learn not to do silly support for people, because we have an OPEN SUPPORT policy, which some users WILL try to abuse based on either poor understanding or lack of respect.
Either way support MUST learn to deal with abuse of privileges as it will save a lot of time, which could be spent on more important issues.

{{SensitiveSecurity }}

===Handling new emails in Support inbox===
Support MUST spend up to 5 minutes on new emails and send a quick reply to the client, to acknowledge the request or give a quick solution in case it is a petty issue or has a documented solution in wiki.

Client issues/requests should be prioritized, interrupting existing work and not wait for one hour and be dealt with quickly.

For routine service requests where there is a reasonable expectation of delay by the client, Support need not send a rapid reply but must keep the email starred in Support inbox to indicate that it is pending or being worked on.

===Handling starred emails in Support inbox===

When an email is received in Support inbox,

*if the email can be replied to immediately, then mark it as read after you have replied to the email.
*if the issue cannot be resolved immediately, then the email MUST be starred so that support does not forget to work on it. Once the issue has been resolved, Support should send an email to Support inbox confirming that the issue is closed. Only then should the email be unstarred.

No issue should be silently dropped without being fully resolved.

===Handling client-sensitive information in emails===

Support should avoid including information that could be sensitive to clients e.g. screenshots of reports that should only be viewed by client's upper management.

This can be done simply by clever cropping of images or blurring out of information in cases where cropping is not possible.

Support MUST not delay response to any client by wasting time blurring or cropping out information that is not sensitive to clients, e.g. blurring out the URL and tabs in browsers etc.

===Handling client call back requests===

Clients who ask us to call them should be given our phone number and asked to call us unless there is some GOOD reason why we should make the effort and pay phone charges.

===Handling login failure issues===

Users often get login failure issues due to typing wrong password and they simply won't read and act according to the error message they get. In this case, Support must send the below email to the user.

<pre>
Dear XYZ,

If you have trouble resetting password, please ask for assistance from your manager/IT Manager/Timesheet Administrator/NEOSYS-expert colleague.

Regards,
NEOSYS Support
</pre>

Local support users (TA or IT manager etc) have the LS key using which they can see the User Details page of all users. They should check all the information (usercode, registered email id, last login attempts etc) in the User Details page to find out what is the issue.

This procedure will reduce the endless mails sent back and forth to solve petty issues which could easily be solved by the client's local support.

===Handling requests or demands for "URGENT" or "PRIORITY" support===

Any request for prioritised action *without giving any reason for the prioritisation* should be disregarded and the request handled with normal priority. If a reason is given then you may at your discretion prioritise a response but there is no obligation to do so.

===Handling users who login with other people's NEOSYS usercodes===
This can cause a lot of confusion in both the client and NEOSYS support. It may also indicate that the correct NEOSYS monthly licensing fee is not being paid. There is no valid reason for anonymous logins or sharing logins between multiple users.

Therefore if NEOSYS support team get requests for support about using NEOSYS from users who are not registered properly in NEOSYS with a personally identifiable user code, name and email then the following email should be sent cc admin@neosys.com.

No exception should be granted to clients without NEOSYS management approval.

<pre>
Dear NEOSYSUSER,

Please note that in order to receive support from NEOSYS you must personally have an identifiable user code, name and email address registered in NEOSYS.

We can create a new user account for you with your management's approval. This may or may not have an impact on the NEOSYS monthly licensing fee depending on the agreement in force.

Please let us know what you would like us to do.

Best Regards,
NEOSYS Support
</pre>

===Handling support requests from expired users===

If expired users call for any reason including not being able to login, they must not be given any support. They should only be told that their account is expired without any reason being offered because employers sometimes do not want any information at all being passed to expired users.

Instead, inform the client's senior management or other point of contact that the expired user has requested support.

===Handling support request from senior management===

Any support requests from senior client management users concerning report generations should be handled directly by NEOSYS support staff in any way convenient to resolve the issue in the quickest possible time rather than the most efficient.

Bear in mind that NEOSYS staff should not agree or offer to do client work. Support staff can advise senior management to contact a skilled user to help them with basic NEOSYS reporting. Support staff can also send screenshots of step by step procedure on how to take reports. Depending on the situation and reasons provided by senior management, support staff can at their discretion provide reports but after informing them that this is an exception and no more reports will be sent out as this is against NEOSYS procedures.

===Handling requests that involve updating NEOSYS configuration files===

Changes to any configuration file in NEOSYS MUST be performed only by NEOSYS support, because even the slightest misconfiguration of the system may cause unrecoverable errors and NEOSYS is responsible for support.

===Handling emails with unrelated subject line===
At times, clients forward old emails, with new issues, resulting in completely unrelated subject line. In such situations, support MUST follow the below steps to ensure that unrelated emails do not appear in the same conversation group when viewing emails in conversation mode:

#Right click the email -> HeaderToolsLite -> Edit full source
#Modify the text that appears after "Message-ID: <". (e.g. replace the first few characters with "xxxxxxxxx")
#Remove all texts that appear after "References:" and "In-Reply-To:" and click OK.
#Click Reply All on the modified email.
#Change the subject to a relevant one.
#Delete old unrelated content from the email body.

In the email reply, include a comment like "PS Please don't forward old emails for new issues, start a new email with a new subject so that emails can be traced easily."

Sometimes the client does not bother putting the correct subject line for new issues (e.g. blank subject, or "Error"). Then support should add a meaningful subject line in order to make the email easy to search for.

===Handling emails with poor screenshots===
Sometimes Thunderbird shows full sized screenshots in a compact format that is not easy to read. These can be resized to make them more legible. To do this, make the email editable by hitting the "Reply" button, then click and drag to resize the screenshot as desired.

If the screenshot sent by the user is genuinely small and hard to read, reply to the mail and request for a full size, clear screenshot.

===Handling support-request emails sent to anywhere than support@neosys.com===
Client emails anywhere than support@neosys.com MUST be ignored. This is because ALL support must be recorded in support inbox without exception so that the whole support team is aware of the issue and action taken. If client complains about the delay in support then they can be told this is because they used the wrong email address.

===Handling users who do not act upon standard messages===
When users do not bother to read and act on standard NEOSYS-generated messages and instead ask for help, Support staff MUST delay response time and thereafter send them an email which is the same as the message so they get the point that in future they should read the messages and handle issues themselves.

===Handling Requests to do Client work===
NEOSYS Support staff must not agree or offer to do work on behalf of the client.

This is because doing client work while logged in as NEOSYS breaks security rules. Support uses the EXODUS username which has unrestricted access, so when a user requests Support to do some work which they don’t have access to, and if Support agrees to do the work, the client has successfully defeated the security rules by accessing features that they are unauthorised to access.

If a client makes a false claim about an issue in NEOSYS, i.e. if Support finds out that there is no real issue, then direct the client in the right direction so that they find out their mistake by themselves. Support MUST NOT show/explain the problem to them in detail, since you are just doing their work for them by explaining the problem and this will encourage the client to contact support for every petty issue they face.

Client work also includes [[Procedures#Handling_issues_with_totals_on_reports|Handling issues with totals on reports]].

====Requests for colour and font changes====

Support should not be spending lots of time on colour and font changes. Clients can make as many changes as they want until they are happy with a selection. Clients MUST send a screenshot of their required color/font settings (not sample screen/reports) for Support to copy and setup for all users. If Support sees them doing something bad or poor then give comments or better suggestions.

===Handling Requests that require Approval from Higher Authority===

The following is a list of user requests that must be handled by NEOSYS support staff only if they are approved by or come from a higher authority (manager/admin). The LIST is '''NOT''' a complete list so there may be other things which might require approval so use good judgement and/or ASK if in doubt.

*Opening new financial year
*Adding new company/dataset
*Editing alert/backup email receiver addresses
*Customising Authorisation File ({{SensitiveSecurity }})
**Adding or removing accesses for existing users in Authorisation file
**[[Procedures#Handling_new_USER_creation| Adding new user(s) to Authorisation file]]
**Expiring a user
**[[Procedures#For_HTTPS_access| Allowing HTTPS/outside office access from any IP number]]

If an unauthorized user sends one of these requests to support staff, support staff must immediately instruct the user to get the request approved by the higher authority.

====Handling Requests from people impersonating an Authorised person====
Clients may impersonate an authorised person by using their email address or signature when they are told that the request must come from or be approved by the authorised person. Support must use their judgement to deal with such requests.

If it is a simple request such as adding a new user or expiring one, Support can go ahead with the request.

If it is a request with risk involved such as providing remote access or granting high-level authorisation, Support must then contact the authorised person and let them know that their approval for the request has been received and are proceeding with the request.

===Handling User Requests to add an IP or range of IPs to access NEOSYS===

Support staff must identify if the IP or range of IPs is for http or https access.
{{SensitiveSecurity }}

====For HTTP access====
Support staff can add local IP or range of local IPs when requested by the client. Top management approval is not needed to add local IP numbers. Listed below are the IP address ranges reserved for local network.

10.0.0.0 – 10.255.255.255

172.16.0.0 – 172.31.255.255

192.168.0.0 – 192.168.255.255

====For HTTPS access====
Any request for https access from any IP address or range of IP addresses (eg. 123.456.* or just *), or in other words any use of an asterisk in the IP restrictions, MUST have TOP management i.e. the company's decision makers approval. The Staff and their Managers are not the best decision makers in this affair because they usually ignore the risks and it is not really their decision. Security threats like access of data by unauthorized persons or ex-employees, malicious hacking attempts etc can be triggered if access from any IP is enabled. It is completely pointless to inform the staff who want the access about these risks because only their top managers could really decide that this is NOT going to be allowed. Hence the Top Management MUST be asked for approvals and at the same time WARN them about the security risks/threats behind the no IP restrictions.

=====For clients with static IP=====
Any request to add a specific IP address to the list of allowed IP addresses MUST have management approval.

=====For clients with dynamic IP=====
For clients with dynamic IP, support MUST NOT add their public IP to the allowed list as this will encourage the client to again request for access from new IP numbers every time their public IP changes. Instead, support MUST force the client to either get a static IP, install VPN or get the Top Management i.e. the company's decision maker's approval to enable access from any IP after explaining the security risks in doing so, as mentioned above.

Support MUST also mention that installation of VPN by the Company is the industry standard way of providing access to mobile staff (i.e. those on dynamic IP numbers from home or traveling) to corporate software assets like NEOSYS IN A SECURE MANNER. Installation of VPN is to be done by their own IT support. Refer to [[Procedures#Using_VPN_to_enable_secure_access_from_outside_the_office|Using VPN to enable secure access from outside the office]]

Sample Email addressed to Top Management:
<pre>
Dear <XXXXX>,

I do not recommend allowing access from all IPs because security threats like access of data by unauthorized persons or ex-employees, malicious hacking attempts etc. can be triggered if access from any IP is enabled.

I strongly recommend that you keep IP restrictions for <XXXXXX> dataset.

If you want to provide access to mobile staff (i.e. those on dynamic IP numbers from home or traveling) to corporate software assets like NEOSYS IN A SECURE MANNER, then installation of VPN is the industry standard of achieving this. Installation of VPN is to be done by your own IT support.

If you still wish to allow access from all IPs, kindly confirm that you acknowledge the security threats of doing so.

</pre>

===Handling repeated request to allow users to access from all IPs===

{{SensitiveSecurity }}

If the client wants temporary access from outside for some staff twice in say a six months period then support should send the below email. The real reason is because we don't have the time to be doing this on a regular basis. If at all the client asks why we no longer support the provision of temporary outside access then we can say this is because of the frequency of such requests.

Dear XXX

We have given you temporary outside access this time, as requested. Please note that we can no longer support the provision of temporary outside access. So in the future, you will have to choose between either permanent or no outside access. Alternatively, you can ask your management to install a VPN (which is the industry standard of achieving outside access to a corporate asset in a secure manner), so that you can log in to NEOSYS from outside.

===Handling requests to create a new feature or modifying existing features===

Many issues are small and not important but can still be considered for development because they may be easy and neatly added to NEOSYS.

The aim here is to avoid development on hard issues for little benefit, or little issues that make NEOSYS more complex for little benefit.

When a client requests to create a new feature or modify an existing feature, a workaround must be given to the user, which is either a permanent solution, for example if the issue is a rare case and not commonly faced by other clients (and the workaround is acceptable to the client), or a temporary solution until some better solution is discovered or can be developed.

If only a workaround can be provided, use the standard template email for "Not possible to Implement the new feature immediately".

Support MUST check all options on all pages to look for any already existing solution or workaround to the problem before emailing the programmer.

Any request to create a new feature or modify an existing feature MUST be discussed with other clients before forwarding it to the programmer because the other clients might not be comfortable with the change as it may not be in accordance with their workflow. If other clients agree to the proposed change then support should go ahead and request the programmer to implement it.

Therefore before escalating a request to the programmer to modify a feature in NEOSYS, the approval for the same from other clients must be taken into account.

Any request to fix or modify a feature in NEOSYS must be accompanied with good reason and some basic considerations, so that the programmer knows what level of priority it can be dealt with.

When escalating the request to the programmer, support MUST avoid using "Is it possible..?" because the obvious answer to that is "Anything is possible" and because this question is only a way to avoid doing the real work of deciding whether the new feature/modification should be implemented.

===Handling requests to add more fields to List of Invoices reports===

Many users may ask for the List of Invoices report to be expanded to show a zillion other things, but this makes it NOT a list of invoices. Therefore other break-downs MUST be obtained from other reports in NEOSYS.

===Updating Clients about unresolved issues===
Support should proactively inform clients if an issue is not solved within the same day it was raised, after judging the urgency of the issue and the time it was raised. An email to the client who raised the issue, before the end of each day, is a best practice that keeps the client updated and other support staff too. This email should be sent regardless of the degree to which the issue has been resolved or if the issue is unresolved. If the issue is unresolved, the email should explain why and also explain the cause of delay.

===Handling new USER creation===
====Get Approval====
Support staff should create new USERS for clients ONLY when requested by an authorised person. If the authorised person is unavailable, for example on leave, then get approval from someone who is in the backup mail list.

Ideally only people who are users in NEOSYS and have authority over some task can grant or request authority to do that task for other NEOSYS users. However, if this is not the case and the requesting person has some seniority in the company (but is either not a NEOSYS user, or is not actually currently authorised to perform the task themselves) you may decide that it is not wise to proceed without some confirmation. In such a case be very respectful of their position while rejecting any request perhaps stating something like:

"Currently we have instructions to take requests concerning authorisation only from xxx, yyy and zzz. Please could this request be confirmed by one of them?" Rewrite this judiciously to suit the occasion.

Consider that different sections of a company may have different chain of commands. For example one should not assume that a Sales Director has authority over Finance unless there is firm evidence. If there is any doubt consult NEOSYS Support Managers.

Support MUST NOT directly contact the authorised person asking for approval/confirmation because that is client work.

In case the client [[Procedures#Handling_Requests_from_people_impersonating_an_Authorised_person|impersonates an authorised person]] to get a new user request approved, Support may go ahead with the request since it is not support's job to judge the authenticity of an email that appears to be from an authorised person. If the request is to create a user in a top level department, then you may choose to include other top department users/managers in your email so they are aware of the new user created.

Clients should not be discouraged to create new users. Clients are billed as per user usage which is reviewed periodically. Over time old USERS are replaced with new USERS.

====Creating User====
Preliminary:

New user requirements :-

*Full name - (like John Smith and not generic name like Copy Writer)
*Email address - (like johnsmith@example.com and not generic address like copywriter@example.com)
*Group level / User with similar authorisation

The USER code is the first name of a user.

1. Support MUST only create NEOSYS accounts with real names and email addresses WITH NO EXCEPTIONS unless agreed by NEOSYS management.

It is acceptable, although inefficient, for one person to have multiple user accounts either concurrently or sequentially, but the opposite MUST never occur.
One NEOSYS user code/account MUST never have more than one real person associated with it neither concurrently nor sequentially.
In order to maintain efficiency, various fleeting temptations to cut corners and break the ONE TO ONE link between NEOSYS user accounts and real people MUST be resisted.
These principles remain mandatory even when pressure is exerted by people, even senior management, who may not appreciate the issues involved.
The fact that NEOSYS support does not know for certain who is the real person using a NEOSYS account does not change these principles.

2. Support MUST not create GENERIC user codes like AUDITOR or MANAGEMENT (even to grant special access to such users like read-only access) as this breaks all security rules.
Do not re-use user codes. Always create NEW user codes for NEW users.

3. Support MUST not create or modify any usable NEOSYS account that is or has been used by more than one user.

4. Support is responsible to maintain the system in good working order and not knowing who is really doing the work in the system can make support harder.

5. Support MUST not collude with clients to by-pass the principles. If asked to do so Support MUST refuse to create or update such accounts.

6. Do not hand over user codes from one person to another in a mistaken attempt to represent a hand over to a replacement. EXPIRE THE OLD USER CODE/ACCOUNT AND CREATE A NEW USER CODE/ACCOUNT.

{{SensitiveSecurity }}

7. Support team MUST NOT discuss billings with clients unless authorised to do so. Also see [[Procedures#Discussing_Billing|Discussing Billing]]

8. Support team MUST NOT proceed with creating new users until the group level or existing user with similar authorisation has been clearly provided by the client, otherwise the new user may end up with more than the required authorisation, which can lead to problems in future.

====After Creating New User====

Support MUST send an email to the person who requested the creation of new user, confirming that the new user has been created along with a screenshot of that part of the authorisation table where the new user was created so that the new user's user code and email id is visible. This is done so that in case there is some error in the user code or email id, it is easily visible in the screenshot and also so that the person who requested the creation of the new user is informed about the user code of the new user.

===Handling letterhead change requests===

Support staff should reject any requests that require the letterhead to be setup on the TESTING dataset before it is setup in the MAIN dataset. This is to reduce double work for support staff and to ensure that clients have a clear understanding of their requirements and also send the correct logo image.
The MAIN dataset can be copied to the TEST dataset for any kind of testing.

See [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Configuring_Letterhead#Changing_the_letterhead_for_printed_documents How to change letterhead]

===Handling error messages===

'''Important:''' Before Attempting to resolve client issues, please ensure that we have secure access to the NEOSYS server.

#The very first step is understanding client problem. Ask questions to the client until you CLEARLY understand the problem.
#If the error is familiar and does not require a screenshot, resolve the problem immediately.
#If the error is unfamiliar and/or requires a screenshot and the user has not sent a screenshot, IMMEDIATELY use existing email template to ask the user to send a screenshot of the problem, along with the options used (basically you need to know HOW to replicate the error and the screenshot MUST show WHAT the error is).
#If the user says "nothing happens, so no screenshot of the error", then IMMEDIATELY request for screenshots again with the exact steps to reproduce the problem using mouse and keyboard.
#Support team MUST NOT provide support without a screenshot, otherwise the client will not pay attention to support team in future and ignore requests for screenshots.
#Upon receipt of the error and steps to reproduce the error, follow the steps and reproduce the error. Also refer to [[Procedures#Addressing_Browser_related_issues|Addressing Browser related issues]]
#If the issue is unknown or you don’t understand it clearly, with the users acknowledgement use remote support to gain access to the users desktop to view how to replicate the error.
{{Handling errors}}

====Understanding Internal error messages====

Internal errors messages appear in red on screen and an email which is sent to support with more details. (Example below)

[[image:Rawformdatapng.png]]

The "ERROR NO:" line is comprised of the error number (B16), the program (MARGIN_BASE) and the line number (1). Sometimes the line number is wrong, refer to section "Misleading line numbers in error messages" below for more info.

The "STACK:" line lists the "parent" calling programs "SYSMSG,LISTEN" used to trace how and where the error originates.

The "DATA:" is a string of characters that is used to recreate the options used by the client in order to replicate the error message. See how to [[Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Generally#Replicate_options_used_.26_error_using_sysmsg_Data: | replicate the error with the options used, using internal error email]]

===Addressing Browser related issues===

When resolving random browsing issues that seem to be on one user computer only, support MUST send the below email asking the user to check if the same issue occurs on other user computers. Rapidly convincing the user that the problem is only on their computer gains their willingness to sort the problem out at their end, using IT people if necessary and available.

Handling random issues that appear to be on one computer is very very common and it is important to deal with it effectively, not requiring stages of "denial" by the users until they accept something has to be done at their end, and not by NEOSYS. Speeding up this process gains the confidence and appreciation of the users.

<pre>Hi xxxx

Is this error happening only on your computer? If that is the case, it may be due to an issue in your browser cache. Please clear your browser cache with assistance from your IT team if required. Then restart the browser and try again.

If clearing browser cache does not fix the issue, I recommend a full browser reset to ensure that everything works fine.

Follow these instructions for clearing browser cache and resetting browser:
http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Generally#Troubleshooting_Web_Browsers

Please let us know if you face the issue again.</pre>

Also refer to [[Procedures#Handling_Browser_related_issues_in_NEOSYS| Handling Browser related issues]]

===Addressing Technical support emails===

In the case of technical support issues, address emails to the IT person and cc the complete group of recipients of backup emails and other NEOSYS alert emails. This allows both NEOSYS and client IT staff to take credit for resolving issues that NEOSYS raises instead of working in the background unacknowledged.

Technical support issues include backup failure, server failure, missing alert email, server connectivity issues and port forwarding issues and many other issues.

For technical issues like browser configuration, clear cache, etc. support must send the user a link to the appropriate wiki article to help the user fix the problem. In some cases the user may be helpless and unable to follow the steps to fix the problem. In such cases, support MUST NOT waste time trying to help the user fix the problem, instead support MUST ask the user to get help from the IT person.

===Acceptable report format when handling issues in NEOSYS reports===

NEOSYS Support must only resolve issues in NEOSYS output first. This is because only NEOSYS outputs can be trusted and user versions in Excel or PDF could be copied wrongly or edited by the user.

In case users send reports in excel or other formats, get them to send the original NEOSYS HTML report as an attachment or copy-pasted in email.

===Handling requests to create new charts or control accounts===

[http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Setting_up_and_Configuring_NEOSYS_Finance_System#Creating_New_Charts_or_Control_Accounts Refer here]

===Handling issues with totals on reports===

If a client has a problem with any total output by NEOSYS software then NEOSYS support will advise them which other NEOSYS report or reports provide a complete breakdown of the total (if necessary, to individual transactions) and ask the client to locate any offending transactions themselves.

NEOSYS support staff will handle any issues where the total on the breakdown report does not add up to the total on the summary report.

Reconciling totals can be hard if there are many transactions involved. Regardless of how hard it may be, reconciliation is an operational task for users not for support staff since NEOSYS support staff will not get involved in understanding client transactions or data.

====Trial Balance and Financial Statements====

NEOSYS support staff do not have to prove or trace any figures in NEOSYS Trial Balance Reports or any financial reports. If a figure is stated to be wrong by the user, then NEOSYS support staff should ask for proof or say NEOSYS is confident that the figures are correct unless proved otherwise.

NEOSYS support staff should point out reports in NEOSYS which will support the figures in question but not actually run the reports. Support staff can suggest the users to refer to detailed ledger accounts to prove balances.

==Using VPN to enable secure access from outside the office==
There are two ways in which a user can use VPN to access NEOSYS:

*User connects to their office router and makes the PC act like it is on the office LAN.
*User connects to a VPN service that provides a static IP number and can therefore be authorised by NEOSYS to login.

If the client intends to use VPN to connect to their office router and make the PC act like it is on the office LAN, then it depends on what VPN protocols the client's office router supports.

The alternative is to use a paid VPN service that provides a static IP number. Getting a dynamic IP number on VPN is very cheap and there are many suppliers, but getting a static IP number on VPN services seems to be more expensive.

Internally in NEOSYS we use PFSENSE routers which support OPENVPN which is extremely flexible.

==Handling issues with Office PBX phones==

Support should check their respective Office PBX phones every morning to find out if the phone is up and working. In case Support finds any issue with their phone, immediately fix it so that clients do not lose contact with the Support team via phone. Next send an email to Support inbox mentioning the fault, cause and solution for records/future prevention.

==Running undocumented commands on Maintenance mode==

Support Staff MUST NOT run undocumented commands on ***LIVE*** database. Some commands are not documented for a reason, it could be because the commands might give an undesired output or because there is no clarity on what else could be effected by the command.

Even if the command is tested in TESTING database and the output looks okay, support staff MUST get the programmer's approval before going ahead and running the command in LIVE database as there is no guaranty that the command is properly programmed and will do no damage.

==Configuring Browsers to show Javascript errors in NEOSYS==
NEOSYS Support MUST ensure the following Settings for browsers because if NEOSYS generates any javascript error message, the same would appear in the bottom left corner of a window, which in turn helps the programmer to fix the error. This must be done after every Factory Reset.

===Chrome===
Chrome Menu > More Tools > Extensions > Get More Extensions, search for '''Javascript Errors Notifier'''. Add the extension to Chrome.

[[image:Chrome.png]]

[[image:Chrome1.png]]
===Firefox===
TODO: Find replacement for Firebug, below does not work
Firebug add-on is used to NOTIFY about script errors because we have no other method to get any warning on screen but you should use the main firefox developer tools to investigate any errors as firebug is essentially replaced by built in developer tools.

For developer tools, go to Tools > Web Console

To enable notifications for script errors, download the add-on Firebug from [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/firebug/ here]. When a Javascript error is encountered, the firebug icon will report the number of errors.

Set your firebug as per the second screen shot and select "Enable All Panels" as well, the tick will not appear like the other options but the option will get selected. If you miss out on any one of these steps, you will not be able to capture script errors.

[[file:firebug1.jpg|1200px]]

[[File:Firebug.png]]

==Handling Browser related issues in NEOSYS==
See [http://techwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Technical_/_Hardware_requirements#NEOSYS_Software_Browser_and_OS_Requirements NEOSYS browser requirements]

Clients frequently ask [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/General_FAQ#Why_doesnt_NEOSYS_support_my_XYZ_browser.3F Why NEOSYS doesn't support other browsers]

To avoid browser errors, all new users must follow the steps given in [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Using_NEOSYS_Generally#Getting_started_with_NEOSYS Getting started with NEOSYS] before logging in to NEOSYS for the first time.

To troubleshoot browser related errors see [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Generally#Troubleshooting_Web_Browsers Troubleshooting Web Browsers]

Pop-up blockers and any 3rd party toolbars must be deactivated/switched off or else certain pages and alert messages while using NEOSYS do not appear as a result of blocking from either the pop-up blocker or toolbars with built-in pop-up blockers.

NEOSYS support must ask users to Reset browser (See [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Reset_Browser Reset browser]) if they notice any user browsers which have pop-up blockers or 3rd party toolbars installed.

Also refer to [[Procedures#Addressing_Browser_related_issues| Addressing Browser related issues]]

==Handling NEOSYS Upgrade==
See [http://techwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Upgrading_NEOSYS Upgrading NEOSYS]

==Handling auto-reply emails like Out of Office etc.==

From 28th May 2017 version, emails sent out by the NEOSYS system contain headers that in effect request recipient email systems not to auto-reply for things like Out of Office. This is to reduce unnecessary chatter by silencing unnecessary automatic replies. There is no guarantee that recipient email systems will comply. The headers added are:

*X-Auto-Response-Suppress: RN, NRN, OOF
*Precedence: bulk

Support team should notify SB of any auto-responses that come despite their installation being patched.

In NEOSYS versions after 10th Jun 2017, emails sent by NEOSYS from the NEOSYS Help menu, i.e. manually triggered emails, do NOT indicate that OOF replies are not wanted, since if you are sending emails to people using NEOSYS, you will want to know if they are OOF.

==Using Support Tools==
===Website Live Support===
TODO: Find a replacement live support software, below software is not in use.
www.neosys.com is equipped with a Live Support software and clients can visit the website, click on this link and chat with any of our support staff, without the need for any installation. The client has to fill in their name and enter their questions to connect to an available support personnel. During non-working hours, the Live Support icon on the website automatically displays "offline".

NEOSYS Support personnel who are authorised to provide such support, need to login to Live helper chat in Firefox using the link given below:

http://neosys.com/lhc_neosys/index.php/site_admin/

Support personnel should enter the account details as provided by their Manager.

Enable notifications for Live helper chat so that whenever there is a visitor trying to contact Support team, the Support personnel will get the notifications on his screen.

Set the Live helper chat login page as your home page in Firefox and this page must be kept open for the whole duration of working hours.

Support must always be alert and immediately reply to messages from visitors.

Use the link below to enable notifications:

http://neosys.com/lhc_neosys/index.php/site_admin/chat/listchatconfig

After setting up Live helper chat if you sign in to a new profile in Firefox, you might have to re enable the notifications after your Firefox is synced to the new profile.

===Teamviewer===
Since Teamviewer allows no restriction on access once a fixed pass is installed, Support must not install fixed pass on teamviewer however convenient it might be.

RULE: NO FIXED PASS TO BE INSTALLED ON TEAMVIEWER IN ANY NEOSYS OR NEOSYS CLIENT COMPUTER

Running teamviewer live from a web link is fine because it does not allow installation of a permanent password

For certain tasks that require temporary install of Teamviewer on the client servers (e.g. upgrading Cygwin remotely), use Teamviewer 7 on the server as well as Support staff computer. Contact NEOSYS IT for commercial license of Teamviewer 7. Teamviewer MUST be uninstalled after usage, otherwise it creates an additional unnecessary security risk.

To support client users who use the latest version of Teamviewer, support staff must also install the latest Teamviewer version available alongside Teamviewer 7.

==Documenting Processes in Wiki==
NEOSYS Support staff must be in continual learning mode. This is mandatory for support staff and is not an option. Support must read, learn and understand everything in the support emails and ask questions if they don't understand. This understanding must be transferred into wiki in the form of new articles and improvements to existing articles.

For all articles related to formatting and editing in Wiki, see [http://itwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Documenting_NEOSYS_systems Documenting NEOSYS systems]

===Avoiding duplication of text in wiki===

Duplication of text in wiki is to be avoided almost at any cost. Duplication has the problem that when one copy is changed or improved in future then it is highly likely the editor will fail to update the other copy or copies and wiki will over time become an inconsistent mess.

There are several ways to avoid duplication:

#Two or more procedures which have significant areas of duplication can be rewritten as a single procedure with alternatives in the middle of the procedure
#Wiki Templates- Templates reproduce the same text in all places and editing one place edits all places. See [[How to create templates in wiki]]
#Wiki links- Only put the text in one place and put links to that in all the other places that it is appropriate.
#Place a note in all copies something to the effect that "This is similar to x, y and z". This alerts any future editor of all other places in wiki that might also have to be updated.

Future modifications in one place may or may not be appropriate to other places. The editor must decide whether to change one or all places

===Highlighting information in wiki===

To highlight particular instructions or info in wiki do NOT invent new styles which are not the way the rest of wiki is done. Instead, follow the USUAL STYLE or open a DISCUSSION with any recommendations you have BEFORE USING THEM.

Instead of using various kinds of highlighting styles like bolding and words like "Note:", use the following words IN CAPITALS especially the word MUST.

The use of the following words IN CAPITALS indicates that you are using them in a special way with formally defined meaning as explained below. Use of the words in lower case indicates that you are using the word in an ordinary commonsense meaning.

*MAY - means optional
*SHOULD - means recommended and you need GOOD reason (not just any weak excuse) to not follow to follow this recommendation
*MUST - mandatory

Only in the rare cases where the consequences of doing or not doing something are irreversible or take a lot of work to reverse then you can use your own additional highlighting methods, eg ALL CAPS, stars, color red etc.

====Explain WHY====

Any sentence which uses the word "MUST" in capitals, MUST be followed by a SPECIFIC REASON explaining exactly why is the instruction is mandatory; the reason MUST not be vague and non-specific meaning no more than "or bad things will happen".

WRONG way: You MUST also delete ads if deleting schedules.

WRONG way: You MUST also delete ads if deleting schedules otherwise it will cause problems in future.

CORRECT way: You MUST also delete ads if deleting schedules otherwise the deleted schedules' ads will still show in all media-diary like reports and screens

The Wrong way above gives a general reason "it will cause problems in future" which is vague and a reader may even go ahead and ignore "MUST" because there is no objective or proper side effect mentioned for not following the MUST statement. Basically he doesn't understand the point behind following a certain rule.

Whereas the Correct way gives a SPECIFIC reason for "deleting ads while deleting schedules", so reader will exactly know the trouble that will be caused if ads are not deleted. Therefore "SPECIFIC REASON" behind using the word MUST must be to the point and very informative.

====Why explain WHY====
The information contained in the WHY phrase is often '''extremely informative''' to the reader about things that you may otherwise not have considered saying.

The most valuable information is usually contained in the "WHY" of something. There is an apocryphal story of a company where managers could be fired if they gave instructions to their staff without providing explanation. In almost all cases it is better for the efficiency of a team of people that any instructions they follow contain the "WHY" of something. Only in few cases should staff be expected to follow instructions without being well or fully informed.

==Email Retention Policy==

===Generally===

Emails are retained permanently to allow old issues to be discovered in email searches.

===Account: backups@neosys.com===

Only the last 365 days of emails to backups@neosys.com are kept in general to reduce the burden on servers and clients due to the heavy number of emails.

For the backups/neosys folder, only 31 days is kept due to the very high numbers of emails ~250/day.

Deletions are configured in and done by a thunderbird client in NEOSYS IT so may not be continuous.

==Use of personal email addresses by NEOSYS support staff==

NEOSYS support staff MUST NOT use any personal email addresses for NEOSYS business.

The xxxx.neosys@gmail.com addresses that are created by support staff for themselves on joining are also considered personal email addresses and must not be used for NEOSYS business. These email addresses might be linked to NEOSYS wiki accounts but that doesn't matter because wiki is not confidential.

==Accessing NEOSYS accounts on personal devices==

NEOSYS staff MUST NOT install NEOSYS accounts on skype/nextcloud/gmail (or any other external tool) on their personal devices without written permission from NEOSYS management

==Support Staff work-in-progress documents/files==

Support Staff must not save working files hidden on their computer. Work that is not visible is not work.
Support work should not be done privately and should be shared to all.

ALL personal working files however trivial MUST be stored in Nextcloud and MUST NOT be stored anywhere in personal computer (My Documents/Desktop etc.)

The personal encrypted pass file MUST be stored somewhere in personal folder under Nextcloud/support. This is because if there is a loss of OS/Computer, it should not lead to loss of access as all the passwords saved in the file will be lost.

==Handling CLIENT/NEOSYS Servers==

NEOSYS support staff must exercise extreme caution when working on CLIENT and NEOSYS servers. Do not risk making changes without due care and attention to the fact that the consequences of errors can be serious on working production servers.

==Handling "List of Open Ports" reports==

This email comes to NEOSYS support team once a day showing only those client's servers which appear to have changed what TCP ports are open to the internet since yesterday. It will also come once a week showing all clients servers open ports.

NEOSYS support team should work patiently with client IT staff, over time if necessary, to close all ports that are not absolutely mandatory to be open.

Clients with highly skilled IT staff may have a variety of ports open to various non-NEOSYS servers inside their organisation. In this case, NEOSYS plays little or no role other than getting their confirmation of exactly what ports are acceptable. Any new ports that appear over time should be handled in the same way.

For clients without such staff, NEOSYS is their only real line of defence and since NEOSYS requested opening some ports, we should get all other ports closed by patiently following up until action is taken. Involving management may be the only way to get IT to act.

High end port numbers (e.g. 49667) may represent transient outbound connections from users. Therefore for such port numbers, support team should contact the client only if the port remains open on the following working day.

In particular, port 80 and 443 controlling internal or external routers should be closed. It is NOT acceptable except in HIGH IT EXPERTISE environments that critical routers should be exposed to the internet and they MUST NOT be accessible from the internet because routers that do not have their software updated can be hacked using known defects. Even updated routers can be hacked. Making it easy for client IT staff to access the router configuration from outside is NOT a good enough excuse to break this rule. Professional IT does not allow access to critical routers from the internet.

Likewise, any port 80 (unencrypted web access) and port 3389 (RDP remote desktop) open to the NEOSYS server MUST be closed otherwise logins can be monitored and there is no way to guarantee server security.

Port 23 (Telnet) is an insecure port because it is unencrypted and should never be open for usage. This is standard practice and well known by any network professional. Since the port is unencrypted, attackers can listen in, watch for credentials, inject commands via man-in-the-middle attacks and ultimately perform Remote Code Executions (RCE).

If a port is definitely required and properly approved to be open by client IT support, please let NEOSYS IT (SB) know and it will be put in the "Authorised" column so that ports in the "Questionable" column are all pending action.

The report does not attempt to detect UDP ports since UDP ports can receive information from the internet without responding in any way so there is no way to detect them reliably.

Green color shows ports that have opened since the last report run. Open ports can sometimes not be detected accurately so a port may appear to disappear in one report and reappear in the next report.

===Why should HTTP port 80 not be open on my router?===

It is not advisable to expose any HTTP server for any private service on your computer network or router because HTTP is unencrypted and this means that all information regarding that service, including passwords, can be observed by any malware on your LAN and internet connection. This information can then be used to install horrible software on your internal PCs.

What to do?

Use https for any internal services - and advisably on a non-standard port, not the standard https port of 443.

For example, NEOSYS service is exposed as HTTPS (not HTTP) usually on port 4430 - not the standard https port of 443.

Commercial hacking is getting really common with things like FIREBALL and CRYPTOLOCKER causing a lot of damage.

It is advisable to take basic precautions pro-actively before any attack exposes weaknesses.

==Handling Nagios Client Monitoring system==

NEOSYS support staff on duty MUST follow the procedures outlined below in case the Firefox "imoin" add-on shows critical or warning messages for any service. Failure to schedule appropriate downtime will lead to REDUNDANT EMAIL ALERTS from Nagios every hour.

Any alert on the Firefox "imoin" add-on means that there is an issue that has not been attended to properly, and "attended to" does not always mean solved. Support staff MUST solve the problem immediately if possible.

If it is not possible to solve the problem immediately, then downtime/acknowledge the service and add a comment on the Nagios alert, explaining the problem briefly.

Support should check Nagios frequently during the day to look for any new alerts so that issues are fixed as soon as possible.

*Nagios is required to be checked first thing in the morning and any critical or warning messages need to be dealt with to resolve the same at the earliest.
*Some of the messages could be related to backup failures and the usual procedure as stated in Handling failure and warning messages on nightly backup alerts needs to be followed. In case the backup issue isn't resolved by 9:30 am, the Nagios service needs to be downtimed with an appropriate comment for a minimum of 2 hours and maximum until 1 am next day if the issue cannot be solved.
*In case of "Backup not changed" warning status which occurs if the client has not interchanged the USB before 12 noon on that day, no action is required from the support staff and a downtime with a comment like "Backup media not changed - Emailed client" needs to be scheduled until 1 am next day.
*In case any HTTPS, SSH, PING service or Host is down, immediate action is required and the relevant IT people at the client side needs to be contacted to get this resolved. A downtime of 2 hours with a comment like "Service/host down - Emailed client" is required to be scheduled with further intervals of 2 hours in case this is not resolved. Support staff shouldn't schedule downtime till 1 am next day, just to get rid of the alerts for the day. Proactive follow up with the client is required to get this resolved before the business day - more so, if there is a weekend ahead.
*In case the HTTPS, SSH, PING service or Host goes down during the day, a grace period of 10 minutes is given before the issue is reported to the client IT, in case there is any temporary internet connection issue at the client or along the internet route.
*In case the HTTPS, SSH PING service or Host is down for more than 1 day, client IT should acknowledge the problem and give NEOSYS support staff an approximate time frame before which the issue will be resolved. Set an appropriate downtime with a descriptive comment for such events.
*In case Host is down for more than 2 days and there is no progress with the fix from client IT, the client management should be notified about the seriousness of not having access to server and their acknowledgement is mandatory.

==Handling lack of remote access to NEOSYS server located in client’s premises==

If access to the NEOSYS server is lost then we must determine the root cause by:

#Checking if the server is UP and running
#If yes, please check internet connectivity on the server
#If there is connectivity, please check the router for connectivity issues

'''Sample Response:'''
<pre>
Dear XYZ,

Please note that we have currently lost access to the NEOSYS server. The server seems to be down at the moment and it seems that
NEOSYS processes are not running on the server.
Kindly check if the server is UP and running. If yes, please check internet connectivity on the server.
Do keep us posted on the server status so we can test connectivity from our side as well.

Best Regards,
</pre>
==New Router (Port Forwarding)==

If you have changed your router then you may notice that external access to NEOSYS is unavailable.

'''Solution:'''

Setup a permanent access for NEOSYS by reconfiguring the Router / Firewall for Port Forwarding from Router to the NEOSYS Server as follows:

#Port 19580 > 19580 for SSH
#Port 4430 > 4430 for HTTPS

You can see [http://portforward.com/ Set Up Port Forwarding] to learn how to configure your Router.

To see how to test/ troubleshoot port forwarding settings, go to [[Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Generally#Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_remote_support_port_forwarding|Troubleshooting Port Forwarding]].

'''Sample Response:'''
<pre>
Dear XYZ,

You are requested to kindly setup a permanent access for NEOSYS by reconfiguring the Router / Firewall for Port Forwarding from Router to
the NEOSYS Server,i.e. port 19580 for SSH and port 4430 for HTTPS.

Once this is complete, kindly send me an email to confirm the same so that we could test connectivity from our end as well.

Best Regards
</pre>
==Creating and Handling passwords==
===Creating a password===
Passwords are generated from a pass phrase and it is important to create a very difficult to guess pass phrase.

Passwords made out of a pass phrase MUST be at least 10 characters since using initials results in a lot of i's and a's etc which reduces the effectiveness of the password and allows hacking via brute force guessing especially since windows doesnt slow down logins even if it sees thousands of password attempts.

For example, a good pass phrase would be: '''Today is a good day and it is the best time to go for a holiday'''

The password for this would be '''Tiagd&iitbt2g4ah'''

The important instructions for the above are:

#You have to take the first letter of each word and that makes your password (i.e. by using initials)
#Wherever any word starts with a capital, then you have to take first letter as a capital (eg. For Today you will take T)
#Replace '''and''' with '''&'''
#Replace '''to''' with '''2'''
#Replace '''for''' with '''4'''

===Handling passwords===

#Never send the actual password - always send the pass phrase
#Make sure that the password created out of the pass phrase is at least 10 characters long since using initials results in a lot of i's and a's etc which reduces the effectiveness of the password and allows hacking via brute force guessing especially since windows doesnt slow down logins even if it sees thousands of password attempts
#Pass phrases are never to be sent by email, whatever the case maybe.
#Pass phrases can be sent by chat - however they have to be broken down in two parts and sent separately over two different messengers or if you are using Gtalk then use the 'off the record' mode.
#Using SMS to send pass phrases is the best known way as of now.
#If you save the passwords on your system in an file then:
#*Ensure that you only store pass phrases in the excel file
#*Ensure that the excel file is encrypted with a master password

==NEOSYS Maintenance Window==

NEOSYS is available 24x7, unlike the old (AREV) NEOSYS where there was a 5 hour maintenance window from 1 am to 6 am daily.

The only disruption is at 03:21 am GMT mid-week, when the server reboots automatically only if required after Linux updates.

==Using NEOSYS Terminology while communicating with Clients==

NEOSYS support must communicate in correct language to clients on finance issues in order to ensure that our records exactly represent reality. Conversely NEOSYS must not use other terminology because it can cause considerable confusion and poor quality results. In case client is new and still in training, use client terminology optionally as long as

#It is only an addition to NEOSYS standard terminology
#Only if clear that it is client terminology by putting in brackets like this "Sales Invoices (called PI by you)", where "you" means the client you are talking to or you can put the client company name instead perhaps.

The objective is over time to avoid having the support team to have to know the terminology of the client. NEOSYS support team cannot possibly know and remember it for each client therefore the client MUST over time learn and use NEOSYS terminology. The initial period is one of relearning and translation for the client not for NEOSYS.

Many users operating NEOSYS finance module do not know proper financial procedures and may not appreciate how doing something in a wrong or unusual way now may not be correctable in the future.

NEOSYS staff must follow NEOSYS procedures only. If NEOSYS procedures need to be updated then this must be agreed in advance and not AFTER the fact.

==Amending/Reposting Journal Entries==
In certain exceptional cases, amending/reposting of journal entries is allowed for only one day to enable clients to present reports in an alternative manner.

It must be agreed with the client that reposting rights will be granted for only one day and NEOSYS Support will automatically remove it and check for CCB error thereafter.

This would be subject to NEOSYS requiring a written LETTER OF APPROVAL duly signed and stamped by the highest management of the company.

In case the client management decides to allow editing/reposting of journal entries, then follow the procedure mentioned in [[Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Finance_System#Reposting_a_Batch_in_Journal_Entry|Reposting a Batch in Journal Entry]]

==Removal of unauthorized third-party software on client servers==

Rule: Any third party software that is discovered by NEOSYS support staff on client servers that has been installed without the agreement of NEOSYS should be uninstalled immediately on discovery.

However purposeful a software is, NEOSYS is contractually responsible for support and there are too many opportunities for poorly installed software to cause unpredictable damage to the NEOSYS database so NEOSYS has to have a clear and safe and simple policy to ensure the integrity of client data. Installing software without prior discussion with NEOSYS by itself indicates that insufficient care and consideration has been given to possible issues.

Having unauthorized third party software on the server can possibly lead to a backup failure. For example, [[Backup_and_Restore#Error_Message:_.22LISTS_file_is_not_available.22|LISTS file not available]] error.

Any software required by client IT for some purpose may only be installed after discussion and agreement from NEOSYS support staff concerning the configuration and operation of the software.

The NEOSYS Software Licence and Support agreement requires that where NEOSYS software is installed on client servers that a dedicated server is provided and dedicated implies that no other software may be installed without the agreement of NEOSYS support.

==International v/s Indian English==

There are some words which have completely different meanings in International and Indian English. NEOSYS Staff should follow International English only. Below are the examples of few of those words:

Word: '''Doubt'''

In the English language word "doubt" means to distrust an alleged fact on the basis of a reason, depending on the strength of the reason which may be anything from factual to feeling e.g "I have no reason to doubt him".
This usage is followed worldwide.

Some people especially from Indian origin use "doubt" when they are unaware about a fact. e.g "I want to clear my doubts about this procedure" or "I have a doubt in this ..". This is incorrect. The word must be used when you do not agree on something on the basis of a reason and not when you do not have knowledge about it. e.g. "I doubt this script will complete in time".

==[[ New Employee Training Checklist]]==

==[[ New Client Training Notes]]==

==[[ General Office Procedures]]==

Uninstalling clients hosted on NEOSYS Server

2026-01-02T05:27:52Z

Arvind: /* Stage 1. Disabling */

This must be done in the following circumstances:

#Reinstallation on other servers
#Reinstallation on clients own server
#Termination of contract
#Any other reason

NEOSYS needs to:

#Ensure that the databases can no longer be logged in to by accident or design.
#Ensure that for a reasonable period of time that NEOSYS can be re-enabled in case of error or change in circumstances.

Include admin@neosys.com when sending emails regarding this subject.

====Stage 1. Disabling====

1. Ensure that the services for the client being uninstalled have been stopped.
./doall <dbname> stop

2. Delete the website
./doall <dbname> delete_site

3. Disable the service, otherwise the services will start up every time ex1 reboots.
./doall <dbname> disable

4. In ~/hosts/clients.cfg, comment out the line corresponding to the client being uninstalled.

5. On nagios, comment out the lines for the stopped installation in the config file so that Nagios stops alerting for it (edit genclients.sh and then run ./reload '<your_initials>: Disable <dbname>')

6. On www, strike-through the terminated client's link on support home page (/var/www/it/support.htm).

7. Create Thunderbird reminder to permanently delete the client 1 year later.

====Stage 2. Permanent Deletion====

We keep ex client data for up to one year before deleting, but after this period:

1. Retain a copy of the client's latest backup sql.gz file in a separate directory (in ex1:/backups/current/deleted as of 3/4/2023)
mv ~/hosts/<dbname>/work/<dbname>.sql.gz /backups/current/deleted/

2. Delete the database and service
sudo -u postgres dropdb <dbname>
sudo -u postgres dropdb <dbname_test>

3. In ~/hosts/clients.cfg, uncomment the line corresponding to the client being uninstalled and delete service.
./doall <dbname> delete_service

4. In ~/hosts/clients.cfg, delete the line corresponding to the client being uninstalled.

5. Delete client directory from /root/hosts directory.
rm -r ~/hosts/<dbname>

6. On www, remove the terminated client's link from support home page (support.htm).

7. Delete the associated entry from Zone Edit.

8. On nagios, delete the lines for the stopped installation in the config file (edit: genclients.sh).

Uninstalling clients hosted on NEOSYS Server

2025-12-31T11:14:02Z

Arvind:

This must be done in the following circumstances:

#Reinstallation on other servers
#Reinstallation on clients own server
#Termination of contract
#Any other reason

NEOSYS needs to:

#Ensure that the databases can no longer be logged in to by accident or design.
#Ensure that for a reasonable period of time that NEOSYS can be re-enabled in case of error or change in circumstances.

Include admin@neosys.com when sending emails regarding this subject.

====Stage 1. Disabling====

1. Ensure that the services for the client being uninstalled have been stopped.
./doall <dbname> stop

2. Delete the website
./doall <dbname> delete_site

3. Disable the service, otherwise the services will start up every time ex1 reboots.
./doall <dbname> disable

4. In ~/hosts/clients.cfg, comment out the line corresponding to the client being uninstalled.

5. On nagios, comment out the lines for the stopped installation in the config file so that Nagios stops alerting for it (edit genclients.sh and then run ./reload '<initials>: Disable <dbname>')

6. On www, strike-through the terminated client's link on support home page (/var/www/it/support.htm).

7. Create Thunderbird reminder to permanently delete the client 1 year later.

====Stage 2. Permanent Deletion====

We keep ex client data for up to one year before deleting, but after this period:

1. Retain a copy of the client's latest backup sql.gz file in a separate directory (in ex1:/backups/current/deleted as of 3/4/2023)
mv ~/hosts/<dbname>/work/<dbname>.sql.gz /backups/current/deleted/

2. Delete the database and service
sudo -u postgres dropdb <dbname>
sudo -u postgres dropdb <dbname_test>

3. In ~/hosts/clients.cfg, uncomment the line corresponding to the client being uninstalled and delete service.
./doall <dbname> delete_service

4. In ~/hosts/clients.cfg, delete the line corresponding to the client being uninstalled.

5. Delete client directory from /root/hosts directory.
rm -r ~/hosts/<dbname>

6. On www, remove the terminated client's link from support home page (support.htm).

7. Delete the associated entry from Zone Edit.

8. On nagios, delete the lines for the stopped installation in the config file (edit: genclients.sh).

Uninstalling clients hosted on NEOSYS Server

2025-10-10T13:45:11Z

Arvind: /* Stage 1. Disabling */

This must be done in the following circumstances:

#Reinstallation on other servers
#Reinstallation on clients own server
#Termination of contract
#Any other reason

NEOSYS needs to:

#Ensure that the databases can no longer be logged in to by accident or design.
#Ensure that for a reasonable period of time that NEOSYS can be re-enabled in case of error or change in circumstances.

Include admin@neosys.com when sending emails regarding this subject.

====Stage 1. Disabling====

1. Ensure that the services for the client being uninstalled have been stopped.
./doall <dbname> stop

2. Delete the website
./doall <dbname> delete_site

3. Disable the service, otherwise the services will start up every time ex1 reboots.
./doall <dbname> disable

4. In ~/hosts/clients.cfg, comment out the line corresponding to the client being uninstalled.

5. On nagios, comment out the lines for the stopped installation in the config file so that Nagios stops alerting for it. (edit: genclients.sh and then run ./reload <comment>)

6. On www, strike-through the terminated client's link on support home page (support.htm).

7. Create Thunderbird reminder to permanently delete the client 1 year later.

====Stage 2. Permanent Deletion====

We keep ex client data for up to one year before deleting, but after this period:

1. Retain a copy of the client's latest backup sql.gz file in a separate directory (in ex1:/backups/current/deleted as of 3/4/2023)
mv ~/hosts/<dbname>/work/<dbname>.sql.gz /backups/current/deleted/

2. Delete the database and service
sudo -u postgres dropdb <dbname>
sudo -u postgres dropdb <dbname_test>

3. In ~/hosts/clients.cfg, uncomment the line corresponding to the client being uninstalled and delete service.
./doall <dbname> delete_service

4. In ~/hosts/clients.cfg, delete the line corresponding to the client being uninstalled.

5. Delete client directory from /root/hosts directory.
rm -r ~/hosts/<dbname>

6. On www, remove the terminated client's link from support home page (support.htm).

7. Delete the associated entry from Zone Edit.

8. On nagios, delete the lines for the stopped installation in the config file (edit: genclients.sh).

New Employee Training Checklist

2025-08-18T12:00:13Z

Arvind:

==Day 1==
#Go through [[General_Office_Procedures|General Office Procedures]]
#Create a gmail account for your NEOSYS interactions e.g request for leave. Example firstname.neosys@gmail.com. Support Manager will share relevant google drive folders.
#To install and configure various software on Linux platform, see [https://itwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Setting_up_Ubuntu_on_NEOSYS_Support_Computers Setting up Ubuntu on NEOSYS Computers]
#[http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Reset_Browser Reset browsers] and [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Disabling_Popup_Blocker disable pop-up blockers]
# Create an excel password file. The file name should be generic. Save with a password and share the password with your manager. Please refer link to create an appropriate password for the file ([[Procedures#Creating_and_Handling_passwords| Refer Handling passwords]]). The file should be placed under Support Staff folder in Nextcloud.
#Create signature in Thunderbird for all necessary accounts
#Mails are sent out in Calibri font with font size 11
#Create a file to store client info (clients details) column names:- host name, company name, location of company, time zone, which server is the client's NEOSYS hosted on
#Configure your browsers according to [[Procedures#Configuring_Browsers_to_show_Javascript_errors_in_NEOSYS| Configuring Browsers to show Javascript errors]] and set it.neosys.com as Firefox home page
#Introduce nagios IT monitor
#Get NEOSYS IT to update Nagios monitoring workstations.cfg file and configure port-forwarding so that nagios can connect to the new employee's workstation
#Get a run down of client backup emails and updating backup spreadsheets.
#Create wiki ID and get NEOSYS IT to allow new users to receive wiki update emails.

==Day 2 ==
#Check the clients file
#Explain backup procedure
#Show backup emails
#Make the candidate do the morning backup-check routine.
#Explain different backup failures
#Train how to investigate a backup failure. Using backup email/nagios.
#Show template emails in Thunderbird and Wiki. Focus on backup email templates.
#Go through wiki [[Procedures]]
#Introduction to NEOSYS frontend e.g login page

==Day 3==
#Do backups for the day and update the backup spreadsheet
#Train on how to schedule downtime on nagios.
#Go through the various errors in Troubleshooting nagios http://techwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Handling_Nagios_Client_Monitoring_System
#Read IT wiki "Documenting NEOSYS systems"

==Day 4==
#Handle possible backup and nagios issues of the morning/day and email clients if they need to be informed about those issues.
#Read [https://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Using_NEOSYS_Generally#Getting_started_with_NEOSYS| Getting started with NEOSYS]
#Explain Media Schedule (Client & Brand file, Supplier file, Vehicle file, Specification, material, dates, free ads, booking, certifying, invoicing)

==Day 5==
#Practice Media module
#Creating various Client & Brand, Vehicle and Supplier files
#Test knowledge so far on using Schedules. Manager to create two assignments of booking, cancellation, rebooking, certify & invoicing.

==Day 6==
#Quiz on Procedures, Nagios and Handling damaged files

==Day 7==
#Explain Jobs Module (Job file, Estimate file, Purchase Order file, Job Type file)
#Practice Jobs Module
#Explain Authorisation file (locks and keys, user ID, various levels etc)

==Day 8==
#Explain DNS Zoneedit
#Replicating client issues

==Day 10==
#Request a quick demo from the new staff
#Introduce nextcloud/IT procedures e.g migration principles
#System configuration file features and testing each field

New Employee Training Checklist

2025-08-11T07:24:02Z

Arvind:

==Day 1==
#Go through [[General_Office_Procedures|General Office Procedures]]
#Create a gmail account for your NEOSYS interactions e.g request for leave. Example firstname.neosys@gmail.com. Support Manager will share relevant google drive folders.
#To install and configure various software on Linux platform, see [https://itwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Setting_up_Ubuntu_on_NEOSYS_Support_Computers Setting up Ubuntu on NEOSYS Computers]
#[http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Reset_Browser Reset browsers] and [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Disabling_Popup_Blocker disable pop-up blockers]
# Create an excel password file. The file name should be generic. Save with a password and share the password with your manager. Please refer link to create an appropriate password for the file ([[Procedures#Creating_and_Handling_passwords| Refer Handling passwords]]). The file should be placed under Support Staff folder in Nextcloud.
#Create signature in Thunderbird for all necessary accounts
#Mails are sent out in Calibri font with font size 11
#Create a file to store client info (clients details) column names:- host name, company name, location of company, time zone, which server is the client's NEOSYS hosted on
#Configure your browsers according to [[Procedures#Configuring_Browsers_to_show_Javascript_errors_in_NEOSYS| Configuring Browsers to show Javascript errors]] and set it.neosys.com as Firefox home page
#Introduce nagios IT monitor
#Get NEOSYS IT to update Nagios monitoring workstations.cfg file and configure port-forwarding so that nagios can connect to the new employee's workstation
#Get a run down of client backup emails and updating backup spreadsheets.
#Create wiki ID and get NEOSYS IT to allow new users to receive wiki update emails.

==Day 2 ==
#Check the clients file
#Explain backup procedure
#Show backup emails
#Make the candidate do the morning backup-check routine.
#Explain different backup failures
#Train how to investigate a backup failure. Using backup email/nagios.
#Show template emails in Thunderbird and Wiki. Focus on backup email templates.
#Go through wiki [[Procedures]]
#Introduction to NEOSYS frontend e.g login page

==Day 3==
#Do backups for the day and update the backup spreadsheet
#Train on how to schedule downtime on nagios.
#Go through the various errors in Troubleshooting nagios http://techwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Handling_Nagios_Client_Monitoring_System
#Read IT wiki "Documenting NEOSYS systems"

==Day 4==
#Handle possible backup and nagios issues of the morning/day and email clients if they need to be informed about those issues.
#Read [https://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Using_NEOSYS_Generally#Getting_started_with_NEOSYS| Getting started with NEOSYS]
#Explain Media Schedule (Client & Brand file, Supplier file, Vehicle file, Specification, material, dates, free ads, booking, certifying, invoicing)

==Day 5==
#Practice Media module
#Creating various Client & Brand, Vehicle and Supplier files
#Test knowledge so far on using Schedules. Manager to create two assignments of booking, cancellation, rebooking, certify & invoicing.

==Day 6==
#Quiz on Procedures, Nagios and Handling damaged files

==Day 7==
#Explain Jobs Module (Job file, Estimate file, Purchase Order file, Job Type file)
#Practice Jobs Module
#Explain Authorisation file (locks and keys, user ID, various levels etc)

==Day 8==
#Create simulated client server to learn about common scripts e.t
#Upgrade a client (how to handle patches before upgrade e.t)
#Explain DNS Zoneedit

==Day 9==
#Replicating client issues
#Backup and Restoring NEOSYS
#Introduce nextcloud/IT procedures e.g migration principles
#System configuration file features and testing each field

==Day 10==
#Request a quick demo from the new staff

New Employee Training Checklist

2025-08-08T13:54:58Z

Arvind:

==Day 1==
#Go through [[General_Office_Procedures|General Office Procedures]]
#Create a gmail account for your NEOSYS interactions e.g request for leave. Example firstname.neosys@gmail.com. Support Manager will share relevant google drive folders.
#To install and configure various software on Linux platform, see [http://itwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Setting_up_Ubuntu_on_NEOSYS_Support_Computers Setting up Ubuntu on NEOSYS Computers]
#[http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Reset_Browser Reset browsers] and [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Disabling_Popup_Blocker disable pop-up blockers]
# Create an excel password file. The file name should be generic. Save with a password and share the password with your manager. Please refer link to create an appropriate password for the file ([[Procedures#Creating_and_Handling_passwords| Refer Handling passwords]]). The file should be placed under Support Staff folder in Nextcloud.
#Create signature in Thunderbird for all necessary accounts
#Mails are sent out in Calibri font with font size 11
#Create a file to store client info (clients details) column names:- host name, company name, location of company, time zone, which server is the client's NEOSYS hosted on
#Configure your browsers according to [[Procedures#Configuring_Browsers_to_show_Javascript_errors_in_NEOSYS| Configuring Browsers to show Javascript errors]] and set it.neosys.com as Firefox home page
#Introduce nagios IT monitor
#Get NEOSYS IT to update Nagios monitoring workstations.cfg file and configure port-forwarding so that nagios can connect to the new employee's workstation
#Get a run down of client backup emails and updating backup spreadsheets.
#Create wiki ID and get NEOSYS IT to allow new users to receive wiki update emails.

==Day 2 ==
#Check the clients file
#Explain backup procedure
#Show backup emails
#Make the candidate do the morning backup-check routine.
#Explain different backup failures
#Train how to investigate a backup failure. Using backup email/nagios.
#Show template emails in Thunderbird and Wiki. Focus on backup email templates.
#Go through wiki [[Procedures]]
#Introduction to NEOSYS frontend e.g login page

==Day 3==
#Do backups for the day and update the backup spreadsheet
#Train on how to schedule downtime on nagios.
#Go through the various errors in Troubleshooting nagios http://techwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Handling_Nagios_Client_Monitoring_System
#Read IT wiki "Documenting NEOSYS systems"

==Day 4==
#Handle possible backup and nagios issues of the morning/day and email clients if they need to be informed about those issues.
#Read [https://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Using_NEOSYS_Generally#Getting_started_with_NEOSYS| Getting started with NEOSYS]
#Explain Media Schedule (Client & Brand file, Supplier file, Vehicle file, Specification, material, dates, free ads, booking, certifying, invoicing)

==Day 5==
#Practice Media module
#Creating various Client & Brand, Vehicle and Supplier files
#Test knowledge so far on using Schedules. Manager to create two assignments of booking, cancellation, rebooking, certify & invoicing.

==Day 6==
#Quiz on Procedures, Nagios and Handling damaged files

==Day 7==
#Explain Jobs Module (Job file, Estimate file, Purchase Order file, Job Type file)
#Practice Jobs Module
#Explain Authorisation file (locks and keys, user ID, various levels etc)

==Day 8==
#Create simulated client server to learn about common scripts e.t
#Upgrade a client (how to handle patches before upgrade e.t)
#Explain DNS Zoneedit

==Day 9==
#Replicating client issues
#Backup and Restoring NEOSYS
#Introduce nextcloud/IT procedures e.g migration principles
#System configuration file features and testing each field

==Day 10==
#Request a quick demo from the new staff

General Office Procedures

2025-08-08T12:47:21Z

Arvind:

=Working hours=
NEOSYS office working hours are from 9am until 6pm, Monday to Friday. All staff members are required to report to office at 9am irrespective of any meetings during the day. There is a one hour lunch break from 1pm to 2pm.

=Keeping to NEOSYS Office Hours=

NEOSYS management does not want to spend time worrying about staff attendance and punctuality, so these are the traditional rules of attendance for the office.

#If you are late, DO give your apologies but DON'T give any reason. You may be asked, for personal interest, but it is not relevant.
#Be in the office 5 or 10 minutes early every morning and if you are ever late, increase this to 15 minutes early etc.
#Apply the same rules to returning from lunch at 2pm.
#Use your early time in the office to attend to your own business - on your phone/browser etc.
#Always stop work immediately at 1pm and 6pm. Any time you spend in the office after that must be on your own business.

Everybody joining NEOSYS has adapted to these rules and come to appreciate them. You are advised to apply them immediately on joining to avoid friction. Your punctuality will be noticed and appreciated.

=Working out of hours=
NEOSYS staff should not work out of hours except in case of real emergency, unless approval has been obtained for the same from NEOSYS management.

Emergencies are only things like dealing with a system crash of NEOSYS own systems providing client services (e.g. ex1 server) and trying to get clients back online as fast as possible from backups. Failure of client's own systems should be dealt with inside normal office hours only. Since NEOSYS systems have never failed to date, there are practically no emergencies in our work. "Emergencies" are generally for people who don't prepare for the unexpected and/or are disorganised.

Approval for working out of office hours may be granted if there is specific work to be done and you are making up time for being late due to some special circumstances.

Apart from the above, NEOSYS staff should be IN ON TIME and OUT ON TIME.

=Purchases=
If you require to make any purchases on behalf of the company, you must first get approval from your Manager.

=Stationery=
All stationery is kept in the office cupboard. In case there is anything required, you may inform your Manager.

=Sick leave=

You are required to visit your doctor for every sick period and bring original sick note, otherwise claims for sick leave will be rejected and treated as absence without pay or deducted from annual holiday at your choice.

=Claiming Expenses=
You should use an Expense Claim Form to reclaim expenses incurred in the course of your work. Completed claim forms, accompanied by relevant receipts, must be authorised by your Manager before being given to accounts. The expenses claim forms must be submitted to accounts before the end of the month in order for them to be reimbursed with that month’s salary.

If you take business contacts out for lunch or dinner, the expenses can be claimed supported by detailed receipt(s). Expense claims for entertainment, i.e. lunch or dinner, should state the names of the people entertained, including the name of any colleagues.

No expense claims will be accepted more than 60 days after they were incurred.

Please note that if your salary is over AED 6000 per month, no taxi fares are reclaimable.

All expenses claimed must be wholly, necessarily and exclusively incurred on behalf of the Company.

You must not entertain other members of NEOSYS at the Company’s expense without prior authorisation from your Manager.

You may claim back the value of business phone calls made from your home and your mobile phone on producing an original invoice, highlighting the relevant calls. International call claims must have details of the company called.

=Travel=
All business travel must be sanctioned in advance by your Manager. A travel requisition should be submitted to your Manager no less than 1 week in advance of your proposed travel date. Our policy is that economy class travel should be used. When travelling abroad, the Company pays for your accommodation, food and conveyance. To reclaim this amount you should add it to your monthly expenses claim form.

=Mail services=
It is the company’s policy that all documents that commit the company in regards to staff expenditure or contracts are signed specifically by appointed authorised signatories. Employees are welcome to use the company’s PO Box for incoming personal correspondence; however the company cannot be liable for any delay/loss/damages incurred by its use.

=Documents=
ALL personal working files however trivial MUST be stored in Nextcloud and MUST NOT be stored anywhere in personal computer (My Documents/Desktop etc. )

=Computer systems=
Your computer system given by NEOSYS remains the property of NEOSYS at all times.

Your computer should be accessible to your immediate manager at any given point of time. You may store your personal files, but please note that privacy isn’t assured as your computer system might be accessible by your manager at any point of time.

Installing any software, applications, browser add-ons, drivers or devices must be done only after getting prior consent of your manager.

If you are given a laptop, you should not be taking home the same without an approval.

=Network systems=
All NEOSYS networks i.e. Wi-Fi, LAN, VPN, Servers, Storage devices etc are monitored due to the nature of business and to assure our clients that we have the highest possible security measures in place. As such your network and internet traffic might be under surveillance.

=Internet=
NEOSYS internet or VPN can be used for personal purposes outside of business hours or during breaks, however you are restricted from any torrents or file sharing programs because of a high risk of security they pose to our business. Also ensure that you do not use this facility for pornographic or any other illegal activity that is not in line with the Sharia law of the country.

=Dress code=
The office dress code is formal. When visiting clients, you are expected to wear professional business attire at all times. Fridays are considered a “dress down” day.

=General Appearance=
As we are part of the service industry, it is essential to maintain a professional appearance at all times, as you represent NEOSYS when meeting with clients and prospects. Ensure you are well-rested and come to office clean-shaven. For gents, a neat, short haircut is recommended. If you choose to keep a beard, it should be kept neatly trimmed.

=Smoking=
Our office is non-smoking without exception. Smoking is permitted outside the office premises.

=Meetings outside office=
We strongly advise against scheduling early morning meetings with clients, as we believe they are often inefficient. Since you are required to be in the office by 9am, please arrange meetings for after that time. If you have meetings in the old town of Dubai (e.g. Deira), you may go directly from home to the meeting. However, please ensure that your Manager is kept informed of this arrangement.

New Employee Training Checklist

2025-08-06T07:49:07Z

Arvind: /* Day 10 */

==Day 1==
#Go through [[General_Office_Procedures|General Office Procedures]]
#Create a gmail account for your NEOSYS interactions e.g request for leave. Example firstname.neosys@gmail.com. Support Manager will share relevant google drive folders.
#To install and configure various software on Linux platform, see [http://itwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Setting_up_Ubuntu_on_NEOSYS_Support_Computers Setting up Ubuntu on NEOSYS Computers]
#[http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Reset_Browser Reset browsers] and [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Disabling_Popup_Blocker disable pop-up blockers]
# Create an excel password file. The file name should be generic. Save with a password and share the password with your manager. Please refer link to create an appropriate password for the file ([[Procedures#Creating_and_Handling_passwords| Refer Handling passwords]]). The file should be placed under Support Staff folder in Nextcloud.
#Create signature in Thunderbird for all necessary accounts
#Mails are sent out in Calibri font with font size 11
#Create a file to store client info ( clients details) column names:- host name, company name, location of company, time zone, which server is the client's NEOSYS hosted on
#Configure your browsers according to [[Procedures#Configuring_Browsers_to_show_Javascript_errors_in_NEOSYS| Configuring Browsers to show Javascript errors]] and set it.neosys.com as Firefox home page
#Introduce nagios IT monitor
#Get NEOSYS IT to update Nagios monitoring workstations.cfg file and configure port-forwarding so that nagios can connect to the new employee's workstation
#Get a run down of client backup emails and updating backup spreadsheets.
#Create wiki ID and get NEOSYS IT to allow new users to receive wiki update emails.

==Day 2 ==
#Check the clients file
#Explain backup procedure
#Show backup emails
#Share backup files
#Make the candidate do the morning backup-check routine.
#Explain different backup failures
#Train how to investigate a backup failure. Using backup email/nagios.
#Show template emails in Thunderbird and Wiki. Focus on backup email templates.
#Go through wiki [[Procedures]]
#Introduction to NEOSYS frontend e.g login page

==Day 3==
#Do backups for the day and update the backup spreadsheet
#Train on how to schedule downtime on nagios.
#Go through the various errors in Troubleshooting nagios http://techwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Handling_Nagios_Client_Monitoring_System
#Read IT wiki "Documenting NEOSYS systems"

==Day 4==
#Handle possible backup and nagios issues of the morning/day and email clients if they need to be informed about those issues.
#Read [https://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Using_NEOSYS_Generally#Getting_started_with_NEOSYS| Getting started with NEOSYS]
#Explain Media Schedule (Client & Brand file, Supplier file, Vehicle file, Specification, material, dates, free ads, booking, certifying, invoicing)

==Day 5==
#Practice Media module
#Creating various Client & Brand, Vehicle and Supplier files
#Test knowledge so far on using Schedules. Manager to create two assignments of booking, cancellation, rebooking, certify & invoicing.

==Day 6==
#Quiz on Procedures, Nagios and Handling damaged files

==Day 7==
#Explain Jobs Module (Job file, Estimate file, Purchase Order file, Job Type file)
#Practice Jobs Module
#Explain Authorisation file (locks and keys, user ID, various levels etc)

==Day 8==
#Create simulated client server to learn about common scripts e.t
#Upgrade a client (how to handle patches before upgrade e.t)
#Explain DNS Zoneedit

==Day 9==
#Replicating client issues
#Backup and Restoring NEOSYS
#Introduce nextcloud/IT procedures e.g migration principles
#System configuration file features and testing each field

==Day 10==
#Request a quick demo from the new staff

New Employee Training Checklist

2025-08-06T07:38:23Z

Arvind: /* Day 7 */

==Day 1==
#Go through [[General_Office_Procedures|General Office Procedures]]
#Create a gmail account for your NEOSYS interactions e.g request for leave. Example firstname.neosys@gmail.com. Support Manager will share relevant google drive folders.
#To install and configure various software on Linux platform, see [http://itwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Setting_up_Ubuntu_on_NEOSYS_Support_Computers Setting up Ubuntu on NEOSYS Computers]
#[http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Reset_Browser Reset browsers] and [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Disabling_Popup_Blocker disable pop-up blockers]
# Create an excel password file. The file name should be generic. Save with a password and share the password with your manager. Please refer link to create an appropriate password for the file ([[Procedures#Creating_and_Handling_passwords| Refer Handling passwords]]). The file should be placed under Support Staff folder in Nextcloud.
#Create signature in Thunderbird for all necessary accounts
#Mails are sent out in Calibri font with font size 11
#Create a file to store client info ( clients details) column names:- host name, company name, location of company, time zone, which server is the client's NEOSYS hosted on
#Configure your browsers according to [[Procedures#Configuring_Browsers_to_show_Javascript_errors_in_NEOSYS| Configuring Browsers to show Javascript errors]] and set it.neosys.com as Firefox home page
#Introduce nagios IT monitor
#Get NEOSYS IT to update Nagios monitoring workstations.cfg file and configure port-forwarding so that nagios can connect to the new employee's workstation
#Get a run down of client backup emails and updating backup spreadsheets.
#Create wiki ID and get NEOSYS IT to allow new users to receive wiki update emails.

==Day 2 ==
#Check the clients file
#Explain backup procedure
#Show backup emails
#Share backup files
#Make the candidate do the morning backup-check routine.
#Explain different backup failures
#Train how to investigate a backup failure. Using backup email/nagios.
#Show template emails in Thunderbird and Wiki. Focus on backup email templates.
#Go through wiki [[Procedures]]
#Introduction to NEOSYS frontend e.g login page

==Day 3==
#Do backups for the day and update the backup spreadsheet
#Train on how to schedule downtime on nagios.
#Go through the various errors in Troubleshooting nagios http://techwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Handling_Nagios_Client_Monitoring_System
#Read IT wiki "Documenting NEOSYS systems"

==Day 4==
#Handle possible backup and nagios issues of the morning/day and email clients if they need to be informed about those issues.
#Read [https://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Using_NEOSYS_Generally#Getting_started_with_NEOSYS| Getting started with NEOSYS]
#Explain Media Schedule (Client & Brand file, Supplier file, Vehicle file, Specification, material, dates, free ads, booking, certifying, invoicing)

==Day 5==
#Practice Media module
#Creating various Client & Brand, Vehicle and Supplier files
#Test knowledge so far on using Schedules. Manager to create two assignments of booking, cancellation, rebooking, certify & invoicing.

==Day 6==
#Quiz on Procedures, Nagios and Handling damaged files

==Day 7==
#Explain Jobs Module (Job file, Estimate file, Purchase Order file, Job Type file)
#Practice Jobs Module
#Explain Authorisation file (locks and keys, user ID, various levels etc)

==Day 8==
#How to Upgrade NEOSYS
#Upgrade a client (use TEST installation)
#Explain Zone edit, DNS

==Day 9==
#Replicating client issues
#Backup and Restoring NEOSYS
#Moving NEOSYS to new server/location etc
#Consolidated Backup (Autologin.sh)
#System configuration file features and testing each field

==Day 10==
#Request for a quick demo from the new staff

General Office Procedures

2025-08-05T05:39:35Z

Arvind: /* Working out of hours */

=Working hours=
NEOSYS office working hours are from 9am until 6pm, Monday to Friday. It is required for all staff members to report to office at 9am irrespective of any meetings during the day. There is a one hour lunch break, which can be taken between 1pm and 2pm.

=Keeping to NEOSYS Office Hours=

NEOSYS management does not want to spend time worrying about staff attendance, so these are the traditional rules of attendance for the NEOSYS office.

#If you are late, DO give your apologies but DON'T give any reason. You may be asked, for personal interest, but it is NOT relevant.
#Be in the office 5 or 10 minutes EARLY every morning and if you are ever late, increase this to 15 minutes early etc.
#Apply the same rules to returning from lunch at 2pm.
#Use your early time in the office to attend to your own business - on your phone/browser etc.
#Always stop work immediately at 1pm and 6pm. Any time you spend in the office after that must be on your own business.

Everybody joining NEOSYS has adapted to these rules and come to appreciate them. You are advised to apply them immediately on joining to avoid friction. Your punctuality will be noticed and appreciated.

=Working out of hours=
NEOSYS staff should not work out of hours except in case of real emergency unless approval has been obtained for the same from NEOSYS management.

Emergencies are only things like dealing with a system crash of NEOSYS own systems providing client services (e.g. ex1 server) and we are trying to get clients back online as fast as possible from backups. Failure of client's own systems should be dealt with inside normal office hours only. Since NEOSYS systems have never failed to date, there are practically no emergencies in our work. "Emergencies" are generally for people who don't prepare for the unexpected and/or are disorganised.

Approval for working out of office hours may be granted if there is specific work to be done and you are making up time for being late due to some special circumstances.

Apart from the above, NEOSYS staff should be IN ON TIME and OUT ON TIME.

=Purchases=
If you require to make any purchases on behalf of the company, you must first get an approval from your Manager.

=Stationery=
All stationery is kept in the office cupboard. In case there is anything required, you may inform your Manager.

=Sick leave =

You are required to visit your doctor for every sick period and bring original sick note otherwise claims for sick leave will be rejected and treated as absence without pay or deducted from annual holiday at your choice.

=Claiming Expenses=
You should use an Expense Claim Form to reclaim expenses incurred in the course of your work. Completed claim forms, accompanied by relevant receipts, must be authorised by your Manager before being given to accounts. The expenses claim forms must be submitted to accounts before the end of the month in order for them to be reimbursed with that month’s salary.

If you take business contacts out for lunch or dinner, the expenses can be claimed supported by detailed receipt(s). Expense claims for entertainment, i.e. lunch or dinner, should state the names of the people entertained, including the name of any colleagues.

No expense claims will be accepted more than 60 days after they were incurred.

Please note that if your salary is over AED 6000 per month, no taxi fares are reclaimable.

All expenses claimed must be wholly, necessarily and exclusively incurred on behalf of the Company.

You must not entertain other members of NEOSYS at the Company’s expense without prior authorisation from your Manager.

You may claim back the value of business phone calls made from your home and your mobile phone on producing an original invoice, highlighting the relevant calls. International call claims must have details of the company called.

=Travel=
All business travel must be sanctioned in advance by your Manager. A travel requisition should be submitted to your Manager no less than 1 week in advance of your proposed travel date. Our policy is that economy class travel should be used. When travelling abroad, the Company pays for your accommodation, food and conveyance. To reclaim this amount you should add it to your monthly expenses claim form.

=Mail services=
It is the company’s policy that all documents that commit the company in regards to staff expenditure or contracts are signed specifically by appointed authorised signatories. Employees are welcome to use the company’s PO Box for incoming personal correspondence; however the company cannot be liable for any delay/loss/damages incurred by its use.

=Documents=
ALL personal working files however trivial MUST be stored in Nextcloud and MUST NOT be stored anywhere in personal computer (My Documents/Desktop etc. )

=Computer systems=
Your computer system given by NEOSYS remains the property of NEOSYS at all times.

Your computer should be accessible to your immediate manager at any given point of time. You may store your personal files, but please note that privacy isn’t assured as your computer system might be accessible by your manager at any point of time.

Installing any software, applications, browser add-ons, drivers or devices must be done only after getting prior consent of your manager.

If you are given a laptop, you should not be taking home the same without an approval.

=Network systems=
All NEOSYS networks i.e. Wi-Fi, LAN, VPN, Servers, Storage devices etc are monitored due to the nature of business and to assure our clients that we have the highest possible security measures in place. As such your network and internet traffic might be under surveillance.

=Internet=
NEOSYS internet or VPN can be used for personal purposes outside of business hours or during breaks, however you are restricted from any torrents or file sharing programs because of a high risk of security they pose to our business. Also ensure that you do not use this facility for pornographic or any other illegal activity that is not in line with the Sharia law of the country.

=Instant Messengers=
You will be provided with exclusive IDs for Skype. These IDs should only have business contacts listed in them.

=Dress code=
The dress code in the office is formal. You should be wearing a smart business dress at all times when you visit a client. Friday tends to be a “dress down” day.

=General Appearance=
As we are in the service industry, you are required at all times to be presentable as you are the face of NEOSYS when you visit clients/prospects. Make sure that you have enough sleep and come to office clean shaven. Smart short haircut for gents is recommended. In case you keep a beard; make sure that it is neatly trimmed.

=Smoking=
Our offices are non-smoking without exception. Smoking is permitted outside the office premises.

=Meetings outside office=

It is always encouraged not to schedule early morning meetings with clients as we believe it is a waste of time. As you are required to be in office by 9a.m. please schedule your meetings thereafter. Incase you have meetings in the old town of Dubai (e.g. Deira) then you could proceed to the meeting directly from home. However you need to keep your Manager informed of the same.

Testing NEOSYS

2025-06-24T13:34:25Z

Arvind: Include KSA e-invoicing in lightning tests

=== General Instructions for Testing NEOSYS ===
#Every time a new version of NEOSYS is released, it must be tested thoroughly for all its features to ensure NEOSYS credibility to clients.
#If the new version released has new entries in What's new in NEOSYS, then support MUST copy paste the new What's new entries onto email and send it to support inbox so that the What's new entries can be searched for in support inbox.
#This email must then be moved to the Support sub-folder in Thunderbird called "Permanent" so that emails in this folder are not deleted to clear space in future.
#Tests for each module must be carried out by logging in as different users as some issues do not show up when logged in as NEOSYS user.
#Whenever there are multiple rows, the 2nd line must ALWAYS be tested and this must be the primary test. This is because many errors do not show in the first line and only show in the subsequent lines.

===Lightning Test===

Lightning Test is a quick test of NEOSYS where all essential features mostly used by clients must be tested.

'''Lightning Test for all the modules in NEOSYS should not take more than 2 hours. All the tests listed below with an asterisk are mandatory and the rest can be skipped in a Lightning Test.'''

=== List of Tasks to be tested ===
===== Media =====

{| style="width: 60%; height: 100px; text-align: left ; margin: 1em 1em auto;" border="1"
|+
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" | List of Tasks
|-
| * || Create a new plan
|-
| * || Check Plan Look up
|-
| * || Create a plan by copying from a plan/schedule
|-
| * || Take a plan printout, make use of filters on the screen
|-
| * || Create a new schedule
|-
| || Check Schedule Look up
|-
| * || Create a schedule by copying from plan/schedule
|-
| * || Use shortcut keys like tab/f9/f7 etc while creating the schedule
|-
| * || Add vehicles with notes/Rate cards
|-
| * || Enter discount and fee for the vehicles
|-
| * || Check if discount and fee gets reflected in the cost and bill
|-
| || Create free ads
|-
| || Check if free ads reflect in the reports
|-
| * || Book ads
|-
| * || Certify ads
|-
| * || Invoice ads, reprint invoice/invoices in bulk (more than 2)
|-
| * || Onboard a KSA database and test e-invoicing
|-
| * || Generate media diary
|-
| || Generate progress summary
|-
| * || Do cancellations
|-
| * || Generate credit notes
|}

===== Jobs =====

{| style="width: 60%; height: 100px; text-align: left ; margin: 1em 1em auto;" border="1"
|+
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" | List of Tasks
|-
| * || Create new Job
|-
| * || Check Job Look up
|-
| * || Copy a job
|-
| * || Enter all details
|-
| * || Look up for Job Types
|-
| || Use shortcut keys tab/f9/f7
|-
| * || Create Estimate
|-
| * || Create Purchase Order
|-
| * || Generate invoice in Estimates
|-
| * || Onboard a KSA database and test e-invoicing
|-
| * || Check invoice gets reflected correctly in Purchase order
|-
| * || Enter supplier invoice for Purchase orders
|-
| * || Check whether all above changes get reflected in the Job file
|-
| || Create Credit Notes
|-
| * || Job printout
|-
| * || Purchase Order printout
|-
| * || Estimate printout
|-
| * || Minutely verify reports to check data consistency
|-
| || Generate "List of Jobs pending estimates"
|-
| || Generate "List of Jobs with WIP/Accrued Cost"
|}

===== Finance =====

{| style="width: 60%; height: 100px; text-align: left ; margin: 1em 1em auto;" border="1"
|+
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" | List of Tasks
|-
| style="width:10px; text-align:center;" | * || Create new batches (INV/PUR/PAY/REC) in Journal entry page
|-
| style="width:10px; text-align:center;" | * || Check and post the automatic entries created from Media and Jobs tests done. Do a full invoice cycle, including allocating an invoice to a receipt
|-
| || Check the Journal Setup page
|-
| style="width:10px; text-align:center;" | * || Check Voucher file/deallocation
|-
| || Generate the List of Vouchers (Voucher Search)
|-
| style="width:10px; text-align:center;" | * || Generate a Ledger print
|-
| style="width:10px; text-align:center;" | * || Check the Statement of Accounts
|-
| style="width:10px; text-align:center;" | * || Check the Chart of Accounts file
|-
| style="width:10px; text-align:center;" | * || Generate Trial Balances
|-
| style="width:10px; text-align:center;" | * || Generate Financial Statements
|-
| style="width:10px; text-align:center;" | * || Check the Currency & Exchange Rate file
|-
| style="width:10px; text-align:center;" | * || Edit the Company file
|-
| style="width:10px; text-align:center;" | * || Check if discount and fee gets reflected in the cost and bill
|-
| style="width:10px; text-align:center;" | * || Test three basic styles of journals e.g "SIDE BY SIDE" format for Sales invoices, "MAIN ACCOUNT IN THE HEADING" format for Bank Payments, "VERTICAL" format for General journals(JOU).
|}

===== Analysis =====

{| style="width: 60%; height: 100px; text-align: left ; margin: 1em 1em auto;" border="1"
|+
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" | List of Tasks
|-
| * || Create/Edit/Run a Media Analysis report
|-
| * || Create/Edit/Run a Billing Analysis report
|-
| * || Create a copy of a Billing Analysis report
|-
| * || Create a new Billing Analysis Column design
|-
| || Test the Free Ad Analysis report.
|-
| || Test Budget file
|}

===== Timesheets =====

{| style="width: 60%; height: 100px; text-align: left ; margin: 1em 1em auto;" border="1"
|+
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" | List of Tasks
|-
| * || Edit the Timesheet Configuration file
|-
| * || Edit existing activities in Activity file
|-
| * || Create new activities in the Activity file
|-
| * || Create a new Timesheet for a user, test each and every field
|-
| || Take Timesheet printouts, test all the options available
|-
| || Test Approval emails according to the users in the Configuration file.
|-
| * || Test Reminder emails
|-
| || Generate Timesheet Analysis report using various filters.
|-
| || Save the report in Excel and verify the records present.
|}

===== Login page, Support menu and Help menu =====

{| style="width: 60%; height: 100px; text-align: left ; margin: 1em 1em auto;" border="1"
|+
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" | List of Tasks
|-
| * || Reset password from NEOSYS login page and check whether new password is received via email successfully
|-
| * || Create a new user in the Authorization File and save it
|-
| * || Edit and save the System Configuration File
|-
| || Take a backup of NEOSYS
|-
| || Generate a log report
|-
| || Generate usage statistics report
|-
| || Generate list of database processes
|-
| || Generate list of documents in use while editing any document (eg. schedule file, job file, etc.)
|-
| * || Edit and save the User Details page
|-
| * || Login as a User group to check all locks/keys are working properly
|}

Uninstalling clients hosted on client Server

2025-02-18T05:36:02Z

Arvind:

====After notice of termination====
Do the below steps as soon as the client has notified that they wish to terminate the contract:
#Create a single license restriction covering all previous years (and periods if mid-year termination), for all modules and with the usual seven days grace period, so that the client cannot create documents dated outside the period paid for.
#Set the expiry date of all active NEOSYS user accounts to 1 day after termination date.
#Create Thunderbird reminder for the last day of contract, to disable boot.autostart in the container's lxc config edit.
#Follow steps in [https://itwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Preventing_access_after_termination Preventing access after termination]

====One day after termination====
#In support home page (support.htm), strike-through the terminated client's link.
#Stop recording daily backup of the databases in Google drive spreadsheet.
#In Nagios, comment out all entries related to the terminating client.
#If you still have access to the client host machine, change container IP address in lxc config edit.
#Remove client from 'Daily List of Open Ports' report to support@neosys.com (bkup: scanports/neosys.com/authports.txt file).
#In ~/hosts/clients.cfg, comment out all lines.
#Create Thunderbird reminder to permanently delete/clean up after a year.

====Permanent deletion====
#Remove the terminated client's link from support home page (support.htm).
#Delete the associated entry from Zone Edit.
#In Nagios, delete all lines related to the terminated client.

Uninstalling clients hosted on NEOSYS Server

2025-02-18T05:24:22Z

Arvind:

This must be done in the following circumstances:

#Reinstallation on other servers
#Reinstallation on clients own server
#Termination of contract
#Any other reason

NEOSYS needs to:

#Ensure that the databases can no longer be logged in to by accident or design.
#Ensure that for a reasonable period of time that NEOSYS can be re-enabled in case of error or change in circumstances.

Include admin@neosys.com when sending emails regarding this subject.

====Stage 1. Disabling====

1. Ensure that the services for the client being uninstalled have been stopped.
./doall <dbname> stop

2. Delete the website
./doall <dbname> delete_site

3. Disable the service, otherwise the services will start up every time ex1 reboots.
./doall <dbname> disable

4. In ~/hosts/clients.cfg, comment out the line corresponding to the client being uninstalled.

5. Comment the lines for the stopped installation in the Nagios config file so that Nagios stops alerting for it. (edit: genclients.sh)

6. Strike-through the terminated client's link on support home page (support.htm).

7. Create Thunderbird reminder to permanently delete the client 1 year later.

====Stage 2. Permanent Deletion====

We keep ex client data for up to one year before deleting, but after this period:

1. Retain a copy of the client's latest backup sql.gz file in a separate directory (in ex1:/backups/current/deleted as of 3/4/2023)

2. Delete the database and service
sudo -u postgres dropdb <dbname>
sudo -u postgres dropdb <dbname_test>
./doall <dbname> delete_service

3. Delete client directory from /root/hosts directory.
rm -r ~/hosts/<dbname>

4. Remove the terminated client's link from support home page (support.htm).

5. Delete the associated entry from Zone Edit.

6. In ~/hosts/clients.cfg, delete the line corresponding to the client being uninstalled.

7. Delete the lines for the stopped installation in the Nagios config file (edit: genclients.sh).

Uninstalling clients hosted on client Server

2025-01-02T12:59:04Z

Arvind:

====After notice of termination====
Do the below steps as soon as the client has notified that they wish to terminate the contract:
#Create a single license restriction covering all previous years (and periods if mid-year termination), for all modules and with the usual seven days grace period, so that the client cannot create documents dated outside the period paid for.
#Set the expiry date of all active NEOSYS user accounts to 1 day after termination date.
#Create Thunderbird reminder for the last day of contract, to disable boot.autostart in the container's lxc config edit.
#Follow steps in [https://itwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Preventing_access_after_termination Preventing access after termination]

====One day after termination====
#In support home page (support.htm), strike-through the terminated client's link.
#Stop recording daily backup of the databases in Google drive spreadsheet.
#In Nagios, comment out all entries related to the terminating client.
#If you still have access to the client host machine, change container IP address in lxc config edit.
#Remove client from 'Daily List of Open Ports' report to support@neosys.com (bkup: scanports/neosys.com/authports.txt file).
#In dev, edit doall, comment out the line corresponding to the client being uninstalled. Commit and push the changes to neosys git.
#Create Thunderbird reminder to permanently delete/clean up after a year.

====Permanent deletion====
#Remove the terminated client's link from support home page (support.htm).
#In dev, edit doall, delete the line corresponding to the client being uninstalled. Commit and push the changes to neosys git.
#Delete the associated entry from Zone Edit.
#In Nagios, delete all lines related to the terminated client.

Uninstalling clients hosted on client Server

2025-01-02T11:38:21Z

Arvind:

====On notice of termination====
#Create a single license restriction covering all previous years (and periods if mid-year termination), for all modules and with the usual seven days grace period, so that the client cannot create documents dated outside the period paid for.
#In NEOSYS, set the expiry date of all active user accounts to 1 day after termination date.
#Create Thunderbird reminder for the last day of contract, to disable autostart in the container's lxc config edit.
#Follow steps in https://itwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Preventing_access_after_termination

====On the day after termination:====
#In support home page (support.htm), strike-through the terminated client's link.
#Stop recording daily backup of the databases in Google drive spreadsheet.
#In Nagios, comment out all entries related to the terminating client.
#If you still have access to the client host machine, change container ip address in lxc config edit.
#Remove client from 'Daily List of Open Ports' report to support@neosys.com (bkup: scanports/neosys.com/authports.txt file).
#In dev, edit doall, comment out the line corresponding to the client being uninstalled. Commit and push the changes to neosys git.
#Create Thunderbird reminder to permanently delete/clean up after a year.

====Permanent deletion====
#Remove the terminated client's link from support home page (support.htm).
#In dev, edit doall, delete the line corresponding to the client being uninstalled. Commit and push the changes to neosys git.
#Delete the associated entry from Zone Edit.
#In Nagios, delete all lines related to the terminated client.

Configuring Thunderbird

2024-08-06T13:51:44Z

Arvind: /* Shared Email Tags between Support machines */

==Setting Up the Inbox Accounts==

The instructions given below explain how to set up the "Support" account on Thunderbird.

1. Open Mozilla Thunderbird. Choose the "Create a new account" option. Click on "Skip this and use my existing email" option on the "Welcome to Thunderbird" window.

[[File:Thunderbird_1.jpg]]

2. In the Mail Account Setup window, enter "support@neosys.com" for Your Name, "support@neosys.com" for Email Address and the password provided by Neosys staff. Click on continue.

[[File:Thunderbird_2.jpg]]

3. Click on "Manual Config".

[[File:Thunderbird_3.jpg]]

4. Key in "imap.neosys.com" for incoming IMAP host name, server hostname "smtp.neosys.com" and port "587" for outgoing SMTP and "support.neosys" as username. For SMTP, change the SSL to "STARTTLS" and authentication to "No authentication". Click on the "Re-test" button and then click "Done".

[[File:Thunderbird_4.jpg]]

BEFORE clicking on inbox and BEFORE adding other inboxes, you MUST refer to [[Configuring_Thunderbird#Adding_email_accounts_with_large_numbers_of_emails | Adding email accounts with large numbers of emails]]. This is because if you add all the accounts together at once, they will all sync together and it will take 1-2 days for the sync to complete.

For backups@neosys.com, support2@neosys.com (Nagios), name.neosys@gmail.com repeat the steps mentioned above, with the below-mentioned replacements.

1. For backups@neosys.com, enter "backups@neosys.com" for Your Name, "backups@neosys.com" for Email address and enter the password provided by Neosys staff.
Enter the username as "backups.neosys".

2. For support2@neosys.com, enter "support2@neosys.com" for Your Name, "support2@neosys.com" for Email address and enter the password provided by Neosys staff.
Enter the username as "support2.neosys".

3. For name.neosys@gmail.com, enter your full name for Your Name, "name.neosys@gmail.com" for Email address and enter the password. You do not need to follow the steps for manual config as the settings will be automatically configured.

[[File:thunderbird_6.jpg]]

[[File:thunderbird_7.jpg]]

==Account Settings==

Verify that the account settings for all the accounts are entered as shown below.

[[File:acsettings1.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings2.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings3.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings4.jpg]]

[[File:Account junk.jpg|500px]]

For backups@neosys.com account, under "Synchronization and Storage", change the setting to "Delete messages more than 365 days old"

The Synchronisation & Storage settings should be changed to the settings shown below only at a convenient time, since downloading all the emails will take a lot of time for accounts with large number of emails. Also see [[Configuring_Thunderbird#Adding_email_accounts_with_large_numbers_of_emails |Adding email accounts with large number of emails]]

[[File:acsettings6.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings7.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings8.jpg]]

===Adding email accounts with large numbers of emails===

After adding email accounts with large numbers of emails, in order to avoid long wait while downloading all the emails, it is best to change the account settings - BEFORE clicking on INBOX, which triggers the download/sync - to download the bodies of only the last 30 days of emails. The email headings are always synced but that does not take long.

See Account Settings, Synchronisation and Storage.

Since searching of emails only works when the bodies of emails have been downloaded, if you need to text search all emails, then, at a convenient time, you can remove or increase the number of days in the setting and somehow trigger the full sync.

[[File:thla.jpg]]

===Configuring Outgoing SMTP Mail Servers===

By default Thunderbird adds a new smtp profile with each Inbox added.

However you only need two, main and backup.

1. Right click on any Inbox > Settings.

2. Scroll down and click "Outgoing Server (SMTP)".

3. Delete all smtp server profiles except the default and ensure your settings match below screenshot.
[[File:Smtpsettings.png]]

4. Add a new profile with settings in below screenshot.

TODO - setup backup imap2 container and add settings screenshot here. (old imap2 smtp port 2500)

==Add-ons==

#Install addons: General settings menu (Top right 3 bars) > Addons
#Search and install the addons in below screenshot.
#Configure Mailbox Alert by Right e.g support inbox > Mailbox Alert:
##Check default sound and message.
[[File:Addon2.png]]

==Other General Configurations==

===Configure inbox to display selected columns===

The below options MUST be set in Support Inbox. To do so Right click on a column heading and select the below options:

#Thread
#Starred
#Attachment
#Subject
#Correspondents
#Received: You MUST add column RECEIVED which is the email date received to email inbox because the default Date seems to be the DATE SENT whereas we are primarily interested in the date we received the email. The difference is due to delays in email servers or spam tricks.

The below options MUST NOT be set in Support Inbox

#Junk status: Emails will automatically be moved to Junk folder if the junk icon in this column is clicked. Hence remove Junk Status column so that emails are not accidentally moved to junk. To remove, right-click on a column heading and untick "Junk Status".

===Configure Mail Content===

Settings > Privacy > untick "Allow remote content in messages"

Support MUST set the "Allow remote content in messages" as blocked in Thunderbird without adding any exceptions for any email id. The reason is remote content i.e embedded images, stylesheets etc is a privacy concern as it sends your private information to the mail sender. We do not know the source of these embedded content in emails so cannot trust them as they can be web bugs.

===Configure Layout View===

Layout view should be set as Vertical view.

===Optimise Titlebar Space===

Follow below steps to merge the titlebar with the tabs bar to reduce wastage of screen space.

#Go to Settings -> General
#Scroll to the bottom and click "Config Editor..."
#Search for mail.tabs.drawInTitlebar
#Change its value to "true"

===Thunderbird Preferences===

#Preferences > Display > Advanced > untick " Automatically mark messages as read".
#Keep settings as below for Preferences > Security.
#Keep settings as below for Preferences > Composition > Spelling.

[[File:Globaljunk.jpg|500px]]

[[File:Composition.png|500px]]

===Configure MailAlert===

Right click Inbox > Mailbox Alert > Edit Mailbox Alert alerts > Select Default message. Set as below. Once set Right click Inbox > Mailbox Alert > check Default message

[[file:thsh.jpg]]

===Configure Auto Resize Image===

Set the preferences for the Auto Resize Image add-on as shown in the screenshot at the end of this section.

To handle different scenarios when resizing images in emails, follow the below steps:

*Resize all images in the email: Click "Send" followed by "Confirm" on the Auto resize screen.

*Skip resize all images in the email: Click "Send" followed by "Cancel Resizing" on the Auto resize screen.

*Resize Images only in the email trail and skip resizing new images: Click "Resize" on top of your screen and proceed with writing the email/adding new images. When ready to send the email, follow above step for skipping resize all images in the email.

[[File:Resize2.png]]

===Configure Header Tools Lite===

Set the preferences for the Header Tools Lite add-on as shown in the screenshot below.

[[File:headertoolslite.jpg]]

===Configure Dorando Keyconfig===

Menu > Add-ons > Edit Keyconfig Preferences > Disable shortcuts for 'Archive' and 'Junk' as shown in the screenshots below.

[[File:Keyconfig1.png]]

[[File:Keyconfig2.png]]

===Getting access to NEOSYS support calendar===

After confirming that the steps below are successfully done, delete your local personal calendar and make the shared support calendar the default.

In Thunderbird, add a new CalDAV network calendar by navigating to File (Alt+f) -> New -> Calendar.

[[File:Cal1.png]]

Location: https://nextcloud.hosts.neosys.com:44318/remote.php/dav/calendars/support/support_shared_by_steve/

You will have to enter your nextcloud user and pass.

[[File:Cal2.png]]

[[File:Cal3.png]]

It should show a tick if successful, otherwise you will have to Unsubscribe and try again.

[[File:Cal4.png]]

Change the new calendar properties to Refresh every 5 mins.

[[File:Cal5.png]]

===Applying filter for backup failure emails===

In order to filter any backup failure emails as Important, go to Tools > Message Filters and create a new filter with settings as shown below:

Refer to filters list of other staff members.

===Shared Email Tags between Support machines===
1. Close Thunderbird.

2. Find and open the prefs.js file in your profile directory. Check Thunderbird -> Account Settings -> Server Settings to find the correct directory.

locate ~/snap/thunderbird/common/.thunderbird/ prefs.js

nano ~/snap/thunderbird/common/.thunderbird/w9nakioc.default/prefs.js

3. Search for tags and replace them with the list below.

If adding a new tag and don't know what color code to use, then create the tag in Thunderbird so that you can select a color. Close Thunderbird and edit prefs.js. The new tag will be created with a name and color, replace them with "$label<n>.color" and "$label<n>.tag" as below. Copy the new color and tag lines, to use in next step.

<pre>
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label1.color", "#FF0000");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label1.tag", "Important");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label2.color", "#FF9900");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label2.tag", "Work");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label3.color", "#009900");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label3.tag", "Joel");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label4.color", "#3333ff");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label4.tag", "Greg");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label5.color", "#993399");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label5.tag", "Arvind");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label6.color", "#ff6e6e");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label6.tag", "Follow up");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label7.color", "#28e2d8");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label7.tag", "Delay support");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label8.color", "#986a44");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label8.tag", "Pending review");
</pre>

4. Recreate across all Support machines by adding the new lines to the correct prefs.js file. Thunderbird should not be running on any of the machines, as the prefs.js file is overwritten on application exit.

5. Start Thunderbird again. Check that the new tags are available and that tagging an email on one machine reflects on other machines.

==[[Procedures#Email_Retention_Policy| Email Retention Policy]]==

==[[Procedures#Handling_junk.2Fspam_email| Handling junk/spam emails]]==

==Viewing long running processes on Thunderbird==
When setting up and configuring Thunderbird, using its Activity Manager (Tools > Activity Manager) and possibly using the header bar "Always on top" option on the Activity Manager window may be helpful to know what long running processes are being performed.

[[File:Activity manager.jpg]]

==Deleting Thunderbird accounts==
Check the option "Remove Message Data" when removing accounts from Thunderbird. Otherwise, the old messages stay forever taking space on the disk.

[[File:dt2.png]]

Select Remove Message Data option as shown below.

[[File:dt.png]]

==Clearing out old improperly deleted Thunderbird Accounts==

If you delete Thunderbird accounts without checking the option "Remove Message Data" the old messages stay forever taking space on the disk.

To locate any such unnecessary files

ls -l -h /home/*/.thunderbird/*.default/ImapMail/*/INBOX

<pre>

-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 16M May 25 16:36 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.gmail.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 668M Mar 29 08:54 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys-1.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 242M May 28 14:45 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys-2.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 755M May 25 12:39 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys-3.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 420M Apr 24 10:27 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys-4.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 13G May 28 14:37 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys.com/INBOX

</pre>

Check the dates, which indicate the date of the last message received, to get a rough idea of what accounts are in use and not in use

Check which of the folders are currently in use by looking in Thunderbird settings for each account one by one, "Server Settings", "Local Directory"

Delete the folders and files which are not in use using whatever method you like.

".thunderbird", like all files and folders which start with a dot, is a hidden folder which you can make visible in Nautilus File Manager by pressing Ctrl+h

==Troubleshooting Thunderbird==

===High CPU usage when idling===

If Thunderbird consumes 100+% CPU when there is no activity seen on Thunderbird activity manager (Tools -> Activity Manager), then try the below steps from https://kb.mozillazine.org/Performance_-_Thunderbird :

#Go to Settings -> General
#Scroll to the bottom and click "Config Editor..."
#Search for mail.db.idle_limit
#Change its value to 30000000 (7 zeroes, not 5 zeroes) and save
#Restart Thunderbird

===Emails show wrong body===

Sometimes emails may not load correctly. Clicking an email will show some other email's body. To fix this:

#Right click the Thunderbird folder that has the issue (e.g. Inbox)
#Properties
#Repair Folder
This will rebuild the folder index that connects email subjects with message bodies.

[[File:Repair_folder.jpg]]

Configuring Thunderbird

2024-08-06T13:34:36Z

Arvind: /* Shared Email Tags between Support machines */

==Setting Up the Inbox Accounts==

The instructions given below explain how to set up the "Support" account on Thunderbird.

1. Open Mozilla Thunderbird. Choose the "Create a new account" option. Click on "Skip this and use my existing email" option on the "Welcome to Thunderbird" window.

[[File:Thunderbird_1.jpg]]

2. In the Mail Account Setup window, enter "support@neosys.com" for Your Name, "support@neosys.com" for Email Address and the password provided by Neosys staff. Click on continue.

[[File:Thunderbird_2.jpg]]

3. Click on "Manual Config".

[[File:Thunderbird_3.jpg]]

4. Key in "imap.neosys.com" for incoming IMAP host name, server hostname "smtp.neosys.com" and port "587" for outgoing SMTP and "support.neosys" as username. For SMTP, change the SSL to "STARTTLS" and authentication to "No authentication". Click on the "Re-test" button and then click "Done".

[[File:Thunderbird_4.jpg]]

BEFORE clicking on inbox and BEFORE adding other inboxes, you MUST refer to [[Configuring_Thunderbird#Adding_email_accounts_with_large_numbers_of_emails | Adding email accounts with large numbers of emails]]. This is because if you add all the accounts together at once, they will all sync together and it will take 1-2 days for the sync to complete.

For backups@neosys.com, support2@neosys.com (Nagios), name.neosys@gmail.com repeat the steps mentioned above, with the below-mentioned replacements.

1. For backups@neosys.com, enter "backups@neosys.com" for Your Name, "backups@neosys.com" for Email address and enter the password provided by Neosys staff.
Enter the username as "backups.neosys".

2. For support2@neosys.com, enter "support2@neosys.com" for Your Name, "support2@neosys.com" for Email address and enter the password provided by Neosys staff.
Enter the username as "support2.neosys".

3. For name.neosys@gmail.com, enter your full name for Your Name, "name.neosys@gmail.com" for Email address and enter the password. You do not need to follow the steps for manual config as the settings will be automatically configured.

[[File:thunderbird_6.jpg]]

[[File:thunderbird_7.jpg]]

==Account Settings==

Verify that the account settings for all the accounts are entered as shown below.

[[File:acsettings1.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings2.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings3.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings4.jpg]]

[[File:Account junk.jpg|500px]]

For backups@neosys.com account, under "Synchronization and Storage", change the setting to "Delete messages more than 365 days old"

The Synchronisation & Storage settings should be changed to the settings shown below only at a convenient time, since downloading all the emails will take a lot of time for accounts with large number of emails. Also see [[Configuring_Thunderbird#Adding_email_accounts_with_large_numbers_of_emails |Adding email accounts with large number of emails]]

[[File:acsettings6.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings7.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings8.jpg]]

===Adding email accounts with large numbers of emails===

After adding email accounts with large numbers of emails, in order to avoid long wait while downloading all the emails, it is best to change the account settings - BEFORE clicking on INBOX, which triggers the download/sync - to download the bodies of only the last 30 days of emails. The email headings are always synced but that does not take long.

See Account Settings, Synchronisation and Storage.

Since searching of emails only works when the bodies of emails have been downloaded, if you need to text search all emails, then, at a convenient time, you can remove or increase the number of days in the setting and somehow trigger the full sync.

[[File:thla.jpg]]

===Configuring Outgoing SMTP Mail Servers===

By default Thunderbird adds a new smtp profile with each Inbox added.

However you only need two, main and backup.

1. Right click on any Inbox > Settings.

2. Scroll down and click "Outgoing Server (SMTP)".

3. Delete all smtp server profiles except the default and ensure your settings match below screenshot.
[[File:Smtpsettings.png]]

4. Add a new profile with settings in below screenshot.

TODO - setup backup imap2 container and add settings screenshot here. (old imap2 smtp port 2500)

==Add-ons==

#Install addons: General settings menu (Top right 3 bars) > Addons
#Search and install the addons in below screenshot.
#Configure Mailbox Alert by Right e.g support inbox > Mailbox Alert:
##Check default sound and message.
[[File:Addon2.png]]

==Other General Configurations==

===Configure inbox to display selected columns===

The below options MUST be set in Support Inbox. To do so Right click on a column heading and select the below options:

#Thread
#Starred
#Attachment
#Subject
#Correspondents
#Received: You MUST add column RECEIVED which is the email date received to email inbox because the default Date seems to be the DATE SENT whereas we are primarily interested in the date we received the email. The difference is due to delays in email servers or spam tricks.

The below options MUST NOT be set in Support Inbox

#Junk status: Emails will automatically be moved to Junk folder if the junk icon in this column is clicked. Hence remove Junk Status column so that emails are not accidentally moved to junk. To remove, right-click on a column heading and untick "Junk Status".

===Configure Mail Content===

Settings > Privacy > untick "Allow remote content in messages"

Support MUST set the "Allow remote content in messages" as blocked in Thunderbird without adding any exceptions for any email id. The reason is remote content i.e embedded images, stylesheets etc is a privacy concern as it sends your private information to the mail sender. We do not know the source of these embedded content in emails so cannot trust them as they can be web bugs.

===Configure Layout View===

Layout view should be set as Vertical view.

===Optimise Titlebar Space===

Follow below steps to merge the titlebar with the tabs bar to reduce wastage of screen space.

#Go to Settings -> General
#Scroll to the bottom and click "Config Editor..."
#Search for mail.tabs.drawInTitlebar
#Change its value to "true"

===Thunderbird Preferences===

#Preferences > Display > Advanced > untick " Automatically mark messages as read".
#Keep settings as below for Preferences > Security.
#Keep settings as below for Preferences > Composition > Spelling.

[[File:Globaljunk.jpg|500px]]

[[File:Composition.png|500px]]

===Configure MailAlert===

Right click Inbox > Mailbox Alert > Edit Mailbox Alert alerts > Select Default message. Set as below. Once set Right click Inbox > Mailbox Alert > check Default message

[[file:thsh.jpg]]

===Configure Auto Resize Image===

Set the preferences for the Auto Resize Image add-on as shown in the screenshot at the end of this section.

To handle different scenarios when resizing images in emails, follow the below steps:

*Resize all images in the email: Click "Send" followed by "Confirm" on the Auto resize screen.

*Skip resize all images in the email: Click "Send" followed by "Cancel Resizing" on the Auto resize screen.

*Resize Images only in the email trail and skip resizing new images: Click "Resize" on top of your screen and proceed with writing the email/adding new images. When ready to send the email, follow above step for skipping resize all images in the email.

[[File:Resize2.png]]

===Configure Header Tools Lite===

Set the preferences for the Header Tools Lite add-on as shown in the screenshot below.

[[File:headertoolslite.jpg]]

===Configure Dorando Keyconfig===

Menu > Add-ons > Edit Keyconfig Preferences > Disable shortcuts for 'Archive' and 'Junk' as shown in the screenshots below.

[[File:Keyconfig1.png]]

[[File:Keyconfig2.png]]

===Getting access to NEOSYS support calendar===

After confirming that the steps below are successfully done, delete your local personal calendar and make the shared support calendar the default.

In Thunderbird, add a new CalDAV network calendar by navigating to File (Alt+f) -> New -> Calendar.

[[File:Cal1.png]]

Location: https://nextcloud.hosts.neosys.com:44318/remote.php/dav/calendars/support/support_shared_by_steve/

You will have to enter your nextcloud user and pass.

[[File:Cal2.png]]

[[File:Cal3.png]]

It should show a tick if successful, otherwise you will have to Unsubscribe and try again.

[[File:Cal4.png]]

Change the new calendar properties to Refresh every 5 mins.

[[File:Cal5.png]]

===Applying filter for backup failure emails===

In order to filter any backup failure emails as Important, go to Tools > Message Filters and create a new filter with settings as shown below:

Refer to filters list of other staff members.

===Shared Email Tags between Support machines===
1. Add the new tag name and color in Thunderbird UI.

2. Find and open the prefs.js file in your profile directory. It should be in the '.default' folder usually. Check Thunderbird -> Account Settings -> Server Settings to find the correct directory.
locate ~/snap/thunderbird/common/.thunderbird/ prefs.js

nano ~/snap/thunderbird/common/.thunderbird/w9nakioc.default/prefs.js

3. The new tag will be created with a name and color, which needs to be replaced with "$label<n>.color" and "$label<n>.tag" as shown below. Copy the new color and tag lines, to use in next step.
<pre>
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label1.color", "#FF0000");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label1.tag", "Important");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label2.color", "#FF9900");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label2.tag", "Work");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label3.color", "#009900");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label3.tag", "Joel");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label4.color", "#3333ff");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label4.tag", "Greg");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label5.color", "#993399");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label5.tag", "Arvind");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label6.color", "#ff6e6e");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label6.tag", "Follow up");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label7.color", "#28e2d8");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label7.tag", "Delay support");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label8.color", "#986a44");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label8.tag", "Pending review");
</pre>

4. Recreate across all Support machines by adding the new lines to the correct prefs.js file. Thunderbird should not be running on any of the machines, as the prefs.js file is overwritten on application exit.

5. Start Thunderbird again. Check that the new tags are available and that tagging an email on one machine reflects on other machines.

==[[Procedures#Email_Retention_Policy| Email Retention Policy]]==

==[[Procedures#Handling_junk.2Fspam_email| Handling junk/spam emails]]==

==Viewing long running processes on Thunderbird==
When setting up and configuring Thunderbird, using its Activity Manager (Tools > Activity Manager) and possibly using the header bar "Always on top" option on the Activity Manager window may be helpful to know what long running processes are being performed.

[[File:Activity manager.jpg]]

==Deleting Thunderbird accounts==
Check the option "Remove Message Data" when removing accounts from Thunderbird. Otherwise, the old messages stay forever taking space on the disk.

[[File:dt2.png]]

Select Remove Message Data option as shown below.

[[File:dt.png]]

==Clearing out old improperly deleted Thunderbird Accounts==

If you delete Thunderbird accounts without checking the option "Remove Message Data" the old messages stay forever taking space on the disk.

To locate any such unnecessary files

ls -l -h /home/*/.thunderbird/*.default/ImapMail/*/INBOX

<pre>

-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 16M May 25 16:36 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.gmail.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 668M Mar 29 08:54 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys-1.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 242M May 28 14:45 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys-2.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 755M May 25 12:39 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys-3.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 420M Apr 24 10:27 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys-4.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 13G May 28 14:37 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys.com/INBOX

</pre>

Check the dates, which indicate the date of the last message received, to get a rough idea of what accounts are in use and not in use

Check which of the folders are currently in use by looking in Thunderbird settings for each account one by one, "Server Settings", "Local Directory"

Delete the folders and files which are not in use using whatever method you like.

".thunderbird", like all files and folders which start with a dot, is a hidden folder which you can make visible in Nautilus File Manager by pressing Ctrl+h

==Troubleshooting Thunderbird==

===High CPU usage when idling===

If Thunderbird consumes 100+% CPU when there is no activity seen on Thunderbird activity manager (Tools -> Activity Manager), then try the below steps from https://kb.mozillazine.org/Performance_-_Thunderbird :

#Go to Settings -> General
#Scroll to the bottom and click "Config Editor..."
#Search for mail.db.idle_limit
#Change its value to 30000000 (7 zeroes, not 5 zeroes) and save
#Restart Thunderbird

===Emails show wrong body===

Sometimes emails may not load correctly. Clicking an email will show some other email's body. To fix this:

#Right click the Thunderbird folder that has the issue (e.g. Inbox)
#Properties
#Repair Folder
This will rebuild the folder index that connects email subjects with message bodies.

[[File:Repair_folder.jpg]]

Configuring Thunderbird

2024-08-06T13:30:54Z

Arvind: /* Shared Email Tags between Support machines */

==Setting Up the Inbox Accounts==

The instructions given below explain how to set up the "Support" account on Thunderbird.

1. Open Mozilla Thunderbird. Choose the "Create a new account" option. Click on "Skip this and use my existing email" option on the "Welcome to Thunderbird" window.

[[File:Thunderbird_1.jpg]]

2. In the Mail Account Setup window, enter "support@neosys.com" for Your Name, "support@neosys.com" for Email Address and the password provided by Neosys staff. Click on continue.

[[File:Thunderbird_2.jpg]]

3. Click on "Manual Config".

[[File:Thunderbird_3.jpg]]

4. Key in "imap.neosys.com" for incoming IMAP host name, server hostname "smtp.neosys.com" and port "587" for outgoing SMTP and "support.neosys" as username. For SMTP, change the SSL to "STARTTLS" and authentication to "No authentication". Click on the "Re-test" button and then click "Done".

[[File:Thunderbird_4.jpg]]

BEFORE clicking on inbox and BEFORE adding other inboxes, you MUST refer to [[Configuring_Thunderbird#Adding_email_accounts_with_large_numbers_of_emails | Adding email accounts with large numbers of emails]]. This is because if you add all the accounts together at once, they will all sync together and it will take 1-2 days for the sync to complete.

For backups@neosys.com, support2@neosys.com (Nagios), name.neosys@gmail.com repeat the steps mentioned above, with the below-mentioned replacements.

1. For backups@neosys.com, enter "backups@neosys.com" for Your Name, "backups@neosys.com" for Email address and enter the password provided by Neosys staff.
Enter the username as "backups.neosys".

2. For support2@neosys.com, enter "support2@neosys.com" for Your Name, "support2@neosys.com" for Email address and enter the password provided by Neosys staff.
Enter the username as "support2.neosys".

3. For name.neosys@gmail.com, enter your full name for Your Name, "name.neosys@gmail.com" for Email address and enter the password. You do not need to follow the steps for manual config as the settings will be automatically configured.

[[File:thunderbird_6.jpg]]

[[File:thunderbird_7.jpg]]

==Account Settings==

Verify that the account settings for all the accounts are entered as shown below.

[[File:acsettings1.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings2.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings3.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings4.jpg]]

[[File:Account junk.jpg|500px]]

For backups@neosys.com account, under "Synchronization and Storage", change the setting to "Delete messages more than 365 days old"

The Synchronisation & Storage settings should be changed to the settings shown below only at a convenient time, since downloading all the emails will take a lot of time for accounts with large number of emails. Also see [[Configuring_Thunderbird#Adding_email_accounts_with_large_numbers_of_emails |Adding email accounts with large number of emails]]

[[File:acsettings6.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings7.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings8.jpg]]

===Adding email accounts with large numbers of emails===

After adding email accounts with large numbers of emails, in order to avoid long wait while downloading all the emails, it is best to change the account settings - BEFORE clicking on INBOX, which triggers the download/sync - to download the bodies of only the last 30 days of emails. The email headings are always synced but that does not take long.

See Account Settings, Synchronisation and Storage.

Since searching of emails only works when the bodies of emails have been downloaded, if you need to text search all emails, then, at a convenient time, you can remove or increase the number of days in the setting and somehow trigger the full sync.

[[File:thla.jpg]]

===Configuring Outgoing SMTP Mail Servers===

By default Thunderbird adds a new smtp profile with each Inbox added.

However you only need two, main and backup.

1. Right click on any Inbox > Settings.

2. Scroll down and click "Outgoing Server (SMTP)".

3. Delete all smtp server profiles except the default and ensure your settings match below screenshot.
[[File:Smtpsettings.png]]

4. Add a new profile with settings in below screenshot.

TODO - setup backup imap2 container and add settings screenshot here. (old imap2 smtp port 2500)

==Add-ons==

#Install addons: General settings menu (Top right 3 bars) > Addons
#Search and install the addons in below screenshot.
#Configure Mailbox Alert by Right e.g support inbox > Mailbox Alert:
##Check default sound and message.
[[File:Addon2.png]]

==Other General Configurations==

===Configure inbox to display selected columns===

The below options MUST be set in Support Inbox. To do so Right click on a column heading and select the below options:

#Thread
#Starred
#Attachment
#Subject
#Correspondents
#Received: You MUST add column RECEIVED which is the email date received to email inbox because the default Date seems to be the DATE SENT whereas we are primarily interested in the date we received the email. The difference is due to delays in email servers or spam tricks.

The below options MUST NOT be set in Support Inbox

#Junk status: Emails will automatically be moved to Junk folder if the junk icon in this column is clicked. Hence remove Junk Status column so that emails are not accidentally moved to junk. To remove, right-click on a column heading and untick "Junk Status".

===Configure Mail Content===

Settings > Privacy > untick "Allow remote content in messages"

Support MUST set the "Allow remote content in messages" as blocked in Thunderbird without adding any exceptions for any email id. The reason is remote content i.e embedded images, stylesheets etc is a privacy concern as it sends your private information to the mail sender. We do not know the source of these embedded content in emails so cannot trust them as they can be web bugs.

===Configure Layout View===

Layout view should be set as Vertical view.

===Optimise Titlebar Space===

Follow below steps to merge the titlebar with the tabs bar to reduce wastage of screen space.

#Go to Settings -> General
#Scroll to the bottom and click "Config Editor..."
#Search for mail.tabs.drawInTitlebar
#Change its value to "true"

===Thunderbird Preferences===

#Preferences > Display > Advanced > untick " Automatically mark messages as read".
#Keep settings as below for Preferences > Security.
#Keep settings as below for Preferences > Composition > Spelling.

[[File:Globaljunk.jpg|500px]]

[[File:Composition.png|500px]]

===Configure MailAlert===

Right click Inbox > Mailbox Alert > Edit Mailbox Alert alerts > Select Default message. Set as below. Once set Right click Inbox > Mailbox Alert > check Default message

[[file:thsh.jpg]]

===Configure Auto Resize Image===

Set the preferences for the Auto Resize Image add-on as shown in the screenshot at the end of this section.

To handle different scenarios when resizing images in emails, follow the below steps:

*Resize all images in the email: Click "Send" followed by "Confirm" on the Auto resize screen.

*Skip resize all images in the email: Click "Send" followed by "Cancel Resizing" on the Auto resize screen.

*Resize Images only in the email trail and skip resizing new images: Click "Resize" on top of your screen and proceed with writing the email/adding new images. When ready to send the email, follow above step for skipping resize all images in the email.

[[File:Resize2.png]]

===Configure Header Tools Lite===

Set the preferences for the Header Tools Lite add-on as shown in the screenshot below.

[[File:headertoolslite.jpg]]

===Configure Dorando Keyconfig===

Menu > Add-ons > Edit Keyconfig Preferences > Disable shortcuts for 'Archive' and 'Junk' as shown in the screenshots below.

[[File:Keyconfig1.png]]

[[File:Keyconfig2.png]]

===Getting access to NEOSYS support calendar===

After confirming that the steps below are successfully done, delete your local personal calendar and make the shared support calendar the default.

In Thunderbird, add a new CalDAV network calendar by navigating to File (Alt+f) -> New -> Calendar.

[[File:Cal1.png]]

Location: https://nextcloud.hosts.neosys.com:44318/remote.php/dav/calendars/support/support_shared_by_steve/

You will have to enter your nextcloud user and pass.

[[File:Cal2.png]]

[[File:Cal3.png]]

It should show a tick if successful, otherwise you will have to Unsubscribe and try again.

[[File:Cal4.png]]

Change the new calendar properties to Refresh every 5 mins.

[[File:Cal5.png]]

===Applying filter for backup failure emails===

In order to filter any backup failure emails as Important, go to Tools > Message Filters and create a new filter with settings as shown below:

Refer to filters list of other staff members.

===Shared Email Tags between Support machines===
1. Add the new tag name and color in Thunderbird UI.

2. Find and open the prefs.js file in your profile directory. It should be in the '.default' folder usually.
locate ~/snap/thunderbird/common/.thunderbird/ prefs.js

nano ~/snap/thunderbird/common/.thunderbird/w9nakioc.default/prefs.js

3. The new tag will be created with a name and color, which needs to be replaced with "$label<n>.color" and "$label<n>.tag" as shown below. Copy the new color and tag lines, to use in next step.
<pre>
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label1.color", "#FF0000");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label1.tag", "Important");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label2.color", "#FF9900");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label2.tag", "Work");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label3.color", "#009900");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label3.tag", "Joel");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label4.color", "#3333ff");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label4.tag", "Greg");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label5.color", "#993399");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label5.tag", "Arvind");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label6.color", "#ff6e6e");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label6.tag", "Follow up");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label7.color", "#28e2d8");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label7.tag", "Delay support");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label8.color", "#986a44");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label8.tag", "Pending review");
</pre>

4. Recreate across all Support machines by adding the new lines to the correct prefs.js file. Thunderbird should not be running on any of the machines, as the prefs.js file is overwritten on application exit.

5. Start Thunderbird again. Check that the new tags are available and that tagging an email on one machine reflects on other machines.

==[[Procedures#Email_Retention_Policy| Email Retention Policy]]==

==[[Procedures#Handling_junk.2Fspam_email| Handling junk/spam emails]]==

==Viewing long running processes on Thunderbird==
When setting up and configuring Thunderbird, using its Activity Manager (Tools > Activity Manager) and possibly using the header bar "Always on top" option on the Activity Manager window may be helpful to know what long running processes are being performed.

[[File:Activity manager.jpg]]

==Deleting Thunderbird accounts==
Check the option "Remove Message Data" when removing accounts from Thunderbird. Otherwise, the old messages stay forever taking space on the disk.

[[File:dt2.png]]

Select Remove Message Data option as shown below.

[[File:dt.png]]

==Clearing out old improperly deleted Thunderbird Accounts==

If you delete Thunderbird accounts without checking the option "Remove Message Data" the old messages stay forever taking space on the disk.

To locate any such unnecessary files

ls -l -h /home/*/.thunderbird/*.default/ImapMail/*/INBOX

<pre>

-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 16M May 25 16:36 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.gmail.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 668M Mar 29 08:54 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys-1.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 242M May 28 14:45 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys-2.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 755M May 25 12:39 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys-3.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 420M Apr 24 10:27 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys-4.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 13G May 28 14:37 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys.com/INBOX

</pre>

Check the dates, which indicate the date of the last message received, to get a rough idea of what accounts are in use and not in use

Check which of the folders are currently in use by looking in Thunderbird settings for each account one by one, "Server Settings", "Local Directory"

Delete the folders and files which are not in use using whatever method you like.

".thunderbird", like all files and folders which start with a dot, is a hidden folder which you can make visible in Nautilus File Manager by pressing Ctrl+h

==Troubleshooting Thunderbird==

===High CPU usage when idling===

If Thunderbird consumes 100+% CPU when there is no activity seen on Thunderbird activity manager (Tools -> Activity Manager), then try the below steps from https://kb.mozillazine.org/Performance_-_Thunderbird :

#Go to Settings -> General
#Scroll to the bottom and click "Config Editor..."
#Search for mail.db.idle_limit
#Change its value to 30000000 (7 zeroes, not 5 zeroes) and save
#Restart Thunderbird

===Emails show wrong body===

Sometimes emails may not load correctly. Clicking an email will show some other email's body. To fix this:

#Right click the Thunderbird folder that has the issue (e.g. Inbox)
#Properties
#Repair Folder
This will rebuild the folder index that connects email subjects with message bodies.

[[File:Repair_folder.jpg]]

Configuring Thunderbird

2024-06-03T07:12:25Z

Arvind: /* Shared Email Tags between Support machines */

==Setting Up the Inbox Accounts==

The instructions given below explain how to set up the "Support" account on Thunderbird.

1. Open Mozilla Thunderbird. Choose the "Create a new account" option. Click on "Skip this and use my existing email" option on the "Welcome to Thunderbird" window.

[[File:Thunderbird_1.jpg]]

2. In the Mail Account Setup window, enter "support@neosys.com" for Your Name, "support@neosys.com" for Email Address and the password provided by Neosys staff. Click on continue.

[[File:Thunderbird_2.jpg]]

3. Click on "Manual Config".

[[File:Thunderbird_3.jpg]]

4. Key in "imap.neosys.com" for incoming IMAP host name, server hostname "smtp.neosys.com" and port "587" for outgoing SMTP and "support.neosys" as username. For SMTP, change the SSL to "STARTTLS" and authentication to "No authentication". Click on the "Re-test" button and then click "Done".

[[File:Thunderbird_4.jpg]]

BEFORE clicking on inbox and BEFORE adding other inboxes, you MUST refer to [[Configuring_Thunderbird#Adding_email_accounts_with_large_numbers_of_emails | Adding email accounts with large numbers of emails]]. This is because if you add all the accounts together at once, they will all sync together and it will take 1-2 days for the sync to complete.

For backups@neosys.com, support2@neosys.com (Nagios), name.neosys@gmail.com repeat the steps mentioned above, with the below-mentioned replacements.

1. For backups@neosys.com, enter "backups@neosys.com" for Your Name, "backups@neosys.com" for Email address and enter the password provided by Neosys staff.
Enter the username as "backups.neosys".

2. For support2@neosys.com, enter "support2@neosys.com" for Your Name, "support2@neosys.com" for Email address and enter the password provided by Neosys staff.
Enter the username as "support2.neosys".

3. For name.neosys@gmail.com, enter your full name for Your Name, "name.neosys@gmail.com" for Email address and enter the password. You do not need to follow the steps for manual config as the settings will be automatically configured.

[[File:thunderbird_6.jpg]]

[[File:thunderbird_7.jpg]]

==Account Settings==

Verify that the account settings for all the accounts are entered as shown below.

[[File:acsettings1.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings2.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings3.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings4.jpg]]

[[File:Account junk.jpg|500px]]

For backups@neosys.com account, under "Synchronization and Storage", change the setting to "Delete messages more than 365 days old"

The Synchronisation & Storage settings should be changed to the settings shown below only at a convenient time, since downloading all the emails will take a lot of time for accounts with large number of emails. Also see [[Configuring_Thunderbird#Adding_email_accounts_with_large_numbers_of_emails |Adding email accounts with large number of emails]]

[[File:acsettings6.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings7.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings8.jpg]]

===Adding email accounts with large numbers of emails===

After adding email accounts with large numbers of emails, in order to avoid long wait while downloading all the emails, it is best to change the account settings - BEFORE clicking on INBOX, which triggers the download/sync - to download the bodies of only the last 30 days of emails. The email headings are always synced but that does not take long.

See Account Settings, Synchronisation and Storage.

Since searching of emails only works when the bodies of emails have been downloaded, if you need to text search all emails, then, at a convenient time, you can remove or increase the number of days in the setting and somehow trigger the full sync.

[[File:thla.jpg]]

===Configuring Outgoing SMTP Mail Servers===

By default Thunderbird adds a new smtp profile with each Inbox added.

However you only need two, main and backup.

1. Right click on any Inbox > Settings.

2. Scroll down and click "Outgoing Server (SMTP)".

3. Delete all smtp server profiles except the default and ensure your settings match below screenshot.
[[File:Smtpsettings.png]]

4. Add a new profile with settings in below screenshot.

TODO - setup backup imap2 container and add settings screenshot here. (old imap2 smtp port 2500)

==Add-ons==

#Install addons: General settings menu (Top right 3 bars) > Addons
#Search and install the addons in below screenshot.
#Configure Mailbox Alert by Right e.g support inbox > Mailbox Alert:
##Check default sound and message.
[[File:Addon2.png]]

==Other General Configurations==

===Configure inbox to display selected columns===

The below options MUST be set in Support Inbox. To do so Right click on a column heading and select the below options:

#Thread
#Starred
#Attachment
#Subject
#Correspondents
#Received: You MUST add column RECEIVED which is the email date received to email inbox because the default Date seems to be the DATE SENT whereas we are primarily interested in the date we received the email. The difference is due to delays in email servers or spam tricks.

The below options MUST NOT be set in Support Inbox

#Junk status: Emails will automatically be moved to Junk folder if the junk icon in this column is clicked. Hence remove Junk Status column so that emails are not accidentally moved to junk. To remove, right-click on a column heading and untick "Junk Status".

===Configure Mail Content===

Settings > Privacy > untick "Allow remote content in messages"

Support MUST set the "Allow remote content in messages" as blocked in Thunderbird without adding any exceptions for any email id. The reason is remote content i.e embedded images, stylesheets etc is a privacy concern as it sends your private information to the mail sender. We do not know the source of these embedded content in emails so cannot trust them as they can be web bugs.

===Configure Layout View===

Layout view should be set as Vertical view.

===Optimise Titlebar Space===

Follow below steps to merge the titlebar with the tabs bar to reduce wastage of screen space.

#Go to Settings -> General
#Scroll to the bottom and click "Config Editor..."
#Search for mail.tabs.drawInTitlebar
#Change its value to "true"

===Thunderbird Preferences===

#Preferences > Display > Advanced > untick " Automatically mark messages as read".
#Keep settings as below for Preferences > Security.
#Keep settings as below for Preferences > Composition > Spelling.

[[File:Globaljunk.jpg|500px]]

[[File:Composition.png|500px]]

===Configure MailAlert===

Right click Inbox > Mailbox Alert > Edit Mailbox Alert alerts > Select Default message. Set as below. Once set Right click Inbox > Mailbox Alert > check Default message

[[file:thsh.jpg]]

===Configure Auto Resize Image===

Set the preferences for the Auto Resize Image add-on as shown in the screenshot at the end of this section.

To handle different scenarios when resizing images in emails, follow the below steps:

*Resize all images in the email: Click "Send" followed by "Confirm" on the Auto resize screen.

*Skip resize all images in the email: Click "Send" followed by "Cancel Resizing" on the Auto resize screen.

*Resize Images only in the email trail and skip resizing new images: Click "Resize" on top of your screen and proceed with writing the email/adding new images. When ready to send the email, follow above step for skipping resize all images in the email.

[[File:Resize2.png]]

===Configure Header Tools Lite===

Set the preferences for the Header Tools Lite add-on as shown in the screenshot below.

[[File:headertoolslite.jpg]]

===Configure Dorando Keyconfig===

Menu > Add-ons > Edit Keyconfig Preferences > Disable shortcuts for 'Archive' and 'Junk' as shown in the screenshots below.

[[File:Keyconfig1.png]]

[[File:Keyconfig2.png]]

===Getting access to NEOSYS support calendar===

After confirming that the steps below are successfully done, delete your local personal calendar and make the shared support calendar the default.

In Thunderbird, add a new CalDAV network calendar by navigating to File (Alt+f) -> New -> Calendar.

[[File:Cal1.png]]

Location: https://nextcloud.hosts.neosys.com:44318/remote.php/dav/calendars/support/support_shared_by_steve/

You will have to enter your nextcloud user and pass.

[[File:Cal2.png]]

[[File:Cal3.png]]

It should show a tick if successful, otherwise you will have to Unsubscribe and try again.

[[File:Cal4.png]]

Change the new calendar properties to Refresh every 5 mins.

[[File:Cal5.png]]

===Applying filter for backup failure emails===

In order to filter any backup failure emails as Important, go to Tools > Message Filters and create a new filter with settings as shown below:

Refer to filters list of other staff members.

===Shared Email Tags between Support machines===
1. Add the new tag name and color in Thunderbird UI.

2. Find and open the prefs.js file in your profile directory. It should be in the '.default' folder usually.
locate ~/snap/thunderbird/common/.thunderbird/ prefs.js

nano ~/snap/thunderbird/common/.thunderbird/w9nakioc.default/prefs.js

3. The new tag will be created with a name and color, which needs to be replaced with "$label<n>.color" and "$label<n>.tag" as shown below. Copy the new color and tag lines, to use in next step.
<pre>
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label1.color", "#FF0000");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label1.tag", "Important");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label2.color", "#FF9900");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label2.tag", "Work");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label3.color", "#009900");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label3.tag", "Joel");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label4.color", "#3333ff");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label4.tag", "Greg");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label5.color", "#993399");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label5.tag", "Arvind");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label6.color", "#ff6e6e");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label6.tag", "Follow up");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label7.color", "#eb007b");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label7.tag", "Client issue");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label8.color", "#28e2d8");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label8.tag", "Delay support");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label9.color", "#986a44");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label9.tag", "Pending review");
</pre>

4. Recreate across all Support machines by adding the new lines to the correct prefs.js file. Thunderbird should not be running on any of the machines, as the prefs.js file is overwritten on application exit.

5. Start Thunderbird again. Check that the new tags are available and that tagging an email on one machine reflects on other machines.

==[[Procedures#Email_Retention_Policy| Email Retention Policy]]==

==[[Procedures#Handling_junk.2Fspam_email| Handling junk/spam emails]]==

==Viewing long running processes on Thunderbird==
When setting up and configuring Thunderbird, using its Activity Manager (Tools > Activity Manager) and possibly using the header bar "Always on top" option on the Activity Manager window may be helpful to know what long running processes are being performed.

[[File:Activity manager.jpg]]

==Deleting Thunderbird accounts==
Check the option "Remove Message Data" when removing accounts from Thunderbird. Otherwise, the old messages stay forever taking space on the disk.

[[File:dt2.png]]

Select Remove Message Data option as shown below.

[[File:dt.png]]

==Clearing out old improperly deleted Thunderbird Accounts==

If you delete Thunderbird accounts without checking the option "Remove Message Data" the old messages stay forever taking space on the disk.

To locate any such unnecessary files

ls -l -h /home/*/.thunderbird/*.default/ImapMail/*/INBOX

<pre>

-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 16M May 25 16:36 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.gmail.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 668M Mar 29 08:54 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys-1.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 242M May 28 14:45 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys-2.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 755M May 25 12:39 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys-3.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 420M Apr 24 10:27 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys-4.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 13G May 28 14:37 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys.com/INBOX

</pre>

Check the dates, which indicate the date of the last message received, to get a rough idea of what accounts are in use and not in use

Check which of the folders are currently in use by looking in Thunderbird settings for each account one by one, "Server Settings", "Local Directory"

Delete the folders and files which are not in use using whatever method you like.

".thunderbird", like all files and folders which start with a dot, is a hidden folder which you can make visible in Nautilus File Manager by pressing Ctrl+h

==Troubleshooting Thunderbird==

===High CPU usage when idling===

If Thunderbird consumes 100+% CPU when there is no activity seen on Thunderbird activity manager (Tools -> Activity Manager), then try the below steps from https://kb.mozillazine.org/Performance_-_Thunderbird :

#Go to Settings -> General
#Scroll to the bottom and click "Config Editor..."
#Search for mail.db.idle_limit
#Change its value to 30000000 (7 zeroes, not 5 zeroes) and save
#Restart Thunderbird

===Emails show wrong body===

Sometimes emails may not load correctly. Clicking an email will show some other email's body. To fix this:

#Right click the Thunderbird folder that has the issue (e.g. Inbox)
#Properties
#Repair Folder
This will rebuild the folder index that connects email subjects with message bodies.

[[File:Repair_folder.jpg]]

General Office Procedures

2024-05-08T08:30:45Z

Arvind:

=Working hours=
NEOSYS office working hours are from 9am until 6pm, Monday to Friday. It is required for all staff members to report to office at 9am irrespective of any meetings during the day. There is a one hour lunch break, which can be taken between 1pm and 2pm.

=Keeping to NEOSYS Office Hours=

NEOSYS management does not want to spend time worrying about staff attendance, so these are the traditional rules of attendance for the NEOSYS office.

#If you are late, DO give your apologies but DON'T give any reason. You may be asked, for personal interest, but it is NOT relevant.
#Be in the office 5 or 10 minutes EARLY every morning and if you are ever late, increase this to 15 minutes early etc.
#Apply the same rules to returning from lunch at 2pm.
#Use your early time in the office to attend to your own business - on your phone/browser etc.
#Always stop work immediately at 1pm and 6pm. Any time you spend in the office after that must be on your own business.

Everybody joining NEOSYS has adapted to these rules and come to appreciate them. You are advised to apply them immediately on joining to avoid friction. Your punctuality will be noticed and appreciated.

=Working out of hours=
NEOSYS staff should not work out of hours except in case of real emergency unless approval has been obtained for the same from NEOSYS management.

Emergencies are only things like dealing with a system crash of NEOSYS own systems providing client services (e.g. ex1) and we are trying to get clients back online as fast as possible from backups. Failure of client's own systems should be dealt with inside normal office hours only. Since NEOSYS systems have never failed to date, there are practically no emergencies in our work. "Emergencies" are generally for people who don't prepare for the unexpected and/or are disorganised.

Approval for working out of office hours may be granted if there is specific work to be done and you are making up time for being late due to some special circumstances.

Apart from the above, NEOSYS staff should be IN ON TIME and OUT ON TIME.

=Purchases=
If you require to make any purchases on behalf of the company, you must first get an approval from your Manager.

=Stationery=
All stationery is kept in the office cupboard. In case there is anything required, you may inform your Manager.

=Sick leave =

You are required to visit your doctor for every sick period and bring original sick note otherwise claims for sick leave will be rejected and treated as absence without pay or deducted from annual holiday at your choice.

=Claiming Expenses=
You should use an Expense Claim Form to reclaim expenses incurred in the course of your work. Completed claim forms, accompanied by relevant receipts, must be authorised by your Manager before being given to accounts. The expenses claim forms must be submitted to accounts before the end of the month in order for them to be reimbursed with that month’s salary.

If you take business contacts out for lunch or dinner, the expenses can be claimed supported by detailed receipt(s). Expense claims for entertainment, i.e. lunch or dinner, should state the names of the people entertained, including the name of any colleagues.

No expense claims will be accepted more than 60 days after they were incurred.

Please note that if your salary is over AED 6000 per month, no taxi fares are reclaimable.

All expenses claimed must be wholly, necessarily and exclusively incurred on behalf of the Company.

You must not entertain other members of NEOSYS at the Company’s expense without prior authorisation from your Manager.

You may claim back the value of business phone calls made from your home and your mobile phone on producing an original invoice, highlighting the relevant calls. International call claims must have details of the company called.

=Travel=
All business travel must be sanctioned in advance by your Manager. A travel requisition should be submitted to your Manager no less than 1 week in advance of your proposed travel date. Our policy is that economy class travel should be used. When travelling abroad, the Company pays for your accommodation, food and conveyance. To reclaim this amount you should add it to your monthly expenses claim form.

=Mail services=
It is the company’s policy that all documents that commit the company in regards to staff expenditure or contracts are signed specifically by appointed authorised signatories. Employees are welcome to use the company’s PO Box for incoming personal correspondence; however the company cannot be liable for any delay/loss/damages incurred by its use.

=Documents=
ALL personal working files however trivial MUST be stored in Nextcloud and MUST NOT be stored anywhere in personal computer (My Documents/Desktop etc. )

=Computer systems=
Your computer system given by NEOSYS remains the property of NEOSYS at all times.

Your computer should be accessible to your immediate manager at any given point of time. You may store your personal files, but please note that privacy isn’t assured as your computer system might be accessible by your manager at any point of time.

Installing any software, applications, browser add-ons, drivers or devices must be done only after getting prior consent of your manager.

If you are given a laptop, you should not be taking home the same without an approval.

=Network systems=
All NEOSYS networks i.e. Wi-Fi, LAN, VPN, Servers, Storage devices etc are monitored due to the nature of business and to assure our clients that we have the highest possible security measures in place. As such your network and internet traffic might be under surveillance.

=Internet=
NEOSYS internet or VPN can be used for personal purposes outside of business hours or during breaks, however you are restricted from any torrents or file sharing programs because of a high risk of security they pose to our business. Also ensure that you do not use this facility for pornographic or any other illegal activity that is not in line with the Sharia law of the country.

=Instant Messengers=
You will be provided with exclusive IDs for Skype. These IDs should only have business contacts listed in them.

=Dress code=
The dress code in the office is formal. You should be wearing a smart business dress at all times when you visit a client. Friday tends to be a “dress down” day.

=General Appearance=
As we are in the service industry, you are required at all times to be presentable as you are the face of NEOSYS when you visit clients/prospects. Make sure that you have enough sleep and come to office clean shaven. Smart short haircut for gents is recommended. In case you keep a beard; make sure that it is neatly trimmed.

=Smoking=
Our offices are non-smoking without exception. Smoking is permitted outside the office premises.

=Meetings outside office=

It is always encouraged not to schedule early morning meetings with clients as we believe it is a waste of time. As you are required to be in office by 9a.m. please schedule your meetings thereafter. Incase you have meetings in the old town of Dubai (e.g. Deira) then you could proceed to the meeting directly from home. However you need to keep your Manager informed of the same.

Upgrading NEOSYS

2024-04-05T11:36:40Z

Arvind:

==Prior to Upgrade==
When any change is made to NEOSYS, it is the responsibility of the Support staff to test and verify that there are no errors. Proceed to upgrade NEOSYS only after Support staff has tested and confirmed that the new features are working fine. Do NOT upgrade a client to an untested version of NEOSYS under any circumstance.

Client servers must be free of patches before upgrading. Support staff must do the following prior to upgrading:

#Check git status to find out if any patches were done to the client.
#Check whether the patches (if any) are committed and pushed to remote repository.
#If yes, discard the patches before upgrading (git checkout).
#If no, make sure the patches are tested, committed and pushed to remote repository from a dev system.

==Upgrading NEOSYS fully==
NEOSYS can be upgraded in two ways either the evening before the nightly backup or during the day.

Procedure to upgrade NEOSYS during the day.

#Email the management and staff the standard email on upgrade for agreement of time.
#Confirm the date and time and inform the staff about the update.
#During upgrade make sure all users are logged off and follow the installation procedures.
#Once the upgrade is over mail the management and staff the steps they should perform before using NEOSYS.

NEOSYS can also be upgraded with smaller patches by the programmer and this can be done at any time while the users are working.

For any non Dubai client if their weekend falls on Support team's weekday e.g Sunday is a holiday in Beirut/Cyprus, NEOSYS support should schedule upgrades on those days so that Client doesn't face any downtime.

Avoid major upgrades on Sundays because weekend issues have often accumulated and need to be solved and at times the programmer is not available in case issues arise.

===Sample Emails to be sent PRIOR to Upgrading NEOSYS===
Any decision or instructions related to upgrading NEOSYS must be in support@neosys.com i.e. please ensure that all emails are sent to clients while mentioning support@neosys.com in cc.

For situations where the upgrade email was sent out with wrong information, support MUST resend the upgrade email with the correct information to inform all users about the change.

====Informing the client of the intention to upgrade====

Email all users using Email Users option in Help Menu.

'''SAMPLE EMAIL - VERSION 1: Quick Upgrade'''

Quick Upgrade only applies to Clients with less than 10 users, Clients having large installations will always have a planned upgrade.
<pre>
Dear Team,

NEOSYS needs to be upgraded to its latest version because (give reason).

We will upgrade between (selected time period, according to the Client's time zone) on (the selected date, it can be the same day also).

* Please inform all users that they should be logged off during the upgrade.

We will notify you immediately once the upgrade is complete.
</pre>

'''SAMPLE EMAIL - VERSION 2: Planned Upgrade'''

Email MUST be sent no less than 7 WORKING HOURS prior to upgrade, and for large NEOSYS clients with many users as far in advance as possible and no less than 15 WORKING HOURS, so that the client has enough time to bring up any concerns related to the upgrade or its timing.

<pre>
Dear Team,

NEOSYS needs to be upgraded to it's latest version.

Upgrade Schedule:
Time: <8:00am – 9:00am> (mention client time zone if not in UAE)
Date: <26th February 2024>

Changes:
- Various bug fixes
- <New features in Timesheet Module>
- <KSA E-Invoicing integration>

* On the scheduled date, NEOSYS will not be available until the upgrade is complete
* Please contact us immediately if the upgrade needs to be rescheduled.

We will notify you immediately once the upgrade is complete.

Regards,
NEOSYS Support
</pre>

===Downloading===

Latest version of NEOSYS is available at http://www.neosys.com/support/neosys2.exe

Links to latest version and the 8 previous versions of NEOSYS are provided at the bottom of support.htm page ( http://vm1.neosys.com/support.htm )

In NEOSYS servers housed at client location, download neosys2.exe using IE in NEOSYS\downloads folder and rename it to neosys2-(DATE).exe (eg neosys2-10th November 2009.exe) - this is to keep track of the various downloads we do for the client and also allows to install a previous version if needed.

In situations where NEOSYS hosts clients in its own servers, download neosys2.exe into your computer first. Then copy-paste it into the server using SFTP in Tunnelier.

'''*** IMPORTANT: DO NOT RUN/EXECUTE THE NEOSYS EXE FILE NOW ***'''

===Backing up prior to upgrading===
THIS WHOLE BACKUP PROCEDURE IS MANDATORY

Make sure that all NEOSYS users are logged off and the processes are closed before you do any folder copying.

The upgrade procedure includes taking a copy of the programs. If the upgrade fails due to some reason the NEOSYS folder can be reverted back to how it was before the upgrade attempt. Also in case the Client has critical issues using the new version then we will be able to revert them to the old version if the versions are not too different. If this is done by coping the programs back to the original location then no authorisation number will be required. The directories that contain the programs are:

*D:\NEOSYS\NEOSYS
*D:\NEOSYS\NEOSYS.NET

After completing the upgrade, do NOT delete the backup copy of above NEOSYS directories otherwise you will not be able to revert it back in case of issues due to upgrade.

====Small Installations====

#Take a normal proper backup using the NEOSYS Support Menu - for all live databases if there is more than one (this is not required if NEOSYS is being upgraded first thing in the morning before any user has logged in and the nightly backup ran successfully).
#If a USB change was made by the client's IT person prior to doing this manual backup, ensure that after the upgrade is done, the backup file for that manual backup is moved to another location (preferably in a new folder on the D drive)so that the clients backup cycle is not affected by the existence of a days backup in the USB before the cycle actually begins the following morning.

====Large Installations====

This includes multiple installations on the same server eg NEOSYS hosts.

Copying the whole of the D:\NEOSYS folder can take so much time as to be virtually impossible. In this case do the upgrade EARLY IN THE MORNING since all the data will have been backed up the previous night. The NEOSYS nightly backup only backs up data, so you MUST manually take copies of the program folders mentioned above.

===Installing===
PRECAUTION:
DO NOT install versions of NEOSYS older than the one currently installed, even by mistake. LOOK CAREFULLY at the version note when you open the upgrade file.

Run / Execute the .EXE file that you downloaded into the NEOSYS\downloads folder and Install to D:\NEOSYS\ .

Closing NEOSYS processes should happen automatically during upgrade but you can also do it manually as follows:

[[Administering_NEOSYS_Server#Closing_NEOSYS_Services|Closing NEOSYS Services]]

The installation procedure first creates a GLOBAL.END file in the NEOSYS programs folder causing all serving processes to terminate. Maintenance processes must be terminated manually.

Next, the installation procedure attempts to update the WAITING.EXE file and, if the processes haven’t terminated quickly enough, this will fail asking for retry or abort. Retry immediately or once all the processes have terminated.

The last step of the installation procedure is to delete the GLOBAL.END file to allow processes to start normally.

===Restart IIS web server===

This is not necessary for versions of NEOSYS starting Feb 2018 and probably of no effect on prior versions either.

Skip this if you are performing a quick upgrade without getting users offline as restarting IIS kills login sessions therefore forces people to login again.

Quickest way to restart IIS when upgrading is to use the very simple command in the command line as follows:
iisreset

You can also restart the IIS web server either from the IIS service control panel or from the command line as follows:
net stop w3svc
net start w3svc

The objective behind restarting IIS is to avoid the users facing problems using NEOSYS until they clear cache.

===Post installation steps===
New versions of the software sometimes perform quick or long database conversions.

Start NEOSYS in maintenance mode immediately after upgrading, as this will put you more in control if anything goes wrong.

If the upgrade does not require users to clear their cache (because there is no change in the user interface) then BEFORE starting any NEOSYS process, enter maintenance mode and when asked "if you want to email users about the upgrade", select No.

You MUST start a NEOSYS process after upgrade else users will get an error message "database is not available" while logging in.

Set Handler Mappings for win3 clients refer [http://techwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Configuring_IIS#Configure_file_uploads_besides_adding_the_images_directory link]

===NEOSYS version===

You can check the current version of NEOSYS under Menu>Help>About. After an upgrade, changes in the server process software causes an increment in the version date. Unfortunately changes in the NEOSYS user interface only does not always cause an increment in the version date

===Email sent to the Clients after an upgrade===

On starting a NEOSYS process or maintenance mode after an upgrade, NEOSYS will automatically email all the users something like the following:

<pre>
The NEOSYS system software has been upgraded

Please email SUPPORT@NEOSYS.COM for any assistance.
</pre>

Currently this email is only sent to the users in the *first* database started. If there are other live databases in the same NEOSYS installation that users should be emailed then you can trigger the email in maintenance mode for the desired database as follows:

EMAILUSERS UPGRADE

===Sample email to be sent to clients who face issues due to failure in clearing browser cache===
<pre>
Dear XYZ,

You are facing this error because you have failed to clear your browser cache as instructed in the upgrade notification email.
In order to resolve this issue please follow instructions in the following wiki link:

http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Cache

Please seek the help of your IT or NEOSYS-expert colleague to help you with the above step if needed.
</pre>

===Troubleshooting===
If you choose to abort the installation for any reason then the GLOBAL.END file will have to be deleted manually since its presence prevents any processes from starting up.

====Handling "Error opening file for writing" while executing the NEOSYS setup file====

During an upgrade if you see a message saying "Error opening file for writing", this means there is a file which is in use by a process and NEOSYS didnt shutdown yet. You should look for a process which is still running and wait for it to end after that you can click on Retry and proceed with the upgrade. In case the process does not close automatically then investigate for an invisibly hung process and close it.

If the error message still does not go then you can abort the installation, investigate further for any process or file in use and close all processes hung/invisible so that NO process is running. Once this is done, re run the set up file and upgrade the installation.

[[File:Setup.jpg]]

==Upgrading NEOSYS with patch files==
Patch files can be used to update a very recent installation of neosys without doing a full install and without getting people out of NEOSYS.

WARNING: DO *NOT* INSTALL OLDER PATCH FILES ON NEWER VERSIONS OF NEOSYS

Only install patch files dated after the NEOSYS software version date. If in doubt, do a full install.

#Copy the file which is probably something like ADAGENCY.1 or ACCOUNTS.1 to the neosys\neosys folder
#Open Maintenance Mode and Press F5
#Type the command to install the patch as follows:
#:If the filename of the patch file is ADAGENCY.1 then type
#:<pre>INSTALL ADAGENCY</pre>
#:If the filename of the patch file is ACCOUNTS.1 then type
#:<pre>INSTALL ACCOUNTS</pre>
#Follow instructions on screen

==Automatic Upgrades of NEOSYS==

NEOSYS processes by default check monitor.neosys.com for a new version of NEOSYS.

monitor.neosys.com can serve different versions of NEOSYS depending on a script which has access to the source IP no. of the request.

New versions and the script is installed in monitor.neosys.com by NEOSYS IT on request by NEOSYS support.

Automatic upgrades have been available for years but it has never been used in practice since upgrading all NEOSYS clients at once is too risky. If anything goes wrong then NEOSYS support will be overwhelmed with work from many clients at the same time. NEOSYS' rolling upgrade strategy works far better.

==Quick Upgrade==
In certain cases, we may have to perform an upgrade during client's working hours without causing much delay to client for certain minor bug fixes. In such a situation there are no upgrade emails sent prior to upgrading the client and consequently we are not asking the users to log off from the system. Look on Support menu for "List of documents in use" to get an idea of who is working on what to reduce the chance of loss of work.

Procedure:

#Backup the NEOSYS folder.
#*Go to the folder where NEOSYS is installed, select the NEOSYS and neosys.net folders, copy & paste i.e. ctrl+c & ctrl+v
#Download the latest version of NEOSYS from http://www.neosys.com/support/neosys2.exe in NEOSYS\downloads folder and rename it to neosys2-(DATE).exe
#Run the exe file
#Restart NEOSYS processes on the server immediately after the installation has completed!

Uninstalling clients hosted on NEOSYS Server

2024-04-01T05:54:43Z

Arvind:

This must be done in the following circumstances:

#Reinstallation on other servers
#Reinstallation on clients own server
#Termination of contract
#Any other reason

NEOSYS needs to:

#Ensure that the databases can no longer be logged in to by accident or design.
#Ensure that for a reasonable period of time that NEOSYS can be re-enabled in case of error or change in circumstances.

Include admin@neosys.com when sending emails regarding this subject.

====Stage 1. Disabling====

1. Ensure that the services for the client being uninstalled have been stopped.
./doall <dbname> stop

2. Delete the website
./doall <dbname> delete_site

3. Disable the service, otherwise the services will start up every time ex1 reboots.
./doall <dbname> disable

4. In doall, comment out the line corresponding to the client being uninstalled. Do this in dev as well and push the changes to neosys git.

5. Comment the lines for the stopped installation in the Nagios config file so that Nagios stops alerting for it. (edit: genclients.sh)

6. Strike-through the terminated client's link on support home page (support.htm).

7. Create Thunderbird reminder to permanently delete the client 1 year later.

====Stage 2. Permanent Deletion====

We keep ex client data for up to one year before deleting, but after this period:

1. Retain a copy of the client's latest backup sql.gz file in a separate directory (in ex1:/backups/current/deleted as of 3/4/2023)

2. Delete the database and service
sudo -u postgres dropdb <dbname>
sudo -u postgres dropdb <dbname_test>
./doall <dbname> delete_service

3. Delete client directory from /root/hosts directory.
rm -r ~/hosts/<dbname>

4. Remove the terminated client's link from support home page (support.htm).

5. Delete the associated entry from Zone Edit.

6. In doall, delete the line corresponding to the client being uninstalled. Do this in dev as well and push the changes to neosys git.

7. Delete the lines for the stopped installation in the Nagios config file (edit: genclients.sh).

Troubleshooting NEOSYS Finance System

2024-03-26T07:01:10Z

Arvind: /* Running CHK.VOUCHERS */

==Using Finance Maintenance Mode fixing tools==
<div style="color:red">

Follow the instructions below before you proceed with fixing CCB errors with any check/fix:

Do not do mass fixes eg “Add/Delete ALL xyz” options from a year in the past eg 2007 while only checking accounts for 2009. You must CHECK EVERYTHING THAT YOU REQUEST TO BE FIXED.

The various fixing tools like CHK.ALLOC etc are impossible to make safe in all circumstances so if you don’t really know what you are doing you assume the WORST not the BEST with these fixing tools.

''CHECK EVERYTHING YOU “FIX”!!!''

Do not go back risking fixes in prior years for which Finance has been closed, unless absolutely necessary.

While checking/fixing a CCB error, check and fix any other errors if present to avoid CCB's in future.

After doing check/fixes, all accounts should be tested for cross check balance errors. Do this by taking ledger printout for the whole year for all accounts.

IF YOU DO NOT FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY YOU CAN END UP MODIFYING AUDITED ACCOUNTS AND IT WILL TAKE DAYS FOR PROGRAMMERS TO TRY AND CORRECT THE DAMAGE YOU CAUSE OR EVEN REQUIRE A RESTORE OF A BACKUP CAUSING LOSS OF MANY DAYS WORK TO THE CLIENT
</div>

==Cross-Year Cross Check Balance Warnings==

When you use Opening Balance Journals, NEOSYS does not guarantee that the opening balances of one year match the closing balance of a prior year. This occurs quite normally and commonly occurs in the situations described below.

Regardless of the cause, in such cases, any statement or ledger account of movements (not open items) that crosses the disjoint years will have a "cross check balance" note at the bottom of the account. A cross check balance warning is just a warning that the closing balance of the account (as calculated from a simple total of the opening balance in the old year plus all transactions) does not agree with the actual account balance according to the trial balance in the new year.

If the opening balance of the account in the second year is not equal to the closing balance in the prior year then logically the two years cannot be viewed as a single continuous account and agree with the trial balance.

===Posting into years prior to Opening Balance===

When you start up a company in one year using Opening Balance Journals then the closing balances of the prior years remain zero. If you thereafter start to post into prior years, the closing balances of those years will remain in disagreement with the opening balance of the following years.

'''Solution'''

If you wish to obtain cross-year accounts between years, and you wish such account's balances to agree with the later year trial balance, then you must arrange for the closing balances of the prior years to agree with the opening balances of the following years.

To do this, ensure that any Opening Balance Journals that are posted into any particular year are also posted into all prior financial years of interest, or better, post them directly into the earliest year and any following years will automatically be updated as normal.

===Opening Balance Journals===

If you post Opening Balance Journals into one year for any reason, they are not posted into prior years. Therefore the opening balances of the amended year become different from the prior year.

In this respect, auditors amendments to opening balances should be posted as normal journals in the final period of the prior year and not as Opening Balance Journals in the current year.

===Producing Historical Accounts===

As mentioned above, if you post Opening Balance Journals into one year, they are not posted into prior years. For such accounts, NEOSYS will show Cross Check Balance warning if you take a ledger account or statement of account report across multiple years including years prior to the Opening Balance Journal posting. e.g. if an account has opening balance entry in 2011, and no entries in 2010, then ledger account report with period setting 2010 - 2018 will show Cross Check Balance warning.

'''Solution'''

To avoid this Cross Check Balance warning, in the report period settings exclude years prior to the Opening Balance Journal posting, since the account anyway has no entries in the prior years.

=== Producing P&L and Retained Earnings Accounts ===
Refer to [https://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Finance_System#Cross_Check_Balance_error_on_all_Profit_and_Loss_accounts_and_Retained_Earnings_account CCB on P&L and Retained Earnings accounts]

==Fixing "Cross Check Balance" warnings using CHK.ALLOC==

Cross Check Balance Message on an account means the total of the outstanding items in an account does not match the balance as in the movement - typically the outstanding shows a higher balance than the balance in the movement, but might not always be the case. The reasons why this may happen is because of the following:

*Reposting journals containing allocated items (which NEOSYS doesnt handle in all circumstances)
*Failing to clear open item accounts on a regular basis where the number of postings is high

This procedure only applies to CCB on the outstanding item type statements which are the more common problem. CCB on movement accounts are rarer, more serious and cannot be fixed by this procedure.

This might not always fix the CCB warnings and hence you will need to escalate to the programmer.

<pre>
!!! WARNING !!!

This is a dangerous procedure.
IF YOU DO NOT FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY YOU CAN END UP MODIFYING AUDITED ACCOUNTS AND AUDITORS/ACCOUNTANTS AND IT WILL TAKE DAYS FOR PROGRAMMERS TO TRY AND CORRECT THE DAMAGE YOU CAUSE!

DO THIS ON TESTDATA FIRST
</pre>

This can be run while other users are online.

While running the command, monitor the lines coming up on the screen for any warnings. In case you make any changes and select "Yes" or "Yes to all" for any message, you should re run the command again until clean.

This exact procedure restores vouchers missing from open item accounts:

*Exodus TEST Database
<pre>
1. /root/neosys/test <DBCODE>
2. After startup press "x" key.
3. Type: "chkalloc"
</pre>
*Exodus LIVE Database
<pre>
1. Stop all LIVE processes. (pressing x won't return prompt to enter check command if other LIVE processes running)
2. Run /root/neosys/run <DBCODE>
3. After startup press "x" key.
4. Type: "chkalloc"
</pre>
*AREV Both LIVE and TEST databases
<pre>
F5
UTIL (nothing happens at this stage as its a background process and gives you access to the next command)
CHK.ALLOC
</pre>

Minimum voucher year.period?

Generally go back as little as possible to cover vouchers that might be missing from O/I accounts.

Which account do you want or blank for all?

You MUST search for all accounts. Entering one account WILL NOT WORK since it will only check vouchers already on the open item accounts and we are looking for those that are missing.

IGNORE OR RESPOND NEGATIVELY to all messages or questions EXCEPT the following:

Missing from O/I index?

Select "Yes" or "Yes to all"

===Meaning of other messages===

1. The following message pair does not usually cause cross check balances and indicates that they have cancelled some foreign currency allocation since allocation should not cause and change in rate.

IN*175510*C 20/01/08 ALMA 4/2 REC*4440*C allocation base outstanding -7326.15 expected -6762.60 (-563.550,.08333333)
IN*175510*C 20/01/08 ALMA 4/2 REC*4440*C allocation changed exchange rate from .08333333 to .07692308

2. For the following message, you MUST choose "Leave all" , otherwise risk damage to closed audited prior year accounts:

Account numbers do not agree. Delete the allocation?

3. For the following message, choose "Add it to other voucher" ONLY for the voucher/account that needs fixing. Do not choose "Add all" unless you know each and every allocation that will be added, as it could cause problems such as allocating to vouchers that are already allocated i.e. causing double allocations. You MUST check everything that you request to be fixed.

Allocation is missing ?

4. For the following message, choose "Skip further Warnings":

Amounts do not agree - please fix manually

===Re-enabling CCB warning mail notifications===
NEOSYS is pre-configured to send out email notifications (to the same group of people who receive the backup alerts) when a Cross Check Balance (CCB) warning is found for the first time on an account. That means there will be only 1 email notification irrespective of the times the warning occurs until it is fixed.

After the CCB is fixed or after clearing or otherwise eliminating the same, you need to delete the CCB file in D:\neosys\neosys to re-enable NEOSYS to resend notification by email after it discovers CCB warnings on that account again in the future.

==Fixing "Cross Check Balance" warning using CHK.VINDEX==

YOU MUST READ AND APPLY THE GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS WRITTEN FOR CHK.ALLOC AS WELL FOR CHK.VINDEX

This program can fix a few CCB warnings that CHK.ALLOC cannot - including some in balance forward type accounts (ie not open item/outstanding item accounts) .

Not all the possible fixes are described here and any messages which are not described here should be responded to NEGATIVELY!

CCB error for [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Finance_System#Fixing_Error:_.22A.2Fc._.3F.3F.3F.22_message_in_account_of_outstanding_items Wrong A/C] can be fixed by running CHK.VINDEX

===Different account - Delete the index entry?===
<pre>
51841 voucher_index recs
"*P831*1" L=8 V=PUR*180123*1 30/06/18 B=13653 "P831" different account "P823"
========================================
"*P831*1" L=8 V=PUR*180123*1 30/06/18 B=13653 "P831" different account "P823"
Delete the index entry?
*1. No
2. Yes
3. Delete None
4. Delete All
Please enter 1 - 4 or Enter to default or 0 to cancel.
? 1
</pre>

Select Yes.

===Missing Voucher - Delete the index entry?===
<pre>
2500. *JOB4714*1"1401*815*1ü815" "1ü815" bad company
"1401*815*1ü815" L=1 V=PUR*11516:7*1ü815 15/01/14 missing voucher
========================================
"1401*815*1ü815" L=1 V=PUR*11516:7*1ü815 15/01/14 missing voucher
Delete the index entry?
*1. No
2. Yes
3. Delete None
4. Delete All
Please enter 1 - 4 or Enter to default or 0 to cancel.
? 1
</pre>

Select Yes.

===Different Date - Correct index entry?===
<pre>
"*P831*1" L=8 V=PUR*180123*1 30/06/18 B=13653 different date "12/02/18"
========================================
"*P831*1" L=8 V=PUR*180123*1 30/06/18 B=13653 different date "12/02/18"
Correct index entry?
*1. No
2. Yes
3. Correct None
4. Correct All
Please enter 1 - 4 or Enter to default or 0 to cancel.
? 1
</pre>

Select Yes.

===Commit or Revert current changes===
<pre>
Finished in 2 mins, 45 secs
What next boss ?
========================================
Commit any database updates ?
1. Commit
2. Rollback
Please enter 1 - 2
? 0
</pre>

Select 1 to commit changes.

==Checking if a voucher is fully posted==

Sometimes due to some kind of system error a batch is not fully posted then one voucher in the batch may be half-posted. Any remaining vouchers in the batch (after/below) will almost certainly be completely unposted.

To see if this has happened, first identify which voucher is problematic and then check if the first and last lines of the voucher are correctly posted by seeing if the voucher appears in their respective ledger accounts.

===First line is not posted===

If the first line does not appear then probably the whole voucher is not posted at all.

Reposting the voucher may successfully solve the problem but see [http://techwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Finance_System#Reposting_a_Batch_in_Journal_Entry Reposting a batch] and [http://techwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Finance_System#Fixing_.22Cross_Check_Balance.22_warnings_using_CHK.ALLOC Cross Check Balance] to avoid potential issues in reposting.

===Last line is not posted===

If the first line appears but the last line does not appear as posted in its ledger account then the voucher is "HALF POSTED". This breaks the all important law of double entry accounting and the trial balance will not balance.

Reposting the voucher will not solve the problem because the system does not take into account that the voucher is half posted when it is reversing the original voucher during the repost.

===First and last lines are posted===

In the case there is no problem. The voucher is fully posted and the half-posted issue is not present

==Voucher number missing from posted batches==

In some cases voucher numbers are missing from posted batches.

There could be several reasons why the voucher numbers are missing. The voucher number is generated but does not reflect on the batch or the voucher number did not get generated at the time of posting. We are still investigating the root cause to this problem.

For both cases, take a ledger print out for the account the voucher number is missing and check if the voucher number is present in the ledger print out.

===1. The entries in the batch reflect on the ledger print===

If the entries reflect in the ledger print out, open the voucher file and investigate why the voucher number did not appear when the batch was posted.

The voucher numbers will appear in the batch when the batch is re-saved. The same voucher numbers appears as it was in the voucher file.

===2. The entry in the batch does not reflect on the ledger print===

If the voucher file is not present in the ledger print out, open the batch and investigate why the voucher number did not generate when the batch was posted.

The voucher numbers will be generated when the batch is re-saved but not in sequence number. Notify clients the batches are re-saved and the voucher number will not be in sequence.

===Solution===

Run CHK.VOUCHERS and check for errors. Then re-save the batch.

The authorisation to re-save a batch is restricted to NEOSYS and a few client users at the moment.

====Running CHK.VOUCHERS====

This exact procedure restores vouchers missing from open item accounts:

*Exodus TEST Database
<pre>
1. /root/neosys/test <DBCODE>
2. After startup press "x" key.
3. Type: "chkvouchers"
</pre>
*Exodus LIVE Database
<pre>
1. Stop all LIVE processes. (pressing x won't return prompt to enter check command if other LIVE processes running)
2. Run /root/neosys/run <DBCODE>
3. After startup press "x" key.
4. Type: "chkvouchers"
</pre>
*AREV Both LIVE and TEST databases
<pre>
F5
UTIL (nothing happens at this stage as its a background process and gives you access to the next command)
CHK.ALLOC
</pre>

When running CHK.VOUCHERS, respond to prompts as shown below. Generally respond negatively to prompts which are not specified below, but in TEST datasets you can experiment by responding positively.

Choose "Yes" for the following message:

Missing from batch but matching ref with no voucher can be found. Add it?

Choose "No" for the following message:

Delete empty unposted / deleted voucher ?

Choose "Yes or All" for the following message:

Account “ XYZ” type is “ COST” , but the voucher analysis code “28*1*COMPANYCODE*XYZ” is type “ BILL/INCOME” .
Fix voucher analysis code to be COST and repost? :---- YES/ALL

Choose "All" for the following message. This is to keep the file "clean" of messages but does not actually cause any changes in the rest of the system.

Account "XYZ" is "JOBS", but the voucher analysis code "28*1*clientcode**marketcode*suppliercode*mediatypecode" is "MEDIA"
Fix voucher analysis code is to be JOBS and repost?

After doing check/fix, all accounts should be tested for cross check balance errors. Do this by taking ledger printout for the whole year for all accounts.

==[http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Finance_System#Why_does_an_outstanding_not_appear_while_taking_a_ledger_printout Fixing CCB errors that do not get fixed with CHK.ALLOC, CHK.VINDEX or CHK.VOUCHERS]==

==Using CHK.POST to fix some types of Cross Check Balance (CCB) errors==

CHK.POST can be used to fix/recreate the BALANCES files. This could be useful in the following cases:

#Some stubborn Cross Check Balance errors
#BALANCES file is damaged (use [[Handling_damaged_files#Using_FIXFILE_to_repair_corrupted_files|FIXFILE]] first)

Use it strictly only after ALL other errors have been fixed using the usual CHK programs

*CHK.VOUCHERS
*CHK.VINDEX
*CHK.ALLOC
*CHK.BATCHES
*CHK.BALANCES
*CHK.ACCOUNTS
*CHK.CHARTS
*CHK.CONTROLS
*CHK.OB (As of 12/2/19: Only Bates and AdlineD can parameters be entered in UI, whereas in TEST and other clients, editing of program code must be done to tailor the program to check what you want. E.g a period)

[[Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Finance_System#Check_steps_of_each_CHK_program|What checks are performed on in each CHK routine]]

This program adjusts the balances in the trial balance reports (which also show in the “Cross Check Balance phrase on the Detailed Ledger Accounts) to match the vouchers found in the voucher file. Note that CHK.ALLOC and CHK.VINDEX have no effect on these figures and instead amend the transactions shown on the Detailed Ledger Account - and thereby the totals on the same report so that they agree with the CCB amount and thereby the conflict is resolved.

Most CCB in NEOSYS are related to problems on outstanding item accounts and are fixed with the CHK.ALLOC program. More rarely, problems occur in the movement accounts and are fixed with the CHK.VINDEX program - although this can also fix some errors in outstanding item statements. Even more rarely will the problem be on the Trial Balances/CCB balances and can be fixed with this CHK.POST procedure

WARNING! This solution may make things worse so don’t use on live data unless EXHAUSTIVELY checked that everything is ok on test data first.

WARNING! Don’t go back and “correct” previous years which have been closed because auditors expect them never to change (EVEN IF THEY ARE WRONG!) and it can be impossible to put them back “wrong” if you “correct” them.

WARNING! If you correct previous years then you must [[Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Finance_System#Redo_Open_New_Year_procedure| rerun the Open New Year procedure]] for all prior years.

#In maintenance mode press Alt+1
#Enter the range of periods that you want to check/adjust the trial balance for e.g. 1/9-7/9 for 1st Period of 2009 up to the 7th period of 2009.
#Press F9 and Esc
#Press F5 and type CHK.POST
#What stage to start at? Choose “Select Vouchers”
#Clear the updated balances file? Choose “Clear it”
#OK to Start? … OK
#If there are any discrepancies found between the Trial Balance Balances/CCB balances … and the Vouchers in the file you will get some fairly cryptic questions asking you, one by one, if you want to fix the balances.

IMPORTANT

#It is advised that you only fix the balances which refer to the accounts that you are concerned about. You will find the account number buried in the cryptic questions referred to above.
#If you fix subsidiary account balances then MAKE SURE that you also fix the control accounts balances (if you are prompted).

==B10 & B12 Errors==

The error might be displayed as follows :

ERROR NO: B10 IN DAYBOOK.SUBSX AT 133
Variable has not been assigned a value. Zero used.

This error should have said something like : "The ledgers are closed up to the period you have just tried to post" OR "Financial Year 2011 must be opened before you post into it."

Try again and you would see the exact message if you have not opened the new year as yet.

==Fixing "Index has been deleted" message==

===Error Message===

The index record "TEXT.XREF*abc*xyz"
has been deleted.
The index for "TEXT.XREF"
should be rebuilt.

===Solution===

[http://techwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Handling_damaged_files#Fixing_damaged_index_files_.28names_starting_with_.21.29 Perform REINDEXVOUCHERS in maintenance mode].

==Reposting a Batch in Journal Entry==
The authorisation to repost a batch is restricted to NEOSYS and a few client users at the moment. Reposting a batch will repost all the vouchers in the batch. See [[Procedures#Amending.2FReposting_Journal_Entries|Amending/Reposting Journal Entries]]

See [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Finance_System#Correcting_mistakes_in_postings Correcting mistakes in postings] for NEOSYS policy for correcting mistakes in journal postings.

Warning: Reposting journals that are already allocated will create cross check balance errors, so before reposting, any allocations should be de-allocated to avoid these errors.

Reposting a batch should be done in TEST dataset first. After reposting, all accounts should be tested for cross check balance errors. Do this by taking ledger printout for the whole year for all accounts.

#Client must de-allocate vouchers which need to be amended
#NEOSYS support staff must wait for a day so that de-allocated vouchers are copied into Test database
#Authorise required users to amend and repost (without record) '''in Test database only''' (While reposting, we have 2 options i.e. with record and without record. The 'with record' option causes the system to maintain a history of edits made. Hence, we want to repost without record so that there is no trace of the edit in the system)
#Amend a substantial number of vouchers in Test and verify them. To verify if the edits made are reflected:
#<nowiki>*Print all ledgers for the whole year</nowiki>
#<nowiki>*Cross-check all balances</nowiki>
#Once you verify the balances are correct in Test database, grant users permission to amend and repost in the Live database.
#Ask users to amend and repost vouchers in the Live database.
#Cross-check all balances for the current year.
#If you successfully verify the balances, revoke permissions immediately. Else, wait for 24 hours and revoke permissions irrespectively.

==Editing and Reposting Vouchers==

WARNING: Can cause effectively irreversible damage to the finance database requiring restoration of a suitable backup causing loss of data and/or total loss of database if backup not available.

It is almost impossible to edit and repost vouchers and keep the audit trail correct so this procedure is of limited use. The stages are UNPOST, EDIT, REPOST.

Must be done on test data and advisable to run CHK.VOUCHERS afterwards.

===UNPOST===
F5
UNPOST XXX*YYYYY*ZZZ

Where:

*XXX is the voucher type/journal code
*YYY is the voucher number
*ZZZ is the company code

Any problems with the voucher might generate messages but the problems will be reverse the problems which must have occurred when posting the voucher in the first place.

===EDIT===
F5
ED VOUCHERS XXX*YYYYY*ZZZ

For example, if due to a neosys system error, the ZZZ999 suspense account has been used instead of some missing internal system accounts like exchange gain/loss accounts then you can insert the correct account.

Change line 8 (which contains the account numbers) from:

REZO²REZO²BMDI²BMDI²²

to

REZO²REZO²BMDI²BMDI²EXDI²EXDI

where EXDI is the ORIGINAL A/c No. of the Exchange Difference A/c.

F9, ESC to save and exit

===REPOST===

F5
REPOST XXX*YYYYY*ZZZ

==Removing strange outstanding items on accounts that have balance of zero==

Sometimes running CHK.ALLOC on periods too far back in time causes old items to be incorrectly resurrected and become outstanding.

If the account balance is zero in the current period and has been for some years then you can simply delete all outstanding items.

Assuming the (original) account number is AAAA and the company code is CC, in maintenance mode, F5.

DELETE VOUCHER.INDEX *AAAA*CC

It should say "1 Item(s) deleted"

==Reinstating Open Item Statements after Clear Open Items==

WARNING: DO THIS PROCESS ON TEST DATA FIRST TO VERIFY THAT IT DOES NOT CAUSE CROSS CHECK BALANCE ERRORS

WARNING: THIS PROCESS MAY CAUSE CROSS CHECK BALANCE ERRORS BY REINSTATING "ANCIENT CORRUPT VOUCHERS"

"CHECK BACK" AS FEW YEARS AS NEEDED TO INCLUDE ALL VOUCHERS THAT COULD BE OPEN/OUTSTANDING AT THE DESIRED PERIOD.

It is not easy to know how far to "check back" for open items so go back two years initially unless it is known that there may be items outstanding from even earlier years.

===1. Check, solve, record all existing cross check balances===

Restoring open items may create cross check balance errors so first you need to fix all EXISTING cross check balance errors in the database.

Do not proceed to the next step until this step is complete otherwise you will have no idea what problems were created by CHK.ALLOC and what problems were in the database before.

Expect no sympathy from programmers if you ignore this or fail to work on testdata first.

First print ***ALL*** open item ledger accounts to check for existing cross check balances in open item accounts.

Correct all "cross check balances" using the usual procedures to do so.

Note that cross check balances are unavoidable on some *extremely large* open item accounts. This does not mean that you can ignore cross check balances on merely large accounts. They must be fixed.

Save copies of the detailed ledger accounts of any *extremely large" open items accounts that you have not fixed their cross check balances.

===2. Edit back the Company File "cleared-upto period"===

Complete this step quickly if users are working online - in order not to lock the company file for longer than it takes to change the "cleared upto period".

In maintenance mode, press F5. example company code X. Do this for all companies that need to.

ED COMPANIES X

change line 17 to be the last period (YYMM) desired to have been cleared.

DONT add or delete any lines!

F9, Esc

===3. Run CHK.ALLOC===

This process can be run while users are working since there is a only a very slight chance that they will be posting the same account at the time that the program is updating its open item voucher index.

====Exodus====

*Exodus TEST Database
<pre>
1. /root/neosys/test <DBCODE>
2. After startup press "x" key.
3. Type: "chkalloc"
</pre>
*Exodus LIVE Database
<pre>
1. Stop all LIVE processes. (pressing x won't return prompt to enter check command if other LIVE processes running)
2. Run /root/neosys/run <DBCODE>
3. After startup press "x" key.
4. Type: "chkalloc"
</pre>

Enter minimum period to start check from.
<pre>
/root/hosts/test/work Command? chkalloc
Begin transaction
Making a new document/report 52360178.htm:
----------------------------------------
Minimum voucher year.period to check?
(0 for all)
201601
</pre>

Enter 1 for all accounts. Enter 2 if you want to look at a specific a/c.
<pre>
========================================
CHK.ALLOC
*1. All Vouchers/Accounts
2. One Account`s Indexed Vouchers Only
Please enter 1 - 2 or Enter to default or 0 to cancel.
? 1
</pre>

Enter specific a/c no. or press Enter for all.
<pre>
----------------------------------------
Which account do you want ?
Give the account number or name,
or press [Enter] if not known.
(separate multiple entries with spaces)
?
</pre>

Choose option 3 (Yes to all).
<pre>
REC*1:2*1 12/03/19 OPTI,A 2/ (Unposted) Voucher "REC*1:2*1" ln:2 missing from index "*OPTI*A"
========================================
Missing from O/I index
Add it? (5.4KB)
1. Yes
*2. No
3. Yes to all
4. No to all
5. Yes to all "*OPTI*A"
6. No to all "OPTI"
7. Skip all unposted vouchers
Please enter 1 - 7 or Enter to default or 0 to cancel.
? 2
</pre>

====AREV====

In maintenance mode press F5

CHK.ALLOC

Minimum is how far to go back. See explanation above.
<pre>
╔═══════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Minimum voucher year.period to check? ║
║ (0 for all) ║
║<200801 >║
╚═══════════════════════════════════════╝
</pre>

Which account do you want? PRESS ESC (or Enter+Esc)
<pre>
╔═════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Which account do you want ? ║
║ ║
║ Give the account number or name, ║
║ or press [Enter] if not known. ║
║ (separate multiple entries with spaces) ║
║< >║
╚═════════════════════════════════════════╝
</pre>
Add it? ... Choose "Yes to All"
<pre>
╔═══════════════════════════╗
║ Missing from O/I index ║
║ Add it? (1.1KB) ║
║───┬───────────────────────║
║ 1│Yes ║
║ 2│No ║
║ 3>Yes to all <-THIS ONE ║
║ 4│No to all ║
║ 5│Yes to all *HAEX*FZ ║
║ 6│No to all *HAEX*FZ ║
╚═══════════════════════════╝
</pre>

===4. Check for cross check balances===

Print ***ALL*** open item ledger accounts to check for any additional cross check balances in open item accounts.

For speed, omit old WIPxx and ACCxx ledgers since their accounts are probably all closed.

If you have any ADDITIONAL cross check balances compared to those recorded in step 1, then you can rerun step 3 and "check back" a little earlier. Try one year earlier at a time - to avoid the problem of reinstating "ancient corrupt vouchers".

==Speeding up CHK.VOUCHERS CHK.ALLOC==

When running the above programs takes time due to a large number of vouchers, then you can speed up the process by prebuilding a filter and using it on each invocation of the program. This filter is lost when you login again.

For example, if you want to check vouchers for account numbers XXXX, YYYY and ZZZZ in financial period 2004.01 and onwards

SELECT VOUCHERS WITH YEAR_PERIOD GE "14.01" AND WITH ACCOUNT "XXXX" "YYYY" "ZZZZ"

wait for it to say "xxxx record(s) selected" briefly and then show blank command line again, then type

SAVELIST XYZ

then each time just before you run CHK.VOUCHERS and CHK.ALLOC you can do the following to make them only look at the selected vouchers

GETLIST XYZ

==Check steps of each CHK program==

===Run CHK.ALLOC===

Check the VOUCHERS file

Checks that allocations occur in pairs and that both sides refer to the same account number and are in the same financial period.

Checks not allocated more than the amount/base amount on the voucher.

Checks open items (not allocated or not fully allocated) exist in the open item records of the voucher index file.

Checks that allocations do not cause a rate change since automatic revaluation is supposed to occur on allocation.

===Run CHK.CONTROLS===

Checks the BALANCES file.

Check that the control account balances agree with the total of the balances of their subsidiary accounts.

===Run CHK.VOUCHERS===

Checks a lot of things in the VOUCHERS File.

===Run CHK.BATCHES===

Check the BATCHES file (Journals File).

Checks journal type, company code and currency codes are valid.

For each voucher check that it is not missing and that its voucher period, posted/unposted state and Journal No. agree with that of the Journal.

Checks amounts and base amounts are all numeric.

Checks base currency entries have matching base amount entries ie if base is USD then amount is 100USD and base is 100 (101 or something else).

For posted batches, checks A/c Nos. are valid.

===Run CHK.VINDEX===

Checks the VOUCHER.INDEX file.

For each entry in the index ie line on a ledger account.

Checks for ledger entries that have problems eg wrong account or missing voucher.

Checks A/c No, currency code, journal type and company code are valid.

Checks open items indexes are only for open item accounts.

Checks Journal type OB does not exist on movement indexes.

Checks that reversed batches have matching reversal batch and vice versa.

Checks vouchers exist.

Checks that the voucher period, date, currency and A/c No. agrees with the index.

===Run CHK.OB===

Check the BALANCES file.

Checks that opening balances are correct versus closing balances for accounts that are neither closed nor closing accounts.

===Run CHK.BALANCES===

Checks the BALANCES file.

Checks A/c No., currency code, voucher type and company code are all valid.

Checks balances are all numeric.

Checks the decimal places of balances of base currency are not more than the standard number of base currency decimal places.

Checks the base currency record references to all other currencies is alphabetical.

Checks all non-base currency balance records are referenced on the base currency record.

===Run CHK.CHARTS===

Checks the CHARTS and LEDGERS files.

Checks A/c and Original A/c are valid ie exist in ACCOUNTS file.

Checks any company and currency codes are valid.

Checks the internal lookup tables in DEFINITIONS file are correct.

===Run CHK.ACCOUNTS===

Checks the ACCOUNTS file.

Checks accounts exist in the Chart File.

Checks the account records representing Account and Orig A/c No. refer to each other symmetrically.

Checks that any Control A/c, Closing A/c, Company code and Currency code is valid and match the same in the Chart File.

==Fixing opening balance of new year does not agree with the closing balance of the previous year==

In order to fix this problem, redo the open new year procedure for the problematic year, where recreating opening balances (which is part of the opennewyear.subs program) should fix the issue.

===Reopen New Year or Redo Open New Year procedure===

You can reopen a year using the below command.

*Exodus TEST Database
<pre>
1. /root/neosys/test <DBCODE>
2. Press x and then type reopenyear <Companycodes> YYYY
3. Press x and then run chkob. Include a few prior years as well to ensure all balances are fine.
</pre>

*Exodus LIVE Database
<pre>
1. Stop all LIVE processes. (pressing x won't return prompt to enter check command if other LIVE processes running)
2. Run /root/neosys/run <DBCODE>
3. Press x and then type reopenyear <Companycodes> YYYY
4. Press x and then run chkob. Include a few prior years as well to ensure all balances are fine.
</pre>

*AREV

REOPENYEAR <Companycodes> YYYY
<pre>
Media Production Finance Management Timesheets Files General Exit
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒╒═══════════════════════════════════TCL - 2══════════════════════════════════╕▒
▒│ │▒
▒│ :REOPENYEAR A,AA 2020 │▒
▒│ │▒
▒╘════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
</pre>

In Maintenance mode, run CHK.OB and include a few prior years as well to ensure all balances are fine.
<pre>
Media Production Finance Management Timesheets Files General Exit
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒╒═══════════════════════════════════TCL - 2══════════════════════════════════╕▒
▒│ │▒
▒│ :chk.ob │▒
▒│ │▒
▒╘════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒║ Years to check? ║▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒║ (0 or starting year for all, but only checks forward ║▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒║ ie ob v cb not backward cb v ob) ║▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒║<15 16 17 18 19 >║▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
</pre>

Implementing NEOSYS

2024-02-13T05:26:52Z

Arvind: /* Setting up the System Configuration File */

==Setting up the System Configuration File==
See [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/System_Configuration_File System Configuration File] for detailed description. The following points are essential configuration and must not be ignored.

#All configurations must be carefully done after evaluating which [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/System_Configuration_File#Scope Scope] they fall under.
#Configure alert email addresses in the System Configuration File (make sure that there is at least 1 person from the client management [ ] and one person from client IT [ ] who receives the backup alert)
#Configure [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/System_Configuration_File#Web_Address_and_Description URL/Web Address] to access NEOSYS. This is very important for a Timesheet module installation as the approver links are picked up from the configuration.
#Set the User Timezone
#Set up [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/System_Configuration_File#Email_Domains Email Domains] and [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/System_Configuration_File#IP_numbers IP Numbers]. Support staff MUST add the client's email domain to NEOSYS internal email whitelist (Webmin > Servers - SpamAssassin Mail Filter > Allowed and Denied Addresses), so that emails from this client do not get automatically marked as spam.
#If NEOSYS is hosted by the client, then add the client's outgoing public IP address to Zoneedit > manage > DNS Settings > TXT > EDIT > neosys.com , otherwise email providers may refused to receive emails from the client's NEOSYS server. The outgoing IP number can be found by doing Ctrl+u on an email from the client's NEOSYS server and checking the "Received: from" section.
#Set up [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/System_Configuration_File#Sender_Email_Address Sender Email Address]. Support staff MUST add the Sender Email Address to the aliases for support@neosys.com (Virtualmin > Mail Options > Edit Mail Aliases). Then send a test email to the Sender Email Address to check whether the sent email is received in support@neosys.com inbox

==Start neosysddns service for Client's with dynamic ip==

See [[NEOSYS_DDNS_Service#Starting_Windows_service_on_the_client_server|Starting NEOSYS DDNS Service]] to start the neosysddns service so that NEOSYS monitoring server at monitor.neosys.com updates zonedit.com with the latest ip of the client server.

You MUST check if the ip is actually getting updated otherwise if the ip changes and neosysddns is not working we will lose access to the server. See [[NEOSYS_DDNS_Service#Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_DDNS_Service|Troubleshooting NEOSYS DDNS Service]] for commands to do so.

==Update Support.htm==
Add the new client to the list of clients page.

See [http://itwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Updating_Support.htm Updating Support.htm]

==Setting up a new company in the new database==
Refer to the [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Setting_up_multi_company_installations_/_Setting_up_a_new_company#Draft_email_requesting_info_required_to_add_new_company_to_existing_database sample email for New Company creation in existing Database/New Database]

Once the new company is added to the database:
#Set up exchange rate as "1" for the base currency by going to the Currency and Exchange Rate File
#Delete “Client X” from the Client and Brand File
#Set the letterhead refer to [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Configuring_Letterhead Configuring Letterhead]

Change the system mark for each of the new databases that were created. See [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Setting_up_and_Configuring_NEOSYS_Generally#Configuring_Client_Security_mark Configuring Client Security Mark]

Troubleshooting NEOSYS Finance System

2024-02-09T10:13:54Z

Arvind: /* Reopen New Year or Redo Open New Year procedure */

==Using Finance Maintenance Mode fixing tools==
<div style="color:red">

Follow the instructions below before you proceed with fixing CCB errors with any check/fix:

Do not do mass fixes eg “Add/Delete ALL xyz” options from a year in the past eg 2007 while only checking accounts for 2009. You must CHECK EVERYTHING THAT YOU REQUEST TO BE FIXED.

The various fixing tools like CHK.ALLOC etc are impossible to make safe in all circumstances so if you don’t really know what you are doing you assume the WORST not the BEST with these fixing tools.

''CHECK EVERYTHING YOU “FIX”!!!''

Do not go back risking fixes in prior years for which Finance has been closed, unless absolutely necessary.

While checking/fixing a CCB error, check and fix any other errors if present to avoid CCB's in future.

After doing check/fixes, all accounts should be tested for cross check balance errors. Do this by taking ledger printout for the whole year for all accounts.

IF YOU DO NOT FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY YOU CAN END UP MODIFYING AUDITED ACCOUNTS AND IT WILL TAKE DAYS FOR PROGRAMMERS TO TRY AND CORRECT THE DAMAGE YOU CAUSE OR EVEN REQUIRE A RESTORE OF A BACKUP CAUSING LOSS OF MANY DAYS WORK TO THE CLIENT
</div>

==Cross-Year Cross Check Balance Warnings==

When you use Opening Balance Journals, NEOSYS does not guarantee that the opening balances of one year match the closing balance of a prior year. This occurs quite normally and commonly occurs in the situations described below.

Regardless of the cause, in such cases, any statement or ledger account of movements (not open items) that crosses the disjoint years will have a "cross check balance" note at the bottom of the account. A cross check balance warning is just a warning that the closing balance of the account (as calculated from a simple total of the opening balance in the old year plus all transactions) does not agree with the actual account balance according to the trial balance in the new year.

If the opening balance of the account in the second year is not equal to the closing balance in the prior year then logically the two years cannot be viewed as a single continuous account and agree with the trial balance.

===Posting into years prior to Opening Balance===

When you start up a company in one year using Opening Balance Journals then the closing balances of the prior years remain zero. If you thereafter start to post into prior years, the closing balances of those years will remain in disagreement with the opening balance of the following years.

'''Solution'''

If you wish to obtain cross-year accounts between years, and you wish such account's balances to agree with the later year trial balance, then you must arrange for the closing balances of the prior years to agree with the opening balances of the following years.

To do this, ensure that any Opening Balance Journals that are posted into any particular year are also posted into all prior financial years of interest, or better, post them directly into the earliest year and any following years will automatically be updated as normal.

===Opening Balance Journals===

If you post Opening Balance Journals into one year for any reason, they are not posted into prior years. Therefore the opening balances of the amended year become different from the prior year.

In this respect, auditors amendments to opening balances should be posted as normal journals in the final period of the prior year and not as Opening Balance Journals in the current year.

===Producing Historical Accounts===

As mentioned above, if you post Opening Balance Journals into one year, they are not posted into prior years. For such accounts, NEOSYS will show Cross Check Balance warning if you take a ledger account or statement of account report across multiple years including years prior to the Opening Balance Journal posting. e.g. if an account has opening balance entry in 2011, and no entries in 2010, then ledger account report with period setting 2010 - 2018 will show Cross Check Balance warning.

'''Solution'''

To avoid this Cross Check Balance warning, in the report period settings exclude years prior to the Opening Balance Journal posting, since the account anyway has no entries in the prior years.

=== Producing P&L and Retained Earnings Accounts ===
Refer to [https://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Finance_System#Cross_Check_Balance_error_on_all_Profit_and_Loss_accounts_and_Retained_Earnings_account CCB on P&L and Retained Earnings accounts]

==Fixing "Cross Check Balance" warnings using CHK.ALLOC==

Cross Check Balance Message on an account means the total of the outstanding items in an account does not match the balance as in the movement - typically the outstanding shows a higher balance than the balance in the movement, but might not always be the case. The reasons why this may happen is because of the following:

*Reposting journals containing allocated items (which NEOSYS doesnt handle in all circumstances)
*Failing to clear open item accounts on a regular basis where the number of postings is high

This procedure only applies to CCB on the outstanding item type statements which are the more common problem. CCB on movement accounts are rarer, more serious and cannot be fixed by this procedure.

This might not always fix the CCB warnings and hence you will need to escalate to the programmer.

<pre>
!!! WARNING !!!

This is a dangerous procedure.
IF YOU DO NOT FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY YOU CAN END UP MODIFYING AUDITED ACCOUNTS AND AUDITORS/ACCOUNTANTS AND IT WILL TAKE DAYS FOR PROGRAMMERS TO TRY AND CORRECT THE DAMAGE YOU CAUSE!

DO THIS ON TESTDATA FIRST
</pre>

This can be run while other users are online.

While running the command, monitor the lines coming up on the screen for any warnings. In case you make any changes and select "Yes" or "Yes to all" for any message, you should re run the command again until clean.

This exact procedure restores vouchers missing from open item accounts:

*Exodus TEST Database
<pre>
1. /root/neosys/test <DBCODE>
2. After startup press "x" key.
3. Type: "chkalloc"
</pre>
*Exodus LIVE Database
<pre>
1. Stop all LIVE processes. (pressing x won't return prompt to enter check command if other LIVE processes running)
2. Run /root/neosys/run <DBCODE>
3. After startup press "x" key.
4. Type: "chkalloc"
</pre>
*AREV Both LIVE and TEST databases
<pre>
F5
UTIL (nothing happens at this stage as its a background process and gives you access to the next command)
CHK.ALLOC
</pre>

Minimum voucher year.period?

Generally go back as little as possible to cover vouchers that might be missing from O/I accounts.

Which account do you want or blank for all?

You MUST search for all accounts. Entering one account WILL NOT WORK since it will only check vouchers already on the open item accounts and we are looking for those that are missing.

IGNORE OR RESPOND NEGATIVELY to all messages or questions EXCEPT the following:

Missing from O/I index?

Select "Yes" or "Yes to all"

===Meaning of other messages===

1. The following message pair does not usually cause cross check balances and indicates that they have cancelled some foreign currency allocation since allocation should not cause and change in rate.

IN*175510*C 20/01/08 ALMA 4/2 REC*4440*C allocation base outstanding -7326.15 expected -6762.60 (-563.550,.08333333)
IN*175510*C 20/01/08 ALMA 4/2 REC*4440*C allocation changed exchange rate from .08333333 to .07692308

2. For the following message, you MUST choose "Leave all" , otherwise risk damage to closed audited prior year accounts:

Account numbers do not agree. Delete the allocation?

3. For the following message, choose "Add it to other voucher" ONLY for the voucher/account that needs fixing. Do not choose "Add all" unless you know each and every allocation that will be added, as it could cause problems such as allocating to vouchers that are already allocated i.e. causing double allocations. You MUST check everything that you request to be fixed.

Allocation is missing ?

4. For the following message, choose "Skip further Warnings":

Amounts do not agree - please fix manually

===Re-enabling CCB warning mail notifications===
NEOSYS is pre-configured to send out email notifications (to the same group of people who receive the backup alerts) when a Cross Check Balance (CCB) warning is found for the first time on an account. That means there will be only 1 email notification irrespective of the times the warning occurs until it is fixed.

After the CCB is fixed or after clearing or otherwise eliminating the same, you need to delete the CCB file in D:\neosys\neosys to re-enable NEOSYS to resend notification by email after it discovers CCB warnings on that account again in the future.

==Fixing "Cross Check Balance" warning using CHK.VINDEX==

YOU MUST READ AND APPLY THE GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS WRITTEN FOR CHK.ALLOC AS WELL FOR CHK.VINDEX

This program can fix a few CCB warnings that CHK.ALLOC cannot - including some in balance forward type accounts (ie not open item/outstanding item accounts) .

Not all the possible fixes are described here and any messages which are not described here should be responded to NEGATIVELY!

CCB error for [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Finance_System#Fixing_Error:_.22A.2Fc._.3F.3F.3F.22_message_in_account_of_outstanding_items Wrong A/C] can be fixed by running CHK.VINDEX

===Different account - Delete the index entry?===
<pre>
51841 voucher_index recs
"*P831*1" L=8 V=PUR*180123*1 30/06/18 B=13653 "P831" different account "P823"
========================================
"*P831*1" L=8 V=PUR*180123*1 30/06/18 B=13653 "P831" different account "P823"
Delete the index entry?
*1. No
2. Yes
3. Delete None
4. Delete All
Please enter 1 - 4 or Enter to default or 0 to cancel.
? 1
</pre>

Select Yes.

===Missing Voucher - Delete the index entry?===
<pre>
2500. *JOB4714*1"1401*815*1ü815" "1ü815" bad company
"1401*815*1ü815" L=1 V=PUR*11516:7*1ü815 15/01/14 missing voucher
========================================
"1401*815*1ü815" L=1 V=PUR*11516:7*1ü815 15/01/14 missing voucher
Delete the index entry?
*1. No
2. Yes
3. Delete None
4. Delete All
Please enter 1 - 4 or Enter to default or 0 to cancel.
? 1
</pre>

Select Yes.

===Different Date - Correct index entry?===
<pre>
"*P831*1" L=8 V=PUR*180123*1 30/06/18 B=13653 different date "12/02/18"
========================================
"*P831*1" L=8 V=PUR*180123*1 30/06/18 B=13653 different date "12/02/18"
Correct index entry?
*1. No
2. Yes
3. Correct None
4. Correct All
Please enter 1 - 4 or Enter to default or 0 to cancel.
? 1
</pre>

Select Yes.

===Commit or Revert current changes===
<pre>
Finished in 2 mins, 45 secs
What next boss ?
========================================
Commit any database updates ?
1. Commit
2. Rollback
Please enter 1 - 2
? 0
</pre>

Select 1 to commit changes.

==Checking if a voucher is fully posted==

Sometimes due to some kind of system error a batch is not fully posted then one voucher in the batch may be half-posted. Any remaining vouchers in the batch (after/below) will almost certainly be completely unposted.

To see if this has happened, first identify which voucher is problematic and then check if the first and last lines of the voucher are correctly posted by seeing if the voucher appears in their respective ledger accounts.

===First line is not posted===

If the first line does not appear then probably the whole voucher is not posted at all.

Reposting the voucher may successfully solve the problem but see [http://techwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Finance_System#Reposting_a_Batch_in_Journal_Entry Reposting a batch] and [http://techwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Finance_System#Fixing_.22Cross_Check_Balance.22_warnings_using_CHK.ALLOC Cross Check Balance] to avoid potential issues in reposting.

===Last line is not posted===

If the first line appears but the last line does not appear as posted in its ledger account then the voucher is "HALF POSTED". This breaks the all important law of double entry accounting and the trial balance will not balance.

Reposting the voucher will not solve the problem because the system does not take into account that the voucher is half posted when it is reversing the original voucher during the repost.

===First and last lines are posted===

In the case there is no problem. The voucher is fully posted and the half-posted issue is not present

==Voucher number missing from posted batches==

In some cases voucher numbers are missing from posted batches.

There could be several reasons why the voucher numbers are missing. The voucher number is generated but does not reflect on the batch or the voucher number did not get generated at the time of posting. We are still investigating the root cause to this problem.

For both cases, take a ledger print out for the account the voucher number is missing and check if the voucher number is present in the ledger print out.

===1. The entries in the batch reflect on the ledger print===

If the entries reflect in the ledger print out, open the voucher file and investigate why the voucher number did not appear when the batch was posted.

The voucher numbers will appear in the batch when the batch is re-saved. The same voucher numbers appears as it was in the voucher file.

===2. The entry in the batch does not reflect on the ledger print===

If the voucher file is not present in the ledger print out, open the batch and investigate why the voucher number did not generate when the batch was posted.

The voucher numbers will be generated when the batch is re-saved but not in sequence number. Notify clients the batches are re-saved and the voucher number will not be in sequence.

===Solution===

Run CHK.VOUCHERS and check for errors. Then re-save the batch.

The authorisation to re-save a batch is restricted to NEOSYS and a few client users at the moment.

====Running CHK.VOUCHERS====

This exact procedure restores vouchers missing from open item accounts:

*Exodus TEST Database
<pre>
1. /root/neosys/test <DBCODE>
2. After startup press "x" key.
3. Type: "chkvindex"
</pre>
*Exodus LIVE Database
<pre>
1. Stop all LIVE processes. (pressing x won't return prompt to enter check command if other LIVE processes running)
2. Run /root/neosys/run <DBCODE>
3. After startup press "x" key.
4. Type: "chkvindex"
</pre>
*AREV Both LIVE and TEST databases
<pre>
F5
UTIL (nothing happens at this stage as its a background process and gives you access to the next command)
CHK.ALLOC
</pre>

When running CHK.VOUCHERS, respond to prompts as shown below. Generally respond negatively to prompts which are not specified below, but in TEST datasets you can experiment by responding positively.

Choose "Yes" for the following message:

Missing from batch but matching ref with no voucher can be found. Add it?

Choose "No" for the following message:

Delete empty unposted / deleted voucher ?

Choose "Yes or All" for the following message:

Account “ XYZ” type is “ COST” , but the voucher analysis code “28*1*COMPANYCODE*XYZ” is type “ BILL/INCOME” .
Fix voucher analysis code to be COST and repost? :---- YES/ALL

Choose "All" for the following message. This is to keep the file "clean" of messages but does not actually cause any changes in the rest of the system.

Account "XYZ" is "JOBS", but the voucher analysis code "28*1*clientcode**marketcode*suppliercode*mediatypecode" is "MEDIA"
Fix voucher analysis code is to be JOBS and repost?

After doing check/fix, all accounts should be tested for cross check balance errors. Do this by taking ledger printout for the whole year for all accounts.

==[http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Finance_System#Why_does_an_outstanding_not_appear_while_taking_a_ledger_printout Fixing CCB errors that do not get fixed with CHK.ALLOC, CHK.VINDEX or CHK.VOUCHERS]==

==Using CHK.POST to fix some types of Cross Check Balance (CCB) errors==

CHK.POST can be used to fix/recreate the BALANCES files. This could be useful in the following cases:

#Some stubborn Cross Check Balance errors
#BALANCES file is damaged (use [[Handling_damaged_files#Using_FIXFILE_to_repair_corrupted_files|FIXFILE]] first)

Use it strictly only after ALL other errors have been fixed using the usual CHK programs

*CHK.VOUCHERS
*CHK.VINDEX
*CHK.ALLOC
*CHK.BATCHES
*CHK.BALANCES
*CHK.ACCOUNTS
*CHK.CHARTS
*CHK.CONTROLS
*CHK.OB (As of 12/2/19: Only Bates and AdlineD can parameters be entered in UI, whereas in TEST and other clients, editing of program code must be done to tailor the program to check what you want. E.g a period)

[[Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Finance_System#Check_steps_of_each_CHK_program|What checks are performed on in each CHK routine]]

This program adjusts the balances in the trial balance reports (which also show in the “Cross Check Balance phrase on the Detailed Ledger Accounts) to match the vouchers found in the voucher file. Note that CHK.ALLOC and CHK.VINDEX have no effect on these figures and instead amend the transactions shown on the Detailed Ledger Account - and thereby the totals on the same report so that they agree with the CCB amount and thereby the conflict is resolved.

Most CCB in NEOSYS are related to problems on outstanding item accounts and are fixed with the CHK.ALLOC program. More rarely, problems occur in the movement accounts and are fixed with the CHK.VINDEX program - although this can also fix some errors in outstanding item statements. Even more rarely will the problem be on the Trial Balances/CCB balances and can be fixed with this CHK.POST procedure

WARNING! This solution may make things worse so don’t use on live data unless EXHAUSTIVELY checked that everything is ok on test data first.

WARNING! Don’t go back and “correct” previous years which have been closed because auditors expect them never to change (EVEN IF THEY ARE WRONG!) and it can be impossible to put them back “wrong” if you “correct” them.

WARNING! If you correct previous years then you must [[Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Finance_System#Redo_Open_New_Year_procedure| rerun the Open New Year procedure]] for all prior years.

#In maintenance mode press Alt+1
#Enter the range of periods that you want to check/adjust the trial balance for e.g. 1/9-7/9 for 1st Period of 2009 up to the 7th period of 2009.
#Press F9 and Esc
#Press F5 and type CHK.POST
#What stage to start at? Choose “Select Vouchers”
#Clear the updated balances file? Choose “Clear it”
#OK to Start? … OK
#If there are any discrepancies found between the Trial Balance Balances/CCB balances … and the Vouchers in the file you will get some fairly cryptic questions asking you, one by one, if you want to fix the balances.

IMPORTANT

#It is advised that you only fix the balances which refer to the accounts that you are concerned about. You will find the account number buried in the cryptic questions referred to above.
#If you fix subsidiary account balances then MAKE SURE that you also fix the control accounts balances (if you are prompted).

==B10 & B12 Errors==

The error might be displayed as follows :

ERROR NO: B10 IN DAYBOOK.SUBSX AT 133
Variable has not been assigned a value. Zero used.

This error should have said something like : "The ledgers are closed up to the period you have just tried to post" OR "Financial Year 2011 must be opened before you post into it."

Try again and you would see the exact message if you have not opened the new year as yet.

==Fixing "Index has been deleted" message==

===Error Message===

The index record "TEXT.XREF*abc*xyz"
has been deleted.
The index for "TEXT.XREF"
should be rebuilt.

===Solution===

[http://techwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Handling_damaged_files#Fixing_damaged_index_files_.28names_starting_with_.21.29 Perform REINDEXVOUCHERS in maintenance mode].

==Reposting a Batch in Journal Entry==
The authorisation to repost a batch is restricted to NEOSYS and a few client users at the moment. Reposting a batch will repost all the vouchers in the batch. See [[Procedures#Amending.2FReposting_Journal_Entries|Amending/Reposting Journal Entries]]

See [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Finance_System#Correcting_mistakes_in_postings Correcting mistakes in postings] for NEOSYS policy for correcting mistakes in journal postings.

Warning: Reposting journals that are already allocated will create cross check balance errors, so before reposting, any allocations should be de-allocated to avoid these errors.

Reposting a batch should be done in TEST dataset first. After reposting, all accounts should be tested for cross check balance errors. Do this by taking ledger printout for the whole year for all accounts.

#Client must de-allocate vouchers which need to be amended
#NEOSYS support staff must wait for a day so that de-allocated vouchers are copied into Test database
#Authorise required users to amend and repost (without record) '''in Test database only''' (While reposting, we have 2 options i.e. with record and without record. The 'with record' option causes the system to maintain a history of edits made. Hence, we want to repost without record so that there is no trace of the edit in the system)
#Amend a substantial number of vouchers in Test and verify them. To verify if the edits made are reflected:
#<nowiki>*Print all ledgers for the whole year</nowiki>
#<nowiki>*Cross-check all balances</nowiki>
#Once you verify the balances are correct in Test database, grant users permission to amend and repost in the Live database.
#Ask users to amend and repost vouchers in the Live database.
#Cross-check all balances for the current year.
#If you successfully verify the balances, revoke permissions immediately. Else, wait for 24 hours and revoke permissions irrespectively.

==Editing and Reposting Vouchers==

WARNING: Can cause effectively irreversible damage to the finance database requiring restoration of a suitable backup causing loss of data and/or total loss of database if backup not available.

It is almost impossible to edit and repost vouchers and keep the audit trail correct so this procedure is of limited use. The stages are UNPOST, EDIT, REPOST.

Must be done on test data and advisable to run CHK.VOUCHERS afterwards.

===UNPOST===
F5
UNPOST XXX*YYYYY*ZZZ

Where:

*XXX is the voucher type/journal code
*YYY is the voucher number
*ZZZ is the company code

Any problems with the voucher might generate messages but the problems will be reverse the problems which must have occurred when posting the voucher in the first place.

===EDIT===
F5
ED VOUCHERS XXX*YYYYY*ZZZ

For example, if due to a neosys system error, the ZZZ999 suspense account has been used instead of some missing internal system accounts like exchange gain/loss accounts then you can insert the correct account.

Change line 8 (which contains the account numbers) from:

REZO²REZO²BMDI²BMDI²²

to

REZO²REZO²BMDI²BMDI²EXDI²EXDI

where EXDI is the ORIGINAL A/c No. of the Exchange Difference A/c.

F9, ESC to save and exit

===REPOST===

F5
REPOST XXX*YYYYY*ZZZ

==Removing strange outstanding items on accounts that have balance of zero==

Sometimes running CHK.ALLOC on periods too far back in time causes old items to be incorrectly resurrected and become outstanding.

If the account balance is zero in the current period and has been for some years then you can simply delete all outstanding items.

Assuming the (original) account number is AAAA and the company code is CC, in maintenance mode, F5.

DELETE VOUCHER.INDEX *AAAA*CC

It should say "1 Item(s) deleted"

==Reinstating Open Item Statements after Clear Open Items==

WARNING: DO THIS PROCESS ON TEST DATA FIRST TO VERIFY THAT IT DOES NOT CAUSE CROSS CHECK BALANCE ERRORS

WARNING: THIS PROCESS MAY CAUSE CROSS CHECK BALANCE ERRORS BY REINSTATING "ANCIENT CORRUPT VOUCHERS"

"CHECK BACK" AS FEW YEARS AS NEEDED TO INCLUDE ALL VOUCHERS THAT COULD BE OPEN/OUTSTANDING AT THE DESIRED PERIOD.

It is not easy to know how far to "check back" for open items so go back two years initially unless it is known that there may be items outstanding from even earlier years.

===1. Check, solve, record all existing cross check balances===

Restoring open items may create cross check balance errors so first you need to fix all EXISTING cross check balance errors in the database.

Do not proceed to the next step until this step is complete otherwise you will have no idea what problems were created by CHK.ALLOC and what problems were in the database before.

Expect no sympathy from programmers if you ignore this or fail to work on testdata first.

First print ***ALL*** open item ledger accounts to check for existing cross check balances in open item accounts.

Correct all "cross check balances" using the usual procedures to do so.

Note that cross check balances are unavoidable on some *extremely large* open item accounts. This does not mean that you can ignore cross check balances on merely large accounts. They must be fixed.

Save copies of the detailed ledger accounts of any *extremely large" open items accounts that you have not fixed their cross check balances.

===2. Edit back the Company File "cleared-upto period"===

Complete this step quickly if users are working online - in order not to lock the company file for longer than it takes to change the "cleared upto period".

In maintenance mode, press F5. example company code X. Do this for all companies that need to.

ED COMPANIES X

change line 17 to be the last period (YYMM) desired to have been cleared.

DONT add or delete any lines!

F9, Esc

===3. Run CHK.ALLOC===

This process can be run while users are working since there is a only a very slight chance that they will be posting the same account at the time that the program is updating its open item voucher index.

====Exodus====

*Exodus TEST Database
<pre>
1. /root/neosys/test <DBCODE>
2. After startup press "x" key.
3. Type: "chkalloc"
</pre>
*Exodus LIVE Database
<pre>
1. Stop all LIVE processes. (pressing x won't return prompt to enter check command if other LIVE processes running)
2. Run /root/neosys/run <DBCODE>
3. After startup press "x" key.
4. Type: "chkalloc"
</pre>

Enter minimum period to start check from.
<pre>
/root/hosts/test/work Command? chkalloc
Begin transaction
Making a new document/report 52360178.htm:
----------------------------------------
Minimum voucher year.period to check?
(0 for all)
201601
</pre>

Enter 1 for all accounts. Enter 2 if you want to look at a specific a/c.
<pre>
========================================
CHK.ALLOC
*1. All Vouchers/Accounts
2. One Account`s Indexed Vouchers Only
Please enter 1 - 2 or Enter to default or 0 to cancel.
? 1
</pre>

Enter specific a/c no. or press Enter for all.
<pre>
----------------------------------------
Which account do you want ?
Give the account number or name,
or press [Enter] if not known.
(separate multiple entries with spaces)
?
</pre>

Choose option 3 (Yes to all).
<pre>
REC*1:2*1 12/03/19 OPTI,A 2/ (Unposted) Voucher "REC*1:2*1" ln:2 missing from index "*OPTI*A"
========================================
Missing from O/I index
Add it? (5.4KB)
1. Yes
*2. No
3. Yes to all
4. No to all
5. Yes to all "*OPTI*A"
6. No to all "OPTI"
7. Skip all unposted vouchers
Please enter 1 - 7 or Enter to default or 0 to cancel.
? 2
</pre>

====AREV====

In maintenance mode press F5

CHK.ALLOC

Minimum is how far to go back. See explanation above.
<pre>
╔═══════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Minimum voucher year.period to check? ║
║ (0 for all) ║
║<200801 >║
╚═══════════════════════════════════════╝
</pre>

Which account do you want? PRESS ESC (or Enter+Esc)
<pre>
╔═════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Which account do you want ? ║
║ ║
║ Give the account number or name, ║
║ or press [Enter] if not known. ║
║ (separate multiple entries with spaces) ║
║< >║
╚═════════════════════════════════════════╝
</pre>
Add it? ... Choose "Yes to All"
<pre>
╔═══════════════════════════╗
║ Missing from O/I index ║
║ Add it? (1.1KB) ║
║───┬───────────────────────║
║ 1│Yes ║
║ 2│No ║
║ 3>Yes to all <-THIS ONE ║
║ 4│No to all ║
║ 5│Yes to all *HAEX*FZ ║
║ 6│No to all *HAEX*FZ ║
╚═══════════════════════════╝
</pre>

===4. Check for cross check balances===

Print ***ALL*** open item ledger accounts to check for any additional cross check balances in open item accounts.

For speed, omit old WIPxx and ACCxx ledgers since their accounts are probably all closed.

If you have any ADDITIONAL cross check balances compared to those recorded in step 1, then you can rerun step 3 and "check back" a little earlier. Try one year earlier at a time - to avoid the problem of reinstating "ancient corrupt vouchers".

==Speeding up CHK.VOUCHERS CHK.ALLOC==

When running the above programs takes time due to a large number of vouchers, then you can speed up the process by prebuilding a filter and using it on each invocation of the program. This filter is lost when you login again.

For example, if you want to check vouchers for account numbers XXXX, YYYY and ZZZZ in financial period 2004.01 and onwards

SELECT VOUCHERS WITH YEAR_PERIOD GE "14.01" AND WITH ACCOUNT "XXXX" "YYYY" "ZZZZ"

wait for it to say "xxxx record(s) selected" briefly and then show blank command line again, then type

SAVELIST XYZ

then each time just before you run CHK.VOUCHERS and CHK.ALLOC you can do the following to make them only look at the selected vouchers

GETLIST XYZ

==Check steps of each CHK program==

===Run CHK.ALLOC===

Check the VOUCHERS file

Checks that allocations occur in pairs and that both sides refer to the same account number and are in the same financial period.

Checks not allocated more than the amount/base amount on the voucher.

Checks open items (not allocated or not fully allocated) exist in the open item records of the voucher index file.

Checks that allocations do not cause a rate change since automatic revaluation is supposed to occur on allocation.

===Run CHK.CONTROLS===

Checks the BALANCES file.

Check that the control account balances agree with the total of the balances of their subsidiary accounts.

===Run CHK.VOUCHERS===

Checks a lot of things in the VOUCHERS File.

===Run CHK.BATCHES===

Check the BATCHES file (Journals File).

Checks journal type, company code and currency codes are valid.

For each voucher check that it is not missing and that its voucher period, posted/unposted state and Journal No. agree with that of the Journal.

Checks amounts and base amounts are all numeric.

Checks base currency entries have matching base amount entries ie if base is USD then amount is 100USD and base is 100 (101 or something else).

For posted batches, checks A/c Nos. are valid.

===Run CHK.VINDEX===

Checks the VOUCHER.INDEX file.

For each entry in the index ie line on a ledger account.

Checks for ledger entries that have problems eg wrong account or missing voucher.

Checks A/c No, currency code, journal type and company code are valid.

Checks open items indexes are only for open item accounts.

Checks Journal type OB does not exist on movement indexes.

Checks that reversed batches have matching reversal batch and vice versa.

Checks vouchers exist.

Checks that the voucher period, date, currency and A/c No. agrees with the index.

===Run CHK.OB===

Check the BALANCES file.

Checks that opening balances are correct versus closing balances for accounts that are neither closed nor closing accounts.

===Run CHK.BALANCES===

Checks the BALANCES file.

Checks A/c No., currency code, voucher type and company code are all valid.

Checks balances are all numeric.

Checks the decimal places of balances of base currency are not more than the standard number of base currency decimal places.

Checks the base currency record references to all other currencies is alphabetical.

Checks all non-base currency balance records are referenced on the base currency record.

===Run CHK.CHARTS===

Checks the CHARTS and LEDGERS files.

Checks A/c and Original A/c are valid ie exist in ACCOUNTS file.

Checks any company and currency codes are valid.

Checks the internal lookup tables in DEFINITIONS file are correct.

===Run CHK.ACCOUNTS===

Checks the ACCOUNTS file.

Checks accounts exist in the Chart File.

Checks the account records representing Account and Orig A/c No. refer to each other symmetrically.

Checks that any Control A/c, Closing A/c, Company code and Currency code is valid and match the same in the Chart File.

==Fixing opening balance of new year does not agree with the closing balance of the previous year==

In order to fix this problem, redo the open new year procedure for the problematic year, where recreating opening balances (which is part of the opennewyear.subs program) should fix the issue.

===Reopen New Year or Redo Open New Year procedure===

You can reopen a year using the below command.

*Exodus TEST Database
<pre>
1. /root/neosys/test <DBCODE>
2. Press x and then type reopenyear <Companycodes> YYYY
3. Press x and then run chkob. Include a few prior years as well to ensure all balances are fine.
</pre>

*Exodus LIVE Database
<pre>
1. Stop all LIVE processes. (pressing x won't return prompt to enter check command if other LIVE processes running)
2. Run /root/neosys/run <DBCODE>
3. Press x and then type reopenyear <Companycodes> YYYY
4. Press x and then run chkob. Include a few prior years as well to ensure all balances are fine.
</pre>

*AREV

REOPENYEAR <Companycodes> YYYY
<pre>
Media Production Finance Management Timesheets Files General Exit
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒╒═══════════════════════════════════TCL - 2══════════════════════════════════╕▒
▒│ │▒
▒│ :REOPENYEAR A,AA 2020 │▒
▒│ │▒
▒╘════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
</pre>

In Maintenance mode, run CHK.OB and include a few prior years as well to ensure all balances are fine.
<pre>
Media Production Finance Management Timesheets Files General Exit
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒╒═══════════════════════════════════TCL - 2══════════════════════════════════╕▒
▒│ │▒
▒│ :chk.ob │▒
▒│ │▒
▒╘════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒║ Years to check? ║▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒║ (0 or starting year for all, but only checks forward ║▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒║ ie ob v cb not backward cb v ob) ║▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒║<15 16 17 18 19 >║▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
</pre>

General Office Procedures

2024-01-19T13:05:03Z

Arvind: /* Instant Messengers */

=Working hours=
NEOSYS office working hours are from 9.am until 6 p.m., Monday to Friday. It is required for all staff members to report to office at 9 a.m. irrespective of any meetings during the day. There is a one hour lunch break, which can be taken between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.

=Keeping to NEOSYS Office Hours=

NEOSYS management does not want to spend time worrying about staff attendance, so these are the traditional rules of attendance for the NEOSYS office.

#If you are late, DO give your apologies but DON'T give any reason. You may be asked, for personal interest, but it is NOT relevant.
#Be in the office 5 or 10 minutes EARLY every morning and if you are ever late, increase this to 15 minutes early etc.
#Apply the same rules to returning from lunch at 2 p.m.
#Use your early time in the office to attend to your own business - on your phone/browser etc.
#Always stop work immediately at 1pm and 6pm. Any time you spend in the office after that must be on your own business.

Everybody joining NEOSYS has adapted to these rules and come to appreciate them. You are advised to apply them immediately on joining to avoid friction. Your punctuality will be noticed and appreciated.

=Working out of hours=
NEOSYS staff should not work out of hours except in case of real emergency unless approval has been obtained for the same from NEOSYS management.

Emergencies are only things like dealing with a system crash of NEOSYS own systems providing client services (e.g. win3) and we are trying to get clients back online as fast as possible from backups. Failure of client's own systems should be dealt with inside normal office hours only. Since NEOSYS systems have never failed to date, there are practically no emergencies in our work. "Emergencies" are generally for people who dont prepare for the unexpected and/or are disorganised.

Approval for working out of office hours may be granted if there is specific work to be done and you are making up time for being late due to some special circumstances.

Apart from the above, NEOSYS staff should be IN ON TIME and OUT ON TIME.

=Purchases=
If you require to make any purchases on behalf of the company, you must first get an approval from your Manager.

=Stationery=
All stationery is kept in the office cupboard. In case there is anything required, you may inform your Manager.

=Sick leave =

You are required to visit your doctor for every sick period and bring original sick note otherwise claims for sick leave will be rejected and treated as absence without pay or deducted from annual holiday at your choice.

=Claiming Expenses=
You should use an Expense Claim Form to reclaim expenses incurred in the course of your work. Completed claim forms, accompanied by relevant receipts, must be authorised by your Manager before being given to accounts. The expenses claim forms must be submitted to accounts before the end of the month in order for them to be reimbursed with that month’s salary.

If you take business contacts out for lunch or dinner, the expenses can be claimed supported by detailed receipt(s). Expense claims for entertainment, i.e. lunch or dinner, should state the names of the people entertained, including the name of any colleagues.

No expense claims will be accepted more than 60 days after they were incurred.

Please note that if your salary is over AED 6000 per month, no taxi fares are reclaimable.

All expenses claimed must be wholly, necessarily and exclusively incurred on behalf of the Company.

You must not entertain other members of NEOSYS at the Company’s expense without prior authorisation from your Manager.

You may claim back the value of business phone calls made from your home and your mobile phone on producing an original invoice, highlighting the relevant calls. International call claims must have details of the company called.

=Travel=
All business travel must be sanctioned in advance by your Manger. A travel requisition should be submitted to your Manger no less than 1 week in advance of your proposed travel date. Our policy is that economy class travel should be used. When travelling abroad, the Company pays for your accommodation, food and conveyance. To reclaim this amount you should add it to your monthly expenses claim form.

=Mail services=
It is the company’s policy that all documents that commit the company in regards to staff expenditure or contracts are signed specifically by appointed authorised signatories. Employees are welcome to use the company’s PO Box for incoming personal correspondence; however the company cannot be liable for any delay/loss/damages incurred by its use.

=Documents=
ALL personal working files however trivial MUST be stored in Nextcloud and MUST NOT be stored anywhere in personal computer (My Documents/Desktop etc. )

=Computer systems=
Your computer system given by NEOSYS remains the property of NEOSYS at all times.

Your computer should be accessible to your immediate manager at any given point of time. You may store your personal files, but please note that privacy isn’t assured as your computer system might be accessible by your manager at any point of time.

Installing any software, applications, browser add-ons, drivers or devices must be done only after getting prior consent of your manager.

If you are given a laptop, you should not be taking home the same without an approval.

=Network systems=
All NEOSYS networks i.e. Wi-Fi, LAN, VPN, Servers, Storage devices etc are monitored due to the nature of business and to assure our clients that we have the highest possible security measures in place. As such your network and internet traffic might be under surveillance.

=Internet=
NEOSYS internet or VPN can be used for personal purposes outside of business hours or during breaks, however you are restricted from any torrents or file sharing programs because of a high risk of security they pose to our business. Also ensure that you do not use this facility for pornographic or any other illegal activity that is not in line with the Sharia law of the country.

=Instant Messengers=
You will be provided with exclusive IDs for Skype. These IDs should only have business contacts listed in them.

=Dress code=
The dress code in the office is formal. You should be wearing a smart business dress at all times when you visit a client. Friday tends to be a “dress down” day.

=General Appearance=
As we are in the service industry, you are required at all times to be presentable as you are the face of NEOSYS when you visit clients/prospects. Make sure that you have enough sleep and come to office clean shaven. Smart short haircut for gents is recommended. In case you keep a beard; make sure that it is neatly trimmed.

=Smoking=
Our offices are non-smoking without exception. Smoking is permitted outside the office premises.

=Meetings outside office=

It is always encouraged not to schedule early morning meetings with clients as we believe it is a waste of time. As you are required to be in office by 9a.m. please schedule your meetings thereafter. Incase you have meetings in the old town of Dubai (e.g. Deira) then you could proceed to the meeting directly from home. However you need to keep your Manager informed of the same.

Uninstalling clients hosted on NEOSYS Server

2024-01-08T06:06:27Z

Arvind:

This must be done in the following circumstances:

#Reinstallation on other servers
#Reinstallation on clients own server
#Termination of contract
#Any other reason

NEOSYS needs to:

#Ensure that the databases can no longer be logged in to by accident or design.
#Ensure that for a reasonable period of time that NEOSYS can be re-enabled in case of error or change in circumstances.

Include admin@neosys.com when sending emails regarding this subject.

====Stage 1. Disabling====

1. Ensure that the services for the client being uninstalled have been stopped.
./doall <dbname> stop

2. Delete the website
./doall <dbname> delete_site

3. Disable the service, otherwise the services will start up every time ex1 reboots.
./doall <dbname> disable

4. In doall, comment out the line corresponding to the client being uninstalled. Do this in dev as well and push the changes to neosys git.

5. Comment the lines for the stopped installation in the Nagios config file so that Nagios stops alerting for it. (edit: genclients.sh)

6. Strike-through the terminated client's link on support home page (support.htm).

7. Create Thunderbird reminder to permanently delete the client 1 year later.

====Stage 2. Permanent Deletion====

We keep ex client data for up to one year before deleting, but after this period:

1. Retain a copy of the client's latest backup sql.gz file in a separate directory (in ex1:/backups/current/deleted as of 3/4/2023)

2. Delete the database and service
sudo -u postgres dropdb <dbname>
sudo -u postgres dropdb <dbname_test>
./doall <dbname> delete_service

3. Delete client directory from /root/hosts directory.
rm -r ~/hosts/<dbname>

4. Remove the terminated client's link from support home page (support.htm).

5. Delete the associated entry from Zone Edit.

Uninstalling clients hosted on NEOSYS Server

2024-01-08T05:47:06Z

Arvind:

This must be done in the following circumstances:

#Reinstallation on other servers
#Reinstallation on clients own server
#Termination of contract
#Any other reason

NEOSYS needs to:

#Ensure that the databases can no longer be logged in to by accident or design.
#Ensure that for a reasonable period of time that NEOSYS can be re-enabled in case of error or change in circumstances.

Include admin@neosys.com when sending emails regarding this subject.

====Stage 1. Disabling====

1. Ensure that the services for the client being uninstalled have been stopped.
./doall <dbname> stop

2. Delete the website
./doall <dbname> delete_site

3. Disable the service, otherwise the services will start up every time ex1 reboots.
./doall <dbname> disable

4. In doall, comment out the line corresponding to the client being uninstalled. Do this in dev as well and push the changes to neosys git.

5. Comment the lines for the stopped installation in the Nagios config file so that Nagios stops alerting for it. (edit: genclients.sh)

6. Strike-through the terminated client's link on support home page (support.htm).

====Stage 2. Permanent Deletion====

We keep ex client data for up to one year before deleting, but after this period:

1. Retain a copy of the client's latest backup sql.gz file in a separate directory (in ex1:/backups/current/deleted as of 3/4/2023)

2. Delete the database and service
sudo -u postgres dropdb <dbname>
sudo -u postgres dropdb <dbname_test>
./doall <dbname> delete_service

3. Delete client directory from /root/hosts directory.
rm -r ~/hosts/<dbname>

4. Remove the terminated client's link from support home page (support.htm).

5. Delete the associated entry from Zone Edit.

Procedures

2023-10-13T06:29:42Z

Arvind: /* Creating User */

Here are procedures to be followed by Support Staff in respect to various technical matters in day to day operations of client issues.

Once Support Staff have learnt how to follow these procedures & rules, you then start learning when and how to not follow them. Common sense trumps all rules! i.e. don't follow procedures and rules blindly all the time. Analyse the problem and solve it practically.

BUT if you are doing something off-piste deliberately, then just add an appropriate comment about why you are.

==Handling Clients with Overdue Invoice==
In order to maintain good payment speed by clients NEOSYS needs to restrict support to clients that dont pay their bills on time, however the degree of restriction needs to depend on an intimate knowledge of the client which cannot be expected from all NEOSYS support staff. Therefore we will use a simple escalation policy as follows:

===Overdue Support List===
NEOSYS SUPPORT will maintain an overdue list on Thunderbird support inbox. Generally, clients will go on the list immediately when their invoice is overdue and come off only after satisfactory commitment to pay have been obtained.

The latest overdue list email MUST always be starred until there are no clients left on the overdue list (apart from the permanently overdue clients). When a client is added to the overdue list, support must set up a filter to move client support emails to the overdue folder. When a client is removed from the overdue list, client emails must be moved back into the support inbox. This way support team will know that there are still clients on the overdue list and will not mistakenly provide support to those clients.

[[image:FilterOverdue.jpg]]

For the first week of each quarter of the year, normal support should be provided for server failures and backup failures (including hung processes as it could eventually lead to backup failures).

For any other support requests from overdue clients, respond with the following letter (where XYZ is the overdue client):

Dear <user>,
There is an issue with your company's account. We have requested our Accounts team for approval in order to provide support to you and other <company_name> users.

Support staff MUST then provide the required support to the overdue client only after 4 working hours. Support Staff need not actually contact the Accounts team for approval, although that is what is mentioned in the letter. This delay in support is to encourage clients to settle their payments on time.

After the first week of each quarter of the year, respond to any support requests from overdue clients with the above letter but MUST NOT PROVIDE SUPPORT even after 4 working hours. Instead, Support Staff must refer the support request to NEOSYS Support Manager.

Managers may well instruct support to provide support on a case by case basis even if clients are on the overdue list. Being on the overdue list does not necessarily indicate a major issue with accounts.

If the client provides proof of payment (e.g. cheque deposit slip), then carefully check all the details as mentioned in [https://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Sales_FAQ#When_can_NEOSYS_support_staff_start_installation_of_NEOSYS When can NEOSYS support staff start installation of NEOSYS], before getting approval from NEOSYS management to remove the client from the overdue list.

===Placing Licence Restrictions===

If a client that does not already have a licence restricion is on the overdue list for more than 15 days, then place a [[Restricting_usage_of_NEOSYS_to_licence_period | licence restriction]] on the client's database after discussion with manager and approval from SB.

How frequently the client was placed in the overdue list in the past should be taken into consideration when making this decision.

===Handling complaints about Licence Restrictions===

If support places a new licence restriction for a client, users will not be able to create and save documents dated outside the licence period. Due to this sudden restriction, clients may raise complaints about the restriction placed.

Support MUST simply inform them that licence restrictions are a default procedure followed by NEOSYS and is applied to all clients with overdue invoices. This will encourage the client to avoid delaying the payment in future.

===Handling complaints about emails from NEOSYS Accounts Department===

If a client calls Support team to complain about emails from NEOSYS accounts department (e.g. invoice payment reminder), then immediately make them realise that they are wasting their time talking to support, because support should not involve themselves in client invoices and reminders procedure.

Support: "Terribly sorry, but I handle Support, you will have to contact Accounts."

Client: yaddah yaddah yaddah for as long as they like

Support: "Terribly sorry, but I handle Support, you will have to contact Accounts."

Client: "Can you put me through to Accounts?"

Support: "Sorry, Accounts is not in the office at the moment."

Client: "When can I call to get through to accounts?"

Support: "I'm afraid I don't know."

Client: "Can you get accounts to call me back?"

Support: "I will pass on the message"

==Handling Frozen NEOSYS Installations and Databases==

Some clients retain fully operational NEOSYS installations or just particular databases even after they stop using them for some reason, either because they move to some other software, or because they terminate an operational division, or other reasons, and this can either be on NEOSYS or their own servers.

In this case, various NEOSYS upgrade and maintenance processes may be suspended, downgraded or completely skipped especially if instant access to the server is no longer available. This does not mean that it should never be done, and pros and cons need to be assessed and documented in support emails on a case by case basis.

*Upgrading NEOSYS version
*Upgrading/standardising NEOSYS database configuration and other files for consistency, security or other issues
*Patching Windows/IIS configuration for consistency, security or other issues

==Handling Links and Email Attachments==

'''DO NOT TRUST ANY LINK OR ATTACHMENT IN ANY EMAIL EVEN FROM HIGHLY TRUSTED PEOPLE OR ORGANISATIONS'''

These days you can no longer trust links or attachments in emails from anybody - even emails from highly trusted people like your bank.

If a personal computer or intermediate email server is hacked then even genuine emails sent out from it can be infected and modified in a hidden way that can result in the recipient being infected if they click or open anything in the email.

Therefore you should know and understand how to avoid, as far as possible, getting tricked and infected via emails.

Malware authors generally rely on the fact that most people devote no time at all to security precautions so a moderate cautious approach, slowing down a little to spending some time on security, even where it is apparently not required, is enough to defeat most attacks.

===Links===

Do NOT click on links, especially in emails that you are not expecting, but also anywhere else that you see links, without taking various precautions. The links in an email, even from someone you know and trust, can LIE to you about what website they will open and they can lead you to websites that mere browsing can infect your computer and then others inside our network.

WHAT LINK/WEBSITE WILL BE OPENED MAY NOT BE WHAT IT SAYS IN THE BODY OF YOUR EMAIL!

Therefore, to use a link in any and all emails, first hover your cursor over it and check the status bar at the bottom of the screen where you can see exactly what website will be opened, or, to be more sure exactly what website you are opening DO NOT click links in emails at all. COPY/PASTE the link to your browser, AFTER following the below points.

*Make sure you know and trust the website being opened.
*Carefully inspect the spelling of the domain name to avoid tricky look-alike fraudulent links eg hcsb.com instead of hsbc.com
*If you trust the sender but you do not personally know the website then get independent confirmation from the sender. Reply to the email so that the sender can check the link you received has not been tampered with.

Example 1:

Below is an example of a phishing email that you can easily tell is malware

[[image:Scamscreenshot1.png]]

*You don't expect it because it says "before your sign up is complete" ... but you didn't just sign up.

This doesn't mean that links in emails that you ARE expecting ARE safe to open. All the usual cautions apply to emails you DO expect.

*Hover mouse over the button and check the link visually

In the example above, the email is supposed to be from Dropbox, but hovering the mouse over the button shows the below link, which is obviously wrong:

<pre>http://fxloraisdoxbraxsil.com.br/dropbox.html</pre>

*Even if the link looks genuine e.g. something from a service that we use that we didn't expect, be careful for misspelt links that look like genuine links e.g. drobbox.com, which could trick you if you are sloppy.

Never click on links in emails unless you are absolutely 100% sure that the email and link is genuine.

Copy the link using right click copy link then paste into your browser if there is the slightest doubt.

Example 2:

In the following case, hovering over the first two links seem to go to real UPS website, BUT this is NOT sufficient to be sure since slight misspellings and other tricks can lead you to a totally different website.

However, hovering over the third "link" shows that clicking the apparent link would go to some website: <pre>http://behappy.vn</pre> (Vietnam) so clearly this is a DECEPTION.

[[image:Scamscreenshot.png]]

Example 3:

In this case, an unknown organization behind the phishing attack is pretending to work for Leaseweb sales company and is sending emails from an email address similar to Leaseweb’s, and with Leaseweb’s footer. They claim that the original payment was declined and ask to wire or transfer money to a new account. These kind of emails are quite sophisticated and require you to be vigilant.

Try to confirm the sender’s identity before replying to email requests and before opening attachments or clicking on links, even if they appear to come from a legitimate source.

Below is an example of a fraudulent email request:

<pre>
Your payment has been declined!
Your invoice (100421) with Office 365 Service is due.
To make a payment, please log in with your email address and password at

https://leaseweb.com/payment/100421
Once logged in please click select the Make a Payment icon in the Billing Tab. You may complete payment by Credit Card or Paypal on this page.

Once paid no further action is needed and your account will remain active.
We thank you for your continued business and assistance in helping us to get this resolved.
Feel free to contact us if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.

Regards; </pre>

===Attachments===

Please follow these rules strictly:

*<nowiki>*NEVER* open an attachment that you did not expect.</nowiki>

*<nowiki>*NEVER* be curious to see what is in an attachment.</nowiki>

*<nowiki>*NEVER* open an attachment if there is some other way for the info to be sent e.g. Screenshot of document.</nowiki>

If the rules above are followed then:

*You can open an attachment if you have requested it and if sender is unable to take a screenshot.

*You can open an attachment if you get a good explanation of its contents from the sender and they are unable to take a screenshot.

It is okay to save an attached eml file and open it with GEDIT as text, as it will not trigger any virus.

This does NOT mean that you can open attached files freely. As per the procedures above, you should NOT open any unknown or unexpected attachments without CONSIDERABLE thought.

But saving and then opening files with GEDIT to get an idea of their contents even if the view is mangled is okay. Although, there is little point in opening files like ZIP in gedit.

There is no way to determine if an attachment, even from someone you know, has not been infected and is therefore, dangerous.

The only protection is to rely on anti-virus/anti-malware e-mail filters and staff vigilance!

You can check the names and file types/extensions of attached files to spot any obviously strange or unexpected attachments, but this is not very effective. The filename of an attachment could be spoofed. An attacker could potentially exploit this by tricking the user in to opening an attachment of a different type to the one expected.

Attachments ending in .jar or any other unusual extensions shouldn’t be opened without SB's permission.

If there are a lot of attached files, don't assume they are all safe, make sure you asked for each of them.

==Handling emails from unknown email addresses==

Any sort of contact from an unknown email address must be ignored entirely, i.e. no response whatsoever from Support, as these emails could be from a fraudulent source. If the email is genuine, then the sender can surely contact their managers.

Support should keep in mind that hackers can send emails that look genuine, aiming to get private/confidential information and so should always stay alert when dealing with such emails.

==Handling junk/spam email==

In order to get better automatic spam email filtering please mark as many obviously spam emails as Junk, instead of just deleting them. Marking them will delete them so it takes not much longer to do.

*DO NOT delete emails from Junk or Spam folder because they are used to identify future junk and spam emails.
*Any email identified as junk should be marked as Junk so that they automatically go into the Junk folder. The spam filter in the mail server will use these emails in the Junk folder to decide what is moved into the spam folder.
*You MUST ensure that all clearly junk/spam emails are marked as Junk/Spam in ALL email inboxes. In other words they MUST be moved to Junk/Spam folders and not left in our inboxes or other main folders.
*Any emails which are not clearly junk/spam emails or are similar to genuine emails, but you know are spam/junk MUST be deleted i.e. NOT left in inbox NOR moved to Junk/Spam folders.

Failing the above we will have the following problems:

*Real emails disappearing into junk/spam folders by our email server.
*More junk/spam emails appearing in our inboxes than necessary.

The Junk email folder contains emails that have been manually marked as spam/junk whereas the "spam" email folder contains emails that have automatically been filtered out by the email server.

==Avoid burdening email servers with excessive graphics==

Support MUST install the "Auto Resize Image" addon in Thunderbird to reduce the size of images in emails resulting in a significant reduction in email size. See [[Configuring_Thunderbird#Configure_Auto_Resize_Image| setting up auto resize image]] for details.

It reduces the burden on NEOSYS and NEOSYS client's email servers. This is especially important on long conversations about subjects that include many screenshots, since for just a simple one line reply, the email can consume many MB of space. It massively wastes the email server space and makes backups massive and generally a total waste of resources and time.

To be able to refer back to graphics in previous emails, add the SIZE column to your email program so that you can locate large emails with graphics rapidly without searching back one by one.

==Client Communication Policies==
===Client Meeting Report Policy===

After every Client meeting online or otherwise Support MUST send a Follow-Up email to the Client which is open and fully informative and not brief, stating the events during the meet and any action required by either or both parties. The email to the client must not shrink from discussing contentious issues due to a false sense of politeness or timidity to address issues face on. Obviously one should not be rude but it is not rude to address issues openly.(cc Client managers and NEOSYS Managers)

The follow-up email MUST be sent within 24 hours of completion of the meeting so that the points discussed during the meeting are fresh in all the meeting participants' minds. This means that reports for meetings on the day before the weekend MUST be sent on the SAME day.

In addition to above email if there is some information that needs to be shared internally and cannot be said in public to the client then send a Client Meeting report to Support.

Support must also update the Client Contact Record file in Google Drive immediately after sending out the follow-up email.

===Follow Up of Support Issues===

All voice/chat communication MUST also be followed up with an email confirming at least the gist of the communication to keep the whole support team updated on the issue.

If not possible to contact for any reason, then an email MUST be sent stating so and suggesting or requesting a time to connect.

cc Client managers (and/or BCC NEOSYS Managers) MAY be done if thought to be useful and/or appropriate.

===Handling Contentious Emails from Clients===

If emails requesting support become contentious, then voice, phone call or chat is REQUIRED to save time. However, client support via phone call should be done only on local or low-cost calls. High-cost international calls should not be used except in extreme circumstances.

If clients become deliberately combative or uncooperative then Support team is supposed to kick back a little but still emphasise the point. Perhaps it could be done better with a little ironic humour or a smiley. Avoid using !! while responding to contentious emails.

===Apologising to clients for issues===

We only need to apologise for major issues that are a) definitely our fault and b) we wish to indicate that there is some general issue in NEOSYS procedures and that we are dealing with it.

We do not want to invite bullying by some clients by seeming to lack confidence in our ability.

An explanation of the cause and possibly FP is of more value to the client, since an apology doesn’t really make any difference.

===Discussing Billing===
Support team MUST NOT discuss billing with clients without prior discussion with SB and accounts. Aside from standard pricing for new clients, all other billing is outside of support's area of expertise and knowledge.

All discussions about pricing must be done only in Sales inbox. If clients bring up pricing discussion in support emails, support staff must move the conversation to Sales Inbox and respond as sales@neosys.com .

==NEOSYS Support Response Time Policy==

NEOSYS contracts, in the few cases where we have a written contract with the client, specifies that maximum response time is one business day generally and one business hour for complete stoppages of the system. Obviously we have to do far better than this in practice.

Support staff must inform clients of the progress of the issue if it is not resolved the same day but only if they contact at least 1 hour before office closing.

Deciding to wait on issues is fine (also refer to: [[Procedures#Handling_users_who_do_not_act_upon_standard_messages|Response to standard messages]]), but support MUST at least spend up to 5 minutes on issues to see if they can be handled quickly. Support MUST respond quickly to issues that can be handled quickly, otherwise the client suffers unnecessarily.

When an issue is fixed or a client request has been implemented in NEOSYS, Support must immediately let users know that the issue is fixed, so that clients can continue their work without any further delay. Quick and prompt responses from Support will gain the client's appreciation.

For routine requests for service where there is a reasonable expectation of delay by the client then no need to send rapid reply.

==Default Browser for support staff==

NEOSYS supports and develops for Firefox primarily but other browsers such as Chrome and Edge MUST also be tested working fine. Support team currently uses Firefox for all work related tasks in Ubuntu which includes testing, wiki work etc.

Also refer to [http://itwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Setting_up_Ubuntu_on_NEOSYS_Support_Computers#Mozilla_Firefox Setting up Mozilla Firefox]

==Handling errors discovered by support staff==
{{Handling errors}}

==Handling browser script errors==

If a script error is faced, support should take a full screenshot of the script error including the script name, line number, etc.

Include every detail available regarding the script error and also the steps to replicate it and escalate this to the programmer.

Chrome JavaScript Error Notifier extension shows all the details available in the initial script error message itself.

==Various checks done by Support to investigate errors==

A list of logs/reports that Support must look at, depending on the situation, to solve issues or investigate errors.

#Support inbox emails: Check old emails in Thunderbird. This is the quickest way to handle issues/errors that were handled recently.
#Logs/reports available in NEOSYS Menu
#*Request Log (Support -> RequestLog) - These logs can be checked to see what request were made and by which users etc., not as detailed as the xml logs mentioned under "Logs found on the server".
#*NEOSYS logs (Support -> Log) - Log of alerts sent out via email, e.g. backup email, login failure, etc.
#*What's New report (Help -> What's new in NEOSYS) - Contains a list of all the features added in NEOSYS
#*List of Database processes (Support -> List of Database Processes) - Status of processes windows running on the server.
#*List of documents in use (Support -> List of Documents in Use) - Currently used documents.
#*User details page (Help -> User Details) - To check logins and IPs and password reset details.
#*Version logs of files - The history of edits made to files in NEOSYS. This is available at the bottom of files in NEOSYS (e.g. Schedule file, Voucher file, etc.)
#*Usage Statistics (Support -> Usage Statistics) - Shows no. of requests made per user, per department, per database, per hour etc.
#Logs found on the server:
#*
#*journalctl - Contains all systemd, kernal and journal logs of the server so use cleverly and filter as required
#*Xml logs - These logs can be checked to see what request were made and by which users etc. in detail.
#*Tmux screen 10 - Monitor for NEOSYS client processes sorted by total time spent and by processor time.
#*Tmux screen 11 - Similar to journalctl, but filtered by NEOSYS client requests.
#*Tmux screen 12 - Quick check if live/test is down. Displays the last time the svr file was updated.
#NAGIOS - Monitors the status of all hosts and services.

==Handling Cheques from Clients==

NEOSYS staff are not to accept deliveries from clients that might be cheques without prior instructions to accept the same. They can ask courier to wait a few minutes until NEOSYS accounts or management agrees but they may not be immediately available and probably will not agree anyway. If accounts or management is not immediate available, then cheque MUST not in any circumstances be accepted, otherwise client can cause problems in our accounts and we waste time visiting the bank to deposit.

NEOSYS payment terms do not accept cheques although clients are free to deposit cheques by themselves.

==Client Password Policy==
All client user passwords, including their initial one, are to be obtained via the user's email address using the password reminder/reset button on the login screen. [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Using_NEOSYS_Generally#What_is_NEOSYS_password_policy.3F (NEOSYS password policy)]

NEOSYS staff should never know users passwords therefore NEOSYS will not obtain and grant user passwords. The reason for this is that in the event that users lose their passwords to other people who then login unauthorised then suspicion could fall on the NEOSYS staff who know their password.

All parties concerned, including client management, client users and NEOSYS support staff, benefit greatly from trusting that if something in a NEOSYS database is registered as having been done by a particular user then it was not in fact somehow done by NEOSYS support staff. Nothing should be done that would break such fundamental trust. To achieve this, NEOSYS support staff must never log in as particular users, never ask for users passwords and generally enforce the idea that all work logged as being done by users IS done by users.

Very limited amounts of work by NEOSYS support staff either in person or remotely using teamviewer is acceptable while a user is logged as long as the user login was performed by the user themselves, the user is present and the user specifically agrees with the work being done.

===Support requests from ordinary client users===
Any support requests concerning inability to obtain passwords should be forwarded to known skilled users on the client staff since this is the most efficient (not fastest) way to handle such issues.

===Support requests from senior client management===
Any support requests concerning inability to obtain passwords by senior client management users shall be handled directly by NEOSYS support staff in any way convenient to resolve the issue in the quickest possible time rather than the most efficient.

Bearing in mind that NEOSYS staff should never know user's passwords this will probably involve NEOSYS staff using the Password Reminder/Reset button to send a new password to the user.

===User Defined Passwords===
NEOSYS will provide user defined passwords in very special cases which must be pre-approved case by case by NEOSYS management. NEOSYS will not approve this due to the reasons mentioned [[Procedures#Client_Password_Policy|here]].

If the user login gets blocked due to multiple login failures and the user requests support team to reset the password to the user defined password again, support MUST delay the response to this request by at least 1 hour in order to force the user to be more careful when typing the password.

Currently permission for user defined password has only been granted to one NEOSYS client with several hundreds of databases.

==Handling client issues and requests==

All support issues must be dealt with through phone/email/chat. Support Staff can schedule client visits for User Training but should not schedule client visits solely for providing support for petty issues.

ALL Support staff should check all the previous day's inbound emails for reply flags once in the morning. All Support staff will therefore be held responsible for any unreplied inbound email.

Support MUST NOT waste time and delay support by investigating issues WITHOUT SUFFICIENT INFORMATION.

Support must NOT get involved in any discussion about any document that is not directly out of NEOSYS, so that Support is able to reproduce it from NEOSYS screenshots of screen options that the client used.

Support should look for similar issues when solving a particular problem to avoid similar issues in future. This saves the time and energy of Support as well as the Client.

When sending screenshots to clients, support team should economise on space by minimising to the minimum that will show the problem clearly. This is because not every user will be viewing their emails on large wide screens like NEOSYS support team. Browser windows reformat their contents to suit the width available so this is particularly effective in most NEOSYS screens.

Support team MUST be cautious while sending screenshots so that no private/unnecessary information is sent to Client. If you cannot avoid taking the screenshot without unnecessary information then you should hide it in the screenshot.

Support team MUST learn not to do silly support for people, because we have an OPEN SUPPORT policy, which some users WILL try to abuse based on either poor understanding or lack of respect.
Either way support MUST learn to deal with abuse of privileges as it will save a lot of time, which could be spent on more important issues.

{{SensitiveSecurity }}

===Handling new emails in Support inbox===
Support MUST spend up to 5 minutes on new emails and send a quick reply to the client, to acknowledge the request or give a quick solution in case it is a petty issue or has a documented solution in wiki.

Client issues/requests should be prioritized, interrupting existing work and not wait for one hour and be dealt with quickly.

For routine service requests where there is a reasonable expectation of delay by the client, Support need not send a rapid reply but must keep the email starred in Support inbox to indicate that it is pending or being worked on.

===Handling starred emails in Support inbox===

When an email is received in Support inbox,

*if the email can be replied to immediately, then mark it as read after you have replied to the email.
*if the issue cannot be resolved immediately, then the email MUST be starred so that support does not forget to work on it. Once the issue has been resolved, Support should send an email to Support inbox confirming that the issue is closed. Only then should the email be unstarred.

No issue should be silently dropped without being fully resolved.

===Handling client-sensitive information in emails===

Support should avoid including information that could be sensitive to clients e.g. screenshots of reports that should only be viewed by client's upper management.

This can be done simply by clever cropping of images or blurring out of information in cases where cropping is not possible.

Support MUST not delay response to any client by wasting time blurring or cropping out information that is not sensitive to clients, e.g. blurring out the URL and tabs in browsers etc.

===Handling client call back requests===

Clients who ask us to call them should be given our phone number and asked to call us unless there is some GOOD reason why we should make the effort and pay phone charges.

===Handling login failure issues===

Users often get login failure issues due to typing wrong password and they simply won't read and act according to the error message they get. In this case, Support must send the below email to the user.

<pre>
Dear XYZ,

If you have trouble resetting password, please ask for assistance from your manager/IT Manager/Timesheet Administrator/NEOSYS-expert colleague.

Regards,
NEOSYS Support
</pre>

Local support users (TA or IT manager etc) have the LS key using which they can see the User Details page of all users. They should check all the information (usercode, registered email id, last login attempts etc) in the User Details page to find out what is the issue.

This procedure will reduce the endless mails sent back and forth to solve petty issues which could easily be solved by the client's local support.

===Handling requests or demands for "URGENT" or "PRIORITY" support===

Any request for prioritised action *without giving any reason for the prioritisation* should be disregarded and the request handled with normal priority. If a reason is given then you may at your discretion prioritise a response but there is no obligation to do so.

===Handling users who login with other people's NEOSYS usercodes===
This can cause a lot of confusion in both the client and NEOSYS support. It may also indicate that the correct NEOSYS monthly licensing fee is not being paid. There is no valid reason for anonymous logins or sharing logins between multiple users.

Therefore if NEOSYS support team get requests for support about using NEOSYS from users who are not registered properly in NEOSYS with a personally identifiable user code, name and email then the following email should be sent cc admin@neosys.com.

No exception should be granted to clients without NEOSYS management approval.

<pre>
Dear NEOSYSUSER,

Please note that in order to receive support from NEOSYS you must personally have an identifiable user code, name and email address registered in NEOSYS.

We can create a new user account for you with your management's approval. This may or may not have an impact on the NEOSYS monthly licensing fee depending on the agreement in force.

Please let us know what you would like us to do.

Best Regards,
NEOSYS Support
</pre>

===Handling support requests from expired users===

If expired users call for any reason including not being able to login, they must not be given any support. They should only be told that their account is expired without any reason being offered because employers sometimes do not want any information at all being passed to expired users.

Instead, inform the client's senior management or other point of contact that the expired user has requested support.

===Handling support request from senior management===

Any support requests from senior client management users concerning report generations should be handled directly by NEOSYS support staff in any way convenient to resolve the issue in the quickest possible time rather than the most efficient.

Bear in mind that NEOSYS staff should not agree or offer to do client work. Support staff can advise senior management to contact a skilled user to help them with basic NEOSYS reporting. Support staff can also send screenshots of step by step procedure on how to take reports. Depending on the situation and reasons provided by senior management, support staff can at their discretion provide reports but after informing them that this is an exception and no more reports will be sent out as this is against NEOSYS procedures.

===Handling requests that involve updating NEOSYS configuration files===

Changes to any configuration file in NEOSYS MUST be performed only by NEOSYS support, because even the slightest misconfiguration of the system may cause unrecoverable errors and NEOSYS is responsible for support.

===Handling emails with unrelated subject line===
At times, clients forward old emails, with new issues, resulting in completely unrelated subject line. In such situations, support MUST follow the below steps to ensure that unrelated emails do not appear in the same conversation group when viewing emails in conversation mode:

#Right click the email -> HeaderToolsLite -> Edit full source
#Modify the text that appears after "Message-ID: <". (e.g. replace the first few characters with "xxxxxxxxx")
#Remove all texts that appear after "References:" and "In-Reply-To:" and click OK.
#Click Reply All on the modified email.
#Change the subject to a relevant one.
#Delete old unrelated content from the email body.

In the email reply, include a comment like "PS Please don't forward old emails for new issues, start a new email with a new subject so that emails can be traced easily."

Sometimes the client does not bother putting the correct subject line for new issues (e.g. blank subject, or "Error"). Then support should add a meaningful subject line in order to make the email easy to search for.

===Handling emails with poor screenshots===
Sometimes Thunderbird shows full sized screenshots in a compact format that is not easy to read. These can be resized to make them more legible. To do this, make the email editable by hitting the "Reply" button, then click and drag to resize the screenshot as desired.

If the screenshot sent by the user is genuinely small and hard to read, reply to the mail and request for a full size, clear screenshot.

===Handling support-request emails sent to anywhere than support@neosys.com===
Client emails anywhere than support@neosys.com MUST be ignored. This is because ALL support must be recorded in support inbox without exception so that the whole support team is aware of the issue and action taken. If client complains about the delay in support then they can be told this is because they used the wrong email address.

===Handling users who do not act upon standard messages===
When users do not bother to read and act on standard NEOSYS-generated messages and instead ask for help, Support staff MUST delay response time and thereafter send them an email which is the same as the message so they get the point that in future they should read the messages and handle issues themselves.

===Handling Requests to do Client work===
NEOSYS Support staff must not agree or offer to do work on behalf of the client.

This is because doing client work while logged in as NEOSYS breaks security rules. Support uses the EXODUS username which has unrestricted access, so when a user requests Support to do some work which they don’t have access to, and if Support agrees to do the work, the client has successfully defeated the security rules by accessing features that they are unauthorised to access.

If a client makes a false claim about an issue in NEOSYS, i.e. if Support finds out that there is no real issue, then direct the client in the right direction so that they find out their mistake by themselves. Support MUST NOT show/explain the problem to them in detail, since you are just doing their work for them by explaining the problem and this will encourage the client to contact support for every petty issue they face.

Client work also includes [[Procedures#Handling_issues_with_totals_on_reports|Handling issues with totals on reports]].

====Requests for colour and font changes====

Support should not be spending lots of time on colour and font changes. Clients can make as many changes as they want until they are happy with a selection. Clients MUST send a screenshot of their required color/font settings (not sample screen/reports) for Support to copy and setup for all users. If Support sees them doing something bad or poor then give comments or better suggestions.

===Handling Requests that require Approval from Higher Authority===

The following is a list of user requests that must be handled by NEOSYS support staff only if they are approved by or come from a higher authority (manager/admin). The LIST is '''NOT''' a complete list so there may be other things which might require approval so use good judgement and/or ASK if in doubt.

*Opening new financial year
*Adding new company/dataset
*Editing alert/backup email receiver addresses
*Customising Authorisation File ({{SensitiveSecurity }})
**Adding or removing accesses for existing users in Authorisation file
**[[Procedures#Handling_new_USER_creation| Adding new user(s) to Authorisation file]]
**Expiring a user
**[[Procedures#For_HTTPS_access| Allowing HTTPS/outside office access from any IP number]]

If an unauthorized user sends one of these requests to support staff, support staff must immediately instruct the user to get the request approved by the higher authority.

====Handling Requests from people impersonating an Authorised person====
Clients may impersonate an authorised person by using their email address or signature when they are told that the request must come from or be approved by the authorised person. Support must use their judgement to deal with such requests.

If it is a simple request such as adding a new user or expiring one, Support can go ahead with the request.

If it is a request with risk involved such as providing remote access or granting high-level authorisation, Support must then contact the authorised person and let them know that their approval for the request has been received and are proceeding with the request.

===Handling User Requests to add an IP or range of IPs to access NEOSYS===

Support staff must identify if the IP or range of IPs is for http or https access.
{{SensitiveSecurity }}

====For HTTP access====
Support staff can add local IP or range of local IPs when requested by the client. Top management approval is not needed to add local IP numbers. Listed below are the IP address ranges reserved for local network.

10.0.0.0 – 10.255.255.255

172.16.0.0 – 172.31.255.255

192.168.0.0 – 192.168.255.255

====For HTTPS access====
Any request for https access from any IP address or range of IP addresses (eg. 123.456.* or just *), or in other words any use of an asterisk in the IP restrictions, MUST have TOP management i.e. the company's decision makers approval. The Staff and their Managers are not the best decision makers in this affair because they usually ignore the risks and it is not really their decision. Security threats like access of data by unauthorized persons or ex-employees, malicious hacking attempts etc can be triggered if access from any IP is enabled. It is completely pointless to inform the staff who want the access about these risks because only their top managers could really decide that this is NOT going to be allowed. Hence the Top Management MUST be asked for approvals and at the same time WARN them about the security risks/threats behind the no IP restrictions.

=====For clients with static IP=====
Any request to add a specific IP address to the list of allowed IP addresses MUST have management approval.

=====For clients with dynamic IP=====
For clients with dynamic IP, support MUST NOT add their public IP to the allowed list as this will encourage the client to again request for access from new IP numbers every time their public IP changes. Instead, support MUST force the client to either get a static IP, install VPN or get the Top Management i.e. the company's decision maker's approval to enable access from any IP after explaining the security risks in doing so, as mentioned above.

Support MUST also mention that installation of VPN by the Company is the industry standard way of providing access to mobile staff (i.e. those on dynamic IP numbers from home or traveling) to corporate software assets like NEOSYS IN A SECURE MANNER. Installation of VPN is to be done by their own IT support. Refer to [[Procedures#Using_VPN_to_enable_secure_access_from_outside_the_office|Using VPN to enable secure access from outside the office]]

Sample Email addressed to Top Management:
<pre>
Dear <XXXXX>,

I do not recommend allowing access from all IPs because security threats like access of data by unauthorized persons or ex-employees, malicious hacking attempts etc. can be triggered if access from any IP is enabled.

I strongly recommend that you keep IP restrictions for <XXXXXX> dataset.

If you want to provide access to mobile staff (i.e. those on dynamic IP numbers from home or traveling) to corporate software assets like NEOSYS IN A SECURE MANNER, then installation of VPN is the industry standard of achieving this. Installation of VPN is to be done by your own IT support.

If you still wish to allow access from all IPs, kindly confirm that you acknowledge the security threats of doing so.

</pre>

===Handling repeated request to allow users to access from all IPs===

{{SensitiveSecurity }}

If the client wants temporary access from outside for some staff twice in say a six months period then support should send the below email. The real reason is because we don't have the time to be doing this on a regular basis. If at all the client asks why we no longer support the provision of temporary outside access then we can say this is because of the frequency of such requests.

Dear XXX

We have given you temporary outside access this time, as requested. Please note that we can no longer support the provision of temporary outside access. So in the future, you will have to choose between either permanent or no outside access. Alternatively, you can ask your management to install a VPN (which is the industry standard of achieving outside access to a corporate asset in a secure manner), so that you can log in to NEOSYS from outside.

===Handling requests to create a new feature or modifying existing features===

Many issues are small and not important but can still be considered for development because they may be easy and neatly added to NEOSYS.

The aim here is to avoid development on hard issues for little benefit, or little issues that make NEOSYS more complex for little benefit.

When a client requests to create a new feature or modify an existing feature, a workaround must be given to the user, which is either a permanent solution, for example if the issue is a rare case and not commonly faced by other clients (and the workaround is acceptable to the client), or a temporary solution until some better solution is discovered or can be developed.

If only a workaround can be provided, use the standard template email for "Not possible to Implement the new feature immediately".

Support MUST check all options on all pages to look for any already existing solution or workaround to the problem before emailing the programmer.

Any request to create a new feature or modify an existing feature MUST be discussed with other clients before forwarding it to the programmer because the other clients might not be comfortable with the change as it may not be in accordance with their workflow. If other clients agree to the proposed change then support should go ahead and request the programmer to implement it.

Therefore before escalating a request to the programmer to modify a feature in NEOSYS, the approval for the same from other clients must be taken into account.

Any request to fix or modify a feature in NEOSYS must be accompanied with good reason and some basic considerations, so that the programmer knows what level of priority it can be dealt with.

When escalating the request to the programmer, support MUST avoid using "Is it possible..?" because the obvious answer to that is "Anything is possible" and because this question is only a way to avoid doing the real work of deciding whether the new feature/modification should be implemented.

===Handling requests to add more fields to List of Invoices reports===

Many users may ask for the List of Invoices report to be expanded to show a zillion other things, but this makes it NOT a list of invoices. Therefore other break-downs MUST be obtained from other reports in NEOSYS.

===Updating Clients about unresolved issues===
Support should proactively inform clients if an issue is not solved within the same day it was raised, after judging the urgency of the issue and the time it was raised. An email to the client who raised the issue, before the end of each day, is a best practice that keeps the client updated and other support staff too. This email should be sent regardless of the degree to which the issue has been resolved or if the issue is unresolved. If the issue is unresolved, the email should explain why and also explain the cause of delay.

===Handling new USER creation===
====Get Approval====
Support staff should create new USERS for clients ONLY when requested by an authorised person. If the authorised person is unavailable, for example on leave, then get approval from someone who is in the backup mail list.

Ideally only people who are users in NEOSYS and have authority over some task can grant or request authority to do that task for other NEOSYS users. However, if this is not the case and the requesting person has some seniority in the company (but is either not a NEOSYS user, or is not actually currently authorised to perform the task themselves) you may decide that it is not wise to proceed without some confirmation. In such a case be very respectful of their position while rejecting any request perhaps stating something like:

"Currently we have instructions to take requests concerning authorisation only from xxx, yyy and zzz. Please could this request be confirmed by one of them?" Rewrite this judiciously to suit the occasion.

Consider that different sections of a company may have different chain of commands. For example one should not assume that a Sales Director has authority over Finance unless there is firm evidence. If there is any doubt consult NEOSYS Support Managers.

Support MUST NOT directly contact the authorised person asking for approval/confirmation because that is client work.

In case the client [[Procedures#Handling_Requests_from_people_impersonating_an_Authorised_person|impersonates an authorised person]] to get a new user request approved, Support may go ahead with the request since it is not support's job to judge the authenticity of an email that appears to be from an authorised person. If the request is to create a user in a top level department, then you may choose to include other top department users/managers in your email so they are aware of the new user created.

Clients should not be discouraged to create new users. Clients are billed as per user usage which is reviewed periodically. Over time old USERS are replaced with new USERS.

====Creating User====
Preliminary:

New user requirements :-

*Full name - (like John Smith and not generic name like Copy Writer)
*Email address - (like johnsmith@example.com and not generic address like copywriter@example.com)
*Group level / User with similar authorisation

The USER code is the first name of a user.

1. Support MUST only create NEOSYS accounts with real names and email addresses WITH NO EXCEPTIONS unless agreed by NEOSYS management.

It is acceptable, although inefficient, for one person to have multiple user accounts either concurrently or sequentially, but the opposite MUST never occur.
One NEOSYS user code/account MUST never have more than one real person associated with it neither concurrently nor sequentially.
In order to maintain efficiency, various fleeting temptations to cut corners and break the ONE TO ONE link between NEOSYS user accounts and real people MUST be resisted.
These principles remain mandatory even when pressure is exerted by people, even senior management, who may not appreciate the issues involved.
The fact that NEOSYS support does not know for certain who is the real person using a NEOSYS account does not change these principles.

2. Support MUST not create GENERIC user codes like AUDITOR or MANAGEMENT (even to grant special access to such users like read-only access) as this breaks all security rules.
Do not re-use user codes. Always create NEW user codes for NEW users.

3. Support MUST not create or modify any usable NEOSYS account that is or has been used by more than one user.

4. Support is responsible to maintain the system in good working order and not knowing who is really doing the work in the system can make support harder.

5. Support MUST not collude with clients to by-pass the principles. If asked to do so Support MUST refuse to create or update such accounts.

6. Do not hand over user codes from one person to another in a mistaken attempt to represent a hand over to a replacement. EXPIRE THE OLD USER CODE/ACCOUNT AND CREATE A NEW USER CODE/ACCOUNT.

{{SensitiveSecurity }}

7. Support team MUST NOT discuss billings with clients unless authorised to do so. Also see [[Procedures#Discussing_Billing|Discussing Billing]]

8. Support team MUST NOT proceed with creating new users until the group level or existing user with similar authorisation has been clearly provided by the client, otherwise the new user may end up with more than the required authorisation, which can lead to problems in future.

====After Creating New User====

Support MUST send an email to the person who requested the creation of new user, confirming that the new user has been created along with a screenshot of that part of the authorisation table where the new user was created so that the new user's user code and email id is visible. This is done so that in case there is some error in the user code or email id, it is easily visible in the screenshot and also so that the person who requested the creation of the new user is informed about the user code of the new user.

===Handling letterhead change requests===

Support staff should reject any requests that require the letterhead to be setup on the TESTING dataset before it is setup in the MAIN dataset. This is to reduce double work for support staff and to ensure that clients have a clear understanding of their requirements and also send the correct logo image.
The MAIN dataset can be copied to the TEST dataset for any kind of testing.

See [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Configuring_Letterhead#Changing_the_letterhead_for_printed_documents How to change letterhead]

===Handling error messages===

'''Important:''' Before Attempting to resolve client issues, please ensure that we have secure access to the NEOSYS server.

#The very first step is understanding client problem. Ask questions to the client until you CLEARLY understand the problem.
#If the error is familiar and does not require a screenshot, resolve the problem immediately.
#If the error is unfamiliar and/or requires a screenshot and the user has not sent a screenshot, IMMEDIATELY use existing email template to ask the user to send a screenshot of the problem, along with the options used (basically you need to know HOW to replicate the error and the screenshot MUST show WHAT the error is).
#If the user says "nothing happens, so no screenshot of the error", then IMMEDIATELY request for screenshots again with the exact steps to reproduce the problem using mouse and keyboard.
#Support team MUST NOT provide support without a screenshot, otherwise the client will not pay attention to support team in future and ignore requests for screenshots.
#Upon receipt of the error and steps to reproduce the error, follow the steps and reproduce the error. Also refer to [[Procedures#Addressing_Browser_related_issues|Addressing Browser related issues]]
#If the issue is unknown or you don’t understand it clearly, with the users acknowledgement use remote support to gain access to the users desktop to view how to replicate the error.
{{Handling errors}}

====Understanding Internal error messages====

Internal errors messages appear in red on screen and an email which is sent to support with more details. (Example below)

[[image:Rawformdatapng.png]]

The "ERROR NO:" line is comprised of the error number (B16), the program (MARGIN_BASE) and the line number (1). Sometimes the line number is wrong, refer to section "Misleading line numbers in error messages" below for more info.

The "STACK:" line lists the "parent" calling programs "SYSMSG,LISTEN" used to trace how and where the error originates.

The "DATA:" is a string of characters that is used to recreate the options used by the client in order to replicate the error message. See how to [[Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Generally#Replicate_options_used_.26_error_using_sysmsg_Data: | replicate the error with the options used, using internal error email]]

===Addressing Browser related issues===

When resolving random browsing issues that seem to be on one user computer only, support MUST send the below email asking the user to check if the same issue occurs on other user computers. Rapidly convincing the user that the problem is only on their computer gains their willingness to sort the problem out at their end, using IT people if necessary and available.

Handling random issues that appear to be on one computer is very very common and it is important to deal with it effectively, not requiring stages of "denial" by the users until they accept something has to be done at their end, and not by NEOSYS. Speeding up this process gains the confidence and appreciation of the users.

<pre>Hi xxxx

Is this error happening only on your computer? If that is the case, it may be due to an issue in your browser cache. Please clear your browser cache with assistance from your IT team if required. Then restart the browser and try again.

If clearing browser cache does not fix the issue, I recommend a full browser reset to ensure that everything works fine.

Follow these instructions for clearing browser cache and resetting browser:
http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Generally#Troubleshooting_Web_Browsers

Please let us know if you face the issue again.</pre>

Also refer to [[Procedures#Handling_Browser_related_issues_in_NEOSYS| Handling Browser related issues]]

===Addressing Technical support emails===

In the case of technical support issues, address emails to the IT person and cc the complete group of recipients of backup emails and other NEOSYS alert emails. This allows both NEOSYS and client IT staff to take credit for resolving issues that NEOSYS raises instead of working in the background unacknowledged.

Technical support issues include backup failure, server failure, missing alert email, server connectivity issues and port forwarding issues and many other issues.

For technical issues like browser configuration, clear cache, etc. support must send the user a link to the appropriate wiki article to help the user fix the problem. In some cases the user may be helpless and unable to follow the steps to fix the problem. In such cases, support MUST NOT waste time trying to help the user fix the problem, instead support MUST ask the user to get help from the IT person.

===Acceptable report format when handling issues in NEOSYS reports===

NEOSYS Support must only resolve issues in NEOSYS output first. This is because only NEOSYS outputs can be trusted and user versions in Excel or PDF could be copied wrongly or edited by the user.

In case users send reports in excel or other formats, get them to send the original NEOSYS HTML report as an attachment or copy-pasted in email.

===Handling requests to create new charts or control accounts===

[http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Setting_up_and_Configuring_NEOSYS_Finance_System#Creating_New_Charts_or_Control_Accounts Refer here]

===Handling issues with totals on reports===

If a client has a problem with any total output by NEOSYS software then NEOSYS support will advise them which other NEOSYS report or reports provide a complete breakdown of the total (if necessary, to individual transactions) and ask the client to locate any offending transactions themselves.

NEOSYS support staff will handle any issues where the total on the breakdown report does not add up to the total on the summary report.

Reconciling totals can be hard if there are many transactions involved. Regardless of how hard it may be, reconciliation is an operational task for users not for support staff since NEOSYS support staff will not get involved in understanding client transactions or data.

====Trial Balance and Financial Statements====

NEOSYS support staff do not have to prove or trace any figures in NEOSYS Trial Balance Reports or any financial reports. If a figure is stated to be wrong by the user, then NEOSYS support staff should ask for proof or say NEOSYS is confident that the figures are correct unless proved otherwise.

NEOSYS support staff should point out reports in NEOSYS which will support the figures in question but not actually run the reports. Support staff can suggest the users to refer to detailed ledger accounts to prove balances.

==Using VPN to enable secure access from outside the office==
There are two ways in which a user can use VPN to access NEOSYS:

*User connects to their office router and makes the PC act like it is on the office LAN.
*User connects to a VPN service that provides a static IP number and can therefore be authorised by NEOSYS to login.

If the client intends to use VPN to connect to their office router and make the PC act like it is on the office LAN, then it depends on what VPN protocols the client's office router supports.

The alternative is to use a paid VPN service that provides a static IP number. Getting a dynamic IP number on VPN is very cheap and there are many suppliers, but getting a static IP number on VPN services seems to be more expensive.

Internally in NEOSYS we use PFSENSE routers which support OPENVPN which is extremely flexible.

==Handling issues with Office PBX phones==

Support should check their respective Office PBX phones every morning to find out if the phone is up and working. In case Support finds any issue with their phone, immediately fix it so that clients do not lose contact with the Support team via phone. Next send an email to Support inbox mentioning the fault, cause and solution for records/future prevention.

==Running undocumented commands on Maintenance mode==

Support Staff MUST NOT run undocumented commands on ***LIVE*** database. Some commands are not documented for a reason, it could be because the commands might give an undesired output or because there is no clarity on what else could be effected by the command.

Even if the command is tested in TESTING database and the output looks okay, support staff MUST get the programmer's approval before going ahead and running the command in LIVE database as there is no guaranty that the command is properly programmed and will do no damage.

==Configuring Browsers to show Javascript errors in NEOSYS==
NEOSYS Support MUST ensure the following Settings for browsers because if NEOSYS generates any javascript error message, the same would appear in the bottom left corner of a window, which in turn helps the programmer to fix the error. This must be done after every Factory Reset.

===Chrome===
Chrome Menu > More Tools > Extensions > Get More Extensions, search for '''Javascript Errors Notifier'''. Add the extension to Chrome.

[[image:Chrome.png]]

[[image:Chrome1.png]]
===Firefox===
TODO: Find replacement for Firebug, below does not work
Firebug add-on is used to NOTIFY about script errors because we have no other method to get any warning on screen but you should use the main firefox developer tools to investigate any errors as firebug is essentially replaced by built in developer tools.

For developer tools, go to Tools > Web Console

To enable notifications for script errors, download the add-on Firebug from [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/firebug/ here]. When a Javascript error is encountered, the firebug icon will report the number of errors.

Set your firebug as per the second screen shot and select "Enable All Panels" as well, the tick will not appear like the other options but the option will get selected. If you miss out on any one of these steps, you will not be able to capture script errors.

[[file:firebug1.jpg|1200px]]

[[File:Firebug.png]]

==Handling Browser related issues in NEOSYS==
See [http://techwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Technical_/_Hardware_requirements#NEOSYS_Software_Browser_and_OS_Requirements NEOSYS browser requirements]

Clients frequently ask [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/General_FAQ#Why_doesnt_NEOSYS_support_my_XYZ_browser.3F Why NEOSYS doesn't support other browsers]

To avoid browser errors, all new users must follow the steps given in [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Using_NEOSYS_Generally#Getting_started_with_NEOSYS Getting started with NEOSYS] before logging in to NEOSYS for the first time.

To troubleshoot browser related errors see [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Generally#Troubleshooting_Web_Browsers Troubleshooting Web Browsers]

Pop-up blockers and any 3rd party toolbars must be deactivated/switched off or else certain pages and alert messages while using NEOSYS do not appear as a result of blocking from either the pop-up blocker or toolbars with built-in pop-up blockers.

NEOSYS support must ask users to Reset browser (See [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Reset_Browser Reset browser]) if they notice any user browsers which have pop-up blockers or 3rd party toolbars installed.

Also refer to [[Procedures#Addressing_Browser_related_issues| Addressing Browser related issues]]

==Handling NEOSYS Upgrade==
See [http://techwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Upgrading_NEOSYS Upgrading NEOSYS]

==Handling auto-reply emails like Out of Office etc.==

From 28th May 2017 version, emails sent out by the NEOSYS system contain headers that in effect request recipient email systems not to auto-reply for things like Out of Office. This is to reduce unnecessary chatter by silencing unnecessary automatic replies. There is no guarantee that recipient email systems will comply. The headers added are:

*X-Auto-Response-Suppress: RN, NRN, OOF
*Precedence: bulk

Support team should notify SB of any auto-responses that come despite their installation being patched.

In NEOSYS versions after 10th Jun 2017, emails sent by NEOSYS from the NEOSYS Help menu, i.e. manually triggered emails, do NOT indicate that OOF replies are not wanted, since if you are sending emails to people using NEOSYS, you will want to know if they are OOF.

==Using Support Tools==
===Website Live Support===
TODO: Find a replacement live support software, below software is not in use.
www.neosys.com is equipped with a Live Support software and clients can visit the website, click on this link and chat with any of our support staff, without the need for any installation. The client has to fill in their name and enter their questions to connect to an available support personnel. During non-working hours, the Live Support icon on the website automatically displays "offline".

NEOSYS Support personnel who are authorised to provide such support, need to login to Live helper chat in Firefox using the link given below:

http://neosys.com/lhc_neosys/index.php/site_admin/

Support personnel should enter the account details as provided by their Manager.

Enable notifications for Live helper chat so that whenever there is a visitor trying to contact Support team, the Support personnel will get the notifications on his screen.

Set the Live helper chat login page as your home page in Firefox and this page must be kept open for the whole duration of working hours.

Support must always be alert and immediately reply to messages from visitors.

Use the link below to enable notifications:

http://neosys.com/lhc_neosys/index.php/site_admin/chat/listchatconfig

After setting up Live helper chat if you sign in to a new profile in Firefox, you might have to re enable the notifications after your Firefox is synced to the new profile.

===Teamviewer===
Since Teamviewer allows no restriction on access once a fixed pass is installed, Support must not install fixed pass on teamviewer however convenient it might be.

RULE: NO FIXED PASS TO BE INSTALLED ON TEAMVIEWER IN ANY NEOSYS OR NEOSYS CLIENT COMPUTER

Running teamviewer live from a web link is fine because it does not allow installation of a permanent password

For certain tasks that require temporary install of Teamviewer on the client servers (e.g. upgrading Cygwin remotely), use Teamviewer 7 on the server as well as Support staff computer. Contact NEOSYS IT for commercial license of Teamviewer 7. Teamviewer MUST be uninstalled after usage, otherwise it creates an additional unnecessary security risk.

To support client users who use the latest version of Teamviewer, support staff must also install the latest Teamviewer version available alongside Teamviewer 7.

==Documenting Processes in Wiki==
NEOSYS Support staff must be in continual learning mode. This is mandatory for support staff and is not an option. Support must read, learn and understand everything in the support emails and ask questions if they don't understand. This understanding must be transferred into wiki in the form of new articles and improvements to existing articles.

For all articles related to formatting and editing in Wiki, see [http://itwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Documenting_NEOSYS_systems Documenting NEOSYS systems]

===Avoiding duplication of text in wiki===

Duplication of text in wiki is to be avoided almost at any cost. Duplication has the problem that when one copy is changed or improved in future then it is highly likely the editor will fail to update the other copy or copies and wiki will over time become an inconsistent mess.

There are several ways to avoid duplication:

#Two or more procedures which have significant areas of duplication can be rewritten as a single procedure with alternatives in the middle of the procedure
#Wiki Templates- Templates reproduce the same text in all places and editing one place edits all places. See [[How to create templates in wiki]]
#Wiki links- Only put the text in one place and put links to that in all the other places that it is appropriate.
#Place a note in all copies something to the effect that "This is similar to x, y and z". This alerts any future editor of all other places in wiki that might also have to be updated.

Future modifications in one place may or may not be appropriate to other places. The editor must decide whether to change one or all places

===Highlighting information in wiki===

To highlight particular instructions or info in wiki do NOT invent new styles which are not the way the rest of wiki is done. Instead, follow the USUAL STYLE or open a DISCUSSION with any recommendations you have BEFORE USING THEM.

Instead of using various kinds of highlighting styles like bolding and words like "Note:", use the following words IN CAPITALS especially the word MUST.

The use of the following words IN CAPITALS indicates that you are using them in a special way with formally defined meaning as explained below. Use of the words in lower case indicates that you are using the word in an ordinary commonsense meaning.

*MAY - means optional
*SHOULD - means recommended and you need GOOD reason (not just any weak excuse) to not follow to follow this recommendation
*MUST - mandatory

Only in the rare cases where the consequences of doing or not doing something are irreversible or take a lot of work to reverse then you can use your own additional highlighting methods, eg ALL CAPS, stars, color red etc.

====Explain WHY====

Any sentence which uses the word "MUST" in capitals, MUST be followed by a SPECIFIC REASON explaining exactly why is the instruction is mandatory; the reason MUST not be vague and non-specific meaning no more than "or bad things will happen".

WRONG way: You MUST also delete ads if deleting schedules.

WRONG way: You MUST also delete ads if deleting schedules otherwise it will cause problems in future.

CORRECT way: You MUST also delete ads if deleting schedules otherwise the deleted schedules' ads will still show in all media-diary like reports and screens

The Wrong way above gives a general reason "it will cause problems in future" which is vague and a reader may even go ahead and ignore "MUST" because there is no objective or proper side effect mentioned for not following the MUST statement. Basically he doesn't understand the point behind following a certain rule.

Whereas the Correct way gives a SPECIFIC reason for "deleting ads while deleting schedules", so reader will exactly know the trouble that will be caused if ads are not deleted. Therefore "SPECIFIC REASON" behind using the word MUST must be to the point and very informative.

====Why explain WHY====
The information contained in the WHY phrase is often '''extremely informative''' to the reader about things that you may otherwise not have considered saying.

The most valuable information is usually contained in the "WHY" of something. There is an apocryphal story of a company where managers could be fired if they gave instructions to their staff without providing explanation. In almost all cases it is better for the efficiency of a team of people that any instructions they follow contain the "WHY" of something. Only in few cases should staff be expected to follow instructions without being well or fully informed.

==Email Retention Policy==

===Generally===

Emails are retained permanently to allow old issues to be discovered in email searches.

===Account: backups@neosys.com===

Only the last 365 days of emails to backups@neosys.com are kept in general to reduce the burden on servers and clients due to the heavy number of emails.

For the backups/neosys folder, only 31 days is kept due to the very high numbers of emails ~250/day.

Deletions are configured in and done by a thunderbird client in NEOSYS IT so may not be continuous.

==Use of personal email addresses by NEOSYS support staff==

NEOSYS support staff MUST NOT use any personal email addresses for NEOSYS business.

The xxxx.neosys@gmail.com addresses that are created by support staff for themselves on joining are also considered personal email addresses and must not be used for NEOSYS business. These email addresses might be linked to NEOSYS wiki accounts but that doesn't matter because wiki is not confidential.

==Accessing NEOSYS accounts on personal devices==

NEOSYS staff MUST NOT install NEOSYS accounts on skype/nextcloud/gmail (or any other external tool) on their personal devices without written permission from NEOSYS management

==Support Staff work-in-progress documents/files==

Support Staff must not save working files hidden on their computer. Work that is not visible is not work.
Support work should not be done privately and should be shared to all.

ALL personal working files however trivial MUST be stored in Nextcloud and MUST NOT be stored anywhere in personal computer (My Documents/Desktop etc.)

The personal encrypted pass file MUST be stored somewhere in personal folder under Nextcloud/support. This is because if there is a loss of OS/Computer, it should not lead to loss of access as all the passwords saved in the file will be lost.

==Handling CLIENT/NEOSYS Servers==

NEOSYS support staff must exercise extreme caution when working on CLIENT and NEOSYS servers. Do not risk making changes without due care and attention to the fact that the consequences of errors can be serious on working production servers.

==Handling "List of Open Ports" reports==

This email comes to NEOSYS support team once a day showing only those client's servers which appear to have changed what TCP ports are open to the internet since yesterday. It will also come once a week showing all clients servers open ports.

NEOSYS support team should work patiently with client IT staff, over time if necessary, to close all ports that are not absolutely mandatory to be open.

Clients with highly skilled IT staff may have a variety of ports open to various non-NEOSYS servers inside their organisation. In this case, NEOSYS plays little or no role other than getting their confirmation of exactly what ports are acceptable. Any new ports that appear over time should be handled in the same way.

For clients without such staff, NEOSYS is their only real line of defence and since NEOSYS requested opening some ports, we should get all other ports closed by patiently following up until action is taken. Involving management may be the only way to get IT to act.

High end port numbers (e.g. 49667) may represent transient outbound connections from users. Therefore for such port numbers, support team should contact the client only if the port remains open on the following working day.

In particular, port 80 and 443 controlling internal or external routers should be closed. It is NOT acceptable except in HIGH IT EXPERTISE environments that critical routers should be exposed to the internet and they MUST NOT be accessible from the internet because routers that do not have their software updated can be hacked using known defects. Even updated routers can be hacked. Making it easy for client IT staff to access the router configuration from outside is NOT a good enough excuse to break this rule. Professional IT does not allow access to critical routers from the internet.

Likewise, any port 80 (unencrypted web access) and port 3389 (RDP remote desktop) open to the NEOSYS server MUST be closed otherwise logins can be monitored and there is no way to guarantee server security.

Port 23 (Telnet) is an insecure port because it is unencrypted and should never be open for usage. This is standard practice and well known by any network professional. Since the port is unencrypted, attackers can listen in, watch for credentials, inject commands via man-in-the-middle attacks and ultimately perform Remote Code Executions (RCE).

If a port is definitely required and properly approved to be open by client IT support, please let NEOSYS IT (SB) know and it will be put in the "Authorised" column so that ports in the "Questionable" column are all pending action.

The report does not attempt to detect UDP ports since UDP ports can receive information from the internet without responding in any way so there is no way to detect them reliably.

Green color shows ports that have opened since the last report run. Open ports can sometimes not be detected accurately so a port may appear to disappear in one report and reappear in the next report.

===Why should HTTP port 80 not be open on my router?===

It is not advisable to expose any HTTP server for any private service on your computer network or router because HTTP is unencrypted and this means that all information regarding that service, including passwords, can be observed by any malware on your LAN and internet connection. This information can then be used to install horrible software on your internal PCs.

What to do?

Use https for any internal services - and advisably on a non-standard port, not the standard https port of 443.

For example, NEOSYS service is exposed as HTTPS (not HTTP) usually on port 4430 - not the standard https port of 443.

Commercial hacking is getting really common with things like FIREBALL and CRYPTOLOCKER causing a lot of damage.

It is advisable to take basic precautions pro-actively before any attack exposes weaknesses.

==Handling Nagios Client Monitoring system==

NEOSYS support staff on duty MUST follow the procedures outlined below in case the Firefox "imoin" add-on shows critical or warning messages for any service. Failure to schedule appropriate downtime will lead to REDUNDANT EMAIL ALERTS from Nagios every hour.

Any alert on the Firefox "imoin" add-on means that there is an issue that has not been attended to properly, and "attended to" does not always mean solved. Support staff MUST solve the problem immediately if possible.

If it is not possible to solve the problem immediately, then downtime/acknowledge the service and add a comment on the Nagios alert, explaining the problem briefly.

Support should check Nagios frequently during the day to look for any new alerts so that issues are fixed as soon as possible.

*Nagios is required to be checked first thing in the morning and any critical or warning messages need to be dealt with to resolve the same at the earliest.
*Some of the messages could be related to backup failures and the usual procedure as stated in Handling failure and warning messages on nightly backup alerts needs to be followed. In case the backup issue isn't resolved by 9:30 am, the Nagios service needs to be downtimed with an appropriate comment for a minimum of 2 hours and maximum until 1 am next day if the issue cannot be solved.
*In case of "Backup not changed" warning status which occurs if the client has not interchanged the USB before 12 noon on that day, no action is required from the support staff and a downtime with a comment like "Backup media not changed - Emailed client" needs to be scheduled until 1 am next day.
*In case any HTTPS, SSH, PING service or Host is down, immediate action is required and the relevant IT people at the client side needs to be contacted to get this resolved. A downtime of 2 hours with a comment like "Service/host down - Emailed client" is required to be scheduled with further intervals of 2 hours in case this is not resolved. Support staff shouldn't schedule downtime till 1 am next day, just to get rid of the alerts for the day. Proactive follow up with the client is required to get this resolved before the business day - more so, if there is a weekend ahead.
*In case the HTTPS, SSH, PING service or Host goes down during the day, a grace period of 10 minutes is given before the issue is reported to the client IT, in case there is any temporary internet connection issue at the client or along the internet route.
*In case the HTTPS, SSH PING service or Host is down for more than 1 day, client IT should acknowledge the problem and give NEOSYS support staff an approximate time frame before which the issue will be resolved. Set an appropriate downtime with a descriptive comment for such events.
*In case Host is down for more than 2 days and there is no progress with the fix from client IT, the client management should be notified about the seriousness of not having access to server and their acknowledgement is mandatory.

==Handling lack of remote access to NEOSYS server located in client’s premises==

If access to the NEOSYS server is lost then we must determine the root cause by:

#Checking if the server is UP and running
#If yes, please check internet connectivity on the server
#If there is connectivity, please check the router for connectivity issues

'''Sample Response:'''
<pre>
Dear XYZ,

Please note that we have currently lost access to the NEOSYS server. The server seems to be down at the moment and it seems that
NEOSYS processes are not running on the server.
Kindly check if the server is UP and running. If yes, please check internet connectivity on the server.
Do keep us posted on the server status so we can test connectivity from our side as well.

Best Regards,
</pre>
==New Router (Port Forwarding)==

If you have changed your router then you may notice that external access to NEOSYS is unavailable.

'''Solution:'''

Setup a permanent access for NEOSYS by reconfiguring the Router / Firewall for Port Forwarding from Router to the NEOSYS Server as follows:

#Port 19580 > 19580 for SSH
#Port 4430 > 4430 for HTTPS

You can see [http://portforward.com/ Set Up Port Forwarding] to learn how to configure your Router.

To see how to test/ troubleshoot port forwarding settings, go to [[Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Generally#Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_remote_support_port_forwarding|Troubleshooting Port Forwarding]].

'''Sample Response:'''
<pre>
Dear XYZ,

You are requested to kindly setup a permanent access for NEOSYS by reconfiguring the Router / Firewall for Port Forwarding from Router to
the NEOSYS Server,i.e. port 19580 for SSH and port 4430 for HTTPS.

Once this is complete, kindly send me an email to confirm the same so that we could test connectivity from our end as well.

Best Regards
</pre>
==Creating and Handling passwords==
===Creating a password===
Passwords are generated from a pass phrase and it is important to create a very difficult to guess pass phrase.

Passwords made out of a pass phrase MUST be at least 10 characters since using initials results in a lot of i's and a's etc which reduces the effectiveness of the password and allows hacking via brute force guessing especially since windows doesnt slow down logins even if it sees thousands of password attempts.

For example, a good pass phrase would be: '''Today is a good day and it is the best time to go for a holiday'''

The password for this would be '''Tiagd&iitbt2g4ah'''

The important instructions for the above are:

#You have to take the first letter of each word and that makes your password (i.e. by using initials)
#Wherever any word starts with a capital, then you have to take first letter as a capital (eg. For Today you will take T)
#Replace '''and''' with '''&'''
#Replace '''to''' with '''2'''
#Replace '''for''' with '''4'''

===Handling passwords===

#Never send the actual password - always send the pass phrase
#Make sure that the password created out of the pass phrase is at least 10 characters long since using initials results in a lot of i's and a's etc which reduces the effectiveness of the password and allows hacking via brute force guessing especially since windows doesnt slow down logins even if it sees thousands of password attempts
#Pass phrases are never to be sent by email, whatever the case maybe.
#Pass phrases can be sent by chat - however they have to be broken down in two parts and sent separately over two different messengers or if you are using Gtalk then use the 'off the record' mode.
#Using SMS to send pass phrases is the best known way as of now.
#If you save the passwords on your system in an file then:
#*Ensure that you only store pass phrases in the excel file
#*Ensure that the excel file is encrypted with a master password

==NEOSYS Maintenance Window==

NEOSYS is available 24x7, unlike the old (AREV) NEOSYS where there was a 5 hour maintenance window from 1 am to 6 am daily.

The only disruption is at 03:21 am GMT mid-week, when the server reboots automatically only if required after Linux updates.

==Using NEOSYS Terminology while communicating with Clients==

NEOSYS support must communicate in correct language to clients on finance issues in order to ensure that our records exactly represent reality. Conversely NEOSYS must not use other terminology because it can cause considerable confusion and poor quality results. In case client is new and still in training, use client terminology optionally as long as

#It is only an addition to NEOSYS standard terminology
#Only if clear that it is client terminology by putting in brackets like this "Sales Invoices (called PI by you)", where "you" means the client you are talking to or you can put the client company name instead perhaps.

The objective is over time to avoid having the support team to have to know the terminology of the client. NEOSYS support team cannot possibly know and remember it for each client therefore the client MUST over time learn and use NEOSYS terminology. The initial period is one of relearning and translation for the client not for NEOSYS.

Many users operating NEOSYS finance module do not know proper financial procedures and may not appreciate how doing something in a wrong or unusual way now may not be correctable in the future.

NEOSYS staff must follow NEOSYS procedures only. If NEOSYS procedures need to be updated then this must be agreed in advance and not AFTER the fact.

==Amending/Reposting Journal Entries==
In certain exceptional cases, amending/reposting of journal entries is allowed for only one day to enable clients to present reports in an alternative manner.

It must be agreed with the client that reposting rights will be granted for only one day and NEOSYS Support will automatically remove it and check for CCB error thereafter.

This would be subject to NEOSYS requiring a written LETTER OF APPROVAL duly signed and stamped by the highest management of the company.

In case the client management decides to allow editing/reposting of journal entries, then follow the procedure mentioned in [[Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Finance_System#Reposting_a_Batch_in_Journal_Entry|Reposting a Batch in Journal Entry]]

==Removal of unauthorized third-party software on client servers==

Rule: Any third party software that is discovered by NEOSYS support staff on client servers that has been installed without the agreement of NEOSYS should be uninstalled immediately on discovery.

However purposeful a software is, NEOSYS is contractually responsible for support and there are too many opportunities for poorly installed software to cause unpredictable damage to the NEOSYS database so NEOSYS has to have a clear and safe and simple policy to ensure the integrity of client data. Installing software without prior discussion with NEOSYS by itself indicates that insufficient care and consideration has been given to possible issues.

Having unauthorized third party software on the server can possibly lead to a backup failure. For example, [[Backup_and_Restore#Error_Message:_.22LISTS_file_is_not_available.22|LISTS file not available]] error.

Any software required by client IT for some purpose may only be installed after discussion and agreement from NEOSYS support staff concerning the configuration and operation of the software.

The NEOSYS Software Licence and Support agreement requires that where NEOSYS software is installed on client servers that a dedicated server is provided and dedicated implies that no other software may be installed without the agreement of NEOSYS support.

==International v/s Indian English==

There are some words which have completely different meanings in International and Indian English. NEOSYS Staff should follow International English only. Below are the examples of few of those words:

Word: '''Doubt'''

In the English language word "doubt" means to distrust an alleged fact on the basis of a reason, depending on the strength of the reason which may be anything from factual to feeling e.g "I have no reason to doubt him".
This usage is followed worldwide.

Some people especially from Indian origin use "doubt" when they are unaware about a fact. e.g "I want to clear my doubts about this procedure" or "I have a doubt in this ..". This is incorrect. The word must be used when you do not agree on something on the basis of a reason and not when you do not have knowledge about it. e.g. "I doubt this script will complete in time".

==[[ New Employee Training Checklist]]==

==[[ New Client Training Notes]]==

==[[ General Office Procedures]]==

Procedures

2023-10-13T06:27:51Z

Arvind: /* Discussing Pricing */

Here are procedures to be followed by Support Staff in respect to various technical matters in day to day operations of client issues.

Once Support Staff have learnt how to follow these procedures & rules, you then start learning when and how to not follow them. Common sense trumps all rules! i.e. don't follow procedures and rules blindly all the time. Analyse the problem and solve it practically.

BUT if you are doing something off-piste deliberately, then just add an appropriate comment about why you are.

==Handling Clients with Overdue Invoice==
In order to maintain good payment speed by clients NEOSYS needs to restrict support to clients that dont pay their bills on time, however the degree of restriction needs to depend on an intimate knowledge of the client which cannot be expected from all NEOSYS support staff. Therefore we will use a simple escalation policy as follows:

===Overdue Support List===
NEOSYS SUPPORT will maintain an overdue list on Thunderbird support inbox. Generally, clients will go on the list immediately when their invoice is overdue and come off only after satisfactory commitment to pay have been obtained.

The latest overdue list email MUST always be starred until there are no clients left on the overdue list (apart from the permanently overdue clients). When a client is added to the overdue list, support must set up a filter to move client support emails to the overdue folder. When a client is removed from the overdue list, client emails must be moved back into the support inbox. This way support team will know that there are still clients on the overdue list and will not mistakenly provide support to those clients.

[[image:FilterOverdue.jpg]]

For the first week of each quarter of the year, normal support should be provided for server failures and backup failures (including hung processes as it could eventually lead to backup failures).

For any other support requests from overdue clients, respond with the following letter (where XYZ is the overdue client):

Dear <user>,
There is an issue with your company's account. We have requested our Accounts team for approval in order to provide support to you and other <company_name> users.

Support staff MUST then provide the required support to the overdue client only after 4 working hours. Support Staff need not actually contact the Accounts team for approval, although that is what is mentioned in the letter. This delay in support is to encourage clients to settle their payments on time.

After the first week of each quarter of the year, respond to any support requests from overdue clients with the above letter but MUST NOT PROVIDE SUPPORT even after 4 working hours. Instead, Support Staff must refer the support request to NEOSYS Support Manager.

Managers may well instruct support to provide support on a case by case basis even if clients are on the overdue list. Being on the overdue list does not necessarily indicate a major issue with accounts.

If the client provides proof of payment (e.g. cheque deposit slip), then carefully check all the details as mentioned in [https://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Sales_FAQ#When_can_NEOSYS_support_staff_start_installation_of_NEOSYS When can NEOSYS support staff start installation of NEOSYS], before getting approval from NEOSYS management to remove the client from the overdue list.

===Placing Licence Restrictions===

If a client that does not already have a licence restricion is on the overdue list for more than 15 days, then place a [[Restricting_usage_of_NEOSYS_to_licence_period | licence restriction]] on the client's database after discussion with manager and approval from SB.

How frequently the client was placed in the overdue list in the past should be taken into consideration when making this decision.

===Handling complaints about Licence Restrictions===

If support places a new licence restriction for a client, users will not be able to create and save documents dated outside the licence period. Due to this sudden restriction, clients may raise complaints about the restriction placed.

Support MUST simply inform them that licence restrictions are a default procedure followed by NEOSYS and is applied to all clients with overdue invoices. This will encourage the client to avoid delaying the payment in future.

===Handling complaints about emails from NEOSYS Accounts Department===

If a client calls Support team to complain about emails from NEOSYS accounts department (e.g. invoice payment reminder), then immediately make them realise that they are wasting their time talking to support, because support should not involve themselves in client invoices and reminders procedure.

Support: "Terribly sorry, but I handle Support, you will have to contact Accounts."

Client: yaddah yaddah yaddah for as long as they like

Support: "Terribly sorry, but I handle Support, you will have to contact Accounts."

Client: "Can you put me through to Accounts?"

Support: "Sorry, Accounts is not in the office at the moment."

Client: "When can I call to get through to accounts?"

Support: "I'm afraid I don't know."

Client: "Can you get accounts to call me back?"

Support: "I will pass on the message"

==Handling Frozen NEOSYS Installations and Databases==

Some clients retain fully operational NEOSYS installations or just particular databases even after they stop using them for some reason, either because they move to some other software, or because they terminate an operational division, or other reasons, and this can either be on NEOSYS or their own servers.

In this case, various NEOSYS upgrade and maintenance processes may be suspended, downgraded or completely skipped especially if instant access to the server is no longer available. This does not mean that it should never be done, and pros and cons need to be assessed and documented in support emails on a case by case basis.

*Upgrading NEOSYS version
*Upgrading/standardising NEOSYS database configuration and other files for consistency, security or other issues
*Patching Windows/IIS configuration for consistency, security or other issues

==Handling Links and Email Attachments==

'''DO NOT TRUST ANY LINK OR ATTACHMENT IN ANY EMAIL EVEN FROM HIGHLY TRUSTED PEOPLE OR ORGANISATIONS'''

These days you can no longer trust links or attachments in emails from anybody - even emails from highly trusted people like your bank.

If a personal computer or intermediate email server is hacked then even genuine emails sent out from it can be infected and modified in a hidden way that can result in the recipient being infected if they click or open anything in the email.

Therefore you should know and understand how to avoid, as far as possible, getting tricked and infected via emails.

Malware authors generally rely on the fact that most people devote no time at all to security precautions so a moderate cautious approach, slowing down a little to spending some time on security, even where it is apparently not required, is enough to defeat most attacks.

===Links===

Do NOT click on links, especially in emails that you are not expecting, but also anywhere else that you see links, without taking various precautions. The links in an email, even from someone you know and trust, can LIE to you about what website they will open and they can lead you to websites that mere browsing can infect your computer and then others inside our network.

WHAT LINK/WEBSITE WILL BE OPENED MAY NOT BE WHAT IT SAYS IN THE BODY OF YOUR EMAIL!

Therefore, to use a link in any and all emails, first hover your cursor over it and check the status bar at the bottom of the screen where you can see exactly what website will be opened, or, to be more sure exactly what website you are opening DO NOT click links in emails at all. COPY/PASTE the link to your browser, AFTER following the below points.

*Make sure you know and trust the website being opened.
*Carefully inspect the spelling of the domain name to avoid tricky look-alike fraudulent links eg hcsb.com instead of hsbc.com
*If you trust the sender but you do not personally know the website then get independent confirmation from the sender. Reply to the email so that the sender can check the link you received has not been tampered with.

Example 1:

Below is an example of a phishing email that you can easily tell is malware

[[image:Scamscreenshot1.png]]

*You don't expect it because it says "before your sign up is complete" ... but you didn't just sign up.

This doesn't mean that links in emails that you ARE expecting ARE safe to open. All the usual cautions apply to emails you DO expect.

*Hover mouse over the button and check the link visually

In the example above, the email is supposed to be from Dropbox, but hovering the mouse over the button shows the below link, which is obviously wrong:

<pre>http://fxloraisdoxbraxsil.com.br/dropbox.html</pre>

*Even if the link looks genuine e.g. something from a service that we use that we didn't expect, be careful for misspelt links that look like genuine links e.g. drobbox.com, which could trick you if you are sloppy.

Never click on links in emails unless you are absolutely 100% sure that the email and link is genuine.

Copy the link using right click copy link then paste into your browser if there is the slightest doubt.

Example 2:

In the following case, hovering over the first two links seem to go to real UPS website, BUT this is NOT sufficient to be sure since slight misspellings and other tricks can lead you to a totally different website.

However, hovering over the third "link" shows that clicking the apparent link would go to some website: <pre>http://behappy.vn</pre> (Vietnam) so clearly this is a DECEPTION.

[[image:Scamscreenshot.png]]

Example 3:

In this case, an unknown organization behind the phishing attack is pretending to work for Leaseweb sales company and is sending emails from an email address similar to Leaseweb’s, and with Leaseweb’s footer. They claim that the original payment was declined and ask to wire or transfer money to a new account. These kind of emails are quite sophisticated and require you to be vigilant.

Try to confirm the sender’s identity before replying to email requests and before opening attachments or clicking on links, even if they appear to come from a legitimate source.

Below is an example of a fraudulent email request:

<pre>
Your payment has been declined!
Your invoice (100421) with Office 365 Service is due.
To make a payment, please log in with your email address and password at

https://leaseweb.com/payment/100421
Once logged in please click select the Make a Payment icon in the Billing Tab. You may complete payment by Credit Card or Paypal on this page.

Once paid no further action is needed and your account will remain active.
We thank you for your continued business and assistance in helping us to get this resolved.
Feel free to contact us if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.

Regards; </pre>

===Attachments===

Please follow these rules strictly:

*<nowiki>*NEVER* open an attachment that you did not expect.</nowiki>

*<nowiki>*NEVER* be curious to see what is in an attachment.</nowiki>

*<nowiki>*NEVER* open an attachment if there is some other way for the info to be sent e.g. Screenshot of document.</nowiki>

If the rules above are followed then:

*You can open an attachment if you have requested it and if sender is unable to take a screenshot.

*You can open an attachment if you get a good explanation of its contents from the sender and they are unable to take a screenshot.

It is okay to save an attached eml file and open it with GEDIT as text, as it will not trigger any virus.

This does NOT mean that you can open attached files freely. As per the procedures above, you should NOT open any unknown or unexpected attachments without CONSIDERABLE thought.

But saving and then opening files with GEDIT to get an idea of their contents even if the view is mangled is okay. Although, there is little point in opening files like ZIP in gedit.

There is no way to determine if an attachment, even from someone you know, has not been infected and is therefore, dangerous.

The only protection is to rely on anti-virus/anti-malware e-mail filters and staff vigilance!

You can check the names and file types/extensions of attached files to spot any obviously strange or unexpected attachments, but this is not very effective. The filename of an attachment could be spoofed. An attacker could potentially exploit this by tricking the user in to opening an attachment of a different type to the one expected.

Attachments ending in .jar or any other unusual extensions shouldn’t be opened without SB's permission.

If there are a lot of attached files, don't assume they are all safe, make sure you asked for each of them.

==Handling emails from unknown email addresses==

Any sort of contact from an unknown email address must be ignored entirely, i.e. no response whatsoever from Support, as these emails could be from a fraudulent source. If the email is genuine, then the sender can surely contact their managers.

Support should keep in mind that hackers can send emails that look genuine, aiming to get private/confidential information and so should always stay alert when dealing with such emails.

==Handling junk/spam email==

In order to get better automatic spam email filtering please mark as many obviously spam emails as Junk, instead of just deleting them. Marking them will delete them so it takes not much longer to do.

*DO NOT delete emails from Junk or Spam folder because they are used to identify future junk and spam emails.
*Any email identified as junk should be marked as Junk so that they automatically go into the Junk folder. The spam filter in the mail server will use these emails in the Junk folder to decide what is moved into the spam folder.
*You MUST ensure that all clearly junk/spam emails are marked as Junk/Spam in ALL email inboxes. In other words they MUST be moved to Junk/Spam folders and not left in our inboxes or other main folders.
*Any emails which are not clearly junk/spam emails or are similar to genuine emails, but you know are spam/junk MUST be deleted i.e. NOT left in inbox NOR moved to Junk/Spam folders.

Failing the above we will have the following problems:

*Real emails disappearing into junk/spam folders by our email server.
*More junk/spam emails appearing in our inboxes than necessary.

The Junk email folder contains emails that have been manually marked as spam/junk whereas the "spam" email folder contains emails that have automatically been filtered out by the email server.

==Avoid burdening email servers with excessive graphics==

Support MUST install the "Auto Resize Image" addon in Thunderbird to reduce the size of images in emails resulting in a significant reduction in email size. See [[Configuring_Thunderbird#Configure_Auto_Resize_Image| setting up auto resize image]] for details.

It reduces the burden on NEOSYS and NEOSYS client's email servers. This is especially important on long conversations about subjects that include many screenshots, since for just a simple one line reply, the email can consume many MB of space. It massively wastes the email server space and makes backups massive and generally a total waste of resources and time.

To be able to refer back to graphics in previous emails, add the SIZE column to your email program so that you can locate large emails with graphics rapidly without searching back one by one.

==Client Communication Policies==
===Client Meeting Report Policy===

After every Client meeting online or otherwise Support MUST send a Follow-Up email to the Client which is open and fully informative and not brief, stating the events during the meet and any action required by either or both parties. The email to the client must not shrink from discussing contentious issues due to a false sense of politeness or timidity to address issues face on. Obviously one should not be rude but it is not rude to address issues openly.(cc Client managers and NEOSYS Managers)

The follow-up email MUST be sent within 24 hours of completion of the meeting so that the points discussed during the meeting are fresh in all the meeting participants' minds. This means that reports for meetings on the day before the weekend MUST be sent on the SAME day.

In addition to above email if there is some information that needs to be shared internally and cannot be said in public to the client then send a Client Meeting report to Support.

Support must also update the Client Contact Record file in Google Drive immediately after sending out the follow-up email.

===Follow Up of Support Issues===

All voice/chat communication MUST also be followed up with an email confirming at least the gist of the communication to keep the whole support team updated on the issue.

If not possible to contact for any reason, then an email MUST be sent stating so and suggesting or requesting a time to connect.

cc Client managers (and/or BCC NEOSYS Managers) MAY be done if thought to be useful and/or appropriate.

===Handling Contentious Emails from Clients===

If emails requesting support become contentious, then voice, phone call or chat is REQUIRED to save time. However, client support via phone call should be done only on local or low-cost calls. High-cost international calls should not be used except in extreme circumstances.

If clients become deliberately combative or uncooperative then Support team is supposed to kick back a little but still emphasise the point. Perhaps it could be done better with a little ironic humour or a smiley. Avoid using !! while responding to contentious emails.

===Apologising to clients for issues===

We only need to apologise for major issues that are a) definitely our fault and b) we wish to indicate that there is some general issue in NEOSYS procedures and that we are dealing with it.

We do not want to invite bullying by some clients by seeming to lack confidence in our ability.

An explanation of the cause and possibly FP is of more value to the client, since an apology doesn’t really make any difference.

===Discussing Billing===
Support team MUST NOT discuss billing with clients without prior discussion with SB and accounts. Aside from standard pricing for new clients, all other billing is outside of support's area of expertise and knowledge.

All discussions about pricing must be done only in Sales inbox. If clients bring up pricing discussion in support emails, support staff must move the conversation to Sales Inbox and respond as sales@neosys.com .

==NEOSYS Support Response Time Policy==

NEOSYS contracts, in the few cases where we have a written contract with the client, specifies that maximum response time is one business day generally and one business hour for complete stoppages of the system. Obviously we have to do far better than this in practice.

Support staff must inform clients of the progress of the issue if it is not resolved the same day but only if they contact at least 1 hour before office closing.

Deciding to wait on issues is fine (also refer to: [[Procedures#Handling_users_who_do_not_act_upon_standard_messages|Response to standard messages]]), but support MUST at least spend up to 5 minutes on issues to see if they can be handled quickly. Support MUST respond quickly to issues that can be handled quickly, otherwise the client suffers unnecessarily.

When an issue is fixed or a client request has been implemented in NEOSYS, Support must immediately let users know that the issue is fixed, so that clients can continue their work without any further delay. Quick and prompt responses from Support will gain the client's appreciation.

For routine requests for service where there is a reasonable expectation of delay by the client then no need to send rapid reply.

==Default Browser for support staff==

NEOSYS supports and develops for Firefox primarily but other browsers such as Chrome and Edge MUST also be tested working fine. Support team currently uses Firefox for all work related tasks in Ubuntu which includes testing, wiki work etc.

Also refer to [http://itwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Setting_up_Ubuntu_on_NEOSYS_Support_Computers#Mozilla_Firefox Setting up Mozilla Firefox]

==Handling errors discovered by support staff==
{{Handling errors}}

==Handling browser script errors==

If a script error is faced, support should take a full screenshot of the script error including the script name, line number, etc.

Include every detail available regarding the script error and also the steps to replicate it and escalate this to the programmer.

Chrome JavaScript Error Notifier extension shows all the details available in the initial script error message itself.

==Various checks done by Support to investigate errors==

A list of logs/reports that Support must look at, depending on the situation, to solve issues or investigate errors.

#Support inbox emails: Check old emails in Thunderbird. This is the quickest way to handle issues/errors that were handled recently.
#Logs/reports available in NEOSYS Menu
#*Request Log (Support -> RequestLog) - These logs can be checked to see what request were made and by which users etc., not as detailed as the xml logs mentioned under "Logs found on the server".
#*NEOSYS logs (Support -> Log) - Log of alerts sent out via email, e.g. backup email, login failure, etc.
#*What's New report (Help -> What's new in NEOSYS) - Contains a list of all the features added in NEOSYS
#*List of Database processes (Support -> List of Database Processes) - Status of processes windows running on the server.
#*List of documents in use (Support -> List of Documents in Use) - Currently used documents.
#*User details page (Help -> User Details) - To check logins and IPs and password reset details.
#*Version logs of files - The history of edits made to files in NEOSYS. This is available at the bottom of files in NEOSYS (e.g. Schedule file, Voucher file, etc.)
#*Usage Statistics (Support -> Usage Statistics) - Shows no. of requests made per user, per department, per database, per hour etc.
#Logs found on the server:
#*
#*journalctl - Contains all systemd, kernal and journal logs of the server so use cleverly and filter as required
#*Xml logs - These logs can be checked to see what request were made and by which users etc. in detail.
#*Tmux screen 10 - Monitor for NEOSYS client processes sorted by total time spent and by processor time.
#*Tmux screen 11 - Similar to journalctl, but filtered by NEOSYS client requests.
#*Tmux screen 12 - Quick check if live/test is down. Displays the last time the svr file was updated.
#NAGIOS - Monitors the status of all hosts and services.

==Handling Cheques from Clients==

NEOSYS staff are not to accept deliveries from clients that might be cheques without prior instructions to accept the same. They can ask courier to wait a few minutes until NEOSYS accounts or management agrees but they may not be immediately available and probably will not agree anyway. If accounts or management is not immediate available, then cheque MUST not in any circumstances be accepted, otherwise client can cause problems in our accounts and we waste time visiting the bank to deposit.

NEOSYS payment terms do not accept cheques although clients are free to deposit cheques by themselves.

==Client Password Policy==
All client user passwords, including their initial one, are to be obtained via the user's email address using the password reminder/reset button on the login screen. [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Using_NEOSYS_Generally#What_is_NEOSYS_password_policy.3F (NEOSYS password policy)]

NEOSYS staff should never know users passwords therefore NEOSYS will not obtain and grant user passwords. The reason for this is that in the event that users lose their passwords to other people who then login unauthorised then suspicion could fall on the NEOSYS staff who know their password.

All parties concerned, including client management, client users and NEOSYS support staff, benefit greatly from trusting that if something in a NEOSYS database is registered as having been done by a particular user then it was not in fact somehow done by NEOSYS support staff. Nothing should be done that would break such fundamental trust. To achieve this, NEOSYS support staff must never log in as particular users, never ask for users passwords and generally enforce the idea that all work logged as being done by users IS done by users.

Very limited amounts of work by NEOSYS support staff either in person or remotely using teamviewer is acceptable while a user is logged as long as the user login was performed by the user themselves, the user is present and the user specifically agrees with the work being done.

===Support requests from ordinary client users===
Any support requests concerning inability to obtain passwords should be forwarded to known skilled users on the client staff since this is the most efficient (not fastest) way to handle such issues.

===Support requests from senior client management===
Any support requests concerning inability to obtain passwords by senior client management users shall be handled directly by NEOSYS support staff in any way convenient to resolve the issue in the quickest possible time rather than the most efficient.

Bearing in mind that NEOSYS staff should never know user's passwords this will probably involve NEOSYS staff using the Password Reminder/Reset button to send a new password to the user.

===User Defined Passwords===
NEOSYS will provide user defined passwords in very special cases which must be pre-approved case by case by NEOSYS management. NEOSYS will not approve this due to the reasons mentioned [[Procedures#Client_Password_Policy|here]].

If the user login gets blocked due to multiple login failures and the user requests support team to reset the password to the user defined password again, support MUST delay the response to this request by at least 1 hour in order to force the user to be more careful when typing the password.

Currently permission for user defined password has only been granted to one NEOSYS client with several hundreds of databases.

==Handling client issues and requests==

All support issues must be dealt with through phone/email/chat. Support Staff can schedule client visits for User Training but should not schedule client visits solely for providing support for petty issues.

ALL Support staff should check all the previous day's inbound emails for reply flags once in the morning. All Support staff will therefore be held responsible for any unreplied inbound email.

Support MUST NOT waste time and delay support by investigating issues WITHOUT SUFFICIENT INFORMATION.

Support must NOT get involved in any discussion about any document that is not directly out of NEOSYS, so that Support is able to reproduce it from NEOSYS screenshots of screen options that the client used.

Support should look for similar issues when solving a particular problem to avoid similar issues in future. This saves the time and energy of Support as well as the Client.

When sending screenshots to clients, support team should economise on space by minimising to the minimum that will show the problem clearly. This is because not every user will be viewing their emails on large wide screens like NEOSYS support team. Browser windows reformat their contents to suit the width available so this is particularly effective in most NEOSYS screens.

Support team MUST be cautious while sending screenshots so that no private/unnecessary information is sent to Client. If you cannot avoid taking the screenshot without unnecessary information then you should hide it in the screenshot.

Support team MUST learn not to do silly support for people, because we have an OPEN SUPPORT policy, which some users WILL try to abuse based on either poor understanding or lack of respect.
Either way support MUST learn to deal with abuse of privileges as it will save a lot of time, which could be spent on more important issues.

{{SensitiveSecurity }}

===Handling new emails in Support inbox===
Support MUST spend up to 5 minutes on new emails and send a quick reply to the client, to acknowledge the request or give a quick solution in case it is a petty issue or has a documented solution in wiki.

Client issues/requests should be prioritized, interrupting existing work and not wait for one hour and be dealt with quickly.

For routine service requests where there is a reasonable expectation of delay by the client, Support need not send a rapid reply but must keep the email starred in Support inbox to indicate that it is pending or being worked on.

===Handling starred emails in Support inbox===

When an email is received in Support inbox,

*if the email can be replied to immediately, then mark it as read after you have replied to the email.
*if the issue cannot be resolved immediately, then the email MUST be starred so that support does not forget to work on it. Once the issue has been resolved, Support should send an email to Support inbox confirming that the issue is closed. Only then should the email be unstarred.

No issue should be silently dropped without being fully resolved.

===Handling client-sensitive information in emails===

Support should avoid including information that could be sensitive to clients e.g. screenshots of reports that should only be viewed by client's upper management.

This can be done simply by clever cropping of images or blurring out of information in cases where cropping is not possible.

Support MUST not delay response to any client by wasting time blurring or cropping out information that is not sensitive to clients, e.g. blurring out the URL and tabs in browsers etc.

===Handling client call back requests===

Clients who ask us to call them should be given our phone number and asked to call us unless there is some GOOD reason why we should make the effort and pay phone charges.

===Handling login failure issues===

Users often get login failure issues due to typing wrong password and they simply won't read and act according to the error message they get. In this case, Support must send the below email to the user.

<pre>
Dear XYZ,

If you have trouble resetting password, please ask for assistance from your manager/IT Manager/Timesheet Administrator/NEOSYS-expert colleague.

Regards,
NEOSYS Support
</pre>

Local support users (TA or IT manager etc) have the LS key using which they can see the User Details page of all users. They should check all the information (usercode, registered email id, last login attempts etc) in the User Details page to find out what is the issue.

This procedure will reduce the endless mails sent back and forth to solve petty issues which could easily be solved by the client's local support.

===Handling requests or demands for "URGENT" or "PRIORITY" support===

Any request for prioritised action *without giving any reason for the prioritisation* should be disregarded and the request handled with normal priority. If a reason is given then you may at your discretion prioritise a response but there is no obligation to do so.

===Handling users who login with other people's NEOSYS usercodes===
This can cause a lot of confusion in both the client and NEOSYS support. It may also indicate that the correct NEOSYS monthly licensing fee is not being paid. There is no valid reason for anonymous logins or sharing logins between multiple users.

Therefore if NEOSYS support team get requests for support about using NEOSYS from users who are not registered properly in NEOSYS with a personally identifiable user code, name and email then the following email should be sent cc admin@neosys.com.

No exception should be granted to clients without NEOSYS management approval.

<pre>
Dear NEOSYSUSER,

Please note that in order to receive support from NEOSYS you must personally have an identifiable user code, name and email address registered in NEOSYS.

We can create a new user account for you with your management's approval. This may or may not have an impact on the NEOSYS monthly licensing fee depending on the agreement in force.

Please let us know what you would like us to do.

Best Regards,
NEOSYS Support
</pre>

===Handling support requests from expired users===

If expired users call for any reason including not being able to login, they must not be given any support. They should only be told that their account is expired without any reason being offered because employers sometimes do not want any information at all being passed to expired users.

Instead, inform the client's senior management or other point of contact that the expired user has requested support.

===Handling support request from senior management===

Any support requests from senior client management users concerning report generations should be handled directly by NEOSYS support staff in any way convenient to resolve the issue in the quickest possible time rather than the most efficient.

Bear in mind that NEOSYS staff should not agree or offer to do client work. Support staff can advise senior management to contact a skilled user to help them with basic NEOSYS reporting. Support staff can also send screenshots of step by step procedure on how to take reports. Depending on the situation and reasons provided by senior management, support staff can at their discretion provide reports but after informing them that this is an exception and no more reports will be sent out as this is against NEOSYS procedures.

===Handling requests that involve updating NEOSYS configuration files===

Changes to any configuration file in NEOSYS MUST be performed only by NEOSYS support, because even the slightest misconfiguration of the system may cause unrecoverable errors and NEOSYS is responsible for support.

===Handling emails with unrelated subject line===
At times, clients forward old emails, with new issues, resulting in completely unrelated subject line. In such situations, support MUST follow the below steps to ensure that unrelated emails do not appear in the same conversation group when viewing emails in conversation mode:

#Right click the email -> HeaderToolsLite -> Edit full source
#Modify the text that appears after "Message-ID: <". (e.g. replace the first few characters with "xxxxxxxxx")
#Remove all texts that appear after "References:" and "In-Reply-To:" and click OK.
#Click Reply All on the modified email.
#Change the subject to a relevant one.
#Delete old unrelated content from the email body.

In the email reply, include a comment like "PS Please don't forward old emails for new issues, start a new email with a new subject so that emails can be traced easily."

Sometimes the client does not bother putting the correct subject line for new issues (e.g. blank subject, or "Error"). Then support should add a meaningful subject line in order to make the email easy to search for.

===Handling emails with poor screenshots===
Sometimes Thunderbird shows full sized screenshots in a compact format that is not easy to read. These can be resized to make them more legible. To do this, make the email editable by hitting the "Reply" button, then click and drag to resize the screenshot as desired.

If the screenshot sent by the user is genuinely small and hard to read, reply to the mail and request for a full size, clear screenshot.

===Handling support-request emails sent to anywhere than support@neosys.com===
Client emails anywhere than support@neosys.com MUST be ignored. This is because ALL support must be recorded in support inbox without exception so that the whole support team is aware of the issue and action taken. If client complains about the delay in support then they can be told this is because they used the wrong email address.

===Handling users who do not act upon standard messages===
When users do not bother to read and act on standard NEOSYS-generated messages and instead ask for help, Support staff MUST delay response time and thereafter send them an email which is the same as the message so they get the point that in future they should read the messages and handle issues themselves.

===Handling Requests to do Client work===
NEOSYS Support staff must not agree or offer to do work on behalf of the client.

This is because doing client work while logged in as NEOSYS breaks security rules. Support uses the EXODUS username which has unrestricted access, so when a user requests Support to do some work which they don’t have access to, and if Support agrees to do the work, the client has successfully defeated the security rules by accessing features that they are unauthorised to access.

If a client makes a false claim about an issue in NEOSYS, i.e. if Support finds out that there is no real issue, then direct the client in the right direction so that they find out their mistake by themselves. Support MUST NOT show/explain the problem to them in detail, since you are just doing their work for them by explaining the problem and this will encourage the client to contact support for every petty issue they face.

Client work also includes [[Procedures#Handling_issues_with_totals_on_reports|Handling issues with totals on reports]].

====Requests for colour and font changes====

Support should not be spending lots of time on colour and font changes. Clients can make as many changes as they want until they are happy with a selection. Clients MUST send a screenshot of their required color/font settings (not sample screen/reports) for Support to copy and setup for all users. If Support sees them doing something bad or poor then give comments or better suggestions.

===Handling Requests that require Approval from Higher Authority===

The following is a list of user requests that must be handled by NEOSYS support staff only if they are approved by or come from a higher authority (manager/admin). The LIST is '''NOT''' a complete list so there may be other things which might require approval so use good judgement and/or ASK if in doubt.

*Opening new financial year
*Adding new company/dataset
*Editing alert/backup email receiver addresses
*Customising Authorisation File ({{SensitiveSecurity }})
**Adding or removing accesses for existing users in Authorisation file
**[[Procedures#Handling_new_USER_creation| Adding new user(s) to Authorisation file]]
**Expiring a user
**[[Procedures#For_HTTPS_access| Allowing HTTPS/outside office access from any IP number]]

If an unauthorized user sends one of these requests to support staff, support staff must immediately instruct the user to get the request approved by the higher authority.

====Handling Requests from people impersonating an Authorised person====
Clients may impersonate an authorised person by using their email address or signature when they are told that the request must come from or be approved by the authorised person. Support must use their judgement to deal with such requests.

If it is a simple request such as adding a new user or expiring one, Support can go ahead with the request.

If it is a request with risk involved such as providing remote access or granting high-level authorisation, Support must then contact the authorised person and let them know that their approval for the request has been received and are proceeding with the request.

===Handling User Requests to add an IP or range of IPs to access NEOSYS===

Support staff must identify if the IP or range of IPs is for http or https access.
{{SensitiveSecurity }}

====For HTTP access====
Support staff can add local IP or range of local IPs when requested by the client. Top management approval is not needed to add local IP numbers. Listed below are the IP address ranges reserved for local network.

10.0.0.0 – 10.255.255.255

172.16.0.0 – 172.31.255.255

192.168.0.0 – 192.168.255.255

====For HTTPS access====
Any request for https access from any IP address or range of IP addresses (eg. 123.456.* or just *), or in other words any use of an asterisk in the IP restrictions, MUST have TOP management i.e. the company's decision makers approval. The Staff and their Managers are not the best decision makers in this affair because they usually ignore the risks and it is not really their decision. Security threats like access of data by unauthorized persons or ex-employees, malicious hacking attempts etc can be triggered if access from any IP is enabled. It is completely pointless to inform the staff who want the access about these risks because only their top managers could really decide that this is NOT going to be allowed. Hence the Top Management MUST be asked for approvals and at the same time WARN them about the security risks/threats behind the no IP restrictions.

=====For clients with static IP=====
Any request to add a specific IP address to the list of allowed IP addresses MUST have management approval.

=====For clients with dynamic IP=====
For clients with dynamic IP, support MUST NOT add their public IP to the allowed list as this will encourage the client to again request for access from new IP numbers every time their public IP changes. Instead, support MUST force the client to either get a static IP, install VPN or get the Top Management i.e. the company's decision maker's approval to enable access from any IP after explaining the security risks in doing so, as mentioned above.

Support MUST also mention that installation of VPN by the Company is the industry standard way of providing access to mobile staff (i.e. those on dynamic IP numbers from home or traveling) to corporate software assets like NEOSYS IN A SECURE MANNER. Installation of VPN is to be done by their own IT support. Refer to [[Procedures#Using_VPN_to_enable_secure_access_from_outside_the_office|Using VPN to enable secure access from outside the office]]

Sample Email addressed to Top Management:
<pre>
Dear <XXXXX>,

I do not recommend allowing access from all IPs because security threats like access of data by unauthorized persons or ex-employees, malicious hacking attempts etc. can be triggered if access from any IP is enabled.

I strongly recommend that you keep IP restrictions for <XXXXXX> dataset.

If you want to provide access to mobile staff (i.e. those on dynamic IP numbers from home or traveling) to corporate software assets like NEOSYS IN A SECURE MANNER, then installation of VPN is the industry standard of achieving this. Installation of VPN is to be done by your own IT support.

If you still wish to allow access from all IPs, kindly confirm that you acknowledge the security threats of doing so.

</pre>

===Handling repeated request to allow users to access from all IPs===

{{SensitiveSecurity }}

If the client wants temporary access from outside for some staff twice in say a six months period then support should send the below email. The real reason is because we don't have the time to be doing this on a regular basis. If at all the client asks why we no longer support the provision of temporary outside access then we can say this is because of the frequency of such requests.

Dear XXX

We have given you temporary outside access this time, as requested. Please note that we can no longer support the provision of temporary outside access. So in the future, you will have to choose between either permanent or no outside access. Alternatively, you can ask your management to install a VPN (which is the industry standard of achieving outside access to a corporate asset in a secure manner), so that you can log in to NEOSYS from outside.

===Handling requests to create a new feature or modifying existing features===

Many issues are small and not important but can still be considered for development because they may be easy and neatly added to NEOSYS.

The aim here is to avoid development on hard issues for little benefit, or little issues that make NEOSYS more complex for little benefit.

When a client requests to create a new feature or modify an existing feature, a workaround must be given to the user, which is either a permanent solution, for example if the issue is a rare case and not commonly faced by other clients (and the workaround is acceptable to the client), or a temporary solution until some better solution is discovered or can be developed.

If only a workaround can be provided, use the standard template email for "Not possible to Implement the new feature immediately".

Support MUST check all options on all pages to look for any already existing solution or workaround to the problem before emailing the programmer.

Any request to create a new feature or modify an existing feature MUST be discussed with other clients before forwarding it to the programmer because the other clients might not be comfortable with the change as it may not be in accordance with their workflow. If other clients agree to the proposed change then support should go ahead and request the programmer to implement it.

Therefore before escalating a request to the programmer to modify a feature in NEOSYS, the approval for the same from other clients must be taken into account.

Any request to fix or modify a feature in NEOSYS must be accompanied with good reason and some basic considerations, so that the programmer knows what level of priority it can be dealt with.

When escalating the request to the programmer, support MUST avoid using "Is it possible..?" because the obvious answer to that is "Anything is possible" and because this question is only a way to avoid doing the real work of deciding whether the new feature/modification should be implemented.

===Handling requests to add more fields to List of Invoices reports===

Many users may ask for the List of Invoices report to be expanded to show a zillion other things, but this makes it NOT a list of invoices. Therefore other break-downs MUST be obtained from other reports in NEOSYS.

===Updating Clients about unresolved issues===
Support should proactively inform clients if an issue is not solved within the same day it was raised, after judging the urgency of the issue and the time it was raised. An email to the client who raised the issue, before the end of each day, is a best practice that keeps the client updated and other support staff too. This email should be sent regardless of the degree to which the issue has been resolved or if the issue is unresolved. If the issue is unresolved, the email should explain why and also explain the cause of delay.

===Handling new USER creation===
====Get Approval====
Support staff should create new USERS for clients ONLY when requested by an authorised person. If the authorised person is unavailable, for example on leave, then get approval from someone who is in the backup mail list.

Ideally only people who are users in NEOSYS and have authority over some task can grant or request authority to do that task for other NEOSYS users. However, if this is not the case and the requesting person has some seniority in the company (but is either not a NEOSYS user, or is not actually currently authorised to perform the task themselves) you may decide that it is not wise to proceed without some confirmation. In such a case be very respectful of their position while rejecting any request perhaps stating something like:

"Currently we have instructions to take requests concerning authorisation only from xxx, yyy and zzz. Please could this request be confirmed by one of them?" Rewrite this judiciously to suit the occasion.

Consider that different sections of a company may have different chain of commands. For example one should not assume that a Sales Director has authority over Finance unless there is firm evidence. If there is any doubt consult NEOSYS Support Managers.

Support MUST NOT directly contact the authorised person asking for approval/confirmation because that is client work.

In case the client [[Procedures#Handling_Requests_from_people_impersonating_an_Authorised_person|impersonates an authorised person]] to get a new user request approved, Support may go ahead with the request since it is not support's job to judge the authenticity of an email that appears to be from an authorised person. If the request is to create a user in a top level department, then you may choose to include other top department users/managers in your email so they are aware of the new user created.

Clients should not be discouraged to create new users. Clients are billed as per user usage which is reviewed periodically. Over time old USERS are replaced with new USERS.

====Creating User====
Preliminary:

New user requirements :-

*Full name - (like John Smith and not generic name like Copy Writer)
*Email address - (like johnsmith@example.com and not generic address like copywriter@example.com)
*Group level / User with similar authorisation

The USER code is the first name of a user.

1. Support MUST only create NEOSYS accounts with real names and email addresses WITH NO EXCEPTIONS unless agreed by NEOSYS management.

It is acceptable, although inefficient, for one person to have multiple user accounts either concurrently or sequentially, but the opposite MUST never occur.
One NEOSYS user code/account MUST never have more than one real person associated with it neither concurrently nor sequentially.
In order to maintain efficiency, various fleeting temptations to cut corners and break the ONE TO ONE link between NEOSYS user accounts and real people MUST be resisted.
These principles remain mandatory even when pressure is exerted by people, even senior management, who may not appreciate the issues involved.
The fact that NEOSYS support does not know for certain who is the real person using a NEOSYS account does not change these principles.

2. Support MUST not create GENERIC user codes like AUDITOR or MANAGEMENT (even to grant special access to such users like read-only access) as this breaks all security rules.
Do not re-use user codes. Always create NEW user codes for NEW users.

3. Support MUST not create or modify any usable NEOSYS account that is or has been used by more than one user.

4. Support is responsible to maintain the system in good working order and not knowing who is really doing the work in the system can make support harder.

5. Support MUST not collude with clients to by-pass the principles. If asked to do so Support MUST refuse to create or update such accounts.

6. Do not hand over user codes from one person to another in a mistaken attempt to represent a hand over to a replacement. EXPIRE THE OLD USER CODE/ACCOUNT AND CREATE A NEW USER CODE/ACCOUNT.

{{SensitiveSecurity }}

7. Support team MUST NOT discuss billings with clients unless authorised to do so. Also see [[Procedures#Discussing_Pricing|Discussing Pricing]]

8. Support team MUST NOT proceed with creating new users until the group level or existing user with similar authorisation has been clearly provided by the client, otherwise the new user may end up with more than the required authorisation, which can lead to problems in future.

====After Creating New User====

Support MUST send an email to the person who requested the creation of new user, confirming that the new user has been created along with a screenshot of that part of the authorisation table where the new user was created so that the new user's user code and email id is visible. This is done so that in case there is some error in the user code or email id, it is easily visible in the screenshot and also so that the person who requested the creation of the new user is informed about the user code of the new user.

===Handling letterhead change requests===

Support staff should reject any requests that require the letterhead to be setup on the TESTING dataset before it is setup in the MAIN dataset. This is to reduce double work for support staff and to ensure that clients have a clear understanding of their requirements and also send the correct logo image.
The MAIN dataset can be copied to the TEST dataset for any kind of testing.

See [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Configuring_Letterhead#Changing_the_letterhead_for_printed_documents How to change letterhead]

===Handling error messages===

'''Important:''' Before Attempting to resolve client issues, please ensure that we have secure access to the NEOSYS server.

#The very first step is understanding client problem. Ask questions to the client until you CLEARLY understand the problem.
#If the error is familiar and does not require a screenshot, resolve the problem immediately.
#If the error is unfamiliar and/or requires a screenshot and the user has not sent a screenshot, IMMEDIATELY use existing email template to ask the user to send a screenshot of the problem, along with the options used (basically you need to know HOW to replicate the error and the screenshot MUST show WHAT the error is).
#If the user says "nothing happens, so no screenshot of the error", then IMMEDIATELY request for screenshots again with the exact steps to reproduce the problem using mouse and keyboard.
#Support team MUST NOT provide support without a screenshot, otherwise the client will not pay attention to support team in future and ignore requests for screenshots.
#Upon receipt of the error and steps to reproduce the error, follow the steps and reproduce the error. Also refer to [[Procedures#Addressing_Browser_related_issues|Addressing Browser related issues]]
#If the issue is unknown or you don’t understand it clearly, with the users acknowledgement use remote support to gain access to the users desktop to view how to replicate the error.
{{Handling errors}}

====Understanding Internal error messages====

Internal errors messages appear in red on screen and an email which is sent to support with more details. (Example below)

[[image:Rawformdatapng.png]]

The "ERROR NO:" line is comprised of the error number (B16), the program (MARGIN_BASE) and the line number (1). Sometimes the line number is wrong, refer to section "Misleading line numbers in error messages" below for more info.

The "STACK:" line lists the "parent" calling programs "SYSMSG,LISTEN" used to trace how and where the error originates.

The "DATA:" is a string of characters that is used to recreate the options used by the client in order to replicate the error message. See how to [[Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Generally#Replicate_options_used_.26_error_using_sysmsg_Data: | replicate the error with the options used, using internal error email]]

===Addressing Browser related issues===

When resolving random browsing issues that seem to be on one user computer only, support MUST send the below email asking the user to check if the same issue occurs on other user computers. Rapidly convincing the user that the problem is only on their computer gains their willingness to sort the problem out at their end, using IT people if necessary and available.

Handling random issues that appear to be on one computer is very very common and it is important to deal with it effectively, not requiring stages of "denial" by the users until they accept something has to be done at their end, and not by NEOSYS. Speeding up this process gains the confidence and appreciation of the users.

<pre>Hi xxxx

Is this error happening only on your computer? If that is the case, it may be due to an issue in your browser cache. Please clear your browser cache with assistance from your IT team if required. Then restart the browser and try again.

If clearing browser cache does not fix the issue, I recommend a full browser reset to ensure that everything works fine.

Follow these instructions for clearing browser cache and resetting browser:
http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Generally#Troubleshooting_Web_Browsers

Please let us know if you face the issue again.</pre>

Also refer to [[Procedures#Handling_Browser_related_issues_in_NEOSYS| Handling Browser related issues]]

===Addressing Technical support emails===

In the case of technical support issues, address emails to the IT person and cc the complete group of recipients of backup emails and other NEOSYS alert emails. This allows both NEOSYS and client IT staff to take credit for resolving issues that NEOSYS raises instead of working in the background unacknowledged.

Technical support issues include backup failure, server failure, missing alert email, server connectivity issues and port forwarding issues and many other issues.

For technical issues like browser configuration, clear cache, etc. support must send the user a link to the appropriate wiki article to help the user fix the problem. In some cases the user may be helpless and unable to follow the steps to fix the problem. In such cases, support MUST NOT waste time trying to help the user fix the problem, instead support MUST ask the user to get help from the IT person.

===Acceptable report format when handling issues in NEOSYS reports===

NEOSYS Support must only resolve issues in NEOSYS output first. This is because only NEOSYS outputs can be trusted and user versions in Excel or PDF could be copied wrongly or edited by the user.

In case users send reports in excel or other formats, get them to send the original NEOSYS HTML report as an attachment or copy-pasted in email.

===Handling requests to create new charts or control accounts===

[http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Setting_up_and_Configuring_NEOSYS_Finance_System#Creating_New_Charts_or_Control_Accounts Refer here]

===Handling issues with totals on reports===

If a client has a problem with any total output by NEOSYS software then NEOSYS support will advise them which other NEOSYS report or reports provide a complete breakdown of the total (if necessary, to individual transactions) and ask the client to locate any offending transactions themselves.

NEOSYS support staff will handle any issues where the total on the breakdown report does not add up to the total on the summary report.

Reconciling totals can be hard if there are many transactions involved. Regardless of how hard it may be, reconciliation is an operational task for users not for support staff since NEOSYS support staff will not get involved in understanding client transactions or data.

====Trial Balance and Financial Statements====

NEOSYS support staff do not have to prove or trace any figures in NEOSYS Trial Balance Reports or any financial reports. If a figure is stated to be wrong by the user, then NEOSYS support staff should ask for proof or say NEOSYS is confident that the figures are correct unless proved otherwise.

NEOSYS support staff should point out reports in NEOSYS which will support the figures in question but not actually run the reports. Support staff can suggest the users to refer to detailed ledger accounts to prove balances.

==Using VPN to enable secure access from outside the office==
There are two ways in which a user can use VPN to access NEOSYS:

*User connects to their office router and makes the PC act like it is on the office LAN.
*User connects to a VPN service that provides a static IP number and can therefore be authorised by NEOSYS to login.

If the client intends to use VPN to connect to their office router and make the PC act like it is on the office LAN, then it depends on what VPN protocols the client's office router supports.

The alternative is to use a paid VPN service that provides a static IP number. Getting a dynamic IP number on VPN is very cheap and there are many suppliers, but getting a static IP number on VPN services seems to be more expensive.

Internally in NEOSYS we use PFSENSE routers which support OPENVPN which is extremely flexible.

==Handling issues with Office PBX phones==

Support should check their respective Office PBX phones every morning to find out if the phone is up and working. In case Support finds any issue with their phone, immediately fix it so that clients do not lose contact with the Support team via phone. Next send an email to Support inbox mentioning the fault, cause and solution for records/future prevention.

==Running undocumented commands on Maintenance mode==

Support Staff MUST NOT run undocumented commands on ***LIVE*** database. Some commands are not documented for a reason, it could be because the commands might give an undesired output or because there is no clarity on what else could be effected by the command.

Even if the command is tested in TESTING database and the output looks okay, support staff MUST get the programmer's approval before going ahead and running the command in LIVE database as there is no guaranty that the command is properly programmed and will do no damage.

==Configuring Browsers to show Javascript errors in NEOSYS==
NEOSYS Support MUST ensure the following Settings for browsers because if NEOSYS generates any javascript error message, the same would appear in the bottom left corner of a window, which in turn helps the programmer to fix the error. This must be done after every Factory Reset.

===Chrome===
Chrome Menu > More Tools > Extensions > Get More Extensions, search for '''Javascript Errors Notifier'''. Add the extension to Chrome.

[[image:Chrome.png]]

[[image:Chrome1.png]]
===Firefox===
TODO: Find replacement for Firebug, below does not work
Firebug add-on is used to NOTIFY about script errors because we have no other method to get any warning on screen but you should use the main firefox developer tools to investigate any errors as firebug is essentially replaced by built in developer tools.

For developer tools, go to Tools > Web Console

To enable notifications for script errors, download the add-on Firebug from [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/firebug/ here]. When a Javascript error is encountered, the firebug icon will report the number of errors.

Set your firebug as per the second screen shot and select "Enable All Panels" as well, the tick will not appear like the other options but the option will get selected. If you miss out on any one of these steps, you will not be able to capture script errors.

[[file:firebug1.jpg|1200px]]

[[File:Firebug.png]]

==Handling Browser related issues in NEOSYS==
See [http://techwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Technical_/_Hardware_requirements#NEOSYS_Software_Browser_and_OS_Requirements NEOSYS browser requirements]

Clients frequently ask [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/General_FAQ#Why_doesnt_NEOSYS_support_my_XYZ_browser.3F Why NEOSYS doesn't support other browsers]

To avoid browser errors, all new users must follow the steps given in [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Using_NEOSYS_Generally#Getting_started_with_NEOSYS Getting started with NEOSYS] before logging in to NEOSYS for the first time.

To troubleshoot browser related errors see [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Generally#Troubleshooting_Web_Browsers Troubleshooting Web Browsers]

Pop-up blockers and any 3rd party toolbars must be deactivated/switched off or else certain pages and alert messages while using NEOSYS do not appear as a result of blocking from either the pop-up blocker or toolbars with built-in pop-up blockers.

NEOSYS support must ask users to Reset browser (See [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Reset_Browser Reset browser]) if they notice any user browsers which have pop-up blockers or 3rd party toolbars installed.

Also refer to [[Procedures#Addressing_Browser_related_issues| Addressing Browser related issues]]

==Handling NEOSYS Upgrade==
See [http://techwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Upgrading_NEOSYS Upgrading NEOSYS]

==Handling auto-reply emails like Out of Office etc.==

From 28th May 2017 version, emails sent out by the NEOSYS system contain headers that in effect request recipient email systems not to auto-reply for things like Out of Office. This is to reduce unnecessary chatter by silencing unnecessary automatic replies. There is no guarantee that recipient email systems will comply. The headers added are:

*X-Auto-Response-Suppress: RN, NRN, OOF
*Precedence: bulk

Support team should notify SB of any auto-responses that come despite their installation being patched.

In NEOSYS versions after 10th Jun 2017, emails sent by NEOSYS from the NEOSYS Help menu, i.e. manually triggered emails, do NOT indicate that OOF replies are not wanted, since if you are sending emails to people using NEOSYS, you will want to know if they are OOF.

==Using Support Tools==
===Website Live Support===
TODO: Find a replacement live support software, below software is not in use.
www.neosys.com is equipped with a Live Support software and clients can visit the website, click on this link and chat with any of our support staff, without the need for any installation. The client has to fill in their name and enter their questions to connect to an available support personnel. During non-working hours, the Live Support icon on the website automatically displays "offline".

NEOSYS Support personnel who are authorised to provide such support, need to login to Live helper chat in Firefox using the link given below:

http://neosys.com/lhc_neosys/index.php/site_admin/

Support personnel should enter the account details as provided by their Manager.

Enable notifications for Live helper chat so that whenever there is a visitor trying to contact Support team, the Support personnel will get the notifications on his screen.

Set the Live helper chat login page as your home page in Firefox and this page must be kept open for the whole duration of working hours.

Support must always be alert and immediately reply to messages from visitors.

Use the link below to enable notifications:

http://neosys.com/lhc_neosys/index.php/site_admin/chat/listchatconfig

After setting up Live helper chat if you sign in to a new profile in Firefox, you might have to re enable the notifications after your Firefox is synced to the new profile.

===Teamviewer===
Since Teamviewer allows no restriction on access once a fixed pass is installed, Support must not install fixed pass on teamviewer however convenient it might be.

RULE: NO FIXED PASS TO BE INSTALLED ON TEAMVIEWER IN ANY NEOSYS OR NEOSYS CLIENT COMPUTER

Running teamviewer live from a web link is fine because it does not allow installation of a permanent password

For certain tasks that require temporary install of Teamviewer on the client servers (e.g. upgrading Cygwin remotely), use Teamviewer 7 on the server as well as Support staff computer. Contact NEOSYS IT for commercial license of Teamviewer 7. Teamviewer MUST be uninstalled after usage, otherwise it creates an additional unnecessary security risk.

To support client users who use the latest version of Teamviewer, support staff must also install the latest Teamviewer version available alongside Teamviewer 7.

==Documenting Processes in Wiki==
NEOSYS Support staff must be in continual learning mode. This is mandatory for support staff and is not an option. Support must read, learn and understand everything in the support emails and ask questions if they don't understand. This understanding must be transferred into wiki in the form of new articles and improvements to existing articles.

For all articles related to formatting and editing in Wiki, see [http://itwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Documenting_NEOSYS_systems Documenting NEOSYS systems]

===Avoiding duplication of text in wiki===

Duplication of text in wiki is to be avoided almost at any cost. Duplication has the problem that when one copy is changed or improved in future then it is highly likely the editor will fail to update the other copy or copies and wiki will over time become an inconsistent mess.

There are several ways to avoid duplication:

#Two or more procedures which have significant areas of duplication can be rewritten as a single procedure with alternatives in the middle of the procedure
#Wiki Templates- Templates reproduce the same text in all places and editing one place edits all places. See [[How to create templates in wiki]]
#Wiki links- Only put the text in one place and put links to that in all the other places that it is appropriate.
#Place a note in all copies something to the effect that "This is similar to x, y and z". This alerts any future editor of all other places in wiki that might also have to be updated.

Future modifications in one place may or may not be appropriate to other places. The editor must decide whether to change one or all places

===Highlighting information in wiki===

To highlight particular instructions or info in wiki do NOT invent new styles which are not the way the rest of wiki is done. Instead, follow the USUAL STYLE or open a DISCUSSION with any recommendations you have BEFORE USING THEM.

Instead of using various kinds of highlighting styles like bolding and words like "Note:", use the following words IN CAPITALS especially the word MUST.

The use of the following words IN CAPITALS indicates that you are using them in a special way with formally defined meaning as explained below. Use of the words in lower case indicates that you are using the word in an ordinary commonsense meaning.

*MAY - means optional
*SHOULD - means recommended and you need GOOD reason (not just any weak excuse) to not follow to follow this recommendation
*MUST - mandatory

Only in the rare cases where the consequences of doing or not doing something are irreversible or take a lot of work to reverse then you can use your own additional highlighting methods, eg ALL CAPS, stars, color red etc.

====Explain WHY====

Any sentence which uses the word "MUST" in capitals, MUST be followed by a SPECIFIC REASON explaining exactly why is the instruction is mandatory; the reason MUST not be vague and non-specific meaning no more than "or bad things will happen".

WRONG way: You MUST also delete ads if deleting schedules.

WRONG way: You MUST also delete ads if deleting schedules otherwise it will cause problems in future.

CORRECT way: You MUST also delete ads if deleting schedules otherwise the deleted schedules' ads will still show in all media-diary like reports and screens

The Wrong way above gives a general reason "it will cause problems in future" which is vague and a reader may even go ahead and ignore "MUST" because there is no objective or proper side effect mentioned for not following the MUST statement. Basically he doesn't understand the point behind following a certain rule.

Whereas the Correct way gives a SPECIFIC reason for "deleting ads while deleting schedules", so reader will exactly know the trouble that will be caused if ads are not deleted. Therefore "SPECIFIC REASON" behind using the word MUST must be to the point and very informative.

====Why explain WHY====
The information contained in the WHY phrase is often '''extremely informative''' to the reader about things that you may otherwise not have considered saying.

The most valuable information is usually contained in the "WHY" of something. There is an apocryphal story of a company where managers could be fired if they gave instructions to their staff without providing explanation. In almost all cases it is better for the efficiency of a team of people that any instructions they follow contain the "WHY" of something. Only in few cases should staff be expected to follow instructions without being well or fully informed.

==Email Retention Policy==

===Generally===

Emails are retained permanently to allow old issues to be discovered in email searches.

===Account: backups@neosys.com===

Only the last 365 days of emails to backups@neosys.com are kept in general to reduce the burden on servers and clients due to the heavy number of emails.

For the backups/neosys folder, only 31 days is kept due to the very high numbers of emails ~250/day.

Deletions are configured in and done by a thunderbird client in NEOSYS IT so may not be continuous.

==Use of personal email addresses by NEOSYS support staff==

NEOSYS support staff MUST NOT use any personal email addresses for NEOSYS business.

The xxxx.neosys@gmail.com addresses that are created by support staff for themselves on joining are also considered personal email addresses and must not be used for NEOSYS business. These email addresses might be linked to NEOSYS wiki accounts but that doesn't matter because wiki is not confidential.

==Accessing NEOSYS accounts on personal devices==

NEOSYS staff MUST NOT install NEOSYS accounts on skype/nextcloud/gmail (or any other external tool) on their personal devices without written permission from NEOSYS management

==Support Staff work-in-progress documents/files==

Support Staff must not save working files hidden on their computer. Work that is not visible is not work.
Support work should not be done privately and should be shared to all.

ALL personal working files however trivial MUST be stored in Nextcloud and MUST NOT be stored anywhere in personal computer (My Documents/Desktop etc.)

The personal encrypted pass file MUST be stored somewhere in personal folder under Nextcloud/support. This is because if there is a loss of OS/Computer, it should not lead to loss of access as all the passwords saved in the file will be lost.

==Handling CLIENT/NEOSYS Servers==

NEOSYS support staff must exercise extreme caution when working on CLIENT and NEOSYS servers. Do not risk making changes without due care and attention to the fact that the consequences of errors can be serious on working production servers.

==Handling "List of Open Ports" reports==

This email comes to NEOSYS support team once a day showing only those client's servers which appear to have changed what TCP ports are open to the internet since yesterday. It will also come once a week showing all clients servers open ports.

NEOSYS support team should work patiently with client IT staff, over time if necessary, to close all ports that are not absolutely mandatory to be open.

Clients with highly skilled IT staff may have a variety of ports open to various non-NEOSYS servers inside their organisation. In this case, NEOSYS plays little or no role other than getting their confirmation of exactly what ports are acceptable. Any new ports that appear over time should be handled in the same way.

For clients without such staff, NEOSYS is their only real line of defence and since NEOSYS requested opening some ports, we should get all other ports closed by patiently following up until action is taken. Involving management may be the only way to get IT to act.

High end port numbers (e.g. 49667) may represent transient outbound connections from users. Therefore for such port numbers, support team should contact the client only if the port remains open on the following working day.

In particular, port 80 and 443 controlling internal or external routers should be closed. It is NOT acceptable except in HIGH IT EXPERTISE environments that critical routers should be exposed to the internet and they MUST NOT be accessible from the internet because routers that do not have their software updated can be hacked using known defects. Even updated routers can be hacked. Making it easy for client IT staff to access the router configuration from outside is NOT a good enough excuse to break this rule. Professional IT does not allow access to critical routers from the internet.

Likewise, any port 80 (unencrypted web access) and port 3389 (RDP remote desktop) open to the NEOSYS server MUST be closed otherwise logins can be monitored and there is no way to guarantee server security.

Port 23 (Telnet) is an insecure port because it is unencrypted and should never be open for usage. This is standard practice and well known by any network professional. Since the port is unencrypted, attackers can listen in, watch for credentials, inject commands via man-in-the-middle attacks and ultimately perform Remote Code Executions (RCE).

If a port is definitely required and properly approved to be open by client IT support, please let NEOSYS IT (SB) know and it will be put in the "Authorised" column so that ports in the "Questionable" column are all pending action.

The report does not attempt to detect UDP ports since UDP ports can receive information from the internet without responding in any way so there is no way to detect them reliably.

Green color shows ports that have opened since the last report run. Open ports can sometimes not be detected accurately so a port may appear to disappear in one report and reappear in the next report.

===Why should HTTP port 80 not be open on my router?===

It is not advisable to expose any HTTP server for any private service on your computer network or router because HTTP is unencrypted and this means that all information regarding that service, including passwords, can be observed by any malware on your LAN and internet connection. This information can then be used to install horrible software on your internal PCs.

What to do?

Use https for any internal services - and advisably on a non-standard port, not the standard https port of 443.

For example, NEOSYS service is exposed as HTTPS (not HTTP) usually on port 4430 - not the standard https port of 443.

Commercial hacking is getting really common with things like FIREBALL and CRYPTOLOCKER causing a lot of damage.

It is advisable to take basic precautions pro-actively before any attack exposes weaknesses.

==Handling Nagios Client Monitoring system==

NEOSYS support staff on duty MUST follow the procedures outlined below in case the Firefox "imoin" add-on shows critical or warning messages for any service. Failure to schedule appropriate downtime will lead to REDUNDANT EMAIL ALERTS from Nagios every hour.

Any alert on the Firefox "imoin" add-on means that there is an issue that has not been attended to properly, and "attended to" does not always mean solved. Support staff MUST solve the problem immediately if possible.

If it is not possible to solve the problem immediately, then downtime/acknowledge the service and add a comment on the Nagios alert, explaining the problem briefly.

Support should check Nagios frequently during the day to look for any new alerts so that issues are fixed as soon as possible.

*Nagios is required to be checked first thing in the morning and any critical or warning messages need to be dealt with to resolve the same at the earliest.
*Some of the messages could be related to backup failures and the usual procedure as stated in Handling failure and warning messages on nightly backup alerts needs to be followed. In case the backup issue isn't resolved by 9:30 am, the Nagios service needs to be downtimed with an appropriate comment for a minimum of 2 hours and maximum until 1 am next day if the issue cannot be solved.
*In case of "Backup not changed" warning status which occurs if the client has not interchanged the USB before 12 noon on that day, no action is required from the support staff and a downtime with a comment like "Backup media not changed - Emailed client" needs to be scheduled until 1 am next day.
*In case any HTTPS, SSH, PING service or Host is down, immediate action is required and the relevant IT people at the client side needs to be contacted to get this resolved. A downtime of 2 hours with a comment like "Service/host down - Emailed client" is required to be scheduled with further intervals of 2 hours in case this is not resolved. Support staff shouldn't schedule downtime till 1 am next day, just to get rid of the alerts for the day. Proactive follow up with the client is required to get this resolved before the business day - more so, if there is a weekend ahead.
*In case the HTTPS, SSH, PING service or Host goes down during the day, a grace period of 10 minutes is given before the issue is reported to the client IT, in case there is any temporary internet connection issue at the client or along the internet route.
*In case the HTTPS, SSH PING service or Host is down for more than 1 day, client IT should acknowledge the problem and give NEOSYS support staff an approximate time frame before which the issue will be resolved. Set an appropriate downtime with a descriptive comment for such events.
*In case Host is down for more than 2 days and there is no progress with the fix from client IT, the client management should be notified about the seriousness of not having access to server and their acknowledgement is mandatory.

==Handling lack of remote access to NEOSYS server located in client’s premises==

If access to the NEOSYS server is lost then we must determine the root cause by:

#Checking if the server is UP and running
#If yes, please check internet connectivity on the server
#If there is connectivity, please check the router for connectivity issues

'''Sample Response:'''
<pre>
Dear XYZ,

Please note that we have currently lost access to the NEOSYS server. The server seems to be down at the moment and it seems that
NEOSYS processes are not running on the server.
Kindly check if the server is UP and running. If yes, please check internet connectivity on the server.
Do keep us posted on the server status so we can test connectivity from our side as well.

Best Regards,
</pre>
==New Router (Port Forwarding)==

If you have changed your router then you may notice that external access to NEOSYS is unavailable.

'''Solution:'''

Setup a permanent access for NEOSYS by reconfiguring the Router / Firewall for Port Forwarding from Router to the NEOSYS Server as follows:

#Port 19580 > 19580 for SSH
#Port 4430 > 4430 for HTTPS

You can see [http://portforward.com/ Set Up Port Forwarding] to learn how to configure your Router.

To see how to test/ troubleshoot port forwarding settings, go to [[Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Generally#Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_remote_support_port_forwarding|Troubleshooting Port Forwarding]].

'''Sample Response:'''
<pre>
Dear XYZ,

You are requested to kindly setup a permanent access for NEOSYS by reconfiguring the Router / Firewall for Port Forwarding from Router to
the NEOSYS Server,i.e. port 19580 for SSH and port 4430 for HTTPS.

Once this is complete, kindly send me an email to confirm the same so that we could test connectivity from our end as well.

Best Regards
</pre>
==Creating and Handling passwords==
===Creating a password===
Passwords are generated from a pass phrase and it is important to create a very difficult to guess pass phrase.

Passwords made out of a pass phrase MUST be at least 10 characters since using initials results in a lot of i's and a's etc which reduces the effectiveness of the password and allows hacking via brute force guessing especially since windows doesnt slow down logins even if it sees thousands of password attempts.

For example, a good pass phrase would be: '''Today is a good day and it is the best time to go for a holiday'''

The password for this would be '''Tiagd&iitbt2g4ah'''

The important instructions for the above are:

#You have to take the first letter of each word and that makes your password (i.e. by using initials)
#Wherever any word starts with a capital, then you have to take first letter as a capital (eg. For Today you will take T)
#Replace '''and''' with '''&'''
#Replace '''to''' with '''2'''
#Replace '''for''' with '''4'''

===Handling passwords===

#Never send the actual password - always send the pass phrase
#Make sure that the password created out of the pass phrase is at least 10 characters long since using initials results in a lot of i's and a's etc which reduces the effectiveness of the password and allows hacking via brute force guessing especially since windows doesnt slow down logins even if it sees thousands of password attempts
#Pass phrases are never to be sent by email, whatever the case maybe.
#Pass phrases can be sent by chat - however they have to be broken down in two parts and sent separately over two different messengers or if you are using Gtalk then use the 'off the record' mode.
#Using SMS to send pass phrases is the best known way as of now.
#If you save the passwords on your system in an file then:
#*Ensure that you only store pass phrases in the excel file
#*Ensure that the excel file is encrypted with a master password

==NEOSYS Maintenance Window==

NEOSYS is available 24x7, unlike the old (AREV) NEOSYS where there was a 5 hour maintenance window from 1 am to 6 am daily.

The only disruption is at 03:21 am GMT mid-week, when the server reboots automatically only if required after Linux updates.

==Using NEOSYS Terminology while communicating with Clients==

NEOSYS support must communicate in correct language to clients on finance issues in order to ensure that our records exactly represent reality. Conversely NEOSYS must not use other terminology because it can cause considerable confusion and poor quality results. In case client is new and still in training, use client terminology optionally as long as

#It is only an addition to NEOSYS standard terminology
#Only if clear that it is client terminology by putting in brackets like this "Sales Invoices (called PI by you)", where "you" means the client you are talking to or you can put the client company name instead perhaps.

The objective is over time to avoid having the support team to have to know the terminology of the client. NEOSYS support team cannot possibly know and remember it for each client therefore the client MUST over time learn and use NEOSYS terminology. The initial period is one of relearning and translation for the client not for NEOSYS.

Many users operating NEOSYS finance module do not know proper financial procedures and may not appreciate how doing something in a wrong or unusual way now may not be correctable in the future.

NEOSYS staff must follow NEOSYS procedures only. If NEOSYS procedures need to be updated then this must be agreed in advance and not AFTER the fact.

==Amending/Reposting Journal Entries==
In certain exceptional cases, amending/reposting of journal entries is allowed for only one day to enable clients to present reports in an alternative manner.

It must be agreed with the client that reposting rights will be granted for only one day and NEOSYS Support will automatically remove it and check for CCB error thereafter.

This would be subject to NEOSYS requiring a written LETTER OF APPROVAL duly signed and stamped by the highest management of the company.

In case the client management decides to allow editing/reposting of journal entries, then follow the procedure mentioned in [[Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Finance_System#Reposting_a_Batch_in_Journal_Entry|Reposting a Batch in Journal Entry]]

==Removal of unauthorized third-party software on client servers==

Rule: Any third party software that is discovered by NEOSYS support staff on client servers that has been installed without the agreement of NEOSYS should be uninstalled immediately on discovery.

However purposeful a software is, NEOSYS is contractually responsible for support and there are too many opportunities for poorly installed software to cause unpredictable damage to the NEOSYS database so NEOSYS has to have a clear and safe and simple policy to ensure the integrity of client data. Installing software without prior discussion with NEOSYS by itself indicates that insufficient care and consideration has been given to possible issues.

Having unauthorized third party software on the server can possibly lead to a backup failure. For example, [[Backup_and_Restore#Error_Message:_.22LISTS_file_is_not_available.22|LISTS file not available]] error.

Any software required by client IT for some purpose may only be installed after discussion and agreement from NEOSYS support staff concerning the configuration and operation of the software.

The NEOSYS Software Licence and Support agreement requires that where NEOSYS software is installed on client servers that a dedicated server is provided and dedicated implies that no other software may be installed without the agreement of NEOSYS support.

==International v/s Indian English==

There are some words which have completely different meanings in International and Indian English. NEOSYS Staff should follow International English only. Below are the examples of few of those words:

Word: '''Doubt'''

In the English language word "doubt" means to distrust an alleged fact on the basis of a reason, depending on the strength of the reason which may be anything from factual to feeling e.g "I have no reason to doubt him".
This usage is followed worldwide.

Some people especially from Indian origin use "doubt" when they are unaware about a fact. e.g "I want to clear my doubts about this procedure" or "I have a doubt in this ..". This is incorrect. The word must be used when you do not agree on something on the basis of a reason and not when you do not have knowledge about it. e.g. "I doubt this script will complete in time".

==[[ New Employee Training Checklist]]==

==[[ New Client Training Notes]]==

==[[ General Office Procedures]]==

Configuring Thunderbird

2023-09-04T08:16:18Z

Arvind: "Thunderbird preferences" is now "Settings"

==Setting Up the Inbox Accounts==

The instructions given below explain how to set up the "Support" account on Thunderbird.

1. Open Mozilla Thunderbird. Choose the "Create a new account" option. Click on "Skip this and use my existing email" option on the "Welcome to Thunderbird" window.

[[File:Thunderbird_1.jpg]]

2. In the Mail Account Setup window, enter "support@neosys.com" for Your Name, "support@neosys.com" for Email Address and the password provided by Neosys staff. Click on continue.

[[File:Thunderbird_2.jpg]]

3. Click on "Manual Config".

[[File:Thunderbird_3.jpg]]

4. Key in "imap.neosys.com" for incoming IMAP host name, server hostname "smtp.neosys.com" and port "587" for outgoing SMTP and "support.neosys" as username. For SMTP, change the SSL to "STARTTLS" and authentication to "No authentication". Click on the "Re-test" button and then click "Done".

[[File:Thunderbird_4.jpg]]

BEFORE clicking on inbox and BEFORE adding other inboxes, you MUST refer to [[Configuring_Thunderbird#Adding_email_accounts_with_large_numbers_of_emails | Adding email accounts with large numbers of emails]]. This is because if you add all the accounts together at once, they will all sync together and it will take 1-2 days for the sync to complete.

For backups@neosys.com, support2@neosys.com (Nagios), name.neosys@gmail.com repeat the steps mentioned above, with the below-mentioned replacements.

1. For backups@neosys.com, enter "backups@neosys.com" for Your Name, "backups@neosys.com" for Email address and enter the password provided by Neosys staff.
Enter the username as "backups.neosys".

2. For support2@neosys.com, enter "support2@neosys.com" for Your Name, "support2@neosys.com" for Email address and enter the password provided by Neosys staff.
Enter the username as "support2.neosys".

3. For name.neosys@gmail.com, enter your full name for Your Name, "name.neosys@gmail.com" for Email address and enter the password. You do not need to follow the steps for manual config as the settings will be automatically configured.

[[File:thunderbird_6.jpg]]

[[File:thunderbird_7.jpg]]

==Account Settings==

Verify that the account settings for all the accounts are entered as shown below.

[[File:acsettings1.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings2.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings3.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings4.jpg]]

[[File:Account junk.jpg|500px]]

For backups@neosys.com account, under "Synchronization and Storage", change the setting to "Delete messages more than 365 days old"

The Synchronisation & Storage settings should be changed to the settings shown below only at a convenient time, since downloading all the emails will take a lot of time for accounts with large number of emails. Also see [[Configuring_Thunderbird#Adding_email_accounts_with_large_numbers_of_emails |Adding email accounts with large number of emails]]

[[File:acsettings6.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings7.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings8.jpg]]

===Adding email accounts with large numbers of emails===

After adding email accounts with large numbers of emails, in order to avoid long wait while downloading all the emails, it is best to change the account settings - BEFORE clicking on INBOX, which triggers the download/sync - to download the bodies of only the last 30 days of emails. The email headings are always synced but that does not take long.

See Account Settings, Synchronisation and Storage.

Since searching of emails only works when the bodies of emails have been downloaded, if you need to text search all emails, then, at a convenient time, you can remove or increase the number of days in the setting and somehow trigger the full sync.

[[File:thla.jpg]]

===Configuring Outgoing SMTP Mail Servers===

By default Thunderbird adds a new smtp profile with each Inbox added.

However you only need two, main and backup.

1. Right click on any Inbox > Settings.

2. Scroll down and click "Outgoing Server (SMTP)".

3. Delete all smtp server profiles except the default and ensure your settings match below screenshot.
[[File:Smtpsettings.png]]

4. Add a new profile with settings in below screenshot.

TODO - setup backup imap2 container and add settings screenshot here. (old imap2 smtp port 2500)

==Add-ons==

#Install addons: General settings menu (Top right 3 bars) > Addons
#Search and install the addons in below screenshot.
#Configure Mailbox Alert by Right e.g support inbox > Mailbox Alert:
##Check default sound and message.
[[File:Addon2.png]]

==Other General Configurations==

===Configure inbox to display selected columns===

The below options MUST be set in Support Inbox. To do so Right click on a column heading and select the below options:

#Thread
#Starred
#Attachment
#Subject
#Correspondents
#Received: You MUST add column RECEIVED which is the email date received to email inbox because the default Date seems to be the DATE SENT whereas we are primarily interested in the date we received the email. The difference is due to delays in email servers or spam tricks.

The below options MUST NOT be set in Support Inbox

#Junk status: Emails will automatically be moved to Junk folder if the junk icon in this column is clicked. Hence remove Junk Status column so that emails are not accidentally moved to junk. To remove, right-click on a column heading and untick "Junk Status".

===Configure Mail Content===

Settings > Privacy > untick "Allow remote content in messages"

Support MUST set the "Allow remote content in messages" as blocked in Thunderbird without adding any exceptions for any email id. The reason is remote content i.e embedded images, stylesheets etc is a privacy concern as it sends your private information to the mail sender. We do not know the source of these embedded content in emails so cannot trust them as they can be web bugs.

===Configure Layout View===

Layout view should be set as Vertical view.

===Optimise Titlebar Space===

Follow below steps to merge the titlebar with the tabs bar to reduce wastage of screen space.

#Go to Settings -> General
#Scroll to the bottom and click "Config Editor..."
#Search for mail.tabs.drawInTitlebar
#Change its value to "true"

===Thunderbird Preferences===

#Preferences > Display > Advanced > untick " Automatically mark messages as read".
#Keep settings as below for Preferences > Security.
#Keep settings as below for Preferences > Composition > Spelling.

[[File:Globaljunk.jpg|500px]]

[[File:Composition.png|500px]]

===Configure MailAlert===

Right click Inbox > Mailbox Alert > Edit Mailbox Alert alerts > Select Default message. Set as below. Once set Right click Inbox > Mailbox Alert > check Default message

[[file:thsh.jpg]]

===Configure Auto Resize Image===

Set the preferences for the Auto Resize Image add-on as shown in the screenshot at the end of this section.

To handle different scenarios when resizing images in emails, follow the below steps:

*Resize all images in the email: Click "Send" followed by "Confirm" on the Auto resize screen.

*Skip resize all images in the email: Click "Send" followed by "Cancel Resizing" on the Auto resize screen.

*Resize Images only in the email trail and skip resizing new images: Click "Resize" on top of your screen and proceed with writing the email/adding new images. When ready to send the email, follow above step for skipping resize all images in the email.

[[File:Resize2.png]]

===Configure Header Tools Lite===

Set the preferences for the Header Tools Lite add-on as shown in the screenshot below.

[[File:headertoolslite.jpg]]

===Configure Dorando Keyconfig===

Menu > Add-ons > Edit Keyconfig Preferences > Disable shortcuts for 'Archive' and 'Junk' as shown in the screenshots below.

[[File:Keyconfig1.png]]

[[File:Keyconfig2.png]]

===Getting access to NEOSYS support calendar===

After confirming that the steps below are successfully done, delete your local personal calendar and make the shared support calendar the default.

In Thunderbird, add a new CalDAV network calendar by navigating to File (Alt+f) -> New -> Calendar.

[[File:Cal1.png]]

Location: https://nextcloud.hosts.neosys.com:44318/remote.php/dav/calendars/support/support_shared_by_steve/

You will have to enter your nextcloud user and pass.

[[File:Cal2.png]]

[[File:Cal3.png]]

It should show a tick if successful, otherwise you will have to Unsubscribe and try again.

[[File:Cal4.png]]

Change the new calendar properties to Refresh every 5 mins.

[[File:Cal5.png]]

===Applying filter for backup failure emails===

In order to filter any backup failure emails as Important, go to Tools > Message Filters and create a new filter with settings as shown below:

Refer to filters list of other staff members.

===Tags===

Find the prefs.js file in your profile directory:
find ~/.thunderbird/ -name prefs.js
Edit the prefs.js file
nano /home/gregory/.thunderbird/s3bqjf24.dsfaefawe/prefs.js
Replace the all the "user_pref("mailnews.tags." with the new set of tag configurations below and restart Thunderbird.
<pre>
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label1.color", "#FF0000");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label1.tag", "Important");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label2.color", "#FF9900");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label2.tag", "Work");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label3.color", "#009900");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label3.tag", "Joel");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label4.color", "#3333ff");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label4.tag", "Greg");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label5.color", "#993399");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label5.tag", "Arvind");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label6.color", "#ff6e6e");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label6.tag", "Follow up");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label7.color", "#eb007b");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label7.tag", "Client issue");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label8.color", "#28e2d8");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label8.tag", "Delay support");
</pre>

==[[Procedures#Email_Retention_Policy| Email Retention Policy]]==

==[[Procedures#Handling_junk.2Fspam_email| Handling junk/spam emails]]==

==Viewing long running processes on Thunderbird==
When setting up and configuring Thunderbird, using its Activity Manager (Tools > Activity Manager) and possibly using the header bar "Always on top" option on the Activity Manager window may be helpful to know what long running processes are being performed.

[[File:Activity manager.jpg]]

==Deleting Thunderbird accounts==
Check the option "Remove Message Data" when removing accounts from Thunderbird. Otherwise, the old messages stay forever taking space on the disk.

[[File:dt2.png]]

Select Remove Message Data option as shown below.

[[File:dt.png]]

==Clearing out old improperly deleted Thunderbird Accounts==

If you delete Thunderbird accounts without checking the option "Remove Message Data" the old messages stay forever taking space on the disk.

To locate any such unnecessary files

ls -l -h /home/*/.thunderbird/*.default/ImapMail/*/INBOX

<pre>

-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 16M May 25 16:36 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.gmail.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 668M Mar 29 08:54 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys-1.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 242M May 28 14:45 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys-2.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 755M May 25 12:39 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys-3.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 420M Apr 24 10:27 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys-4.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 13G May 28 14:37 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys.com/INBOX

</pre>

Check the dates, which indicate the date of the last message received, to get a rough idea of what accounts are in use and not in use

Check which of the folders are currently in use by looking in Thunderbird settings for each account one by one, "Server Settings", "Local Directory"

Delete the folders and files which are not in use using whatever method you like.

".thunderbird", like all files and folders which start with a dot, is a hidden folder which you can make visible in Nautilus File Manager by pressing Ctrl+h

==Troubleshooting Thunderbird==

===High CPU usage when idling===

If Thunderbird consumes 100+% CPU when there is no activity seen on Thunderbird activity manager (Tools -> Activity Manager), then try the below steps from https://kb.mozillazine.org/Performance_-_Thunderbird :

#Go to Settings -> General
#Scroll to the bottom and click "Config Editor..."
#Search for mail.db.idle_limit
#Change its value to 30000000 (7 zeroes, not 5 zeroes) and save
#Restart Thunderbird

===Emails show wrong body===

Sometimes emails may not load correctly. Clicking an email will show some other email's body. To fix this:

#Right click the Thunderbird folder that has the issue (e.g. Inbox)
#Properties
#Repair Folder
This will rebuild the folder index that connects email subjects with message bodies.

[[File:Repair_folder.jpg]]

Configuring Thunderbird

2023-09-04T08:13:02Z

Arvind: /* Other General Configurations */

==Setting Up the Inbox Accounts==

The instructions given below explain how to set up the "Support" account on Thunderbird.

1. Open Mozilla Thunderbird. Choose the "Create a new account" option. Click on "Skip this and use my existing email" option on the "Welcome to Thunderbird" window.

[[File:Thunderbird_1.jpg]]

2. In the Mail Account Setup window, enter "support@neosys.com" for Your Name, "support@neosys.com" for Email Address and the password provided by Neosys staff. Click on continue.

[[File:Thunderbird_2.jpg]]

3. Click on "Manual Config".

[[File:Thunderbird_3.jpg]]

4. Key in "imap.neosys.com" for incoming IMAP host name, server hostname "smtp.neosys.com" and port "587" for outgoing SMTP and "support.neosys" as username. For SMTP, change the SSL to "STARTTLS" and authentication to "No authentication". Click on the "Re-test" button and then click "Done".

[[File:Thunderbird_4.jpg]]

BEFORE clicking on inbox and BEFORE adding other inboxes, you MUST refer to [[Configuring_Thunderbird#Adding_email_accounts_with_large_numbers_of_emails | Adding email accounts with large numbers of emails]]. This is because if you add all the accounts together at once, they will all sync together and it will take 1-2 days for the sync to complete.

For backups@neosys.com, support2@neosys.com (Nagios), name.neosys@gmail.com repeat the steps mentioned above, with the below-mentioned replacements.

1. For backups@neosys.com, enter "backups@neosys.com" for Your Name, "backups@neosys.com" for Email address and enter the password provided by Neosys staff.
Enter the username as "backups.neosys".

2. For support2@neosys.com, enter "support2@neosys.com" for Your Name, "support2@neosys.com" for Email address and enter the password provided by Neosys staff.
Enter the username as "support2.neosys".

3. For name.neosys@gmail.com, enter your full name for Your Name, "name.neosys@gmail.com" for Email address and enter the password. You do not need to follow the steps for manual config as the settings will be automatically configured.

[[File:thunderbird_6.jpg]]

[[File:thunderbird_7.jpg]]

==Account Settings==

Verify that the account settings for all the accounts are entered as shown below.

[[File:acsettings1.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings2.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings3.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings4.jpg]]

[[File:Account junk.jpg|500px]]

For backups@neosys.com account, under "Synchronization and Storage", change the setting to "Delete messages more than 365 days old"

The Synchronisation & Storage settings should be changed to the settings shown below only at a convenient time, since downloading all the emails will take a lot of time for accounts with large number of emails. Also see [[Configuring_Thunderbird#Adding_email_accounts_with_large_numbers_of_emails |Adding email accounts with large number of emails]]

[[File:acsettings6.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings7.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings8.jpg]]

===Adding email accounts with large numbers of emails===

After adding email accounts with large numbers of emails, in order to avoid long wait while downloading all the emails, it is best to change the account settings - BEFORE clicking on INBOX, which triggers the download/sync - to download the bodies of only the last 30 days of emails. The email headings are always synced but that does not take long.

See Account Settings, Synchronisation and Storage.

Since searching of emails only works when the bodies of emails have been downloaded, if you need to text search all emails, then, at a convenient time, you can remove or increase the number of days in the setting and somehow trigger the full sync.

[[File:thla.jpg]]

===Configuring Outgoing SMTP Mail Servers===

By default Thunderbird adds a new smtp profile with each Inbox added.

However you only need two, main and backup.

1. Right click on any Inbox > Settings.

2. Scroll down and click "Outgoing Server (SMTP)".

3. Delete all smtp server profiles except the default and ensure your settings match below screenshot.
[[File:Smtpsettings.png]]

4. Add a new profile with settings in below screenshot.

TODO - setup backup imap2 container and add settings screenshot here. (old imap2 smtp port 2500)

==Add-ons==

#Install addons: General settings menu (Top right 3 bars) > Addons
#Search and install the addons in below screenshot.
#Configure Mailbox Alert by Right e.g support inbox > Mailbox Alert:
##Check default sound and message.
[[File:Addon2.png]]

==Other General Configurations==

===Configure inbox to display selected columns===

The below options MUST be set in Support Inbox. To do so Right click on a column heading and select the below options:

#Thread
#Starred
#Attachment
#Subject
#Correspondents
#Received: You MUST add column RECEIVED which is the email date received to email inbox because the default Date seems to be the DATE SENT whereas we are primarily interested in the date we received the email. The difference is due to delays in email servers or spam tricks.

The below options MUST NOT be set in Support Inbox

#Junk status: Emails will automatically be moved to Junk folder if the junk icon in this column is clicked. Hence remove Junk Status column so that emails are not accidentally moved to junk. To remove, right-click on a column heading and untick "Junk Status".

===Configure Mail Content===

Preferences > Privacy > untick "Allow remote content in messages"

Support MUST set the "Allow remote content in messages" as blocked in Thunderbird without adding any exceptions for any email id. The reason is remote content i.e embedded images, stylesheets etc is a privacy concern as it sends your private information to the mail sender. We do not know the source of these embedded content in emails so cannot trust them as they can be web bugs.

===Configure Layout View===

Layout view should be set as Vertical view.

===Optimise Titlebar Space===

Follow below steps to merge the titlebar with the tabs bar to reduce wastage of screen space.

#Go to Thunderbird preferences -> General
#Scroll to the bottom and click "Config Editor..."
#Search for mail.tabs.drawInTitlebar
#Change its value to "true"

===Thunderbird Preferences===

#Preferences > Display > Advanced > untick " Automatically mark messages as read".
#Keep settings as below for Preferences > Security.
#Keep settings as below for Preferences > Composition > Spelling.

[[File:Globaljunk.jpg|500px]]

[[File:Composition.png|500px]]

===Configure MailAlert===

Right click Inbox > Mailbox Alert > Edit Mailbox Alert alerts > Select Default message. Set as below. Once set Right click Inbox > Mailbox Alert > check Default message

[[file:thsh.jpg]]

===Configure Auto Resize Image===

Set the preferences for the Auto Resize Image add-on as shown in the screenshot at the end of this section.

To handle different scenarios when resizing images in emails, follow the below steps:

*Resize all images in the email: Click "Send" followed by "Confirm" on the Auto resize screen.

*Skip resize all images in the email: Click "Send" followed by "Cancel Resizing" on the Auto resize screen.

*Resize Images only in the email trail and skip resizing new images: Click "Resize" on top of your screen and proceed with writing the email/adding new images. When ready to send the email, follow above step for skipping resize all images in the email.

[[File:Resize2.png]]

===Configure Header Tools Lite===

Set the preferences for the Header Tools Lite add-on as shown in the screenshot below.

[[File:headertoolslite.jpg]]

===Configure Dorando Keyconfig===

Menu > Add-ons > Edit Keyconfig Preferences > Disable shortcuts for 'Archive' and 'Junk' as shown in the screenshots below.

[[File:Keyconfig1.png]]

[[File:Keyconfig2.png]]

===Getting access to NEOSYS support calendar===

After confirming that the steps below are successfully done, delete your local personal calendar and make the shared support calendar the default.

In Thunderbird, add a new CalDAV network calendar by navigating to File (Alt+f) -> New -> Calendar.

[[File:Cal1.png]]

Location: https://nextcloud.hosts.neosys.com:44318/remote.php/dav/calendars/support/support_shared_by_steve/

You will have to enter your nextcloud user and pass.

[[File:Cal2.png]]

[[File:Cal3.png]]

It should show a tick if successful, otherwise you will have to Unsubscribe and try again.

[[File:Cal4.png]]

Change the new calendar properties to Refresh every 5 mins.

[[File:Cal5.png]]

===Applying filter for backup failure emails===

In order to filter any backup failure emails as Important, go to Tools > Message Filters and create a new filter with settings as shown below:

Refer to filters list of other staff members.

===Tags===

Find the prefs.js file in your profile directory:
find ~/.thunderbird/ -name prefs.js
Edit the prefs.js file
nano /home/gregory/.thunderbird/s3bqjf24.dsfaefawe/prefs.js
Replace the all the "user_pref("mailnews.tags." with the new set of tag configurations below and restart Thunderbird.
<pre>
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label1.color", "#FF0000");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label1.tag", "Important");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label2.color", "#FF9900");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label2.tag", "Work");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label3.color", "#009900");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label3.tag", "Joel");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label4.color", "#3333ff");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label4.tag", "Greg");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label5.color", "#993399");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label5.tag", "Arvind");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label6.color", "#ff6e6e");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label6.tag", "Follow up");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label7.color", "#eb007b");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label7.tag", "Client issue");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label8.color", "#28e2d8");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label8.tag", "Delay support");
</pre>

==[[Procedures#Email_Retention_Policy| Email Retention Policy]]==

==[[Procedures#Handling_junk.2Fspam_email| Handling junk/spam emails]]==

==Viewing long running processes on Thunderbird==
When setting up and configuring Thunderbird, using its Activity Manager (Tools > Activity Manager) and possibly using the header bar "Always on top" option on the Activity Manager window may be helpful to know what long running processes are being performed.

[[File:Activity manager.jpg]]

==Deleting Thunderbird accounts==
Check the option "Remove Message Data" when removing accounts from Thunderbird. Otherwise, the old messages stay forever taking space on the disk.

[[File:dt2.png]]

Select Remove Message Data option as shown below.

[[File:dt.png]]

==Clearing out old improperly deleted Thunderbird Accounts==

If you delete Thunderbird accounts without checking the option "Remove Message Data" the old messages stay forever taking space on the disk.

To locate any such unnecessary files

ls -l -h /home/*/.thunderbird/*.default/ImapMail/*/INBOX

<pre>

-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 16M May 25 16:36 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.gmail.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 668M Mar 29 08:54 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys-1.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 242M May 28 14:45 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys-2.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 755M May 25 12:39 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys-3.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 420M Apr 24 10:27 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys-4.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 13G May 28 14:37 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys.com/INBOX

</pre>

Check the dates, which indicate the date of the last message received, to get a rough idea of what accounts are in use and not in use

Check which of the folders are currently in use by looking in Thunderbird settings for each account one by one, "Server Settings", "Local Directory"

Delete the folders and files which are not in use using whatever method you like.

".thunderbird", like all files and folders which start with a dot, is a hidden folder which you can make visible in Nautilus File Manager by pressing Ctrl+h

==Troubleshooting Thunderbird==

===High CPU usage when idling===

If Thunderbird consumes 100+% CPU when there is no activity seen on Thunderbird activity manager (Tools -> Activity Manager), then try the below steps from https://kb.mozillazine.org/Performance_-_Thunderbird :

#Go to Thunderbird preferences -> General
#Scroll to the bottom and click "Config Editor..."
#Search for mail.db.idle_limit
#Change its value to 30000000 (7 zeroes, not 5 zeroes) and save
#Restart Thunderbird

===Emails show wrong body===

Sometimes emails may not load correctly. Clicking an email will show some other email's body. To fix this:

#Right click the Thunderbird folder that has the issue (e.g. Inbox)
#Properties
#Repair Folder
This will rebuild the folder index that connects email subjects with message bodies.

[[File:Repair_folder.jpg]]

Uninstalling clients hosted on NEOSYS Server

2023-08-07T11:55:08Z

Arvind:

This must be done in the following circumstances:

#Reinstallation on other servers
#Reinstallation on clients own server
#Termination of contract
#Any other reason

NEOSYS needs to:

#Ensure that the databases can no longer be logged in to by accident or design.
#Ensure that for a reasonable period of time that NEOSYS can be re-enabled in case of error or change in circumstances.

Include admin@neosys.com when sending emails regarding this subject.

====Stage 1. Disabling====

1. Ensure that the services for the client being uninstalled have been stopped.
./doall <dbname> stop

2. Delete the website
./doall <dbname> delete_site

3. Disable the service, otherwise the services will start up every time ex1 reboots.
./doall <dbname> disable

4. In doall, comment out the line corresponding to the client being uninstalled. Do this in dev as well and push the changes to neosys git.

5. Comment the lines for the stopped installation in the Nagios config file so that Nagios stops alerting for it. (edit: genclients.sh)

6. Strike-through the terminated client's link on support home page (support.htm).

====Stage 2. Permanent Deletion====

We keep ex client data for up to one year before deleting, but after this period:

1. Retain a copy of the client's latest backup sql.gz file in a separate directory (in ex1:/root/backups/current/deleted as of 3/4/2023)

2. Delete the database and service
sudo -u postgres dropdb <dbname>
sudo -u postgres dropdb <dbname_test>
./doall <dbname> delete_service

3. Delete client directory from /root/hosts directory.
rm -r ~/hosts/<dbname>

4. Remove the terminated client's link from support home page (support.htm).

5. Delete the associated entry from Zone Edit.

Configuring Thunderbird

2023-06-02T08:23:55Z

Arvind:

==Setting Up the Inbox Accounts==

The instructions given below explain how to set up the "Support" account on Thunderbird.

1. Open Mozilla Thunderbird. Choose the "Create a new account" option. Click on "Skip this and use my existing email" option on the "Welcome to Thunderbird" window.

[[File:Thunderbird_1.jpg]]

2. In the Mail Account Setup window, enter "support@neosys.com" for Your Name, "support@neosys.com" for Email Address and the password provided by Neosys staff. Click on continue.

[[File:Thunderbird_2.jpg]]

3. Click on "Manual Config".

[[File:Thunderbird_3.jpg]]

4. Key in "imap.neosys.com" for incoming IMAP host name, server hostname "smtp.neosys.com" and port "587" for outgoing SMTP and "support.neosys" as username. For SMTP, change the SSL to "STARTTLS" and authentication to "No authentication". Click on the "Re-test" button and then click "Done".

[[File:Thunderbird_4.jpg]]

BEFORE clicking on inbox and BEFORE adding other inboxes, you MUST refer to [[Configuring_Thunderbird#Adding_email_accounts_with_large_numbers_of_emails | Adding email accounts with large numbers of emails]]. This is because if you add all the accounts together at once, they will all sync together and it will take 1-2 days for the sync to complete.

For backups@neosys.com, support2@neosys.com (Nagios), name.neosys@gmail.com repeat the steps mentioned above, with the below-mentioned replacements.

1. For backups@neosys.com, enter "backups@neosys.com" for Your Name, "backups@neosys.com" for Email address and enter the password provided by Neosys staff.
Enter the username as "backups.neosys".

2. For support2@neosys.com, enter "support2@neosys.com" for Your Name, "support2@neosys.com" for Email address and enter the password provided by Neosys staff.
Enter the username as "support2.neosys".

3. For name.neosys@gmail.com, enter your full name for Your Name, "name.neosys@gmail.com" for Email address and enter the password. You do not need to follow the steps for manual config as the settings will be automatically configured.

[[File:thunderbird_6.jpg]]

[[File:thunderbird_7.jpg]]

==Account Settings==

Verify that the account settings for all the accounts are entered as shown below.

[[File:acsettings1.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings2.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings3.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings4.jpg]]

[[File:Account junk.jpg|500px]]

For backups@neosys.com account, under "Synchronization and Storage", change the setting to "Delete messages more than 365 days old"

The Synchronisation & Storage settings should be changed to the settings shown below only at a convenient time, since downloading all the emails will take a lot of time for accounts with large number of emails. Also see [[Configuring_Thunderbird#Adding_email_accounts_with_large_numbers_of_emails |Adding email accounts with large number of emails]]

[[File:acsettings6.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings7.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings8.jpg]]

===Adding email accounts with large numbers of emails===

After adding email accounts with large numbers of emails, in order to avoid long wait while downloading all the emails, it is best to change the account settings - BEFORE clicking on INBOX, which triggers the download/sync - to download the bodies of only the last 30 days of emails. The email headings are always synced but that does not take long.

See Account Settings, Synchronisation and Storage.

Since searching of emails only works when the bodies of emails have been downloaded, if you need to text search all emails, then, at a convenient time, you can remove or increase the number of days in the setting and somehow trigger the full sync.

[[File:thla.jpg]]

===Configuring Outgoing SMTP Mail Servers===

By default Thunderbird adds a new smtp profile with each Inbox added.

However you only need two, main and backup.

1. Right click on any Inbox > Settings.

2. Scroll down and click "Outgoing Server (SMTP)".

3. Delete all smtp server profiles except the default and ensure your settings match below screenshot.
[[File:Smtpsettings.png]]

4. Add a new profile with settings in below screenshot.

TODO - setup backup imap2 container and add settings screenshot here. (old imap2 smtp port 2500)

==Add-ons==

#Install addons: General settings menu (Top right 3 bars) > Addons
#Search and install the addons in below screenshot.
#Configure Mailbox Alert by Right e.g support inbox > Mailbox Alert:
##Check default sound and message.
[[File:Addon2.png]]

==Other General Configurations==

===Configure inbox to display selected columns===

The below options MUST be set in Support Inbox. To do so Right click on a column heading and select the below options:

#Thread
#Starred
#Attachment
#Subject
#Correspondents
#Received: You MUST add column RECEIVED which is the email date received to email inbox because the default Date seems to be the DATE SENT whereas we are primarily interested in the date we received the email. The difference is due to delays in email servers or spam tricks.

The below options MUST NOT be set in Support Inbox

#Junk status: Emails will automatically be moved to Junk folder if the junk icon in this column is clicked. Hence remove Junk Status column so that emails are not accidentally moved to junk. To remove, right-click on a column heading and untick "Junk Status".

===Configure Mail Content===

Preferences > Privacy > untick "Allow remote content in messages"

Support MUST set the "Allow remote content in messages" as blocked in Thunderbird without adding any exceptions for any email id. The reason is remote content i.e embedded images, stylesheets etc is a privacy concern as it sends your private information to the mail sender. We do not know the source of these embedded content in emails so cannot trust them as they can be web bugs.

===Configure Layout View===

Layout view should be set as Vertical view.

===Thunderbird Preferences===

#Preferences > Display > Advanced > untick " Automatically mark messages as read".
#Keep settings as below for Preferences > Security.
#Keep settings as below for Preferences > Composition > Spelling.

[[File:Globaljunk.jpg|500px]]

[[File:Composition.png|500px]]

===Configure MailAlert===

Right click Inbox > Mailbox Alert > Edit Mailbox Alert alerts > Select Default message. Set as below. Once set Right click Inbox > Mailbox Alert > check Default message

[[file:thsh.jpg]]

===Configure Auto Resize Image===

Set the preferences for the Auto Resize Image add-on as shown in the screenshot at the end of this section.

To handle different scenarios when resizing images in emails, follow the below steps:

*Resize all images in the email: Click "Send" followed by "Confirm" on the Auto resize screen.

*Skip resize all images in the email: Click "Send" followed by "Cancel Resizing" on the Auto resize screen.

*Resize Images only in the email trail and skip resizing new images: Click "Resize" on top of your screen and proceed with writing the email/adding new images. When ready to send the email, follow above step for skipping resize all images in the email.

[[File:Resize2.png]]

===Configure Header Tools Lite===

Set the preferences for the Header Tools Lite add-on as shown in the screenshot below.

[[File:headertoolslite.jpg]]

===Configure Dorando Keyconfig===

Menu > Add-ons > Edit Keyconfig Preferences > Disable shortcuts for 'Archive' and 'Junk' as shown in the screenshots below.

[[File:Keyconfig1.png]]

[[File:Keyconfig2.png]]

===Getting access to NEOSYS support calendar===

After confirming that the steps below are successfully done, delete your local personal calendar and make the shared support calendar the default.

In Thunderbird, add a new CalDAV network calendar by navigating to File (Alt+f) -> New -> Calendar.

[[File:Cal1.png]]

Location: https://nextcloud.hosts.neosys.com:44318/remote.php/dav/calendars/support/support_shared_by_steve/

You will have to enter your nextcloud user and pass.

[[File:Cal2.png]]

[[File:Cal3.png]]

It should show a tick if successful, otherwise you will have to Unsubscribe and try again.

[[File:Cal4.png]]

Change the new calendar properties to Refresh every 5 mins.

[[File:Cal5.png]]

===Applying filter for backup failure emails===

In order to filter any backup failure emails as Important, go to Tools > Message Filters and create a new filter with settings as shown below:

Refer to filters list of other staff members.

===Tags===

Find the prefs.js file in your profile directory:
find ~/.thunderbird/ -name prefs.js
Edit the prefs.js file
nano /home/gregory/.thunderbird/s3bqjf24.dsfaefawe/prefs.js
Replace the all the "user_pref("mailnews.tags." with the new set of tag configurations below and restart Thunderbird.
<pre>
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label1.color", "#FF0000");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label1.tag", "Important");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label2.color", "#FF9900");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label2.tag", "Work");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label3.color", "#009900");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label3.tag", "Joel");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label4.color", "#3333ff");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label4.tag", "Greg");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label5.color", "#993399");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label5.tag", "Arvind");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label6.color", "#ff6e6e");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label6.tag", "Follow up");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label7.color", "#eb007b");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label7.tag", "Client issue");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label8.color", "#28e2d8");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label8.tag", "Delay support");
</pre>

==[[Procedures#Email_Retention_Policy| Email Retention Policy]]==

==[[Procedures#Handling_junk.2Fspam_email| Handling junk/spam emails]]==

==Viewing long running processes on Thunderbird==
When setting up and configuring Thunderbird, using its Activity Manager (Tools > Activity Manager) and possibly using the header bar "Always on top" option on the Activity Manager window may be helpful to know what long running processes are being performed.

[[File:Activity manager.jpg]]

==Deleting Thunderbird accounts==
Check the option "Remove Message Data" when removing accounts from Thunderbird. Otherwise, the old messages stay forever taking space on the disk.

[[File:dt2.png]]

Select Remove Message Data option as shown below.

[[File:dt.png]]

==Clearing out old improperly deleted Thunderbird Accounts==

If you delete Thunderbird accounts without checking the option "Remove Message Data" the old messages stay forever taking space on the disk.

To locate any such unnecessary files

ls -l -h /home/*/.thunderbird/*.default/ImapMail/*/INBOX

<pre>

-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 16M May 25 16:36 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.gmail.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 668M Mar 29 08:54 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys-1.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 242M May 28 14:45 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys-2.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 755M May 25 12:39 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys-3.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 420M Apr 24 10:27 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys-4.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 13G May 28 14:37 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys.com/INBOX

</pre>

Check the dates, which indicate the date of the last message received, to get a rough idea of what accounts are in use and not in use

Check which of the folders are currently in use by looking in Thunderbird settings for each account one by one, "Server Settings", "Local Directory"

Delete the folders and files which are not in use using whatever method you like.

".thunderbird", like all files and folders which start with a dot, is a hidden folder which you can make visible in Nautilus File Manager by pressing Ctrl+h

==Troubleshooting Thunderbird==

===High CPU usage when idling===

If Thunderbird consumes 100+% CPU when there is no activity seen on Thunderbird activity manager (Tools -> Activity Manager), then try the below steps from https://kb.mozillazine.org/Performance_-_Thunderbird :

#Go to Thunderbird preferences -> General
#Scroll to the bottom and click "Config Editor..."
#Search for mail.db.idle_limit
#Change its value to 30000000 (7 zeroes, not 5 zeroes) and save
#Restart Thunderbird

===Emails show wrong body===

Sometimes emails may not load correctly. Clicking an email will show some other email's body. To fix this:

#Right click the Thunderbird folder that has the issue (e.g. Inbox)
#Properties
#Repair Folder
This will rebuild the folder index that connects email subjects with message bodies.

[[File:Repair_folder.jpg]]

File:Repair folder.jpg

2023-06-02T08:22:59Z

Arvind:

Implementing NEOSYS

2023-05-26T08:22:18Z

Arvind:

==Setting up the System Configuration File==
See [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/System_Configuration_File System Configuration File] for detailed description. The following points are essential configuration and must not be ignored.

#All configurations must be carefully done after evaluating which [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/System_Configuration_File#Scope Scope] they fall under.
#Configure alert email addresses in the System Configuration File (make sure that there is at least 1 person from the client management [ ] and one person from client IT [ ] who receives the backup alert)
#Configure [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/System_Configuration_File#Web_Address_and_Description URL/Web Address] to access NEOSYS. This is very important for a Timesheet module installation as the approver links are picked up from the configuration.
#Set the User Timezone
#Set up [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/System_Configuration_File#Email_Domains Email Domains] and [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/System_Configuration_File#IP_numbers IP Numbers]. Support staff MUST add the client's email domain to NEOSYS internal email whitelist (Webmin -> Servers -> SpamAssassin Mail Filter -> Allowed and Denied Addresses), so that emails from this client do not get automatically marked as spam.
#If NEOSYS is hosted by the client, then add the client's outgoing public IP address to Zoneedit > dns > TXT records > neosys.com , otherwise email providers may refused to receive emails from the client's NEOSYS server. The outgoing IP number can be found by doing Ctrl+u on an email from the client's NEOSYS server and checking the "Received: from" section.
#Set up [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/System_Configuration_File#Sender_Email_Address Sender Email Address]. Support staff MUST add the Sender Email Address to the aliases for support@neosys.com (Virtualmin -> Edit Mail Aliases). Then send a test email to the Sender Email Address to check whether the sent email is received in support@neosys.com inbox

==Start neosysddns service for Client's with dynamic ip==

See [[NEOSYS_DDNS_Service#Starting_Windows_service_on_the_client_server|Starting NEOSYS DDNS Service]] to start the neosysddns service so that NEOSYS monitoring server at monitor.neosys.com updates zonedit.com with the latest ip of the client server.

You MUST check if the ip is actually getting updated otherwise if the ip changes and neosysddns is not working we will lose access to the server. See [[NEOSYS_DDNS_Service#Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_DDNS_Service|Troubleshooting NEOSYS DDNS Service]] for commands to do so.

==Update Support.htm==
Add the new client to the list of clients page.

See [http://itwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Updating_Support.htm Updating Support.htm]

==Setting up a new company in the new database==
Refer to the [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Setting_up_multi_company_installations_/_Setting_up_a_new_company#Draft_email_requesting_info_required_to_add_new_company_to_existing_database sample email for New Company creation in existing Database/New Database]

Once the new company is added to the database:
#Set up exchange rate as "1" for the base currency by going to the Currency and Exchange Rate File
#Delete “Client X” from the Client and Brand File
#Set the letterhead refer to [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Configuring_Letterhead Configuring Letterhead]

Change the system mark for each of the new databases that were created. See [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Setting_up_and_Configuring_NEOSYS_Generally#Configuring_Client_Security_mark Configuring Client Security Mark]

Troubleshooting NEOSYS Finance System

2023-05-12T07:29:45Z

Arvind: /* Redo Open New Year procedure */ Make the article more searchable

==Using Finance Maintenance Mode fixing tools==
<div style="color:red">

Follow the instructions below before you proceed with fixing CCB errors with any check/fix:

Do not do mass fixes eg “Add/Delete ALL xyz” options from a year in the past eg 2007 while only checking accounts for 2009. You must CHECK EVERYTHING THAT YOU REQUEST TO BE FIXED.

The various fixing tools like CHK.ALLOC etc are impossible to make safe in all circumstances so if you don’t really know what you are doing you assume the WORST not the BEST with these fixing tools.

''CHECK EVERYTHING YOU “FIX”!!!''

Do not go back risking fixes in prior years for which Finance has been closed, unless absolutely necessary.

While checking/fixing a CCB error, check and fix any other errors if present to avoid CCB's in future.

After doing check/fixes, all accounts should be tested for cross check balance errors. Do this by taking ledger printout for the whole year for all accounts.

IF YOU DO NOT FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY YOU CAN END UP MODIFYING AUDITED ACCOUNTS AND IT WILL TAKE DAYS FOR PROGRAMMERS TO TRY AND CORRECT THE DAMAGE YOU CAUSE OR EVEN REQUIRE A RESTORE OF A BACKUP CAUSING LOSS OF MANY DAYS WORK TO THE CLIENT
</div>

==Cross-Year Cross Check Balance Warnings==

When you use Opening Balance Journals, NEOSYS does not guarantee that the opening balances of one year match the closing balance of a prior year. This occurs quite normally and commonly occurs in the situations described below.

Regardless of the cause, in such cases, any statement or ledger account of movements (not open items) that crosses the disjoint years will have a "cross check balance" note at the bottom of the account. A cross check balance warning is just a warning that the closing balance of the account (as calculated from a simple total of the opening balance in the old year plus all transactions) does not agree with the actual account balance according to the trial balance in the new year.

If the opening balance of the account in the second year is not equal to the closing balance in the prior year then logically the two years cannot be viewed as a single continuous account and agree with the trial balance.

===Posting into years prior to Opening Balance===

When you start up a company in one year using Opening Balance Journals then the closing balances of the prior years remain zero. If you thereafter start to post into prior years, the closing balances of those years will remain in disagreement with the opening balance of the following years.

'''Solution'''

If you wish to obtain cross-year accounts between years, and you wish such account's balances to agree with the later year trial balance, then you must arrange for the closing balances of the prior years to agree with the opening balances of the following years.

To do this, ensure that any Opening Balance Journals that are posted into any particular year are also posted into all prior financial years of interest, or better, post them directly into the earliest year and any following years will automatically be updated as normal.

===Opening Balance Journals===

If you post Opening Balance Journals into one year for any reason, they are not posted into prior years. Therefore the opening balances of the amended year become different from the prior year.

In this respect, auditors amendments to opening balances should be posted as normal journals in the final period of the prior year and not as Opening Balance Journals in the current year.

===Producing Historical Accounts===

As mentioned above, if you post Opening Balance Journals into one year, they are not posted into prior years. For such accounts, NEOSYS will show Cross Check Balance warning if you take a ledger account or statement of account report across multiple years including years prior to the Opening Balance Journal posting. e.g. if an account has opening balance entry in 2011, and no entries in 2010, then ledger account report with period setting 2010 - 2018 will show Cross Check Balance warning.

'''Solution'''

To avoid this Cross Check Balance warning, in the report period settings exclude years prior to the Opening Balance Journal posting, since the account anyway has no entries in the prior years.

=== Producing P&L and Retained Earnings Accounts ===
Refer to [https://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Finance_System#Cross_Check_Balance_error_on_all_Profit_and_Loss_accounts_and_Retained_Earnings_account CCB on P&L and Retained Earnings accounts]

==Fixing "Cross Check Balance" warnings using CHK.ALLOC==

Cross Check Balance Message on an account means the total of the outstanding items in an account does not match the balance as in the movement - typically the outstanding shows a higher balance than the balance in the movement, but might not always be the case. The reasons why this may happen is because of the following:

*Reposting journals containing allocated items (which NEOSYS doesnt handle in all circumstances)
*Failing to clear open item accounts on a regular basis where the number of postings is high

This procedure only applies to CCB on the outstanding item type statements which are the more common problem. CCB on movement accounts are rarer, more serious and cannot be fixed by this procedure.

This might not always fix the CCB warnings and hence you will need to escalate to the programmer.

<pre>
!!! WARNING !!!

This is a dangerous procedure.
IF YOU DO NOT FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY YOU CAN END UP MODIFYING AUDITED ACCOUNTS AND AUDITORS/ACCOUNTANTS AND IT WILL TAKE DAYS FOR PROGRAMMERS TO TRY AND CORRECT THE DAMAGE YOU CAUSE!

DO THIS ON TESTDATA FIRST
</pre>

This can be run while other users are online.

While running the command, monitor the lines coming up on the screen for any warnings. In case you make any changes and select "Yes" or "Yes to all" for any message, you should re run the command again until clean.

This exact procedure restores vouchers missing from open item accounts:

*Exodus TEST Database
<pre>
1. /root/neosys/test <DBCODE>
2. After startup press "x" key.
3. Type: "chkalloc"
</pre>
*Exodus LIVE Database
<pre>
1. Stop all LIVE processes. (pressing x won't return prompt to enter check command if other LIVE processes running)
2. Run /root/neosys/run <DBCODE>
3. After startup press "x" key.
4. Type: "chkalloc"
</pre>
*AREV Both LIVE and TEST databases
<pre>
F5
UTIL (nothing happens at this stage as its a background process and gives you access to the next command)
CHK.ALLOC
</pre>

Minimum voucher year.period?

Generally go back as little as possible to cover vouchers that might be missing from O/I accounts.

Which account do you want or blank for all?

You MUST search for all accounts. Entering one account WILL NOT WORK since it will only check vouchers already on the open item accounts and we are looking for those that are missing.

IGNORE OR RESPOND NEGATIVELY to all messages or questions EXCEPT the following:

Missing from O/I index?

Select "Yes" or "Yes to all"

===Meaning of other messages===

1. The following message pair does not usually cause cross check balances and indicates that they have cancelled some foreign currency allocation since allocation should not cause and change in rate.

IN*175510*C 20/01/08 ALMA 4/2 REC*4440*C allocation base outstanding -7326.15 expected -6762.60 (-563.550,.08333333)
IN*175510*C 20/01/08 ALMA 4/2 REC*4440*C allocation changed exchange rate from .08333333 to .07692308

2. For the following message, you MUST choose "Leave all" , otherwise risk damage to closed audited prior year accounts:

Account numbers do not agree. Delete the allocation?

3. For the following message, choose "Add it to other voucher" ONLY for the voucher/account that needs fixing. Do not choose "Add all" unless you know each and every allocation that will be added, as it could cause problems such as allocating to vouchers that are already allocated i.e. causing double allocations. You MUST check everything that you request to be fixed.

Allocation is missing ?

4. For the following message, choose "Skip further Warnings":

Amounts do not agree - please fix manually

===Re-enabling CCB warning mail notifications===
NEOSYS is pre-configured to send out email notifications (to the same group of people who receive the backup alerts) when a Cross Check Balance (CCB) warning is found for the first time on an account. That means there will be only 1 email notification irrespective of the times the warning occurs until it is fixed.

After the CCB is fixed or after clearing or otherwise eliminating the same, you need to delete the CCB file in D:\neosys\neosys to re-enable NEOSYS to resend notification by email after it discovers CCB warnings on that account again in the future.

==Fixing "Cross Check Balance" warning using CHK.VINDEX==

YOU MUST READ AND APPLY THE GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS WRITTEN FOR CHK.ALLOC AS WELL FOR CHK.VINDEX

This program can fix a few CCB warnings that CHK.ALLOC cannot - including some in balance forward type accounts (ie not open item/outstanding item accounts) .

Not all the possible fixes are described here and any messages which are not described here should be responded to NEGATIVELY!

CCB error for [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Finance_System#Fixing_Error:_.22A.2Fc._.3F.3F.3F.22_message_in_account_of_outstanding_items Wrong A/C] can be fixed by running CHK.VINDEX

===Different account - Delete the index entry?===
<pre>
51841 voucher_index recs
"*P831*1" L=8 V=PUR*180123*1 30/06/18 B=13653 "P831" different account "P823"
========================================
"*P831*1" L=8 V=PUR*180123*1 30/06/18 B=13653 "P831" different account "P823"
Delete the index entry?
*1. No
2. Yes
3. Delete None
4. Delete All
Please enter 1 - 4 or Enter to default or 0 to cancel.
? 1
</pre>

Select Yes.

===Missing Voucher - Delete the index entry?===
<pre>
2500. *JOB4714*1"1401*815*1ü815" "1ü815" bad company
"1401*815*1ü815" L=1 V=PUR*11516:7*1ü815 15/01/14 missing voucher
========================================
"1401*815*1ü815" L=1 V=PUR*11516:7*1ü815 15/01/14 missing voucher
Delete the index entry?
*1. No
2. Yes
3. Delete None
4. Delete All
Please enter 1 - 4 or Enter to default or 0 to cancel.
? 1
</pre>

Select Yes.

===Different Date - Correct index entry?===
<pre>
"*P831*1" L=8 V=PUR*180123*1 30/06/18 B=13653 different date "12/02/18"
========================================
"*P831*1" L=8 V=PUR*180123*1 30/06/18 B=13653 different date "12/02/18"
Correct index entry?
*1. No
2. Yes
3. Correct None
4. Correct All
Please enter 1 - 4 or Enter to default or 0 to cancel.
? 1
</pre>

Select Yes.

===Commit or Revert current changes===
<pre>
Finished in 2 mins, 45 secs
What next boss ?
========================================
Commit any database updates ?
1. Commit
2. Rollback
Please enter 1 - 2
? 0
</pre>

Select 1 to commit changes.

==Checking if a voucher is fully posted==

Sometimes due to some kind of system error a batch is not fully posted then one voucher in the batch may be half-posted. Any remaining vouchers in the batch (after/below) will almost certainly be completely unposted.

To see if this has happened, first identify which voucher is problematic and then check if the first and last lines of the voucher are correctly posted by seeing if the voucher appears in their respective ledger accounts.

===First line is not posted===

If the first line does not appear then probably the whole voucher is not posted at all.

Reposting the voucher may successfully solve the problem but see [http://techwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Finance_System#Reposting_a_Batch_in_Journal_Entry Reposting a batch] and [http://techwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Finance_System#Fixing_.22Cross_Check_Balance.22_warnings_using_CHK.ALLOC Cross Check Balance] to avoid potential issues in reposting.

===Last line is not posted===

If the first line appears but the last line does not appear as posted in its ledger account then the voucher is "HALF POSTED". This breaks the all important law of double entry accounting and the trial balance will not balance.

Reposting the voucher will not solve the problem because the system does not take into account that the voucher is half posted when it is reversing the original voucher during the repost.

===First and last lines are posted===

In the case there is no problem. The voucher is fully posted and the half-posted issue is not present

==Voucher number missing from posted batches==

In some cases voucher numbers are missing from posted batches.

There could be several reasons why the voucher numbers are missing. The voucher number is generated but does not reflect on the batch or the voucher number did not get generated at the time of posting. We are still investigating the root cause to this problem.

For both cases, take a ledger print out for the account the voucher number is missing and check if the voucher number is present in the ledger print out.

===1. The entries in the batch reflect on the ledger print===

If the entries reflect in the ledger print out, open the voucher file and investigate why the voucher number did not appear when the batch was posted.

The voucher numbers will appear in the batch when the batch is re-saved. The same voucher numbers appears as it was in the voucher file.

===2. The entry in the batch does not reflect on the ledger print===

If the voucher file is not present in the ledger print out, open the batch and investigate why the voucher number did not generate when the batch was posted.

The voucher numbers will be generated when the batch is re-saved but not in sequence number. Notify clients the batches are re-saved and the voucher number will not be in sequence.

===Solution===

Run CHK.VOUCHERS and check for errors. Then re-save the batch.

The authorisation to re-save a batch is restricted to NEOSYS and a few client users at the moment.

====Running CHK.VOUCHERS====

This exact procedure restores vouchers missing from open item accounts:

*Exodus TEST Database
<pre>
1. /root/neosys/test <DBCODE>
2. After startup press "x" key.
3. Type: "chkvindex"
</pre>
*Exodus LIVE Database
<pre>
1. Stop all LIVE processes. (pressing x won't return prompt to enter check command if other LIVE processes running)
2. Run /root/neosys/run <DBCODE>
3. After startup press "x" key.
4. Type: "chkvindex"
</pre>
*AREV Both LIVE and TEST databases
<pre>
F5
UTIL (nothing happens at this stage as its a background process and gives you access to the next command)
CHK.ALLOC
</pre>

When running CHK.VOUCHERS, respond to prompts as shown below. Generally respond negatively to prompts which are not specified below, but in TEST datasets you can experiment by responding positively.

Choose "Yes" for the following message:

Missing from batch but matching ref with no voucher can be found. Add it?

Choose "No" for the following message:

Delete empty unposted / deleted voucher ?

Choose "Yes or All" for the following message:

Account “ XYZ” type is “ COST” , but the voucher analysis code “28*1*COMPANYCODE*XYZ” is type “ BILL/INCOME” .
Fix voucher analysis code to be COST and repost? :---- YES/ALL

Choose "All" for the following message. This is to keep the file "clean" of messages but does not actually cause any changes in the rest of the system.

Account "XYZ" is "JOBS", but the voucher analysis code "28*1*clientcode**marketcode*suppliercode*mediatypecode" is "MEDIA"
Fix voucher analysis code is to be JOBS and repost?

After doing check/fix, all accounts should be tested for cross check balance errors. Do this by taking ledger printout for the whole year for all accounts.

==[http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Finance_System#Why_does_an_outstanding_not_appear_while_taking_a_ledger_printout Fixing CCB errors that do not get fixed with CHK.ALLOC, CHK.VINDEX or CHK.VOUCHERS]==

==Using CHK.POST to fix some types of Cross Check Balance (CCB) errors==

CHK.POST can be used to fix/recreate the BALANCES files. This could be useful in the following cases:

#Some stubborn Cross Check Balance errors
#BALANCES file is damaged (use [[Handling_damaged_files#Using_FIXFILE_to_repair_corrupted_files|FIXFILE]] first)

Use it strictly only after ALL other errors have been fixed using the usual CHK programs

*CHK.VOUCHERS
*CHK.VINDEX
*CHK.ALLOC
*CHK.BATCHES
*CHK.BALANCES
*CHK.ACCOUNTS
*CHK.CHARTS
*CHK.CONTROLS
*CHK.OB (As of 12/2/19: Only Bates and AdlineD can parameters be entered in UI, whereas in TEST and other clients, editing of program code must be done to tailor the program to check what you want. E.g a period)

[[Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Finance_System#Check_steps_of_each_CHK_program|What checks are performed on in each CHK routine]]

This program adjusts the balances in the trial balance reports (which also show in the “Cross Check Balance phrase on the Detailed Ledger Accounts) to match the vouchers found in the voucher file. Note that CHK.ALLOC and CHK.VINDEX have no effect on these figures and instead amend the transactions shown on the Detailed Ledger Account - and thereby the totals on the same report so that they agree with the CCB amount and thereby the conflict is resolved.

Most CCB in NEOSYS are related to problems on outstanding item accounts and are fixed with the CHK.ALLOC program. More rarely, problems occur in the movement accounts and are fixed with the CHK.VINDEX program - although this can also fix some errors in outstanding item statements. Even more rarely will the problem be on the Trial Balances/CCB balances and can be fixed with this CHK.POST procedure

WARNING! This solution may make things worse so don’t use on live data unless EXHAUSTIVELY checked that everything is ok on test data first.

WARNING! Don’t go back and “correct” previous years which have been closed because auditors expect them never to change (EVEN IF THEY ARE WRONG!) and it can be impossible to put them back “wrong” if you “correct” them.

WARNING! If you correct previous years then you must [[Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Finance_System#Redo_Open_New_Year_procedure| rerun the Open New Year procedure]] for all prior years.

#In maintenance mode press Alt+1
#Enter the range of periods that you want to check/adjust the trial balance for e.g. 1/9-7/9 for 1st Period of 2009 up to the 7th period of 2009.
#Press F9 and Esc
#Press F5 and type CHK.POST
#What stage to start at? Choose “Select Vouchers”
#Clear the updated balances file? Choose “Clear it”
#OK to Start? … OK
#If there are any discrepancies found between the Trial Balance Balances/CCB balances … and the Vouchers in the file you will get some fairly cryptic questions asking you, one by one, if you want to fix the balances.

IMPORTANT

#It is advised that you only fix the balances which refer to the accounts that you are concerned about. You will find the account number buried in the cryptic questions referred to above.
#If you fix subsidiary account balances then MAKE SURE that you also fix the control accounts balances (if you are prompted).

==B10 & B12 Errors==

The error might be displayed as follows :

ERROR NO: B10 IN DAYBOOK.SUBSX AT 133
Variable has not been assigned a value. Zero used.

This error should have said something like : "The ledgers are closed up to the period you have just tried to post" OR "Financial Year 2011 must be opened before you post into it."

Try again and you would see the exact message if you have not opened the new year as yet.

==Fixing "Index has been deleted" message==

===Error Message===

The index record "TEXT.XREF*abc*xyz"
has been deleted.
The index for "TEXT.XREF"
should be rebuilt.

===Solution===

[http://techwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Handling_damaged_files#Fixing_damaged_index_files_.28names_starting_with_.21.29 Perform REINDEXVOUCHERS in maintenance mode].

==Reposting a Batch in Journal Entry==
The authorisation to repost a batch is restricted to NEOSYS and a few client users at the moment. Reposting a batch will repost all the vouchers in the batch. See [[Procedures#Amending.2FReposting_Journal_Entries|Amending/Reposting Journal Entries]]

See [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Finance_System#Correcting_mistakes_in_postings Correcting mistakes in postings] for NEOSYS policy for correcting mistakes in journal postings.

Warning: Reposting journals that are already allocated will create cross check balance errors, so before reposting, any allocations should be de-allocated to avoid these errors.

Reposting a batch should be done in TEST dataset first. After reposting, all accounts should be tested for cross check balance errors. Do this by taking ledger printout for the whole year for all accounts.

#Client must de-allocate vouchers which need to be amended
#NEOSYS support staff must wait for a day so that de-allocated vouchers are copied into Test database
#Authorise required users to amend and repost (without record) '''in Test database only''' (While reposting, we have 2 options i.e. with record and without record. The 'with record' option causes the system to maintain a history of edits made. Hence, we want to repost without record so that there is no trace of the edit in the system)
#Amend a substantial number of vouchers in Test and verify them. To verify if the edits made are reflected:
#<nowiki>*Print all ledgers for the whole year</nowiki>
#<nowiki>*Cross-check all balances</nowiki>
#Once you verify the balances are correct in Test database, grant users permission to amend and repost in the Live database.
#Ask users to amend and repost vouchers in the Live database.
#Cross-check all balances for the current year.
#If you successfully verify the balances, revoke permissions immediately. Else, wait for 24 hours and revoke permissions irrespectively.

==Editing and Reposting Vouchers==

WARNING: Can cause effectively irreversible damage to the finance database requiring restoration of a suitable backup causing loss of data and/or total loss of database if backup not available.

It is almost impossible to edit and repost vouchers and keep the audit trail correct so this procedure is of limited use. The stages are UNPOST, EDIT, REPOST.

Must be done on test data and advisable to run CHK.VOUCHERS afterwards.

===UNPOST===
F5
UNPOST XXX*YYYYY*ZZZ

Where:

*XXX is the voucher type/journal code
*YYY is the voucher number
*ZZZ is the company code

Any problems with the voucher might generate messages but the problems will be reverse the problems which must have occurred when posting the voucher in the first place.

===EDIT===
F5
ED VOUCHERS XXX*YYYYY*ZZZ

For example, if due to a neosys system error, the ZZZ999 suspense account has been used instead of some missing internal system accounts like exchange gain/loss accounts then you can insert the correct account.

Change line 8 (which contains the account numbers) from:

REZO²REZO²BMDI²BMDI²²

to

REZO²REZO²BMDI²BMDI²EXDI²EXDI

where EXDI is the ORIGINAL A/c No. of the Exchange Difference A/c.

F9, ESC to save and exit

===REPOST===

F5
REPOST XXX*YYYYY*ZZZ

==Removing strange outstanding items on accounts that have balance of zero==

Sometimes running CHK.ALLOC on periods too far back in time causes old items to be incorrectly resurrected and become outstanding.

If the account balance is zero in the current period and has been for some years then you can simply delete all outstanding items.

Assuming the (original) account number is AAAA and the company code is CC, in maintenance mode, F5.

DELETE VOUCHER.INDEX *AAAA*CC

It should say "1 Item(s) deleted"

==Reinstating Open Item Statements after Clear Open Items==

WARNING: DO THIS PROCESS ON TEST DATA FIRST TO VERIFY THAT IT DOES NOT CAUSE CROSS CHECK BALANCE ERRORS

WARNING: THIS PROCESS MAY CAUSE CROSS CHECK BALANCE ERRORS BY REINSTATING "ANCIENT CORRUPT VOUCHERS"

"CHECK BACK" AS FEW YEARS AS NEEDED TO INCLUDE ALL VOUCHERS THAT COULD BE OPEN/OUTSTANDING AT THE DESIRED PERIOD.

It is not easy to know how far to "check back" for open items so go back two years initially unless it is known that there may be items outstanding from even earlier years.

===1. Check, solve, record all existing cross check balances===

Restoring open items may create cross check balance errors so first you need to fix all EXISTING cross check balance errors in the database.

Do not proceed to the next step until this step is complete otherwise you will have no idea what problems were created by CHK.ALLOC and what problems were in the database before.

Expect no sympathy from programmers if you ignore this or fail to work on testdata first.

First print ***ALL*** open item ledger accounts to check for existing cross check balances in open item accounts.

Correct all "cross check balances" using the usual procedures to do so.

Note that cross check balances are unavoidable on some *extremely large* open item accounts. This does not mean that you can ignore cross check balances on merely large accounts. They must be fixed.

Save copies of the detailed ledger accounts of any *extremely large" open items accounts that you have not fixed their cross check balances.

===2. Edit back the Company File "cleared-upto period"===

Complete this step quickly if users are working online - in order not to lock the company file for longer than it takes to change the "cleared upto period".

In maintenance mode, press F5. example company code X. Do this for all companies that need to.

ED COMPANIES X

change line 17 to be the last period (YYMM) desired to have been cleared.

DONT add or delete any lines!

F9, Esc

===3. Run CHK.ALLOC===

This process can be run while users are working since there is a only a very slight chance that they will be posting the same account at the time that the program is updating its open item voucher index.

====Exodus====

*Exodus TEST Database
<pre>
1. /root/neosys/test <DBCODE>
2. After startup press "x" key.
3. Type: "chkalloc"
</pre>
*Exodus LIVE Database
<pre>
1. Stop all LIVE processes. (pressing x won't return prompt to enter check command if other LIVE processes running)
2. Run /root/neosys/run <DBCODE>
3. After startup press "x" key.
4. Type: "chkalloc"
</pre>

Enter minimum period to start check from.
<pre>
/root/hosts/test/work Command? chkalloc
Begin transaction
Making a new document/report 52360178.htm:
----------------------------------------
Minimum voucher year.period to check?
(0 for all)
201601
</pre>

Enter 1 for all accounts. Enter 2 if you want to look at a specific a/c.
<pre>
========================================
CHK.ALLOC
*1. All Vouchers/Accounts
2. One Account`s Indexed Vouchers Only
Please enter 1 - 2 or Enter to default or 0 to cancel.
? 1
</pre>

Enter specific a/c no. or press Enter for all.
<pre>
----------------------------------------
Which account do you want ?
Give the account number or name,
or press [Enter] if not known.
(separate multiple entries with spaces)
?
</pre>

Choose option 3 (Yes to all).
<pre>
REC*1:2*1 12/03/19 OPTI,A 2/ (Unposted) Voucher "REC*1:2*1" ln:2 missing from index "*OPTI*A"
========================================
Missing from O/I index
Add it? (5.4KB)
1. Yes
*2. No
3. Yes to all
4. No to all
5. Yes to all "*OPTI*A"
6. No to all "OPTI"
7. Skip all unposted vouchers
Please enter 1 - 7 or Enter to default or 0 to cancel.
? 2
</pre>

====AREV====

In maintenance mode press F5

CHK.ALLOC

Minimum is how far to go back. See explanation above.
<pre>
╔═══════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Minimum voucher year.period to check? ║
║ (0 for all) ║
║<200801 >║
╚═══════════════════════════════════════╝
</pre>

Which account do you want? PRESS ESC (or Enter+Esc)
<pre>
╔═════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Which account do you want ? ║
║ ║
║ Give the account number or name, ║
║ or press [Enter] if not known. ║
║ (separate multiple entries with spaces) ║
║< >║
╚═════════════════════════════════════════╝
</pre>
Add it? ... Choose "Yes to All"
<pre>
╔═══════════════════════════╗
║ Missing from O/I index ║
║ Add it? (1.1KB) ║
║───┬───────────────────────║
║ 1│Yes ║
║ 2│No ║
║ 3>Yes to all <-THIS ONE ║
║ 4│No to all ║
║ 5│Yes to all *HAEX*FZ ║
║ 6│No to all *HAEX*FZ ║
╚═══════════════════════════╝
</pre>

===4. Check for cross check balances===

Print ***ALL*** open item ledger accounts to check for any additional cross check balances in open item accounts.

For speed, omit old WIPxx and ACCxx ledgers since their accounts are probably all closed.

If you have any ADDITIONAL cross check balances compared to those recorded in step 1, then you can rerun step 3 and "check back" a little earlier. Try one year earlier at a time - to avoid the problem of reinstating "ancient corrupt vouchers".

==Speeding up CHK.VOUCHERS CHK.ALLOC==

When running the above programs takes time due to a large number of vouchers, then you can speed up the process by prebuilding a filter and using it on each invocation of the program. This filter is lost when you login again.

For example, if you want to check vouchers for account numbers XXXX, YYYY and ZZZZ in financial period 2004.01 and onwards

SELECT VOUCHERS WITH YEAR_PERIOD GE "14.01" AND WITH ACCOUNT "XXXX" "YYYY" "ZZZZ"

wait for it to say "xxxx record(s) selected" briefly and then show blank command line again, then type

SAVELIST XYZ

then each time just before you run CHK.VOUCHERS and CHK.ALLOC you can do the following to make them only look at the selected vouchers

GETLIST XYZ

==Check steps of each CHK program==

===Run CHK.ALLOC===

Check the VOUCHERS file

Checks that allocations occur in pairs and that both sides refer to the same account number and are in the same financial period.

Checks not allocated more than the amount/base amount on the voucher.

Checks open items (not allocated or not fully allocated) exist in the open item records of the voucher index file.

Checks that allocations do not cause a rate change since automatic revaluation is supposed to occur on allocation.

===Run CHK.CONTROLS===

Checks the BALANCES file.

Check that the control account balances agree with the total of the balances of their subsidiary accounts.

===Run CHK.VOUCHERS===

Checks a lot of things in the VOUCHERS File.

===Run CHK.BATCHES===

Check the BATCHES file (Journals File).

Checks journal type, company code and currency codes are valid.

For each voucher check that it is not missing and that its voucher period, posted/unposted state and Journal No. agree with that of the Journal.

Checks amounts and base amounts are all numeric.

Checks base currency entries have matching base amount entries ie if base is USD then amount is 100USD and base is 100 (101 or something else).

For posted batches, checks A/c Nos. are valid.

===Run CHK.VINDEX===

Checks the VOUCHER.INDEX file.

For each entry in the index ie line on a ledger account.

Checks for ledger entries that have problems eg wrong account or missing voucher.

Checks A/c No, currency code, journal type and company code are valid.

Checks open items indexes are only for open item accounts.

Checks Journal type OB does not exist on movement indexes.

Checks that reversed batches have matching reversal batch and vice versa.

Checks vouchers exist.

Checks that the voucher period, date, currency and A/c No. agrees with the index.

===Run CHK.OB===

Check the BALANCES file.

Checks that opening balances are correct versus closing balances for accounts that are neither closed nor closing accounts.

===Run CHK.BALANCES===

Checks the BALANCES file.

Checks A/c No., currency code, voucher type and company code are all valid.

Checks balances are all numeric.

Checks the decimal places of balances of base currency are not more than the standard number of base currency decimal places.

Checks the base currency record references to all other currencies is alphabetical.

Checks all non-base currency balance records are referenced on the base currency record.

===Run CHK.CHARTS===

Checks the CHARTS and LEDGERS files.

Checks A/c and Original A/c are valid ie exist in ACCOUNTS file.

Checks any company and currency codes are valid.

Checks the internal lookup tables in DEFINITIONS file are correct.

===Run CHK.ACCOUNTS===

Checks the ACCOUNTS file.

Checks accounts exist in the Chart File.

Checks the account records representing Account and Orig A/c No. refer to each other symmetrically.

Checks that any Control A/c, Closing A/c, Company code and Currency code is valid and match the same in the Chart File.

==Fixing opening balance of new year does not agree with the closing balance of the previous year==

In order to fix this problem, redo the open new year procedure for the problematic year, where recreating opening balances (which is part of the opennewyear.subs program) should fix the issue.

===Reopen New Year or Redo Open New Year procedure===

In latest versions of NEOSYS, you can reopen a year using the below command.

REOPENYEAR <Companycodes> YYYY
<pre>
Media Production Finance Management Timesheets Files General Exit
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒╒═══════════════════════════════════TCL - 2══════════════════════════════════╕▒
▒│ │▒
▒│ :REOPENYEAR A,AA 2020 │▒
▒│ │▒
▒╘════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
</pre>

In Maintenance mode, run CHK.OB and include a few prior years as well, to see if all balances are fine.
<pre>
Media Production Finance Management Timesheets Files General Exit
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒╒═══════════════════════════════════TCL - 2══════════════════════════════════╕▒
▒│ │▒
▒│ :chk.ob │▒
▒│ │▒
▒╘════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╛▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒║ Years to check? ║▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒║ (0 or starting year for all, but only checks forward ║▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒║ ie ob v cb not backward cb v ob) ║▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒║<15 16 17 18 19 >║▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
</pre>

Configuring Thunderbird

2023-04-10T05:30:17Z

Arvind:

==Setting Up the Inbox Accounts==

The instructions given below explain how to set up the "Support" account on Thunderbird.

1. Open Mozilla Thunderbird. Choose the "Create a new account" option. Click on "Skip this and use my existing email" option on the "Welcome to Thunderbird" window.

[[File:Thunderbird_1.jpg]]

2. In the Mail Account Setup window, enter "support@neosys.com" for Your Name, "support@neosys.com" for Email Address and the password provided by Neosys staff. Click on continue.

[[File:Thunderbird_2.jpg]]

3. Click on "Manual Config".

[[File:Thunderbird_3.jpg]]

4. Key in "imap.neosys.com" for incoming IMAP host name, server hostname "smtp.neosys.com" and port "587" for outgoing SMTP and "support.neosys" as username. For SMTP, change the SSL to "STARTTLS" and authentication to "No authentication". Click on the "Re-test" button and then click "Done".

[[File:Thunderbird_4.jpg]]

BEFORE clicking on inbox and BEFORE adding other inboxes, you MUST refer to [[Configuring_Thunderbird#Adding_email_accounts_with_large_numbers_of_emails | Adding email accounts with large numbers of emails]]. This is because if you add all the accounts together at once, they will all sync together and it will take 1-2 days for the sync to complete.

For backups@neosys.com, support2@neosys.com (Nagios), name.neosys@gmail.com repeat the steps mentioned above, with the below-mentioned replacements.

1. For backups@neosys.com, enter "backups@neosys.com" for Your Name, "backups@neosys.com" for Email address and enter the password provided by Neosys staff.
Enter the username as "backups.neosys".

2. For support2@neosys.com, enter "support2@neosys.com" for Your Name, "support2@neosys.com" for Email address and enter the password provided by Neosys staff.
Enter the username as "support2.neosys".

3. For name.neosys@gmail.com, enter your full name for Your Name, "name.neosys@gmail.com" for Email address and enter the password. You do not need to follow the steps for manual config as the settings will be automatically configured.

[[File:thunderbird_6.jpg]]

[[File:thunderbird_7.jpg]]

==Account Settings==

Verify that the account settings for all the accounts are entered as shown below.

[[File:acsettings1.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings2.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings3.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings4.jpg]]

[[File:Account junk.jpg|500px]]

For backups@neosys.com account, under "Synchronization and Storage", change the setting to "Delete messages more than 365 days old"

The Synchronisation & Storage settings should be changed to the settings shown below only at a convenient time, since downloading all the emails will take a lot of time for accounts with large number of emails. Also see [[Configuring_Thunderbird#Adding_email_accounts_with_large_numbers_of_emails |Adding email accounts with large number of emails]]

[[File:acsettings6.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings7.jpg]]

[[File:acsettings8.jpg]]

===Adding email accounts with large numbers of emails===

After adding email accounts with large numbers of emails, in order to avoid long wait while downloading all the emails, it is best to change the account settings - BEFORE clicking on INBOX, which triggers the download/sync - to download the bodies of only the last 30 days of emails. The email headings are always synced but that does not take long.

See Account Settings, Synchronisation and Storage.

Since searching of emails only works when the bodies of emails have been downloaded, if you need to text search all emails, then, at a convenient time, you can remove or increase the number of days in the setting and somehow trigger the full sync.

[[File:thla.jpg]]

===Configuring Outgoing SMTP Mail Servers===

By default Thunderbird adds a new smtp profile with each Inbox added.

However you only need two, main and backup.

1. Right click on any Inbox > Settings.

2. Scroll down and click "Outgoing Server (SMTP)".

3. Delete all smtp server profiles except the default and ensure your settings match below screenshot.
[[File:Smtpsettings.png]]

4. Add a new profile with settings in below screenshot.

TODO - setup backup imap2 container and add settings screenshot here. (old imap2 smtp port 2500)

==Add-ons==

#Install addons: General settings menu (Top right 3 bars) > Addons
#Search and install the addons in below screenshot.
#Configure Mailbox Alert by Right e.g support inbox > Mailbox Alert:
##Check default sound and message.
[[File:Addon2.png]]

==Other General Configurations==

===Configure inbox to display selected columns===

The below options MUST be set in Support Inbox. To do so Right click on a column heading and select the below options:

#Thread
#Starred
#Attachment
#Subject
#Correspondents
#Received: You MUST add column RECEIVED which is the email date received to email inbox because the default Date seems to be the DATE SENT whereas we are primarily interested in the date we received the email. The difference is due to delays in email servers or spam tricks.

The below options MUST NOT be set in Support Inbox

#Junk status: Emails will automatically be moved to Junk folder if the junk icon in this column is clicked. Hence remove Junk Status column so that emails are not accidentally moved to junk. To remove, right-click on a column heading and untick "Junk Status".

===Configure Mail Content===

Preferences > Privacy > untick "Allow remote content in messages"

Support MUST set the "Allow remote content in messages" as blocked in Thunderbird without adding any exceptions for any email id. The reason is remote content i.e embedded images, stylesheets etc is a privacy concern as it sends your private information to the mail sender. We do not know the source of these embedded content in emails so cannot trust them as they can be web bugs.

===Configure Layout View===

Layout view should be set as Vertical view.

===Thunderbird Preferences===

#Preferences > Display > Advanced > untick " Automatically mark messages as read".
#Keep settings as below for Preferences > Security.
#Keep settings as below for Preferences > Composition > Spelling.

[[File:Globaljunk.jpg|500px]]

[[File:Composition.png|500px]]

===Configure MailAlert===

Right click Inbox > Mailbox Alert > Edit Mailbox Alert alerts > Select Default message. Set as below. Once set Right click Inbox > Mailbox Alert > check Default message

[[file:thsh.jpg]]

===Configure Auto Resize Image===

Set the preferences for the Auto Resize Image add-on as shown in the screenshot at the end of this section.

To handle different scenarios when resizing images in emails, follow the below steps:

*Resize all images in the email: Click "Send" followed by "Confirm" on the Auto resize screen.

*Skip resize all images in the email: Click "Send" followed by "Cancel Resizing" on the Auto resize screen.

*Resize Images only in the email trail and skip resizing new images: Click "Resize" on top of your screen and proceed with writing the email/adding new images. When ready to send the email, follow above step for skipping resize all images in the email.

[[File:Resize2.png]]

===Configure Header Tools Lite===

Set the preferences for the Header Tools Lite add-on as shown in the screenshot below.

[[File:headertoolslite.jpg]]

===Configure Dorando Keyconfig===

Menu > Add-ons > Edit Keyconfig Preferences > Disable shortcuts for 'Archive' and 'Junk' as shown in the screenshots below.

[[File:Keyconfig1.png]]

[[File:Keyconfig2.png]]

===Getting access to NEOSYS support calendar===

After confirming that the steps below are successfully done, delete your local personal calendar and make the shared support calendar the default.

In Thunderbird, add a new CalDAV network calendar by navigating to File (Alt+f) -> New -> Calendar.

[[File:Cal1.png]]

Location: https://nextcloud.hosts.neosys.com:44318/remote.php/dav/calendars/support/support_shared_by_steve/

You will have to enter your nextcloud user and pass.

[[File:Cal2.png]]

[[File:Cal3.png]]

It should show a tick if successful, otherwise you will have to Unsubscribe and try again.

[[File:Cal4.png]]

Change the new calendar properties to Refresh every 5 mins.

[[File:Cal5.png]]

===Applying filter for backup failure emails===

In order to filter any backup failure emails as Important, go to Tools > Message Filters and create a new filter with settings as shown below:

Refer to filters list of other staff members.

===Tags===

Find the prefs.js file in your profile directory:
find ~/.thunderbird/ -name prefs.js
Edit the prefs.js file
nano /home/gregory/.thunderbird/s3bqjf24.dsfaefawe/prefs.js
Replace the all the "user_pref("mailnews.tags." with the new set of tag configurations below and restart Thunderbird.
<pre>
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label1.color", "#FF0000");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label1.tag", "Important");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label2.color", "#FF9900");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label2.tag", "Work");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label3.color", "#009900");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label3.tag", "Joel");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label4.color", "#3333ff");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label4.tag", "Greg");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label5.color", "#993399");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label5.tag", "Arvind");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label6.color", "#ff6e6e");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label6.tag", "Follow up");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label7.color", "#eb007b");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label7.tag", "Client issue");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label8.color", "#28e2d8");
user_pref("mailnews.tags.$label8.tag", "Delay support");
</pre>

==[[Procedures#Email_Retention_Policy| Email Retention Policy]]==

==[[Procedures#Handling_junk.2Fspam_email| Handling junk/spam emails]]==

==Viewing long running processes on Thunderbird==
When setting up and configuring Thunderbird, using its Activity Manager (Tools > Activity Manager) and possibly using the header bar "Always on top" option on the Activity Manager window may be helpful to know what long running processes are being performed.

[[File:Activity manager.jpg]]

==Deleting Thunderbird accounts==
Check the option "Remove Message Data" when removing accounts from Thunderbird. Otherwise, the old messages stay forever taking space on the disk.

[[File:dt2.png]]

Select Remove Message Data option as shown below.

[[File:dt.png]]

==Clearing out old improperly deleted Thunderbird Accounts==

If you delete Thunderbird accounts without checking the option "Remove Message Data" the old messages stay forever taking space on the disk.

To locate any such unnecessary files

ls -l -h /home/*/.thunderbird/*.default/ImapMail/*/INBOX

<pre>

-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 16M May 25 16:36 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.gmail.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 668M Mar 29 08:54 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys-1.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 242M May 28 14:45 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys-2.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 755M May 25 12:39 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys-3.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 420M Apr 24 10:27 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys-4.com/INBOX
-rw------- 1 arvind arvind 13G May 28 14:37 /home/arvind/.thunderbird/odi5mrka.default/ImapMail/imap.neosys.com/INBOX

</pre>

Check the dates, which indicate the date of the last message received, to get a rough idea of what accounts are in use and not in use

Check which of the folders are currently in use by looking in Thunderbird settings for each account one by one, "Server Settings", "Local Directory"

Delete the folders and files which are not in use using whatever method you like.

".thunderbird", like all files and folders which start with a dot, is a hidden folder which you can make visible in Nautilus File Manager by pressing Ctrl+h

==Troubleshooting Thunderbird==

===High CPU usage when idling===

If Thunderbird consumes 100+% CPU when there is no activity seen on Thunderbird activity manager (Tools -> Activity Manager), then try the below steps from https://kb.mozillazine.org/Performance_-_Thunderbird :

#Go to Thunderbird preferences -> General
#Scroll to the bottom and click "Config Editor..."
#Search for mail.db.idle_limit
#Change its value to 30000000 (7 zeroes, not 5 zeroes) and save
#Restart Thunderbird

===Emails show wrong body===

Sometimes emails may not load correctly. Clicking an email will show some other email's body. To fix this:

#Right click the Thunderbird folder that has the issue (e.g. Inbox)
#Properties
#Repair Folder

This will rebuild the folder index that connects email subjects with message bodies.

Uninstalling clients hosted on NEOSYS Server

2023-04-03T06:07:20Z

Arvind: /* Stage 2. Permanent Deletion */

This must be done in the following circumstances:

#Reinstallation on other servers
#Reinstallation on clients own server
#Termination of contract
#Any other reason

NEOSYS needs to:

#Ensure that the databases can no longer be logged in to by accident or design.
#Ensure that for a reasonable period of time that NEOSYS can be re-enabled in case of error or change in circumstances.

Include admin@neosys.com when sending emails regarding this subject.

====Stage 1. Disabling====

1. Ensure that the services for the client being uninstalled have been stopped.
./doall <dbname> stop

2. Delete the website
./doall <dbname> delete_site

3. Disable the service, otherwise the services will start up every time ex1 reboots.
./doall <dbname> disable

4. In doall, comment out the line corresponding to the client being uninstalled.

5. Comment the lines for the stopped installation in the Nagios config file so that Nagios stops alerting for it. (edit: genclients.sh)

6. Strike-through the terminated client's link on support home page (support.htm).

====Stage 2. Permanent Deletion====

We keep ex client data for up to one year before deleting, but after this period:

1. Retain a copy of the client's latest backup sql.gz file in a separate directory (to be discussed and decided)

2. Delete the database and service
sudo -u postgres dropdb <dbname>
sudo -u postgres dropdb <dbname_test>
./doall <dbname> delete_service

3. Delete client directory from /root/hosts directory.
rm -r ~/hosts/<dbname>

4. Remove the terminated client's link from support home page (support.htm).

5. Delete the associated entry from Zone Edit.

Uninstalling clients hosted on NEOSYS Server

2023-04-03T06:07:03Z

Arvind: /* Stage 2. Permanent Deletion */

This must be done in the following circumstances:

#Reinstallation on other servers
#Reinstallation on clients own server
#Termination of contract
#Any other reason

NEOSYS needs to:

#Ensure that the databases can no longer be logged in to by accident or design.
#Ensure that for a reasonable period of time that NEOSYS can be re-enabled in case of error or change in circumstances.

Include admin@neosys.com when sending emails regarding this subject.

====Stage 1. Disabling====

1. Ensure that the services for the client being uninstalled have been stopped.
./doall <dbname> stop

2. Delete the website
./doall <dbname> delete_site

3. Disable the service, otherwise the services will start up every time ex1 reboots.
./doall <dbname> disable

4. In doall, comment out the line corresponding to the client being uninstalled.

5. Comment the lines for the stopped installation in the Nagios config file so that Nagios stops alerting for it. (edit: genclients.sh)

6. Strike-through the terminated client's link on support home page (support.htm).

====Stage 2. Permanent Deletion====

We keep ex client data for up to one year before deleting, but after this period:

1. Retain a copy of the client's latest backup sql.gz file in a separate directory (to be discussed and decided)

2. Delete the database and service
sudo -u postgres dropdb <dbname_test>
./doall <dbname> delete_service

3. Delete client directory from /root/hosts directory.
rm -r ~/hosts/<dbname>

4. Remove the terminated client's link from support home page (support.htm).

5. Delete the associated entry from Zone Edit.

Backup and Restore

2023-02-21T08:42:29Z

Arvind:

==Description of Backup Procedure for Client Hosted NEOSYS Servers==

3 USBs must be maintained and rotated on a weekly basis.

*At 02:21 GMT, live databases are backed up, restored to test and compared with test to verify that the restore was successful.
*Every hour at 40th minute, live databases are backed up without restore and verification.
*Every hour at 45th minute, USB backup is performed, where the client's NEOSYS server is rsynced to USB.
*NEOSYS support staff check the emails every morning Monday through Friday.
*In case of failure, NEOSYS support staff take appropriate action and send an email (to the same people who receive the automated backup alert emails) indicating what action has been taken.
*Additionally offsite backup can be set up on NEOSYS server.

==Description of Backup Procedure for NEOSYS Client Hosting Server==

NEOSYS backup is a two phase process. It is mandatory that both phases are complete for the process to be considered a backup.

1. NEOSYS server is hosted on Leaseweb in Amsterdam. Following is the backup procedure:

*At 02:21 GMT, live databases are backed up, restored to test and compared with test to verify that the restore was successful.
*Every hour at 40th minute, live databases are backed up without restore and verification.
*Emails for the above backups are sent to backups@neosys.com.
*NEOSYS support staff check the emails every morning Monday through Friday.
*In the case of failure, NEOSYS support staff take appropriate action and send an email (to the same people who receive the automated backup alert emails) indicating what action has been taken.
*The above does not by itself constitute a proper backup because the backup is stored on the same server and physical disk as the actual data.

2. On a separate backup server, also hosted on Leaseweb in Amsterdam:

*Every hour at around 45th minute, NEOSYS server is rsynced to the backup server.
*Every half hour, NEOSYS server container is copied (lxc) to the backup server. Container backups of 7 days are maintained on the backup server.

==Backup Procedures==
===Preparing nightly backup report===

#Note the success, failure and other error of the clients backup mail in an excel sheet and forward the same to your manager.
#If there is a backup failure or backup is not available, check wiki to take necessary steps.
#If there is any unknown error, forward the same to your manager.

Send the backup report after every quarter to all the Clients having consolidated backups.

===Running a manual backup in case of failures===

If a backup has failed, Support should check if any users are active in that particular database. Check Menu -> Support -> List of Documents in Use and also check list of users to see last login time. From backup email inbox, check how much time the backup of that database usually takes.

If no users have logged in yet and if backup of the database usually completes in a few minutes, quickly start a [[Backup_and_Restore#Manual_Backup| manual backup]]

This MUST be done first thing in the morning since Dubai clients generally start working around the same time as Support team.

===Updating Nagios in case of failures===

#If the backup failure is unsolved, schedule downtime Neosys service in Nagios till 01 am.
#If the backup did not happen because of server down. Call the IT person; ask him to re-boot the server and check wiki to do necessary step ahead and schedule downtime to Nagios for 2hours.
#If there is an error "Backup->Impossible" on Nagios, check if the USB is properly inserted. If no USB is found, send a mail to the user asking to ensure that the backup USB is inserted properly. Schedule downtime to Nagios for 2hours.

===Interchange backup USB mail reminder===
Basically all the clients have different days to change their backup USB. All the notification can be seen on Nagios at 12.00 pm every day.

On the USB change day, at 6:00 am, when the processes start up, the system automatically sends the following email to everyone in the backup email receiver list:

It is time to change the NEOSYS backup media (e.g. USB Flash Drive)

Please change it before 12:00 midday today.

Additional emails reminding IT staff to change backup media are sent out at 11:30am and 5pm if the backup media is not changed according schedule.

Since the system automatically sends a USB change reminder email to the client, support staff do not have to send them any instructions about changing unless they have failed to change the USB on the scheduled day or the scheduled day needs to be moved to another day.

====Importance of interchanging backup USBs====
If the backup USB is not interchanged on the scheduled day then the NEOSYS automated backup fails. This happens because traditionally, each USB holds backup of 7 days and using 3 different USBs we can store backups for the last 21 days enabling us to restore the system unto a time period beginning 21 days prior.
If the USB is not changed then the first backup on the current USB is replaced with the new or latest backup leading to inconsistencies within the backups. Hence we must interchange the USB on schedule to avoid a backup failure the next morning.

The reasons for using multiple USBs for backup are:

*We can keep other USBs out of the office for safety purposes since theft or office fire/water hazards could damage the computer and the USB keys if they are all in

the same place.

*Having multiple USBs provide safety against corrupt USBs which cannot be used to restore any backup data.

===Finding out which USB is inserted into the server===
As we ask the client to have 3 USB's and interchange them weekly, we also need to sometimes track which one of these 3 USB's are inserted into the server. USB's can be tracked using their volume serial number in most cases. To find this out either go to the command prompt and type VOL <drive letter> where drive letter is the USB drive letter OR in the nightly backup message check for the 2nd line (which looks like this - 14/12/2009 2:45pm Media: 705B-5B5F). However serial numbers can be the same even for different USB's. One of the reasons for this could be that the USBs were imaged from one single USB which caused their volume serial numbers to be the same. However, such a situation is very rare.

===Interchanging USB when scheduled USB change day falls on a holiday===
When clients ask support which day to interchange USBs when their scheduled USB change day falls on a holidays, send them the below email.

Hi XXX,

Kindly interchange the USB on the last working day before the holiday i.e XXXday DD/MM/YY and then interchange with the next scheduled USB on first working day after the holiday i.e. XXXday DD/MM/YY. Continue to change the USBs as usual on XXXday.

===Getting confirmations for Backup email list===

The below procedure is done once every year. A task has been set in Thunderbird to remind Support to begin the procedure in November.

The first thing to do is to send the below draft email to Steve and ask if any changes are required.

Subject: YOUR URGENT REPLY IS REQUIRED - NEOSYS Backup Confirmations for <Company>, <City>

Hi <Decision_maker>

We are updating our records of the contact people in your organisation who should receive the various NEOSYS system alert emails and backup confirmations.

You are currently assigned as the decision maker in this matter

Note that it is the responsibility of your company to verify that the backups are successful and to alert us whenever there is an issue with the same.

Please confirm:

1. The following email addresses should continue to receive these alerts

2. Any additions/deletions of email addresses from this list

For: <Company>, <City>:

a) Decision Maker:

b) IT Manager (or person responsible to change backup media):

c) Monitors (Managers and/or interested parties):

Best Regards,
NEOSYS Support

#After you receive confirmation, send emails to all clients.
#*Template email to each client (Thunderbird -> Support -> Templates -> Backup Confirmation Emails)
#Create a new spreadsheet after copying previous year's confirmations sheet and rename with current year.
#*You can find the previous year's confirmation list in Nextcloud\support\Androulla_Backup Confirmations
#*Clear the contents and fill in as and when you get the confirmations from clients.
#*For hosted clients in the 'IT Manager' field, put 'None'
#*You can keep a list of all pending clients in a personal text file and/or mark as 'Pending' in Spreadsheet.
#If any changes, update the Spreadsheet and change in NEOSYS.
#Set reminders to follow-up on these emails to decision makers once a week.
#In the case where a client asks for more than one decision maker, reply that it will be best to have only one decision maker.
#If no reply for two weeks, send email to another person other than the decision maker.
#*Order: Another management level user > Main point of contact -> Most active user (check the authorisation file)
#When all clients confirm, check backup spreadsheet and confirm that it matches the System Configuration file in NEOSYS and any personal records that you have kept.

==Manual Backup==
See [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/General_FAQ#How_to_do_a_manual_backup.3F How to do a manual backup in NEOSYS]

Manual backups can also be triggered on the server process screen by pressing the lower case letter b key. After the backup is complete the process will resume and restart the child processes. Pressing capital B will result in the process closing on completion of the backup and the child processes will not be restarted. This is useful if you want to trigger a backup and leave without waiting for it to complete.

==Configuring NEOSYS automated backup==

NEOSYS is designed to do an automated backup of the data (not the program files). The configuration for the automated backup rests in the System Configuration File under Menu > Support.

First step is to configure the automated email settings. After every backup attempt NEOSYS will send out a mail with the status of the backup (either success or failed). You have to configure the SMTP details here along with the list of recipients to the backup email.

Ensure to have atleast 1 person from the client management and 1 person from the client IT, besides the mandatory backups@neosys.com address

Always use the NEOSYS SMTP server details as follows and put in a fictitious client address so that NEOSYS staff can quickly identify which client this mail came from.

[[image:backup1.jpg]]

Do not configure the backup time unless instructed by your manager. The system will automatically start the backup at 1 am if there is nothing configured in the Backup time.

Type in the backup location (USB/other media) drive letter in the Backup Drive field and the Uploads fields.

Putting a 0 in the Uploads field will disable the backup of the Uploaded files, else by default the uploaded files will be backed up to the drive mentioned in the backup drive field.

The scheduled days of backup can be configured using the checkboxes. If none of the days are checked, backup will be done on all days by default.

Next setup the auto-start of the databases and enter how many processes should be started and which all databases should be backed up.

In the example below DEMO database has been configured to start 3 processes and also do the automated backup, whereas the DEMOTEST database is configured to start 1 process and no automated backup.

[[image:backup2.jpg]]

===Non-Liability for Backup===

{{Non-Liability For Backup}}

===Backing up the Images folder===

The Images folder under the NEOSYS installation is used to upload images/artworks/files from the Job File section and hence needs to be backed up. NEOSYS will automatically backup this Images folder to the USB drive or other location (specified for the usual data backup) once a week.

To configure this backup, RSYNC needs to have been installed during the initial installation.

In case we need to configure the Images folder backup at another location other than the usual nightly backup location than we need to edit:

line 12 - and specify the Drive of the location to be backed up to. eg. E or F

==Backup to other media (i.e. not to USB)==

If the backup is going to '''non-removable media''' (even if it is a shared folder on another computer) then the NEOSYS user/client/licensee (NOT the NEOSYS support team) can, at their own responsibility, arrange to '''move''' (NOT COPY) the NEOSYS backup files from the USB location to a backup location of their choice and avoid the

WARNING message : "Backup media not changed. Overwriting last weeks backup"

===Sample alternative response to client requests for additional backups===

The existing NEOSYS backup must continue to take place for safety because it is the only well understood standard, controlled and checked procedure in use for all NEOSYS clients.

You are free to setup and operate any additional backup procedure you like but NEOSYS cannot take any responsibility in setting up, monitoring or approving your additional backup procedure because it is beyond our sphere of control, expertise and trust.

What you can backup is the NEOSYS backups on the USB drive. These are readily available online at all times on the NEOSYS server for you to access and copy as you choose.

You can backup the usb anytime using anything you like, but you must not backup anything on any hard disk eg: C or D at any time.

==Backup in virtual server==

===Virtual servers that allow USB passthrough===
If NEOSYS is installed on a virtual server that allows USB passthrough (e.g. VMWare vSphere version 4.1 and above), then NEOSYS can be configured to backup onto the inserted external USB drive.

3 USBs should be maintained and rotated on a weekly basis as done by clients installed on physical servers.

VMware website says that when changing the USB, the VMware window must be the active window so that the USB reflects in the virtual machine and not on the host machine.
https://www.vmware.com/support/ws45/doc/devices_usb_ws.html

===Virtual servers that do not allow USB passthrough===
If NEOSYS is installed on a virtual server that DOES NOT allow USB passthrough, then below are the various cases:

====Case 1: BACKUP.ZIP file CAN be created on an external removable backup media====
The backups can be done onto an USB drive if it is connected to the host machine and configured to appear on the virtual server. The virtual server MUST be restarted for the inserted USB to reflect each time the USB is changed i.e. every week.

Support Staff MUST train the IT person to stop the processes properly i.e. use global.end file and rename it to global.end.temp to allow processes to start after reboot. Support Staff can send a follow up email as mentioned below

=====Email to IT person after training=====

Kindly confirm that you will close the NEOSYS processes properly before shutting down the virtual server, i.e. by renaming "global.end" to "global.end.temp" and making sure that no ntvdm.exe processes are running in the task manager. As discussed during the training, this can cause damaged files in NEOSYS if the server is shutdown without closing the NEOSYS processes.

Also please confirm that you will rename "global.end" back to "global.end.temp" before shutting down the virtual server so that the NEOSYS processes start up automatically when the virtual server is restarted.

====Case 2: BACKUP.ZIP file CANNOT be created on an external removable backup media====
The Client must *at their own responsibility* agree to arrange copy of the backup files to an external backup location every day if the server cannot be restarted every week. In this case, NEOSYS Support staff must send the client below email:

=====Email for new clients with/old clients moving to virtual servers that do not allow BACKUP.ZIP file to be created on an external removable backup media=====

If we install NEOSYS on a virtual server, the backups cannot be done onto an external removable backup media as confirmed by your IT. NEOSYS considers backups to be done only if BACKUP.ZIP file is created on an external removable backup media.

Instead, NEOSYS will be configured to create the BACKUP.ZIP files on the C drive of the virtual server. Your IT team can, at your own responsibility, arrange to move (NOT COPY) these backup files to an external backup location every day. We recommend that the backup location should be removable media (e.g. external hard disk) and not non-removable media (e.g. shared folder on another computer).

If any damage happens to the NEOSYS server, the backup files on C drive will not be accessible and will therefore be useless. So, kindly confirm that your IT team will arrange to move the backup files as mentioned above.

In addition to this, offsite backups of your virtual server can be setup by us if required, with an additional cost.

==Backup Messages==

====Interpreting backup alerts messages====

Success messages come with a blank body

Failure messages should come with the errors in the body

Both success and failure messages come with an attachment containing a list of files copied (or supposed to be copied but failed) and a summary of the volume and speed of data transferred

====Cause and Solution of Backup Warning Messages====

NEOSYS gives a backup WARNING message whenever it discovers that it is overwriting backups a week old. It does this because NEOSYS only deems backups completely successful if the backup media is rotated at least on a weekly basis.

If the backup media is removable then it should be changed weekly and the same media not used repeatedly on successive weeks.

If the backup is going to non-removable media (even if it is a shared folder on another computer) then the NEOSYS user/client/licencee (not the NEOSYS support team) can, at their own responsibility, arrange to move (not copy) the NEOSYS backup files from that location to a backup location of their choice and avoid this WARNING message.

==Handling failure and warning messages on nightly USB backup alerts==

===Backup mail not received===

[[Troubleshooting_email_not_received#Troubleshooting_email_not_received|Troubleshooting email not received]]

===Handling Change Backup message if the client does not use a USB backup device===

IF THE CLIENT IS BACKING UP TO A NON-REMOVABLE DESTINATION THEN EITHER 1. LIVE WITH THE FAILURE MESSAGE OR 2. SUPPRESS THE BACKUP ENTIRELY IN WHICH CASE NO BACKUPS ARE BEING DONE AND PROBABLY THIS WILL SHOW ON NEOSYS PROACTIVE WARNING SYSTEMS LIKE NAGIOS.

Nagios warnings can be acknowledged.

DO *NOT* FOLLOW BELOW PROCEDURE SINCE IS IT IS TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE FOR NEOSYS TO SEND OUT A "BACKUP SUCCESS" MESSAGE WHEN THE BACKUP IS NOT BEING DONE PROPERLY. IN GENERAL, TAKING SHORT CUTS THAT MAKE THINGS APPEAR SATISFACTORY WHEN THEY ARE NOT IS VERY POOR POLICY.

#Basically most of the client use USB for Neosys server but there are some clients who do not use USB. They could be on virtual server or just saving their backups in hard drive.
#As we know that backup take place in Data.bak folder but it does a backup only for a week in a single USB. Over here client do not use USB but save their backup in hard drive/virtual server location in Data.bak folder, once the week is over it will again give Change backup message.
#In this case rename the Data.bak folder to Data1.bak this is done because system read only Data.bak folder as it is configured in the system. When you rename Data.bak to Data1.bak it automatically create a new folder Data.bak in Backup drive.
#This process is done so that the backup does not fail next day morning and backup is done in Data.bak folder along with successful backup email.
#In the third week we will again see the same message Chang backup USB message, so you need to rename Data.bak folder to Data2.bak
#But in fourth week you rename the Data1.bak to Data.bak and change the Data2.bak to Data1.bak and Data.bak to Data2.bak
#Keep only three folders and Data.bak, Data1.bak, Data2.bak and keep on renaming these folders every week as shown above.

AS MENTIONED EARLIER *DO NOT FOLLOW* THE ABOVE PROCEDURE ON ANY CLIENT THAT DOES NOT USE A USB BACKUP DEVICE.

===Warning Message: Backup media not changed. Overwriting last weeks backup===

If the client does not change the USB on scheduled day the next day's backup will fail, with email subject: "NEOSYS: Backup <CLIENT> -> <Drive Letter>: <USB NAME> CHANGED FAILURE"

As per standard "NEOSYS Backup Failure - USB not interchanged" email, the schedule day to interchange backup USB drives should generally remain on the same scheduled day. No cases have yet been documented where we have inconvenienced and forced our clients to change the day.

NEOSYS gives a backup WARNING message whenever it discovers that it is overwriting backups a week old. It does this because NEOSYS only deems backups completely successful if the backup media is rotated at least on a weekly basis.

If the backup media is removable then it should be changed daily or weekly and the same media not used repeatedly on successive weeks.

If the backup is going to non-removable media (even if it is a shared folder on another computer) then the NEOSYS user/client/licensee (not the NEOSYS support team) can, at their own responsibility, arrange to move (not copy) the NEOSYS backup files from that location to a backup location of their choice and avoid this WARNING message. Also refer to [[Backup_and_Restore#Handling_Change_Backup_message_if_the_client_does_not_use_a_USB_backup_device|Handling Change Backup message if the client does not use a USB backup device]]

Standard "NEOSYS Backup Failure - USB not interchanged" email:
Dear Team, 
The NEOSYS backup has failed today as the USB was not interchanged on the scheduled day i.e. yesterday. 
Please interchange the USB immediately today to avoid a backup failure tomorrow morning. 
Also note that your scheduled day to interchange the USB next week remains unchanged to <Schedule day>. 
Kind Regards 
XXXX XXXX

===Error Message: Somebody else was using the dataset===

Server=NEOSYS
Client=NEOSYS
User=ADAGENCY
NEOSYS Ver:18:02:13 30 MAY 2006

Backup started at 19/11/2006 2:00am

TEST DATA TESTDATA

To E:\DATA.BAK\TESTDATA\Sunday\BACKUP.ZIP
!!! THE BACKUP HAS FAILED !!!

(because one or more files were not backed up
- somebody else was using them)

====Error Explained====

Despite the error message which shows that 'somebody else was using them', it is definitely not correct as NEOSYS shuts down automatically at 2 am (time of the

backup). The actual problem might be that a NEOSYS process must have got stuck and failed to shutdown or a maintenance process was left open by accident.

====Action to be taken====

Close any maintenance processes that should not have been left open in the first place.

Try to exit normally or kill any other [[Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Generally#How_to_kill_hung_NEOSYS_processes|"hung"]] processes, taking screenshots of any error messages in order to try and prevent the problem happening again.

If not inconvenient to the users consider initiating a manual backup or just check that the next automatic backup works ok.

===Error Message: Size Lock===

Server=NEOSYS-SERVER
Client=NEOSYS-SERVER
User=NETSERVICE
NEOSYS Ver:19:57:50 08 NOV 2006

Backup started at 19/11/2006 2:00am

ADLINE ADLINE

To F:\DATA.BAK\ADLINE\Sunday\BACKUP.ZIP
The following files had a size lock but have been fixed SHADOW Warning! Process
U79068
Other Network Stations are Active!
This utility was designed to be run in a single-user mode!

Potential Errors Could Occur, If You Proceed to fix the sizelock Values with Other Stations
Active. These Errors Include;

Invalid SELECT results, Degredation in Network Performance, and other Problems/Concerns which
may be specific to your Installation/Application.

IT IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED THAT ALL NETWORK STATIONS BE LOGGED OUT BEFORE PROCEEDING!

Do you wish to Proceed at this time?%B%
!!! THE BACKUP HAS FAILED !!!

(because one or more files were not backed up
- somebody else was using them)

====Error Explained====

Sizelock errors are not critical and do not stop the backup from being performed. Sizelocks are cleared automatically during backup but the backup alert becomes a

warning that the backup was not quite perfect.

Sizelocks during database checking indicate that some files were not properly closed in normal processing but do not indicate corrupt files. Sizelock means that a file

is prevented from expanding and contracting. Expanding and contracting is necessary in order to speed up access to larger numbers of records. Therefore if sizelocks

were to be left uncleared then the file would become slower and slower to access over time.

In the above example the backup was not completed because of another error "files in use".

====Action to be taken====

If this is an automatic backup then no action is required since the sizelocks are automatically cleared.

During a manual backup then you should press F9 on the sizelock warning screen to confirm that the sizelocks should be cleared.

Sizelocks can only be cleared if no other process is open.

===Failure Message : Backup file size is 0===

16/4/2009 9:43am Creating zip

16/4/2009 9:45am !!! THE DATABASE BACKUP HAS FAILED !!!

BECAUSE BACKUP FILE SIZE IS 0

====Error Explanation 1====
This happens when there is no adequate storage space on the hard-disk which houses the NEOSYS application and data files. When the automated backup is initiated, the

NEOSYS application checks all the data files and creates a zipped file of it which is the databasename.zip (in the above case IMDUB.ZIP). During this zip file

creation, NEOSYS needs additional disk space temporarily and if this is not available then the backup would fail. The IMDUB.ZIP file is created and backed up (as

BACKUP.ZIP under the respective day of the week) to the USB or any other drive specified and is automatically deleted from the drive that it was created in.

====Error Explanation 2====

This could be due lack of EMSMAGIC.

In case of a Windows Server 2003 installation: [[Troubleshooting NEOSYS Generally#Enabling EMS memory on Window 2003|Enabling EMS memory on Window 2003]]

In case of a Windows Server 2008 installation: [[Installing EMS Magic|Installing EMS Magic on Windows 2008]]

====Actions to be taken====

#In this case, you need to clear up the hard-disk and create some space. In the above scenario at Initiative there was a folder of 52 GB in the same drive that houses NEOSYS and the available disk space was just 40 MB. So the un-necessary folder was moved out to make space.
#If there is sufficient space available on the hard disk which houses NEOSYS, then consider checking the anti-virus settings and escalate the issue to NEOSYS programmer for debugging.

This is another reason why NEOSYS personnel should put their foot down on getting dedicated servers for NEOSYS as it restrains the client IT staff from using the

NEOSYS server to house data or any other applications besides NEOSYS.

===Error Message: Inadequate Storage Space on USB===

====Error 1====
<pre>
Server=SERVER2
Client=SERVER2
User=ACCOUNTS
NEOSYS Ver:11:26:27 26 JUL 2010

7/2/2012 2:00 Backup started F: BASIC
7/2/2012 2:00 Media: FADE-0001

7/2/2012 2:00 Checking for damaged database files
7/2/2012 2:01 Checked OK 1.92MB (+1.00KB)

7/2/2012 2:01 Creating zip
7/2/2012 2:01 Created OK BASIC.ZIP 251KB

7/2/2012 2:02 Copying to F:\DATA.BAK\Tuesday\BACKUP.ZIP
7/2/2012 2:02 Copied OK

7/2/2012 2:02 Verifying zip OK
7/2/2012 2:02 Verified OK

7/2/2012 2:02 Started backup of uploaded files in /cygdrive/E/ to F:
7/2/2012 2:04 neosys/DATA/ACCOUNTS/REV20050.LK
neosys/DATA/ACCOUNTS/REV20052.LK
7/2/2012 2:04 rsync: writefd_unbuffered failed to write 4092 bytes [sender]: Connection reset by peer (104)
rsync: write failed on "/cygdrive/F/E/neosys/DATA/ACCOUNTS/BATCHES.LK": No space left on device (28)
rsync: connection unexpectedly closed (9077 bytes received so far) [sender]
rsync error: error in rsync protocol data stream (code 12) at /home/lapo/packaging/rsync-3.0.4-1/src/rsync-3.0.4/io.c(632) [sender=3.0.4]
7/2/2012 2:04 Finished backup of uploaded files

7/2/2012 2:04 !!! THE DATABASE BACKUP HAS FAILED !!!
</pre>

====Error Explained====
In the above error log we notice the line:
rsync: write failed on "/cygdrive/F/E/neosys/DATA/PT0011A/ACCOUNTS/BATCHES.LK": No space left on device (28)

This is an indication that the USB being used to store backups does not have adequate storage space to save further backups.

This particular message only comes when using rsync to copy all IMAGES (ie files uploaded to NEOSYS) to the USB.

Sometimes, image backup is used to configured to backup the whole of a disk or the whole of data folder for example if there are hundreds of databases that are not all

used everyday.

====Error 2====
<pre>
Server=SERVER2
Client=SERVER2
User=ACCOUNTS
NEOSYS Ver:11:26:27 26 JUL 2010
7/2/2012 2:00 Backup started F: PT0621 - GABANG HOLDINGS LIMITED
7/2/2012 2:00 Media: FADE-0001
7/2/2012 2:00 Checking for damaged database files
7/2/2012 2:02 Checked OK 2.25MB (+20.0KB)
7/2/2012 2:02 Creating zip
7/2/2012 2:02 Created OK PT0621.ZIP 462KB
7/2/2012 2:02 !!! THE DATABASE BACKUP HAS FAILED !!!
BECAUSE NOT ENOUGH FREE SPACE ON BACKUP MEDIA.
462KB REQUIRED BUT ONLY 452KB AVAILABLE
</pre>

====Error Explained====
As the last line of the above error log clearly states, there is not adequate free space available on the USB to perform a backup.

In the above case, 462KB is required space while only 452KB is available.

====Action to be taken====
The simple solution is to purchase a new USB with greater storage space than the existing USB.

Sample Email to be sent to clients:

The automated NEOSYS backup has failed due to insufficient storage space on the USB.
Currently you are using a 4GB USB, which is insufficient for storing backups.
I recommend that you use a USB with 8 GB or more storage space.

''Note -'' We may also solve this issue by checking the USB for unnecessary files and move/delete them.

===Error Message: "Cannot backup/restore because PROCESS1 PROCESS2 (etc) is/are online" message===

This can happen for a variety of reasons, e.g if any the NEOSYS processes fail to close down at backup time because the process has hung due to software error.

===Error Message: "LISTS file is not available"===

<pre>
Server=NEOSYS
Client=NEOSYS
User=ADAGENCY
NEOSYS Ver:16:07:53 04 JUN 2018

"LISTS" is invalid

The "LISTS" file is not available.

?[FS200]????????????????????????????????????????

The "DATAVOL\NEOS0001\" file is not available.

THERE ARE NO FILES IN THIS DATASET
</pre>

====Solution====

Although unlikely, look for third-party software that have been installed on the server without the agreement of NEOSYS and uninstall them (see link below).

Refer: [[Procedures#Removal_of_unauthorized_third-party_software_on_client_servers|Uninstalling unauthorized third-party software]]

#Stop all processes (using global.end method).
#Navigate to the NEOSYS/DATAVOL folder and delete it.
#Perform a manual backup. (NEOSYS > Menu > Support > Backup)
#Backups should be successful. Check by various methods.
#Start NEOSYS processes.
#A new email may be sent when the first process is started, (INIT.GENERAL) containing the next section error "volume and cannot be attached".

===Error Message: "volume and cannot be attached"===
<pre>
The "DATAVOL
DATAVOL\NEOS0001\
08:48:57 27 JUN 2018" volume
has the same label
("")
as the "" volume
and cannot be attached.

Server: NEOSYS
Install: D:\NEOSYS\NEOSYS\
Version: 16:07:53 04 JUN 2018
Database:2996420B AMC
Process: 1
Client: NEOSYS
User: ADAGENCY
Stack: SYSMSG,INIT.GENERAL
</pre>

====Solution====

Pending

==Fixing Network Connectivity Errors for consolidated Backups==
There could be multiple reasons why the backup server might not be able to connect with the backed up server.

Error
<pre>
[Receiver] io timeout after 600 seconds -- exiting rsync error: timeout in data send/receive (code 30) at /home/lapo/package/rsync-3.0.8-1/src/rsync-3.0.8/io.c(140) [Receiver=3.0.8] [Receiver] io timeout after 600 seconds -- exiting rsync error: timeout in data send/receive (code 30) at /home/lapo/package/rsync-3.0.8-1/src/rsync-3.0.8/io.c(140) [Receiver=3.0.8] tried via hostname.support.neosys.com now trying via hostname2.support.neosys.com
ssh: Could not resolve hostname hostname2.support.neosys.com: hostname nor servname provided, or not known
rsync: connection unexpectedly closed (0 bytes received so far) [Receiver] rsync error: error in rsync protocol data stream (code 12) at /home/lapo/package/rsync-3.0.8-1/src/rsync-3.0.8/io.c(601)
</pre>

The following tests help in checking why the connectivity was lost between the backup server and the backed up server:

===Check whether the server was up===
If either of the servers were down, that could be the reason why connectivity was lost between the backup server and the backed up server. If this test fails, proceed to the next step.

===Telnet check===
<pre> telnet <hostname> 19580 </pre>

<hostname> is the name or IP address of the remote server to connect to.

If telnet is not able to connect to the remote host specified in <hostname> or establish a connection on the <port> specified, it will report an error similar to the following:

<pre>
C:> telnet fred.plus.com <CR>
Connecting To fred.plus.com...Could not open connection to the host, on port 23: Connect failed
C:> telnet mail.plus.net 60 <CR>
Connecting To mail.plus.com...Could not open connection to the host, on port 60: Connect failed.
C:> telnet 60.92.12.56 74 <CR>
Connecting To 60.92.12.56...Could not open connection to the host, on port 74: Connect failed.
</pre>

===Autologin===

====Error====
<pre>

rsync: failed to connect to 127.0.0.1: Connection refused (111) rsync error: error in socket IO (code 10) at
/home/lapo/packaging/rsync-3.0.7-1/src/rsync-

3.0.7/clientserver.c(122) [Receiver=3.0.7]

tried via hostname.neosys.com

now trying via hostname2.neosys.com

rsync: failed to connect to 127.0.0.1: Connection refused (111) rsync error: error in socket IO (code 10) at
/home/lapo/packaging/rsync-3.0.7-1/src/rsync-

3.0.7/clientserver.c(122) [Receiver=3.0.7]

</pre>

=====Error Explained=====
The automated backup cannot use autologin to access the server being backed up and so the backup fails.

=====Solution=====

[[Backup_and_Restore#Checking_if_autologin_is_configured_correctly_and_working_or_not| Check autologin]] and [[Backup_and_Restore#Running_..2Fautologin.sh|Run autologin]]

====Error Message: "WARNING: REMOTE HOST IDENTIFICATION HAS CHANGED!" message====

'''Error'''
<pre>
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
@ WARNING: REMOTE HOST IDENTIFICATION HAS CHANGED! @
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
IT IS POSSIBLE THAT SOMEONE IS DOING SOMETHING NASTY!
Someone could be eavesdropping on you right now (man-in-the-middle attack)!
It is also possible that a host key has just been changed.
The fingerprint for the ED25519 key sent by the remote host is
SHA256:9i9JH5xh11rEMIgrsax8A7bEKXfKVRiJr9nZllWXdFg.
Please contact your system administrator.
Add correct host key in /home/administrator/.ssh/known_hosts to get rid of this message.
Offending ECDSA key in /home/administrator/.ssh/known_hosts:208
ED25519 host key for [192.168.10.1]:19580 has changed and you have requested strict checking.
Host key verification failed.
rsync: connection unexpectedly closed (0 bytes received so far) [Receiver]
rsync error: unexplained error (code 255) at io.c(226) [Receiver=3.1.1]
</pre>

Solution to the problem is to remove the host key for the host mentioned in the error message in the known_hosts file.

Run the following command in Cygwin terminal.
<pre> ssh-keygen -R [host ip]:port </pre>

e.g in the above message for host ip 192.168.10.1 and port 19580 the command is
<pre> ssh-keygen -R [192.168.10.1]:19580 </pre>
Next re run autologin for the host, see [[Backup_and_Restore#Running_..2Fautologin.sh | Running autologin]]

===Check Scheduled Tasks on the Server===
Check if logs of Scheduled Tasks on the server, to see if the remote backup task executed and completed successfully. It is possible that the remote backup scheduled task hung due to some reason and a new instance of the task fails to start up the next day due to the existing instance. To avoid this situation, in Properties of the task, under Settings tab, check "Stop the task if it runs for:" and configure it to less than 24 hours.

==Adding/restoring SSH key to backup server==

(Will be helpful to understand the concept of asymmetric keys).

This script is usually used to fix the backup procedure. The backup server initiates the backup procedure using the "pull" concept to get data from source servers. The "backed-up server" serves the data (usually using an rsync service) to the backup server on request. They do not use a "push" concept, this is for security reasons. This means that backup servers need to be able to automatically login to the backed-up servers. On most backup servers a NEOSYS Cygwin script called autologin.sh has been installed.

NEOSYS processes on a target server can sometimes reset/ lose autologin (public) keys (particularly when NEOSYS is upgraded) on the target server when it should not actually. This enforces rerunning autologin.sh. You only need to run autologin.sh once per pair of backup and backed-up servers, in the backup server.

This relates to a common procedure used by NEOSYS to provide automatic nightly synchronisation/backups between servers for multi-office configurations. For more information see
http://itwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Setting_up_remote_backup

===Creating/Upgrading autologin.sh===

Follow commands below add autologin.sh to system:

#Copy script below.
#run "cd ~/ && nano autologin.sh", paste script into editor and exit.
#Run "chmod +x autologin.sh"

<pre>
#!/bin/bash

if [ -z $1 ]; then #syntax
echo ./autologin.sh targethostname targetusername sshport
elif [ $1 ]; then
set -e

REMOTEHOST=$1
REMOTEUSER=$2
PORT=$3

test $REMOTEUSER || REMOTEUSER=administrator
test $PORT || PORT=19580

if [ ! $REMOTEUSER ]; then
echo -n "Remote User (blank=administrator)/root?"
read REMOTEUSER
if [ "$REMOTEUSER" == "" ] ; then REMOTEUSER=administrator ; fi
fi

if [ ! REMOTEHOST ]; then
echo -n "Remote Host? "
read REMOTEHOST
if [ "$REMOTEHOST" == "" ] ; then exit; fi
fi

echo PASSPHRASE MUST BE BLANK IF YOU GET ASKED FOR IT!
#Generate priv/pub keys in .ssh if not already done
#Priv key mustnt be accessible except to owner otherwise wont work.
test -f ~/.ssh/id_rsa || \
ssh-keygen -t rsa && \
chmod 600 ~/.ssh/id_rsa

echo
echo "Logging in to the remote server (enter the pass again)"
sed 's/neosys//' ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub | \
ssh -p $PORT $REMOTEUSER@$REMOTEHOST \
"mkdir -p .ssh ; chmod 700 .ssh ;\
cat >> .ssh/authorized_keys ;\
chmod 644 .ssh/authorized_keys"

echo
echo "Test automatic login to the remote server"
echo " SHOULD NO LONGER ASK FOR PASSWORD."
echo " IF SUCCESSFULL, TYPE exit"
ssh -p $PORT $REMOTEUSER@$REMOTEHOST
fi

</pre>

===Using ./autologin.sh===

#Asks you for the username and hostname and port. (if username is administrator and port is 19580, then you can omit)
#Asks you to enter the administrator or root password and copies the public key from the source server to the destination server. 
#Logs you in to the destination server's Cygwin/bash command line.

===Running ./autologin.sh===
In Cygwin on the backup server, you can use any of the following syntax depending on your configuration:

Syntax: (for syntax reminder type "./autologin.sh")

./autologin.sh targethostname targetusername sshport

*targethostname - if omitted will be prompted for it
*targetusername - if omitted will be "administrator"
*sshport - if omitted will be "19580"

Example using prompting for parameters (targethostname)

./autologin.sh

Example using default user and port (administrator/19580)

./autologin.sh examplehost.neosys.com

Example with different user (port will be 19580)

./autologin.sh examplehost.neosys.com administrator

Example with different user and port

./autologin.sh examplehost.neosys.com admin 19500

The username is usually administrator for windows server targets.

The hostname can be found in backup email logs or in the CONFIG.CMD file in the backup server.

There are often two alternative hostnames. Try the first one first. If you succeed with the first then there is no need to try the second.

Sometimes one of the host names is based on alternative network access methods like hamachi which uses ip addresses starting with "5." and requires hamachi service to be running in both servers and this sometimes is dependent on being logged in and correct setup of hamachi. You can ping the host names to discover the ip numbers of course.

If Autologin is configured successfully, it logs you in to the backed up server's cygwin/bash command line. YOU should NOT be required to enter the password each time. You type "exit" to quit the backed up server's command line.

If Autologin is not configured successfully, you might be required to enter a password. In that case, enter the password and follow instructions on screen.
The system asks for the password to the target server to transfer an identity file and once again to access the command line of the target server from where you must follow a set of instructions in order to load the identity file properly.
Follow the instructions on the screen VERY carefully.

====Checking if autologin is configured correctly and working or not====
On the source system, in Cygwin/Terminal console, type the following, changing port number, administrator and clientname to suit the case.
ssh –p 19580 administrator@clientname.hosts.neosys.com
After a few seconds, if it is working properly, it should give you a command prompt on the target system. This indicates that autologin was successful. You may exit using the command:
exit
Otherwise, if it gives some error and in particular if it asks you anything at all, for example “confirm fingerprint?” or “password?” then autologin is not working.
You can then type in the following command in cygwin to configure or reconfigure autologin:
./autologin.sh

==Switching to a backup server==

As NEOSYS provides clients with option of backing up their data to a remote NEOSYS server in case of emergencies or server problems, it is crucial you understand the below procedure on how to switch to a backup server in the event of such a situation. Extreme care must be taken when switching over to using a backup server otherwise unnecessary data loss is very likely.

Backup servers are normally switched off and should not be started automatically otherwise there is a serious risk of the client’s staff working on two systems. It is not possible to merge two databases into one database. Before the backup server is enabled the main server must be disabled, and before the main server is re-enabled, the backup server must be disabled again. This can be managed technically without requiring any decision from senior non-technical staff.

However, there are also some potentially hard decisions about unavoidable loss of data versus continued system availability. *** Backup servers should therefore only be started with the written approval of the clients senior staff. A suitable email requesting approval follows.

The following case assumes that the main server has gone down sometime during the working day and that therefore the data on the backup server is out of date. Allowing them to use the backup server therefore implies some loss of data. They may wish to lose the data. They may wish to work on the backup server data and then try to redo the work on the main server once it is restored. There are a variety of options depending on the situation.

If the main server is still functioning AND you are reasonably sure that the database is not damaged (which is perhaps an unlikely situation if you need to use the backup server!), it may be sensible to trigger an additional “backup/sync” process to bring the backup server database up to date with the main server. Before you do this, it is advisable that you take a backup copy of the backup system on the backup server. In this case there would be no data loss in using the backup.

An additional option of providing usage of the backup server in read-only mode so that people can at least access some data is being developed. The backup server could be available continuously at any time in read-only mode. This article would then be related to switching a backup server into main operational mode.

Dear {senior staff} cc {IT staff}

Please note that we can enable the backup server if you wish.

However the data on the backup server is out of date since it is a copy of your main database as at 11/22/33 99:99.

If you wish to allow work to be done on the backup server then any data entered on your main server since the above date will be lost if we
subsequently copy the data on the backup server to the main server.

If, after using the backup server, we do NOT copy the data on the back server to the main server then any data you have entered on the backup
server/database will be lost.

Please confirm a) you want to work on HOSTS2 database and that we should therefore enable it and b) you have disconnected your main server
for the duration.

Best Regards,
xxxxxx xxxxxxx
NEOSYS Support

==How to Restore NEOSYS from Backup==

For a more detailed step by step go to [[http://techwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Installing_NEOSYS_Service#Installing_initial_or_Restoring_Database Restoring or Installing initial Database]]

#Log into Maintenance Mode
#Go to General > Backup & Data Management
#Select (the 4th option) Restore from disk or diskette
#Select the drive where the latest successful backup.zip file is present and follow the prompts ahead.

==Deleting all current and historical backups of a particular directory in NEOSYS==

===Step 1. Searching for directories to delete without deleting them===

There must be no similarly worded directories. Here the example directory is called DDBTEST.

find /backups/current /backups/snapshots -type d -path "*/DDBTEST/*"

===Step 2. Deleting the directories using rm===

This command uses the VERY DANGEROUS rm command. If the search is done even slightly wrong - which is well known to be very easily done - then rm will happily remove *all* files on the server causing *partial or complete loss of all backups and/or complete loss of the whole server*, requiring installation from scratch.

Blunders with rm are notorious in IT.

The command given below is incomplete and should only be completed by a skilled and responsible IT person who knows what to check and what to add.

In its incomplete form, it is safe to run and will only highlight what directories will be deleted or delete empty directories.

In its completed form, it is DANGEROUS and should not be used except as described above.

find /backups/current /backups/snapshots -type d -path "*/DDBTEST/*" | xargs -n 1 rm

===Step 3. Check all gone===

Redo step 1

==While Moving NEOSYS to a new server, after copying D drive the Maintenance does not contain all data sets==

After copying D drive, when you open Maintenance if the data sets are not present as in the old server you MUST restore Backup as restore is a verified/quick method of creating data sets. While restoring last night's Backup for missing data sets, the system gives a warning message "Dataset is already on the computer" as shown below. You MUST select the 2nd option "Overwrite the existing dataset" from the options in the warning message. In this way, all data sets will be created/saved on the new server.

<pre>
╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ *** WARNING *** ║
║ TEST /TEST ║
║ IS ALREADY ON THE COMPUTER ║
║ IF YOU CONTINUE, THE EXISTING FILES WILL BE DELETED. ║
║ ║
║ What do you want to do? ║
║───┬─────────────────────────────────────────────────────║
║ 1│Cancel the restore process ║
║ 2>Overwrite the existing data set ║
║ 3│Restore and make a new dataset ║
╚═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
</pre>

==Accessing historical snapshots of NEOSYS hosted clients data==

The main NEOSYS backup server nl19 contains backups of NEOSYS hosted clients along with all NEOSYS internal servers.

It also contains historical snapshots of the backups going back six months.

NEOSYS SUPPORT TEAM *MUST* AVOID COPYING, MOVING OR RENAMING FOLDERS ON NEOSYS WINDOWS SERVERS because this causes severe duplication and consumption of valuable resources for up to six months on nl19. Any exception to this rule must be discussed with NEOSYS IT *before* implementation.

===How to restore?===

nl19 is only accessible by NEOSYS IT so recovery of any data cannot be done directly by NEOSYS support team and is not a routine procedure.

The secondary NEOSYS backup server hosts2 is accessible to NEOSYS support team but contains only the latest snapshot of the current NEOSYS hosted clients as at last night. No historical versions are available.

===What snapshots are available?===

As of 2017/05/25 the NEOSYS backup server nl19 takes snapshots (of the backups listed in Nagios) as follows using crontab:

*120 historical hourly backups done at **:10 every hour (5x24 hours)
*8 historical daily backups done at 01:11 every night
*5 historical weekly backups done at 01:12 every Saturday
*6 historical monthly backups done at 01:13 on the 1st of every month

===What is backed up?===

Inspecting Nagios shows daily backups of NEOSYS hosted clients to nl19 of win3/d. Complete hourly backup is not possible due to limitations of Windows and/or the backup software used. However, there are hourly backups of win3/d/DATA.BAK so NEOSYS process "backups" to win3/d/DATA.BAK (on the same server and disk and therefore not a proper backup) do get properly backed up to a different server once an hour.

Backup and Restore

2023-02-21T08:38:58Z

Arvind: /* Description of Backup Procedure for the NEOSYS Client Hosting Server */

==Description of Backup Procedure for the Client Hosted NEOSYS Server==

3 USBs must be maintained and rotated on a weekly basis.

*At 02:21 GMT, live databases are backed up, restored to test and compared with test to verify that the restore was successful.
*Every hour at 40th minute, live databases are backed up without restore and verification.
*Every hour at 45th minute, USB backup is performed, where the client's NEOSYS server is rsynced to USB.
*NEOSYS support staff check the emails every morning Monday through Friday.
*In case of failure, NEOSYS support staff take appropriate action and send an email (to the same people who receive the automated backup alert emails) indicating what action has been taken.
*Additionally offsite backup can be set up on NEOSYS server.

NEOSYS backup is a two phase process. It is mandatory that both phases are complete for the process to be considered a backup.

1. NEOSYS server is hosted on Leaseweb in Amsterdam. Following is the backup procedure:

*At 02:21 GMT, live databases are backed up, restored to test and compared with test to verify that the restore was successful.
*Every hour at 40th minute, live databases are backed up without restore and verification.
*Emails for the above backups are sent to backups@neosys.com.
*NEOSYS support staff check the emails every morning Monday through Friday.
*In the case of failure, NEOSYS support staff take appropriate action and send an email (to the same people who receive the automated backup alert emails) indicating what action has been taken.
*The above does not by itself constitute a proper backup because the backup is stored on the same server and physical disk as the actual data.

2. On a separate backup server, also hosted on Leaseweb in Amsterdam:

*Every hour at around 45th minute, NEOSYS server is rsynced to the backup server.
*Every half hour, NEOSYS server container is copied (lxc) to the backup server. Container backups of 7 days are maintained on the backup server.

==Backup Procedures==
===Preparing nightly backup report===

#Note the success, failure and other error of the clients backup mail in an excel sheet and forward the same to your manager.
#If there is a backup failure or backup is not available, check wiki to take necessary steps.
#If there is any unknown error, forward the same to your manager.

Send the backup report after every quarter to all the Clients having consolidated backups.

===Running a manual backup in case of failures===

If a backup has failed, Support should check if any users are active in that particular database. Check Menu -> Support -> List of Documents in Use and also check list of users to see last login time. From backup email inbox, check how much time the backup of that database usually takes.

If no users have logged in yet and if backup of the database usually completes in a few minutes, quickly start a [[Backup_and_Restore#Manual_Backup| manual backup]]

This MUST be done first thing in the morning since Dubai clients generally start working around the same time as Support team.

===Updating Nagios in case of failures===

#If the backup failure is unsolved, schedule downtime Neosys service in Nagios till 01 am.
#If the backup did not happen because of server down. Call the IT person; ask him to re-boot the server and check wiki to do necessary step ahead and schedule downtime to Nagios for 2hours.
#If there is an error "Backup->Impossible" on Nagios, check if the USB is properly inserted. If no USB is found, send a mail to the user asking to ensure that the backup USB is inserted properly. Schedule downtime to Nagios for 2hours.

===Interchange backup USB mail reminder===
Basically all the clients have different days to change their backup USB. All the notification can be seen on Nagios at 12.00 pm every day.

On the USB change day, at 6:00 am, when the processes start up, the system automatically sends the following email to everyone in the backup email receiver list:

It is time to change the NEOSYS backup media (e.g. USB Flash Drive)

Please change it before 12:00 midday today.

Additional emails reminding IT staff to change backup media are sent out at 11:30am and 5pm if the backup media is not changed according schedule.

Since the system automatically sends a USB change reminder email to the client, support staff do not have to send them any instructions about changing unless they have failed to change the USB on the scheduled day or the scheduled day needs to be moved to another day.

====Importance of interchanging backup USBs====
If the backup USB is not interchanged on the scheduled day then the NEOSYS automated backup fails. This happens because traditionally, each USB holds backup of 7 days and using 3 different USBs we can store backups for the last 21 days enabling us to restore the system unto a time period beginning 21 days prior.
If the USB is not changed then the first backup on the current USB is replaced with the new or latest backup leading to inconsistencies within the backups. Hence we must interchange the USB on schedule to avoid a backup failure the next morning.

The reasons for using multiple USBs for backup are:

*We can keep other USBs out of the office for safety purposes since theft or office fire/water hazards could damage the computer and the USB keys if they are all in

the same place.

*Having multiple USBs provide safety against corrupt USBs which cannot be used to restore any backup data.

===Finding out which USB is inserted into the server===
As we ask the client to have 3 USB's and interchange them weekly, we also need to sometimes track which one of these 3 USB's are inserted into the server. USB's can be tracked using their volume serial number in most cases. To find this out either go to the command prompt and type VOL <drive letter> where drive letter is the USB drive letter OR in the nightly backup message check for the 2nd line (which looks like this - 14/12/2009 2:45pm Media: 705B-5B5F). However serial numbers can be the same even for different USB's. One of the reasons for this could be that the USBs were imaged from one single USB which caused their volume serial numbers to be the same. However, such a situation is very rare.

===Interchanging USB when scheduled USB change day falls on a holiday===
When clients ask support which day to interchange USBs when their scheduled USB change day falls on a holidays, send them the below email.

Hi XXX,

Kindly interchange the USB on the last working day before the holiday i.e XXXday DD/MM/YY and then interchange with the next scheduled USB on first working day after the holiday i.e. XXXday DD/MM/YY. Continue to change the USBs as usual on XXXday.

===Getting confirmations for Backup email list===

The below procedure is done once every year. A task has been set in Thunderbird to remind Support to begin the procedure in November.

The first thing to do is to send the below draft email to Steve and ask if any changes are required.

Subject: YOUR URGENT REPLY IS REQUIRED - NEOSYS Backup Confirmations for <Company>, <City>

Hi <Decision_maker>

We are updating our records of the contact people in your organisation who should receive the various NEOSYS system alert emails and backup confirmations.

You are currently assigned as the decision maker in this matter

Note that it is the responsibility of your company to verify that the backups are successful and to alert us whenever there is an issue with the same.

Please confirm:

1. The following email addresses should continue to receive these alerts

2. Any additions/deletions of email addresses from this list

For: <Company>, <City>:

a) Decision Maker:

b) IT Manager (or person responsible to change backup media):

c) Monitors (Managers and/or interested parties):

Best Regards,
NEOSYS Support

#After you receive confirmation, send emails to all clients.
#*Template email to each client (Thunderbird -> Support -> Templates -> Backup Confirmation Emails)
#Create a new spreadsheet after copying previous year's confirmations sheet and rename with current year.
#*You can find the previous year's confirmation list in Nextcloud\support\Androulla_Backup Confirmations
#*Clear the contents and fill in as and when you get the confirmations from clients.
#*For hosted clients in the 'IT Manager' field, put 'None'
#*You can keep a list of all pending clients in a personal text file and/or mark as 'Pending' in Spreadsheet.
#If any changes, update the Spreadsheet and change in NEOSYS.
#Set reminders to follow-up on these emails to decision makers once a week.
#In the case where a client asks for more than one decision maker, reply that it will be best to have only one decision maker.
#If no reply for two weeks, send email to another person other than the decision maker.
#*Order: Another management level user > Main point of contact -> Most active user (check the authorisation file)
#When all clients confirm, check backup spreadsheet and confirm that it matches the System Configuration file in NEOSYS and any personal records that you have kept.

==Manual Backup==
See [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/General_FAQ#How_to_do_a_manual_backup.3F How to do a manual backup in NEOSYS]

Manual backups can also be triggered on the server process screen by pressing the lower case letter b key. After the backup is complete the process will resume and restart the child processes. Pressing capital B will result in the process closing on completion of the backup and the child processes will not be restarted. This is useful if you want to trigger a backup and leave without waiting for it to complete.

==Configuring NEOSYS automated backup==

NEOSYS is designed to do an automated backup of the data (not the program files). The configuration for the automated backup rests in the System Configuration File under Menu > Support.

First step is to configure the automated email settings. After every backup attempt NEOSYS will send out a mail with the status of the backup (either success or failed). You have to configure the SMTP details here along with the list of recipients to the backup email.

Ensure to have atleast 1 person from the client management and 1 person from the client IT, besides the mandatory backups@neosys.com address

Always use the NEOSYS SMTP server details as follows and put in a fictitious client address so that NEOSYS staff can quickly identify which client this mail came from.

[[image:backup1.jpg]]

Do not configure the backup time unless instructed by your manager. The system will automatically start the backup at 1 am if there is nothing configured in the Backup time.

Type in the backup location (USB/other media) drive letter in the Backup Drive field and the Uploads fields.

Putting a 0 in the Uploads field will disable the backup of the Uploaded files, else by default the uploaded files will be backed up to the drive mentioned in the backup drive field.

The scheduled days of backup can be configured using the checkboxes. If none of the days are checked, backup will be done on all days by default.

Next setup the auto-start of the databases and enter how many processes should be started and which all databases should be backed up.

In the example below DEMO database has been configured to start 3 processes and also do the automated backup, whereas the DEMOTEST database is configured to start 1 process and no automated backup.

[[image:backup2.jpg]]

===Non-Liability for Backup===

{{Non-Liability For Backup}}

===Backing up the Images folder===

The Images folder under the NEOSYS installation is used to upload images/artworks/files from the Job File section and hence needs to be backed up. NEOSYS will automatically backup this Images folder to the USB drive or other location (specified for the usual data backup) once a week.

To configure this backup, RSYNC needs to have been installed during the initial installation.

In case we need to configure the Images folder backup at another location other than the usual nightly backup location than we need to edit:

line 12 - and specify the Drive of the location to be backed up to. eg. E or F

==Backup to other media (i.e. not to USB)==

If the backup is going to '''non-removable media''' (even if it is a shared folder on another computer) then the NEOSYS user/client/licensee (NOT the NEOSYS support team) can, at their own responsibility, arrange to '''move''' (NOT COPY) the NEOSYS backup files from the USB location to a backup location of their choice and avoid the

WARNING message : "Backup media not changed. Overwriting last weeks backup"

===Sample alternative response to client requests for additional backups===

The existing NEOSYS backup must continue to take place for safety because it is the only well understood standard, controlled and checked procedure in use for all NEOSYS clients.

You are free to setup and operate any additional backup procedure you like but NEOSYS cannot take any responsibility in setting up, monitoring or approving your additional backup procedure because it is beyond our sphere of control, expertise and trust.

What you can backup is the NEOSYS backups on the USB drive. These are readily available online at all times on the NEOSYS server for you to access and copy as you choose.

You can backup the usb anytime using anything you like, but you must not backup anything on any hard disk eg: C or D at any time.

==Backup in virtual server==

===Virtual servers that allow USB passthrough===
If NEOSYS is installed on a virtual server that allows USB passthrough (e.g. VMWare vSphere version 4.1 and above), then NEOSYS can be configured to backup onto the inserted external USB drive.

3 USBs should be maintained and rotated on a weekly basis as done by clients installed on physical servers.

VMware website says that when changing the USB, the VMware window must be the active window so that the USB reflects in the virtual machine and not on the host machine.
https://www.vmware.com/support/ws45/doc/devices_usb_ws.html

===Virtual servers that do not allow USB passthrough===
If NEOSYS is installed on a virtual server that DOES NOT allow USB passthrough, then below are the various cases:

====Case 1: BACKUP.ZIP file CAN be created on an external removable backup media====
The backups can be done onto an USB drive if it is connected to the host machine and configured to appear on the virtual server. The virtual server MUST be restarted for the inserted USB to reflect each time the USB is changed i.e. every week.

Support Staff MUST train the IT person to stop the processes properly i.e. use global.end file and rename it to global.end.temp to allow processes to start after reboot. Support Staff can send a follow up email as mentioned below

=====Email to IT person after training=====

Kindly confirm that you will close the NEOSYS processes properly before shutting down the virtual server, i.e. by renaming "global.end" to "global.end.temp" and making sure that no ntvdm.exe processes are running in the task manager. As discussed during the training, this can cause damaged files in NEOSYS if the server is shutdown without closing the NEOSYS processes.

Also please confirm that you will rename "global.end" back to "global.end.temp" before shutting down the virtual server so that the NEOSYS processes start up automatically when the virtual server is restarted.

====Case 2: BACKUP.ZIP file CANNOT be created on an external removable backup media====
The Client must *at their own responsibility* agree to arrange copy of the backup files to an external backup location every day if the server cannot be restarted every week. In this case, NEOSYS Support staff must send the client below email:

=====Email for new clients with/old clients moving to virtual servers that do not allow BACKUP.ZIP file to be created on an external removable backup media=====

If we install NEOSYS on a virtual server, the backups cannot be done onto an external removable backup media as confirmed by your IT. NEOSYS considers backups to be done only if BACKUP.ZIP file is created on an external removable backup media.

Instead, NEOSYS will be configured to create the BACKUP.ZIP files on the C drive of the virtual server. Your IT team can, at your own responsibility, arrange to move (NOT COPY) these backup files to an external backup location every day. We recommend that the backup location should be removable media (e.g. external hard disk) and not non-removable media (e.g. shared folder on another computer).

If any damage happens to the NEOSYS server, the backup files on C drive will not be accessible and will therefore be useless. So, kindly confirm that your IT team will arrange to move the backup files as mentioned above.

In addition to this, offsite backups of your virtual server can be setup by us if required, with an additional cost.

==Backup Messages==

====Interpreting backup alerts messages====

Success messages come with a blank body

Failure messages should come with the errors in the body

Both success and failure messages come with an attachment containing a list of files copied (or supposed to be copied but failed) and a summary of the volume and speed of data transferred

====Cause and Solution of Backup Warning Messages====

NEOSYS gives a backup WARNING message whenever it discovers that it is overwriting backups a week old. It does this because NEOSYS only deems backups completely successful if the backup media is rotated at least on a weekly basis.

If the backup media is removable then it should be changed weekly and the same media not used repeatedly on successive weeks.

If the backup is going to non-removable media (even if it is a shared folder on another computer) then the NEOSYS user/client/licencee (not the NEOSYS support team) can, at their own responsibility, arrange to move (not copy) the NEOSYS backup files from that location to a backup location of their choice and avoid this WARNING message.

==Handling failure and warning messages on nightly USB backup alerts==

===Backup mail not received===

[[Troubleshooting_email_not_received#Troubleshooting_email_not_received|Troubleshooting email not received]]

===Handling Change Backup message if the client does not use a USB backup device===

IF THE CLIENT IS BACKING UP TO A NON-REMOVABLE DESTINATION THEN EITHER 1. LIVE WITH THE FAILURE MESSAGE OR 2. SUPPRESS THE BACKUP ENTIRELY IN WHICH CASE NO BACKUPS ARE BEING DONE AND PROBABLY THIS WILL SHOW ON NEOSYS PROACTIVE WARNING SYSTEMS LIKE NAGIOS.

Nagios warnings can be acknowledged.

DO *NOT* FOLLOW BELOW PROCEDURE SINCE IS IT IS TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE FOR NEOSYS TO SEND OUT A "BACKUP SUCCESS" MESSAGE WHEN THE BACKUP IS NOT BEING DONE PROPERLY. IN GENERAL, TAKING SHORT CUTS THAT MAKE THINGS APPEAR SATISFACTORY WHEN THEY ARE NOT IS VERY POOR POLICY.

#Basically most of the client use USB for Neosys server but there are some clients who do not use USB. They could be on virtual server or just saving their backups in hard drive.
#As we know that backup take place in Data.bak folder but it does a backup only for a week in a single USB. Over here client do not use USB but save their backup in hard drive/virtual server location in Data.bak folder, once the week is over it will again give Change backup message.
#In this case rename the Data.bak folder to Data1.bak this is done because system read only Data.bak folder as it is configured in the system. When you rename Data.bak to Data1.bak it automatically create a new folder Data.bak in Backup drive.
#This process is done so that the backup does not fail next day morning and backup is done in Data.bak folder along with successful backup email.
#In the third week we will again see the same message Chang backup USB message, so you need to rename Data.bak folder to Data2.bak
#But in fourth week you rename the Data1.bak to Data.bak and change the Data2.bak to Data1.bak and Data.bak to Data2.bak
#Keep only three folders and Data.bak, Data1.bak, Data2.bak and keep on renaming these folders every week as shown above.

AS MENTIONED EARLIER *DO NOT FOLLOW* THE ABOVE PROCEDURE ON ANY CLIENT THAT DOES NOT USE A USB BACKUP DEVICE.

===Warning Message: Backup media not changed. Overwriting last weeks backup===

If the client does not change the USB on scheduled day the next day's backup will fail, with email subject: "NEOSYS: Backup <CLIENT> -> <Drive Letter>: <USB NAME> CHANGED FAILURE"

As per standard "NEOSYS Backup Failure - USB not interchanged" email, the schedule day to interchange backup USB drives should generally remain on the same scheduled day. No cases have yet been documented where we have inconvenienced and forced our clients to change the day.

NEOSYS gives a backup WARNING message whenever it discovers that it is overwriting backups a week old. It does this because NEOSYS only deems backups completely successful if the backup media is rotated at least on a weekly basis.

If the backup media is removable then it should be changed daily or weekly and the same media not used repeatedly on successive weeks.

If the backup is going to non-removable media (even if it is a shared folder on another computer) then the NEOSYS user/client/licensee (not the NEOSYS support team) can, at their own responsibility, arrange to move (not copy) the NEOSYS backup files from that location to a backup location of their choice and avoid this WARNING message. Also refer to [[Backup_and_Restore#Handling_Change_Backup_message_if_the_client_does_not_use_a_USB_backup_device|Handling Change Backup message if the client does not use a USB backup device]]

Standard "NEOSYS Backup Failure - USB not interchanged" email:
Dear Team, 
The NEOSYS backup has failed today as the USB was not interchanged on the scheduled day i.e. yesterday. 
Please interchange the USB immediately today to avoid a backup failure tomorrow morning. 
Also note that your scheduled day to interchange the USB next week remains unchanged to <Schedule day>. 
Kind Regards 
XXXX XXXX

===Error Message: Somebody else was using the dataset===

Server=NEOSYS
Client=NEOSYS
User=ADAGENCY
NEOSYS Ver:18:02:13 30 MAY 2006

Backup started at 19/11/2006 2:00am

TEST DATA TESTDATA

To E:\DATA.BAK\TESTDATA\Sunday\BACKUP.ZIP
!!! THE BACKUP HAS FAILED !!!

(because one or more files were not backed up
- somebody else was using them)

====Error Explained====

Despite the error message which shows that 'somebody else was using them', it is definitely not correct as NEOSYS shuts down automatically at 2 am (time of the

backup). The actual problem might be that a NEOSYS process must have got stuck and failed to shutdown or a maintenance process was left open by accident.

====Action to be taken====

Close any maintenance processes that should not have been left open in the first place.

Try to exit normally or kill any other [[Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Generally#How_to_kill_hung_NEOSYS_processes|"hung"]] processes, taking screenshots of any error messages in order to try and prevent the problem happening again.

If not inconvenient to the users consider initiating a manual backup or just check that the next automatic backup works ok.

===Error Message: Size Lock===

Server=NEOSYS-SERVER
Client=NEOSYS-SERVER
User=NETSERVICE
NEOSYS Ver:19:57:50 08 NOV 2006

Backup started at 19/11/2006 2:00am

ADLINE ADLINE

To F:\DATA.BAK\ADLINE\Sunday\BACKUP.ZIP
The following files had a size lock but have been fixed SHADOW Warning! Process
U79068
Other Network Stations are Active!
This utility was designed to be run in a single-user mode!

Potential Errors Could Occur, If You Proceed to fix the sizelock Values with Other Stations
Active. These Errors Include;

Invalid SELECT results, Degredation in Network Performance, and other Problems/Concerns which
may be specific to your Installation/Application.

IT IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED THAT ALL NETWORK STATIONS BE LOGGED OUT BEFORE PROCEEDING!

Do you wish to Proceed at this time?%B%
!!! THE BACKUP HAS FAILED !!!

(because one or more files were not backed up
- somebody else was using them)

====Error Explained====

Sizelock errors are not critical and do not stop the backup from being performed. Sizelocks are cleared automatically during backup but the backup alert becomes a

warning that the backup was not quite perfect.

Sizelocks during database checking indicate that some files were not properly closed in normal processing but do not indicate corrupt files. Sizelock means that a file

is prevented from expanding and contracting. Expanding and contracting is necessary in order to speed up access to larger numbers of records. Therefore if sizelocks

were to be left uncleared then the file would become slower and slower to access over time.

In the above example the backup was not completed because of another error "files in use".

====Action to be taken====

If this is an automatic backup then no action is required since the sizelocks are automatically cleared.

During a manual backup then you should press F9 on the sizelock warning screen to confirm that the sizelocks should be cleared.

Sizelocks can only be cleared if no other process is open.

===Failure Message : Backup file size is 0===

16/4/2009 9:43am Creating zip

16/4/2009 9:45am !!! THE DATABASE BACKUP HAS FAILED !!!

BECAUSE BACKUP FILE SIZE IS 0

====Error Explanation 1====
This happens when there is no adequate storage space on the hard-disk which houses the NEOSYS application and data files. When the automated backup is initiated, the

NEOSYS application checks all the data files and creates a zipped file of it which is the databasename.zip (in the above case IMDUB.ZIP). During this zip file

creation, NEOSYS needs additional disk space temporarily and if this is not available then the backup would fail. The IMDUB.ZIP file is created and backed up (as

BACKUP.ZIP under the respective day of the week) to the USB or any other drive specified and is automatically deleted from the drive that it was created in.

====Error Explanation 2====

This could be due lack of EMSMAGIC.

In case of a Windows Server 2003 installation: [[Troubleshooting NEOSYS Generally#Enabling EMS memory on Window 2003|Enabling EMS memory on Window 2003]]

In case of a Windows Server 2008 installation: [[Installing EMS Magic|Installing EMS Magic on Windows 2008]]

====Actions to be taken====

#In this case, you need to clear up the hard-disk and create some space. In the above scenario at Initiative there was a folder of 52 GB in the same drive that houses NEOSYS and the available disk space was just 40 MB. So the un-necessary folder was moved out to make space.
#If there is sufficient space available on the hard disk which houses NEOSYS, then consider checking the anti-virus settings and escalate the issue to NEOSYS programmer for debugging.

This is another reason why NEOSYS personnel should put their foot down on getting dedicated servers for NEOSYS as it restrains the client IT staff from using the

NEOSYS server to house data or any other applications besides NEOSYS.

===Error Message: Inadequate Storage Space on USB===

====Error 1====
<pre>
Server=SERVER2
Client=SERVER2
User=ACCOUNTS
NEOSYS Ver:11:26:27 26 JUL 2010

7/2/2012 2:00 Backup started F: BASIC
7/2/2012 2:00 Media: FADE-0001

7/2/2012 2:00 Checking for damaged database files
7/2/2012 2:01 Checked OK 1.92MB (+1.00KB)

7/2/2012 2:01 Creating zip
7/2/2012 2:01 Created OK BASIC.ZIP 251KB

7/2/2012 2:02 Copying to F:\DATA.BAK\Tuesday\BACKUP.ZIP
7/2/2012 2:02 Copied OK

7/2/2012 2:02 Verifying zip OK
7/2/2012 2:02 Verified OK

7/2/2012 2:02 Started backup of uploaded files in /cygdrive/E/ to F:
7/2/2012 2:04 neosys/DATA/ACCOUNTS/REV20050.LK
neosys/DATA/ACCOUNTS/REV20052.LK
7/2/2012 2:04 rsync: writefd_unbuffered failed to write 4092 bytes [sender]: Connection reset by peer (104)
rsync: write failed on "/cygdrive/F/E/neosys/DATA/ACCOUNTS/BATCHES.LK": No space left on device (28)
rsync: connection unexpectedly closed (9077 bytes received so far) [sender]
rsync error: error in rsync protocol data stream (code 12) at /home/lapo/packaging/rsync-3.0.4-1/src/rsync-3.0.4/io.c(632) [sender=3.0.4]
7/2/2012 2:04 Finished backup of uploaded files

7/2/2012 2:04 !!! THE DATABASE BACKUP HAS FAILED !!!
</pre>

====Error Explained====
In the above error log we notice the line:
rsync: write failed on "/cygdrive/F/E/neosys/DATA/PT0011A/ACCOUNTS/BATCHES.LK": No space left on device (28)

This is an indication that the USB being used to store backups does not have adequate storage space to save further backups.

This particular message only comes when using rsync to copy all IMAGES (ie files uploaded to NEOSYS) to the USB.

Sometimes, image backup is used to configured to backup the whole of a disk or the whole of data folder for example if there are hundreds of databases that are not all

used everyday.

====Error 2====
<pre>
Server=SERVER2
Client=SERVER2
User=ACCOUNTS
NEOSYS Ver:11:26:27 26 JUL 2010
7/2/2012 2:00 Backup started F: PT0621 - GABANG HOLDINGS LIMITED
7/2/2012 2:00 Media: FADE-0001
7/2/2012 2:00 Checking for damaged database files
7/2/2012 2:02 Checked OK 2.25MB (+20.0KB)
7/2/2012 2:02 Creating zip
7/2/2012 2:02 Created OK PT0621.ZIP 462KB
7/2/2012 2:02 !!! THE DATABASE BACKUP HAS FAILED !!!
BECAUSE NOT ENOUGH FREE SPACE ON BACKUP MEDIA.
462KB REQUIRED BUT ONLY 452KB AVAILABLE
</pre>

====Error Explained====
As the last line of the above error log clearly states, there is not adequate free space available on the USB to perform a backup.

In the above case, 462KB is required space while only 452KB is available.

====Action to be taken====
The simple solution is to purchase a new USB with greater storage space than the existing USB.

Sample Email to be sent to clients:

The automated NEOSYS backup has failed due to insufficient storage space on the USB.
Currently you are using a 4GB USB, which is insufficient for storing backups.
I recommend that you use a USB with 8 GB or more storage space.

''Note -'' We may also solve this issue by checking the USB for unnecessary files and move/delete them.

===Error Message: "Cannot backup/restore because PROCESS1 PROCESS2 (etc) is/are online" message===

This can happen for a variety of reasons, e.g if any the NEOSYS processes fail to close down at backup time because the process has hung due to software error.

===Error Message: "LISTS file is not available"===

<pre>
Server=NEOSYS
Client=NEOSYS
User=ADAGENCY
NEOSYS Ver:16:07:53 04 JUN 2018

"LISTS" is invalid

The "LISTS" file is not available.

?[FS200]????????????????????????????????????????

The "DATAVOL\NEOS0001\" file is not available.

THERE ARE NO FILES IN THIS DATASET
</pre>

====Solution====

Although unlikely, look for third-party software that have been installed on the server without the agreement of NEOSYS and uninstall them (see link below).

Refer: [[Procedures#Removal_of_unauthorized_third-party_software_on_client_servers|Uninstalling unauthorized third-party software]]

#Stop all processes (using global.end method).
#Navigate to the NEOSYS/DATAVOL folder and delete it.
#Perform a manual backup. (NEOSYS > Menu > Support > Backup)
#Backups should be successful. Check by various methods.
#Start NEOSYS processes.
#A new email may be sent when the first process is started, (INIT.GENERAL) containing the next section error "volume and cannot be attached".

===Error Message: "volume and cannot be attached"===
<pre>
The "DATAVOL
DATAVOL\NEOS0001\
08:48:57 27 JUN 2018" volume
has the same label
("")
as the "" volume
and cannot be attached.

Server: NEOSYS
Install: D:\NEOSYS\NEOSYS\
Version: 16:07:53 04 JUN 2018
Database:2996420B AMC
Process: 1
Client: NEOSYS
User: ADAGENCY
Stack: SYSMSG,INIT.GENERAL
</pre>

====Solution====

Pending

==Fixing Network Connectivity Errors for consolidated Backups==
There could be multiple reasons why the backup server might not be able to connect with the backed up server.

Error
<pre>
[Receiver] io timeout after 600 seconds -- exiting rsync error: timeout in data send/receive (code 30) at /home/lapo/package/rsync-3.0.8-1/src/rsync-3.0.8/io.c(140) [Receiver=3.0.8] [Receiver] io timeout after 600 seconds -- exiting rsync error: timeout in data send/receive (code 30) at /home/lapo/package/rsync-3.0.8-1/src/rsync-3.0.8/io.c(140) [Receiver=3.0.8] tried via hostname.support.neosys.com now trying via hostname2.support.neosys.com
ssh: Could not resolve hostname hostname2.support.neosys.com: hostname nor servname provided, or not known
rsync: connection unexpectedly closed (0 bytes received so far) [Receiver] rsync error: error in rsync protocol data stream (code 12) at /home/lapo/package/rsync-3.0.8-1/src/rsync-3.0.8/io.c(601)
</pre>

The following tests help in checking why the connectivity was lost between the backup server and the backed up server:

===Check whether the server was up===
If either of the servers were down, that could be the reason why connectivity was lost between the backup server and the backed up server. If this test fails, proceed to the next step.

===Telnet check===
<pre> telnet <hostname> 19580 </pre>

<hostname> is the name or IP address of the remote server to connect to.

If telnet is not able to connect to the remote host specified in <hostname> or establish a connection on the <port> specified, it will report an error similar to the following:

<pre>
C:> telnet fred.plus.com <CR>
Connecting To fred.plus.com...Could not open connection to the host, on port 23: Connect failed
C:> telnet mail.plus.net 60 <CR>
Connecting To mail.plus.com...Could not open connection to the host, on port 60: Connect failed.
C:> telnet 60.92.12.56 74 <CR>
Connecting To 60.92.12.56...Could not open connection to the host, on port 74: Connect failed.
</pre>

===Autologin===

====Error====
<pre>

rsync: failed to connect to 127.0.0.1: Connection refused (111) rsync error: error in socket IO (code 10) at
/home/lapo/packaging/rsync-3.0.7-1/src/rsync-

3.0.7/clientserver.c(122) [Receiver=3.0.7]

tried via hostname.neosys.com

now trying via hostname2.neosys.com

rsync: failed to connect to 127.0.0.1: Connection refused (111) rsync error: error in socket IO (code 10) at
/home/lapo/packaging/rsync-3.0.7-1/src/rsync-

3.0.7/clientserver.c(122) [Receiver=3.0.7]

</pre>

=====Error Explained=====
The automated backup cannot use autologin to access the server being backed up and so the backup fails.

=====Solution=====

[[Backup_and_Restore#Checking_if_autologin_is_configured_correctly_and_working_or_not| Check autologin]] and [[Backup_and_Restore#Running_..2Fautologin.sh|Run autologin]]

====Error Message: "WARNING: REMOTE HOST IDENTIFICATION HAS CHANGED!" message====

'''Error'''
<pre>
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
@ WARNING: REMOTE HOST IDENTIFICATION HAS CHANGED! @
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
IT IS POSSIBLE THAT SOMEONE IS DOING SOMETHING NASTY!
Someone could be eavesdropping on you right now (man-in-the-middle attack)!
It is also possible that a host key has just been changed.
The fingerprint for the ED25519 key sent by the remote host is
SHA256:9i9JH5xh11rEMIgrsax8A7bEKXfKVRiJr9nZllWXdFg.
Please contact your system administrator.
Add correct host key in /home/administrator/.ssh/known_hosts to get rid of this message.
Offending ECDSA key in /home/administrator/.ssh/known_hosts:208
ED25519 host key for [192.168.10.1]:19580 has changed and you have requested strict checking.
Host key verification failed.
rsync: connection unexpectedly closed (0 bytes received so far) [Receiver]
rsync error: unexplained error (code 255) at io.c(226) [Receiver=3.1.1]
</pre>

Solution to the problem is to remove the host key for the host mentioned in the error message in the known_hosts file.

Run the following command in Cygwin terminal.
<pre> ssh-keygen -R [host ip]:port </pre>

e.g in the above message for host ip 192.168.10.1 and port 19580 the command is
<pre> ssh-keygen -R [192.168.10.1]:19580 </pre>
Next re run autologin for the host, see [[Backup_and_Restore#Running_..2Fautologin.sh | Running autologin]]

===Check Scheduled Tasks on the Server===
Check if logs of Scheduled Tasks on the server, to see if the remote backup task executed and completed successfully. It is possible that the remote backup scheduled task hung due to some reason and a new instance of the task fails to start up the next day due to the existing instance. To avoid this situation, in Properties of the task, under Settings tab, check "Stop the task if it runs for:" and configure it to less than 24 hours.

==Adding/restoring SSH key to backup server==

(Will be helpful to understand the concept of asymmetric keys).

This script is usually used to fix the backup procedure. The backup server initiates the backup procedure using the "pull" concept to get data from source servers. The "backed-up server" serves the data (usually using an rsync service) to the backup server on request. They do not use a "push" concept, this is for security reasons. This means that backup servers need to be able to automatically login to the backed-up servers. On most backup servers a NEOSYS Cygwin script called autologin.sh has been installed.

NEOSYS processes on a target server can sometimes reset/ lose autologin (public) keys (particularly when NEOSYS is upgraded) on the target server when it should not actually. This enforces rerunning autologin.sh. You only need to run autologin.sh once per pair of backup and backed-up servers, in the backup server.

This relates to a common procedure used by NEOSYS to provide automatic nightly synchronisation/backups between servers for multi-office configurations. For more information see
http://itwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Setting_up_remote_backup

===Creating/Upgrading autologin.sh===

Follow commands below add autologin.sh to system:

#Copy script below.
#run "cd ~/ && nano autologin.sh", paste script into editor and exit.
#Run "chmod +x autologin.sh"

<pre>
#!/bin/bash

if [ -z $1 ]; then #syntax
echo ./autologin.sh targethostname targetusername sshport
elif [ $1 ]; then
set -e

REMOTEHOST=$1
REMOTEUSER=$2
PORT=$3

test $REMOTEUSER || REMOTEUSER=administrator
test $PORT || PORT=19580

if [ ! $REMOTEUSER ]; then
echo -n "Remote User (blank=administrator)/root?"
read REMOTEUSER
if [ "$REMOTEUSER" == "" ] ; then REMOTEUSER=administrator ; fi
fi

if [ ! REMOTEHOST ]; then
echo -n "Remote Host? "
read REMOTEHOST
if [ "$REMOTEHOST" == "" ] ; then exit; fi
fi

echo PASSPHRASE MUST BE BLANK IF YOU GET ASKED FOR IT!
#Generate priv/pub keys in .ssh if not already done
#Priv key mustnt be accessible except to owner otherwise wont work.
test -f ~/.ssh/id_rsa || \
ssh-keygen -t rsa && \
chmod 600 ~/.ssh/id_rsa

echo
echo "Logging in to the remote server (enter the pass again)"
sed 's/neosys//' ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub | \
ssh -p $PORT $REMOTEUSER@$REMOTEHOST \
"mkdir -p .ssh ; chmod 700 .ssh ;\
cat >> .ssh/authorized_keys ;\
chmod 644 .ssh/authorized_keys"

echo
echo "Test automatic login to the remote server"
echo " SHOULD NO LONGER ASK FOR PASSWORD."
echo " IF SUCCESSFULL, TYPE exit"
ssh -p $PORT $REMOTEUSER@$REMOTEHOST
fi

</pre>

===Using ./autologin.sh===

#Asks you for the username and hostname and port. (if username is administrator and port is 19580, then you can omit)
#Asks you to enter the administrator or root password and copies the public key from the source server to the destination server. 
#Logs you in to the destination server's Cygwin/bash command line.

===Running ./autologin.sh===
In Cygwin on the backup server, you can use any of the following syntax depending on your configuration:

Syntax: (for syntax reminder type "./autologin.sh")

./autologin.sh targethostname targetusername sshport

*targethostname - if omitted will be prompted for it
*targetusername - if omitted will be "administrator"
*sshport - if omitted will be "19580"

Example using prompting for parameters (targethostname)

./autologin.sh

Example using default user and port (administrator/19580)

./autologin.sh examplehost.neosys.com

Example with different user (port will be 19580)

./autologin.sh examplehost.neosys.com administrator

Example with different user and port

./autologin.sh examplehost.neosys.com admin 19500

The username is usually administrator for windows server targets.

The hostname can be found in backup email logs or in the CONFIG.CMD file in the backup server.

There are often two alternative hostnames. Try the first one first. If you succeed with the first then there is no need to try the second.

Sometimes one of the host names is based on alternative network access methods like hamachi which uses ip addresses starting with "5." and requires hamachi service to be running in both servers and this sometimes is dependent on being logged in and correct setup of hamachi. You can ping the host names to discover the ip numbers of course.

If Autologin is configured successfully, it logs you in to the backed up server's cygwin/bash command line. YOU should NOT be required to enter the password each time. You type "exit" to quit the backed up server's command line.

If Autologin is not configured successfully, you might be required to enter a password. In that case, enter the password and follow instructions on screen.
The system asks for the password to the target server to transfer an identity file and once again to access the command line of the target server from where you must follow a set of instructions in order to load the identity file properly.
Follow the instructions on the screen VERY carefully.

====Checking if autologin is configured correctly and working or not====
On the source system, in Cygwin/Terminal console, type the following, changing port number, administrator and clientname to suit the case.
ssh –p 19580 administrator@clientname.hosts.neosys.com
After a few seconds, if it is working properly, it should give you a command prompt on the target system. This indicates that autologin was successful. You may exit using the command:
exit
Otherwise, if it gives some error and in particular if it asks you anything at all, for example “confirm fingerprint?” or “password?” then autologin is not working.
You can then type in the following command in cygwin to configure or reconfigure autologin:
./autologin.sh

==Switching to a backup server==

As NEOSYS provides clients with option of backing up their data to a remote NEOSYS server in case of emergencies or server problems, it is crucial you understand the below procedure on how to switch to a backup server in the event of such a situation. Extreme care must be taken when switching over to using a backup server otherwise unnecessary data loss is very likely.

Backup servers are normally switched off and should not be started automatically otherwise there is a serious risk of the client’s staff working on two systems. It is not possible to merge two databases into one database. Before the backup server is enabled the main server must be disabled, and before the main server is re-enabled, the backup server must be disabled again. This can be managed technically without requiring any decision from senior non-technical staff.

However, there are also some potentially hard decisions about unavoidable loss of data versus continued system availability. *** Backup servers should therefore only be started with the written approval of the clients senior staff. A suitable email requesting approval follows.

The following case assumes that the main server has gone down sometime during the working day and that therefore the data on the backup server is out of date. Allowing them to use the backup server therefore implies some loss of data. They may wish to lose the data. They may wish to work on the backup server data and then try to redo the work on the main server once it is restored. There are a variety of options depending on the situation.

If the main server is still functioning AND you are reasonably sure that the database is not damaged (which is perhaps an unlikely situation if you need to use the backup server!), it may be sensible to trigger an additional “backup/sync” process to bring the backup server database up to date with the main server. Before you do this, it is advisable that you take a backup copy of the backup system on the backup server. In this case there would be no data loss in using the backup.

An additional option of providing usage of the backup server in read-only mode so that people can at least access some data is being developed. The backup server could be available continuously at any time in read-only mode. This article would then be related to switching a backup server into main operational mode.

Dear {senior staff} cc {IT staff}

Please note that we can enable the backup server if you wish.

However the data on the backup server is out of date since it is a copy of your main database as at 11/22/33 99:99.

If you wish to allow work to be done on the backup server then any data entered on your main server since the above date will be lost if we
subsequently copy the data on the backup server to the main server.

If, after using the backup server, we do NOT copy the data on the back server to the main server then any data you have entered on the backup
server/database will be lost.

Please confirm a) you want to work on HOSTS2 database and that we should therefore enable it and b) you have disconnected your main server
for the duration.

Best Regards,
xxxxxx xxxxxxx
NEOSYS Support

==How to Restore NEOSYS from Backup==

For a more detailed step by step go to [[http://techwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Installing_NEOSYS_Service#Installing_initial_or_Restoring_Database Restoring or Installing initial Database]]

#Log into Maintenance Mode
#Go to General > Backup & Data Management
#Select (the 4th option) Restore from disk or diskette
#Select the drive where the latest successful backup.zip file is present and follow the prompts ahead.

==Deleting all current and historical backups of a particular directory in NEOSYS==

===Step 1. Searching for directories to delete without deleting them===

There must be no similarly worded directories. Here the example directory is called DDBTEST.

find /backups/current /backups/snapshots -type d -path "*/DDBTEST/*"

===Step 2. Deleting the directories using rm===

This command uses the VERY DANGEROUS rm command. If the search is done even slightly wrong - which is well known to be very easily done - then rm will happily remove *all* files on the server causing *partial or complete loss of all backups and/or complete loss of the whole server*, requiring installation from scratch.

Blunders with rm are notorious in IT.

The command given below is incomplete and should only be completed by a skilled and responsible IT person who knows what to check and what to add.

In its incomplete form, it is safe to run and will only highlight what directories will be deleted or delete empty directories.

In its completed form, it is DANGEROUS and should not be used except as described above.

find /backups/current /backups/snapshots -type d -path "*/DDBTEST/*" | xargs -n 1 rm

===Step 3. Check all gone===

Redo step 1

==While Moving NEOSYS to a new server, after copying D drive the Maintenance does not contain all data sets==

After copying D drive, when you open Maintenance if the data sets are not present as in the old server you MUST restore Backup as restore is a verified/quick method of creating data sets. While restoring last night's Backup for missing data sets, the system gives a warning message "Dataset is already on the computer" as shown below. You MUST select the 2nd option "Overwrite the existing dataset" from the options in the warning message. In this way, all data sets will be created/saved on the new server.

<pre>
╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ *** WARNING *** ║
║ TEST /TEST ║
║ IS ALREADY ON THE COMPUTER ║
║ IF YOU CONTINUE, THE EXISTING FILES WILL BE DELETED. ║
║ ║
║ What do you want to do? ║
║───┬─────────────────────────────────────────────────────║
║ 1│Cancel the restore process ║
║ 2>Overwrite the existing data set ║
║ 3│Restore and make a new dataset ║
╚═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
</pre>

==Accessing historical snapshots of NEOSYS hosted clients data==

The main NEOSYS backup server nl19 contains backups of NEOSYS hosted clients along with all NEOSYS internal servers.

It also contains historical snapshots of the backups going back six months.

NEOSYS SUPPORT TEAM *MUST* AVOID COPYING, MOVING OR RENAMING FOLDERS ON NEOSYS WINDOWS SERVERS because this causes severe duplication and consumption of valuable resources for up to six months on nl19. Any exception to this rule must be discussed with NEOSYS IT *before* implementation.

===How to restore?===

nl19 is only accessible by NEOSYS IT so recovery of any data cannot be done directly by NEOSYS support team and is not a routine procedure.

The secondary NEOSYS backup server hosts2 is accessible to NEOSYS support team but contains only the latest snapshot of the current NEOSYS hosted clients as at last night. No historical versions are available.

===What snapshots are available?===

As of 2017/05/25 the NEOSYS backup server nl19 takes snapshots (of the backups listed in Nagios) as follows using crontab:

*120 historical hourly backups done at **:10 every hour (5x24 hours)
*8 historical daily backups done at 01:11 every night
*5 historical weekly backups done at 01:12 every Saturday
*6 historical monthly backups done at 01:13 on the 1st of every month

===What is backed up?===

Inspecting Nagios shows daily backups of NEOSYS hosted clients to nl19 of win3/d. Complete hourly backup is not possible due to limitations of Windows and/or the backup software used. However, there are hourly backups of win3/d/DATA.BAK so NEOSYS process "backups" to win3/d/DATA.BAK (on the same server and disk and therefore not a proper backup) do get properly backed up to a different server once an hour.

Backup and Restore

2023-02-21T08:08:03Z

Arvind: /* Description of Backup Procedure for the Client Hosted NEOSYS Server */

==Description of Backup Procedure for the Client Hosted NEOSYS Server==

3 USBs must be maintained and rotated on a weekly basis.

*At 02:21 GMT, live databases are backed up, restored to test and compared with test to verify that the restore was successful.
*Every hour at 40th minute, live databases are backed up without restore and verification.
*Every hour at 45th minute, USB backup is performed, where the client's NEOSYS server is rsynced to USB.
*NEOSYS support staff check the emails every morning Monday through Friday.
*In case of failure, NEOSYS support staff take appropriate action and send an email (to the same people who receive the automated backup alert emails) indicating what action has been taken.
*Additionally offsite backup can be set up on NEOSYS server.

==Description of Backup Procedure for the NEOSYS Client Hosting Server==

NEOSYS backup is a two phase process. It is mandatory that both phases are complete for the process to be considered a backup.

1. On the main NEOSYS server host(Schuberg Philis in Amsterdam as of Dec 2010),Every night, the NEOSYS process for selected databases stops serving users at around 1:00 AM to 5:00 AM (local time of the client's main office) and performs the following procedure:

*All the database files are checked for physical corruption.
*All the database files are zipped into a file who's path would be something like C:\DATA.BAK\CLIENTX\MONDAY\BACKUP.ZIP file.
*The file having the same name as that of the corresponding day of the week as last week is overwritten.A "backup alert" email indicating success or failure is sent to senior managers at the client, the client’s IT manager and backups@neosys.com.
*An internal log (accessible on each database's Support Menu) is maintained as a record and in case the emails cannot be sent out for some reason.
*NEOSYS support staff in Dubai check the emails every morning Sunday through Thursday.
*In the case of failure, NEOSYS support staff in Dubai take appropriate action and send an email (to the same people who receive the automated backup alert emails) indicating what action has been taken.
*The above does not by itself constitute a proper backup because the backup is stored on the same server and physical disk as the actual data.

2. On the NEOSYS backup server host (in NEOSYS Dubai Office as of Dec 2010 but could be changed without notice to EvoSwitch in Amsterdam).

*At around 02:00-02:30 AM GMT daily, NEOSYS's backup server copies (replicates) all the BACKUP.ZIP files from the main NEOSYS server host to itself.
*An email indicating success or failure is sent to NEOSYS support staff (only) who deal with it in a similar way to phase 1, except that only NEOSYS management are updated.

==Backup Procedures==
===Preparing nightly backup report===

#Note the success, failure and other error of the clients backup mail in an excel sheet and forward the same to your manager.
#If there is a backup failure or backup is not available, check wiki to take necessary steps.
#If there is any unknown error, forward the same to your manager.

Send the backup report after every quarter to all the Clients having consolidated backups.

===Running a manual backup in case of failures===

If a backup has failed, Support should check if any users are active in that particular database. Check Menu -> Support -> List of Documents in Use and also check list of users to see last login time. From backup email inbox, check how much time the backup of that database usually takes.

If no users have logged in yet and if backup of the database usually completes in a few minutes, quickly start a [[Backup_and_Restore#Manual_Backup| manual backup]]

This MUST be done first thing in the morning since Dubai clients generally start working around the same time as Support team.

===Updating Nagios in case of failures===

#If the backup failure is unsolved, schedule downtime Neosys service in Nagios till 01 am.
#If the backup did not happen because of server down. Call the IT person; ask him to re-boot the server and check wiki to do necessary step ahead and schedule downtime to Nagios for 2hours.
#If there is an error "Backup->Impossible" on Nagios, check if the USB is properly inserted. If no USB is found, send a mail to the user asking to ensure that the backup USB is inserted properly. Schedule downtime to Nagios for 2hours.

===Interchange backup USB mail reminder===
Basically all the clients have different days to change their backup USB. All the notification can be seen on Nagios at 12.00 pm every day.

On the USB change day, at 6:00 am, when the processes start up, the system automatically sends the following email to everyone in the backup email receiver list:

It is time to change the NEOSYS backup media (e.g. USB Flash Drive)

Please change it before 12:00 midday today.

Additional emails reminding IT staff to change backup media are sent out at 11:30am and 5pm if the backup media is not changed according schedule.

Since the system automatically sends a USB change reminder email to the client, support staff do not have to send them any instructions about changing unless they have failed to change the USB on the scheduled day or the scheduled day needs to be moved to another day.

====Importance of interchanging backup USBs====
If the backup USB is not interchanged on the scheduled day then the NEOSYS automated backup fails. This happens because traditionally, each USB holds backup of 7 days and using 3 different USBs we can store backups for the last 21 days enabling us to restore the system unto a time period beginning 21 days prior.
If the USB is not changed then the first backup on the current USB is replaced with the new or latest backup leading to inconsistencies within the backups. Hence we must interchange the USB on schedule to avoid a backup failure the next morning.

The reasons for using multiple USBs for backup are:

*We can keep other USBs out of the office for safety purposes since theft or office fire/water hazards could damage the computer and the USB keys if they are all in

the same place.

*Having multiple USBs provide safety against corrupt USBs which cannot be used to restore any backup data.

===Finding out which USB is inserted into the server===
As we ask the client to have 3 USB's and interchange them weekly, we also need to sometimes track which one of these 3 USB's are inserted into the server. USB's can be tracked using their volume serial number in most cases. To find this out either go to the command prompt and type VOL <drive letter> where drive letter is the USB drive letter OR in the nightly backup message check for the 2nd line (which looks like this - 14/12/2009 2:45pm Media: 705B-5B5F). However serial numbers can be the same even for different USB's. One of the reasons for this could be that the USBs were imaged from one single USB which caused their volume serial numbers to be the same. However, such a situation is very rare.

===Interchanging USB when scheduled USB change day falls on a holiday===
When clients ask support which day to interchange USBs when their scheduled USB change day falls on a holidays, send them the below email.

Hi XXX,

Kindly interchange the USB on the last working day before the holiday i.e XXXday DD/MM/YY and then interchange with the next scheduled USB on first working day after the holiday i.e. XXXday DD/MM/YY. Continue to change the USBs as usual on XXXday.

===Getting confirmations for Backup email list===

The below procedure is done once every year. A task has been set in Thunderbird to remind Support to begin the procedure in November.

The first thing to do is to send the below draft email to Steve and ask if any changes are required.

Subject: YOUR URGENT REPLY IS REQUIRED - NEOSYS Backup Confirmations for <Company>, <City>

Hi <Decision_maker>

We are updating our records of the contact people in your organisation who should receive the various NEOSYS system alert emails and backup confirmations.

You are currently assigned as the decision maker in this matter

Note that it is the responsibility of your company to verify that the backups are successful and to alert us whenever there is an issue with the same.

Please confirm:

1. The following email addresses should continue to receive these alerts

2. Any additions/deletions of email addresses from this list

For: <Company>, <City>:

a) Decision Maker:

b) IT Manager (or person responsible to change backup media):

c) Monitors (Managers and/or interested parties):

Best Regards,
NEOSYS Support

#After you receive confirmation, send emails to all clients.
#*Template email to each client (Thunderbird -> Support -> Templates -> Backup Confirmation Emails)
#Create a new spreadsheet after copying previous year's confirmations sheet and rename with current year.
#*You can find the previous year's confirmation list in Nextcloud\support\Androulla_Backup Confirmations
#*Clear the contents and fill in as and when you get the confirmations from clients.
#*For hosted clients in the 'IT Manager' field, put 'None'
#*You can keep a list of all pending clients in a personal text file and/or mark as 'Pending' in Spreadsheet.
#If any changes, update the Spreadsheet and change in NEOSYS.
#Set reminders to follow-up on these emails to decision makers once a week.
#In the case where a client asks for more than one decision maker, reply that it will be best to have only one decision maker.
#If no reply for two weeks, send email to another person other than the decision maker.
#*Order: Another management level user > Main point of contact -> Most active user (check the authorisation file)
#When all clients confirm, check backup spreadsheet and confirm that it matches the System Configuration file in NEOSYS and any personal records that you have kept.

==Manual Backup==
See [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/General_FAQ#How_to_do_a_manual_backup.3F How to do a manual backup in NEOSYS]

Manual backups can also be triggered on the server process screen by pressing the lower case letter b key. After the backup is complete the process will resume and restart the child processes. Pressing capital B will result in the process closing on completion of the backup and the child processes will not be restarted. This is useful if you want to trigger a backup and leave without waiting for it to complete.

==Configuring NEOSYS automated backup==

NEOSYS is designed to do an automated backup of the data (not the program files). The configuration for the automated backup rests in the System Configuration File under Menu > Support.

First step is to configure the automated email settings. After every backup attempt NEOSYS will send out a mail with the status of the backup (either success or failed). You have to configure the SMTP details here along with the list of recipients to the backup email.

Ensure to have atleast 1 person from the client management and 1 person from the client IT, besides the mandatory backups@neosys.com address

Always use the NEOSYS SMTP server details as follows and put in a fictitious client address so that NEOSYS staff can quickly identify which client this mail came from.

[[image:backup1.jpg]]

Do not configure the backup time unless instructed by your manager. The system will automatically start the backup at 1 am if there is nothing configured in the Backup time.

Type in the backup location (USB/other media) drive letter in the Backup Drive field and the Uploads fields.

Putting a 0 in the Uploads field will disable the backup of the Uploaded files, else by default the uploaded files will be backed up to the drive mentioned in the backup drive field.

The scheduled days of backup can be configured using the checkboxes. If none of the days are checked, backup will be done on all days by default.

Next setup the auto-start of the databases and enter how many processes should be started and which all databases should be backed up.

In the example below DEMO database has been configured to start 3 processes and also do the automated backup, whereas the DEMOTEST database is configured to start 1 process and no automated backup.

[[image:backup2.jpg]]

===Non-Liability for Backup===

{{Non-Liability For Backup}}

===Backing up the Images folder===

The Images folder under the NEOSYS installation is used to upload images/artworks/files from the Job File section and hence needs to be backed up. NEOSYS will automatically backup this Images folder to the USB drive or other location (specified for the usual data backup) once a week.

To configure this backup, RSYNC needs to have been installed during the initial installation.

In case we need to configure the Images folder backup at another location other than the usual nightly backup location than we need to edit:

line 12 - and specify the Drive of the location to be backed up to. eg. E or F

==Backup to other media (i.e. not to USB)==

If the backup is going to '''non-removable media''' (even if it is a shared folder on another computer) then the NEOSYS user/client/licensee (NOT the NEOSYS support team) can, at their own responsibility, arrange to '''move''' (NOT COPY) the NEOSYS backup files from the USB location to a backup location of their choice and avoid the

WARNING message : "Backup media not changed. Overwriting last weeks backup"

===Sample alternative response to client requests for additional backups===

The existing NEOSYS backup must continue to take place for safety because it is the only well understood standard, controlled and checked procedure in use for all NEOSYS clients.

You are free to setup and operate any additional backup procedure you like but NEOSYS cannot take any responsibility in setting up, monitoring or approving your additional backup procedure because it is beyond our sphere of control, expertise and trust.

What you can backup is the NEOSYS backups on the USB drive. These are readily available online at all times on the NEOSYS server for you to access and copy as you choose.

You can backup the usb anytime using anything you like, but you must not backup anything on any hard disk eg: C or D at any time.

==Backup in virtual server==

===Virtual servers that allow USB passthrough===
If NEOSYS is installed on a virtual server that allows USB passthrough (e.g. VMWare vSphere version 4.1 and above), then NEOSYS can be configured to backup onto the inserted external USB drive.

3 USBs should be maintained and rotated on a weekly basis as done by clients installed on physical servers.

VMware website says that when changing the USB, the VMware window must be the active window so that the USB reflects in the virtual machine and not on the host machine.
https://www.vmware.com/support/ws45/doc/devices_usb_ws.html

===Virtual servers that do not allow USB passthrough===
If NEOSYS is installed on a virtual server that DOES NOT allow USB passthrough, then below are the various cases:

====Case 1: BACKUP.ZIP file CAN be created on an external removable backup media====
The backups can be done onto an USB drive if it is connected to the host machine and configured to appear on the virtual server. The virtual server MUST be restarted for the inserted USB to reflect each time the USB is changed i.e. every week.

Support Staff MUST train the IT person to stop the processes properly i.e. use global.end file and rename it to global.end.temp to allow processes to start after reboot. Support Staff can send a follow up email as mentioned below

=====Email to IT person after training=====

Kindly confirm that you will close the NEOSYS processes properly before shutting down the virtual server, i.e. by renaming "global.end" to "global.end.temp" and making sure that no ntvdm.exe processes are running in the task manager. As discussed during the training, this can cause damaged files in NEOSYS if the server is shutdown without closing the NEOSYS processes.

Also please confirm that you will rename "global.end" back to "global.end.temp" before shutting down the virtual server so that the NEOSYS processes start up automatically when the virtual server is restarted.

====Case 2: BACKUP.ZIP file CANNOT be created on an external removable backup media====
The Client must *at their own responsibility* agree to arrange copy of the backup files to an external backup location every day if the server cannot be restarted every week. In this case, NEOSYS Support staff must send the client below email:

=====Email for new clients with/old clients moving to virtual servers that do not allow BACKUP.ZIP file to be created on an external removable backup media=====

If we install NEOSYS on a virtual server, the backups cannot be done onto an external removable backup media as confirmed by your IT. NEOSYS considers backups to be done only if BACKUP.ZIP file is created on an external removable backup media.

Instead, NEOSYS will be configured to create the BACKUP.ZIP files on the C drive of the virtual server. Your IT team can, at your own responsibility, arrange to move (NOT COPY) these backup files to an external backup location every day. We recommend that the backup location should be removable media (e.g. external hard disk) and not non-removable media (e.g. shared folder on another computer).

If any damage happens to the NEOSYS server, the backup files on C drive will not be accessible and will therefore be useless. So, kindly confirm that your IT team will arrange to move the backup files as mentioned above.

In addition to this, offsite backups of your virtual server can be setup by us if required, with an additional cost.

==Backup Messages==

====Interpreting backup alerts messages====

Success messages come with a blank body

Failure messages should come with the errors in the body

Both success and failure messages come with an attachment containing a list of files copied (or supposed to be copied but failed) and a summary of the volume and speed of data transferred

====Cause and Solution of Backup Warning Messages====

NEOSYS gives a backup WARNING message whenever it discovers that it is overwriting backups a week old. It does this because NEOSYS only deems backups completely successful if the backup media is rotated at least on a weekly basis.

If the backup media is removable then it should be changed weekly and the same media not used repeatedly on successive weeks.

If the backup is going to non-removable media (even if it is a shared folder on another computer) then the NEOSYS user/client/licencee (not the NEOSYS support team) can, at their own responsibility, arrange to move (not copy) the NEOSYS backup files from that location to a backup location of their choice and avoid this WARNING message.

==Handling failure and warning messages on nightly USB backup alerts==

===Backup mail not received===

[[Troubleshooting_email_not_received#Troubleshooting_email_not_received|Troubleshooting email not received]]

===Handling Change Backup message if the client does not use a USB backup device===

IF THE CLIENT IS BACKING UP TO A NON-REMOVABLE DESTINATION THEN EITHER 1. LIVE WITH THE FAILURE MESSAGE OR 2. SUPPRESS THE BACKUP ENTIRELY IN WHICH CASE NO BACKUPS ARE BEING DONE AND PROBABLY THIS WILL SHOW ON NEOSYS PROACTIVE WARNING SYSTEMS LIKE NAGIOS.

Nagios warnings can be acknowledged.

DO *NOT* FOLLOW BELOW PROCEDURE SINCE IS IT IS TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE FOR NEOSYS TO SEND OUT A "BACKUP SUCCESS" MESSAGE WHEN THE BACKUP IS NOT BEING DONE PROPERLY. IN GENERAL, TAKING SHORT CUTS THAT MAKE THINGS APPEAR SATISFACTORY WHEN THEY ARE NOT IS VERY POOR POLICY.

#Basically most of the client use USB for Neosys server but there are some clients who do not use USB. They could be on virtual server or just saving their backups in hard drive.
#As we know that backup take place in Data.bak folder but it does a backup only for a week in a single USB. Over here client do not use USB but save their backup in hard drive/virtual server location in Data.bak folder, once the week is over it will again give Change backup message.
#In this case rename the Data.bak folder to Data1.bak this is done because system read only Data.bak folder as it is configured in the system. When you rename Data.bak to Data1.bak it automatically create a new folder Data.bak in Backup drive.
#This process is done so that the backup does not fail next day morning and backup is done in Data.bak folder along with successful backup email.
#In the third week we will again see the same message Chang backup USB message, so you need to rename Data.bak folder to Data2.bak
#But in fourth week you rename the Data1.bak to Data.bak and change the Data2.bak to Data1.bak and Data.bak to Data2.bak
#Keep only three folders and Data.bak, Data1.bak, Data2.bak and keep on renaming these folders every week as shown above.

AS MENTIONED EARLIER *DO NOT FOLLOW* THE ABOVE PROCEDURE ON ANY CLIENT THAT DOES NOT USE A USB BACKUP DEVICE.

===Warning Message: Backup media not changed. Overwriting last weeks backup===

If the client does not change the USB on scheduled day the next day's backup will fail, with email subject: "NEOSYS: Backup <CLIENT> -> <Drive Letter>: <USB NAME> CHANGED FAILURE"

As per standard "NEOSYS Backup Failure - USB not interchanged" email, the schedule day to interchange backup USB drives should generally remain on the same scheduled day. No cases have yet been documented where we have inconvenienced and forced our clients to change the day.

NEOSYS gives a backup WARNING message whenever it discovers that it is overwriting backups a week old. It does this because NEOSYS only deems backups completely successful if the backup media is rotated at least on a weekly basis.

If the backup media is removable then it should be changed daily or weekly and the same media not used repeatedly on successive weeks.

If the backup is going to non-removable media (even if it is a shared folder on another computer) then the NEOSYS user/client/licensee (not the NEOSYS support team) can, at their own responsibility, arrange to move (not copy) the NEOSYS backup files from that location to a backup location of their choice and avoid this WARNING message. Also refer to [[Backup_and_Restore#Handling_Change_Backup_message_if_the_client_does_not_use_a_USB_backup_device|Handling Change Backup message if the client does not use a USB backup device]]

Standard "NEOSYS Backup Failure - USB not interchanged" email:
Dear Team, 
The NEOSYS backup has failed today as the USB was not interchanged on the scheduled day i.e. yesterday. 
Please interchange the USB immediately today to avoid a backup failure tomorrow morning. 
Also note that your scheduled day to interchange the USB next week remains unchanged to <Schedule day>. 
Kind Regards 
XXXX XXXX

===Error Message: Somebody else was using the dataset===

Server=NEOSYS
Client=NEOSYS
User=ADAGENCY
NEOSYS Ver:18:02:13 30 MAY 2006

Backup started at 19/11/2006 2:00am

TEST DATA TESTDATA

To E:\DATA.BAK\TESTDATA\Sunday\BACKUP.ZIP
!!! THE BACKUP HAS FAILED !!!

(because one or more files were not backed up
- somebody else was using them)

====Error Explained====

Despite the error message which shows that 'somebody else was using them', it is definitely not correct as NEOSYS shuts down automatically at 2 am (time of the

backup). The actual problem might be that a NEOSYS process must have got stuck and failed to shutdown or a maintenance process was left open by accident.

====Action to be taken====

Close any maintenance processes that should not have been left open in the first place.

Try to exit normally or kill any other [[Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_Generally#How_to_kill_hung_NEOSYS_processes|"hung"]] processes, taking screenshots of any error messages in order to try and prevent the problem happening again.

If not inconvenient to the users consider initiating a manual backup or just check that the next automatic backup works ok.

===Error Message: Size Lock===

Server=NEOSYS-SERVER
Client=NEOSYS-SERVER
User=NETSERVICE
NEOSYS Ver:19:57:50 08 NOV 2006

Backup started at 19/11/2006 2:00am

ADLINE ADLINE

To F:\DATA.BAK\ADLINE\Sunday\BACKUP.ZIP
The following files had a size lock but have been fixed SHADOW Warning! Process
U79068
Other Network Stations are Active!
This utility was designed to be run in a single-user mode!

Potential Errors Could Occur, If You Proceed to fix the sizelock Values with Other Stations
Active. These Errors Include;

Invalid SELECT results, Degredation in Network Performance, and other Problems/Concerns which
may be specific to your Installation/Application.

IT IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED THAT ALL NETWORK STATIONS BE LOGGED OUT BEFORE PROCEEDING!

Do you wish to Proceed at this time?%B%
!!! THE BACKUP HAS FAILED !!!

(because one or more files were not backed up
- somebody else was using them)

====Error Explained====

Sizelock errors are not critical and do not stop the backup from being performed. Sizelocks are cleared automatically during backup but the backup alert becomes a

warning that the backup was not quite perfect.

Sizelocks during database checking indicate that some files were not properly closed in normal processing but do not indicate corrupt files. Sizelock means that a file

is prevented from expanding and contracting. Expanding and contracting is necessary in order to speed up access to larger numbers of records. Therefore if sizelocks

were to be left uncleared then the file would become slower and slower to access over time.

In the above example the backup was not completed because of another error "files in use".

====Action to be taken====

If this is an automatic backup then no action is required since the sizelocks are automatically cleared.

During a manual backup then you should press F9 on the sizelock warning screen to confirm that the sizelocks should be cleared.

Sizelocks can only be cleared if no other process is open.

===Failure Message : Backup file size is 0===

16/4/2009 9:43am Creating zip

16/4/2009 9:45am !!! THE DATABASE BACKUP HAS FAILED !!!

BECAUSE BACKUP FILE SIZE IS 0

====Error Explanation 1====
This happens when there is no adequate storage space on the hard-disk which houses the NEOSYS application and data files. When the automated backup is initiated, the

NEOSYS application checks all the data files and creates a zipped file of it which is the databasename.zip (in the above case IMDUB.ZIP). During this zip file

creation, NEOSYS needs additional disk space temporarily and if this is not available then the backup would fail. The IMDUB.ZIP file is created and backed up (as

BACKUP.ZIP under the respective day of the week) to the USB or any other drive specified and is automatically deleted from the drive that it was created in.

====Error Explanation 2====

This could be due lack of EMSMAGIC.

In case of a Windows Server 2003 installation: [[Troubleshooting NEOSYS Generally#Enabling EMS memory on Window 2003|Enabling EMS memory on Window 2003]]

In case of a Windows Server 2008 installation: [[Installing EMS Magic|Installing EMS Magic on Windows 2008]]

====Actions to be taken====

#In this case, you need to clear up the hard-disk and create some space. In the above scenario at Initiative there was a folder of 52 GB in the same drive that houses NEOSYS and the available disk space was just 40 MB. So the un-necessary folder was moved out to make space.
#If there is sufficient space available on the hard disk which houses NEOSYS, then consider checking the anti-virus settings and escalate the issue to NEOSYS programmer for debugging.

This is another reason why NEOSYS personnel should put their foot down on getting dedicated servers for NEOSYS as it restrains the client IT staff from using the

NEOSYS server to house data or any other applications besides NEOSYS.

===Error Message: Inadequate Storage Space on USB===

====Error 1====
<pre>
Server=SERVER2
Client=SERVER2
User=ACCOUNTS
NEOSYS Ver:11:26:27 26 JUL 2010

7/2/2012 2:00 Backup started F: BASIC
7/2/2012 2:00 Media: FADE-0001

7/2/2012 2:00 Checking for damaged database files
7/2/2012 2:01 Checked OK 1.92MB (+1.00KB)

7/2/2012 2:01 Creating zip
7/2/2012 2:01 Created OK BASIC.ZIP 251KB

7/2/2012 2:02 Copying to F:\DATA.BAK\Tuesday\BACKUP.ZIP
7/2/2012 2:02 Copied OK

7/2/2012 2:02 Verifying zip OK
7/2/2012 2:02 Verified OK

7/2/2012 2:02 Started backup of uploaded files in /cygdrive/E/ to F:
7/2/2012 2:04 neosys/DATA/ACCOUNTS/REV20050.LK
neosys/DATA/ACCOUNTS/REV20052.LK
7/2/2012 2:04 rsync: writefd_unbuffered failed to write 4092 bytes [sender]: Connection reset by peer (104)
rsync: write failed on "/cygdrive/F/E/neosys/DATA/ACCOUNTS/BATCHES.LK": No space left on device (28)
rsync: connection unexpectedly closed (9077 bytes received so far) [sender]
rsync error: error in rsync protocol data stream (code 12) at /home/lapo/packaging/rsync-3.0.4-1/src/rsync-3.0.4/io.c(632) [sender=3.0.4]
7/2/2012 2:04 Finished backup of uploaded files

7/2/2012 2:04 !!! THE DATABASE BACKUP HAS FAILED !!!
</pre>

====Error Explained====
In the above error log we notice the line:
rsync: write failed on "/cygdrive/F/E/neosys/DATA/PT0011A/ACCOUNTS/BATCHES.LK": No space left on device (28)

This is an indication that the USB being used to store backups does not have adequate storage space to save further backups.

This particular message only comes when using rsync to copy all IMAGES (ie files uploaded to NEOSYS) to the USB.

Sometimes, image backup is used to configured to backup the whole of a disk or the whole of data folder for example if there are hundreds of databases that are not all

used everyday.

====Error 2====
<pre>
Server=SERVER2
Client=SERVER2
User=ACCOUNTS
NEOSYS Ver:11:26:27 26 JUL 2010
7/2/2012 2:00 Backup started F: PT0621 - GABANG HOLDINGS LIMITED
7/2/2012 2:00 Media: FADE-0001
7/2/2012 2:00 Checking for damaged database files
7/2/2012 2:02 Checked OK 2.25MB (+20.0KB)
7/2/2012 2:02 Creating zip
7/2/2012 2:02 Created OK PT0621.ZIP 462KB
7/2/2012 2:02 !!! THE DATABASE BACKUP HAS FAILED !!!
BECAUSE NOT ENOUGH FREE SPACE ON BACKUP MEDIA.
462KB REQUIRED BUT ONLY 452KB AVAILABLE
</pre>

====Error Explained====
As the last line of the above error log clearly states, there is not adequate free space available on the USB to perform a backup.

In the above case, 462KB is required space while only 452KB is available.

====Action to be taken====
The simple solution is to purchase a new USB with greater storage space than the existing USB.

Sample Email to be sent to clients:

The automated NEOSYS backup has failed due to insufficient storage space on the USB.
Currently you are using a 4GB USB, which is insufficient for storing backups.
I recommend that you use a USB with 8 GB or more storage space.

''Note -'' We may also solve this issue by checking the USB for unnecessary files and move/delete them.

===Error Message: "Cannot backup/restore because PROCESS1 PROCESS2 (etc) is/are online" message===

This can happen for a variety of reasons, e.g if any the NEOSYS processes fail to close down at backup time because the process has hung due to software error.

===Error Message: "LISTS file is not available"===

<pre>
Server=NEOSYS
Client=NEOSYS
User=ADAGENCY
NEOSYS Ver:16:07:53 04 JUN 2018

"LISTS" is invalid

The "LISTS" file is not available.

?[FS200]????????????????????????????????????????

The "DATAVOL\NEOS0001\" file is not available.

THERE ARE NO FILES IN THIS DATASET
</pre>

====Solution====

Although unlikely, look for third-party software that have been installed on the server without the agreement of NEOSYS and uninstall them (see link below).

Refer: [[Procedures#Removal_of_unauthorized_third-party_software_on_client_servers|Uninstalling unauthorized third-party software]]

#Stop all processes (using global.end method).
#Navigate to the NEOSYS/DATAVOL folder and delete it.
#Perform a manual backup. (NEOSYS > Menu > Support > Backup)
#Backups should be successful. Check by various methods.
#Start NEOSYS processes.
#A new email may be sent when the first process is started, (INIT.GENERAL) containing the next section error "volume and cannot be attached".

===Error Message: "volume and cannot be attached"===
<pre>
The "DATAVOL
DATAVOL\NEOS0001\
08:48:57 27 JUN 2018" volume
has the same label
("")
as the "" volume
and cannot be attached.

Server: NEOSYS
Install: D:\NEOSYS\NEOSYS\
Version: 16:07:53 04 JUN 2018
Database:2996420B AMC
Process: 1
Client: NEOSYS
User: ADAGENCY
Stack: SYSMSG,INIT.GENERAL
</pre>

====Solution====

Pending

==Fixing Network Connectivity Errors for consolidated Backups==
There could be multiple reasons why the backup server might not be able to connect with the backed up server.

Error
<pre>
[Receiver] io timeout after 600 seconds -- exiting rsync error: timeout in data send/receive (code 30) at /home/lapo/package/rsync-3.0.8-1/src/rsync-3.0.8/io.c(140) [Receiver=3.0.8] [Receiver] io timeout after 600 seconds -- exiting rsync error: timeout in data send/receive (code 30) at /home/lapo/package/rsync-3.0.8-1/src/rsync-3.0.8/io.c(140) [Receiver=3.0.8] tried via hostname.support.neosys.com now trying via hostname2.support.neosys.com
ssh: Could not resolve hostname hostname2.support.neosys.com: hostname nor servname provided, or not known
rsync: connection unexpectedly closed (0 bytes received so far) [Receiver] rsync error: error in rsync protocol data stream (code 12) at /home/lapo/package/rsync-3.0.8-1/src/rsync-3.0.8/io.c(601)
</pre>

The following tests help in checking why the connectivity was lost between the backup server and the backed up server:

===Check whether the server was up===
If either of the servers were down, that could be the reason why connectivity was lost between the backup server and the backed up server. If this test fails, proceed to the next step.

===Telnet check===
<pre> telnet <hostname> 19580 </pre>

<hostname> is the name or IP address of the remote server to connect to.

If telnet is not able to connect to the remote host specified in <hostname> or establish a connection on the <port> specified, it will report an error similar to the following:

<pre>
C:> telnet fred.plus.com <CR>
Connecting To fred.plus.com...Could not open connection to the host, on port 23: Connect failed
C:> telnet mail.plus.net 60 <CR>
Connecting To mail.plus.com...Could not open connection to the host, on port 60: Connect failed.
C:> telnet 60.92.12.56 74 <CR>
Connecting To 60.92.12.56...Could not open connection to the host, on port 74: Connect failed.
</pre>

===Autologin===

====Error====
<pre>

rsync: failed to connect to 127.0.0.1: Connection refused (111) rsync error: error in socket IO (code 10) at
/home/lapo/packaging/rsync-3.0.7-1/src/rsync-

3.0.7/clientserver.c(122) [Receiver=3.0.7]

tried via hostname.neosys.com

now trying via hostname2.neosys.com

rsync: failed to connect to 127.0.0.1: Connection refused (111) rsync error: error in socket IO (code 10) at
/home/lapo/packaging/rsync-3.0.7-1/src/rsync-

3.0.7/clientserver.c(122) [Receiver=3.0.7]

</pre>

=====Error Explained=====
The automated backup cannot use autologin to access the server being backed up and so the backup fails.

=====Solution=====

[[Backup_and_Restore#Checking_if_autologin_is_configured_correctly_and_working_or_not| Check autologin]] and [[Backup_and_Restore#Running_..2Fautologin.sh|Run autologin]]

====Error Message: "WARNING: REMOTE HOST IDENTIFICATION HAS CHANGED!" message====

'''Error'''
<pre>
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
@ WARNING: REMOTE HOST IDENTIFICATION HAS CHANGED! @
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
IT IS POSSIBLE THAT SOMEONE IS DOING SOMETHING NASTY!
Someone could be eavesdropping on you right now (man-in-the-middle attack)!
It is also possible that a host key has just been changed.
The fingerprint for the ED25519 key sent by the remote host is
SHA256:9i9JH5xh11rEMIgrsax8A7bEKXfKVRiJr9nZllWXdFg.
Please contact your system administrator.
Add correct host key in /home/administrator/.ssh/known_hosts to get rid of this message.
Offending ECDSA key in /home/administrator/.ssh/known_hosts:208
ED25519 host key for [192.168.10.1]:19580 has changed and you have requested strict checking.
Host key verification failed.
rsync: connection unexpectedly closed (0 bytes received so far) [Receiver]
rsync error: unexplained error (code 255) at io.c(226) [Receiver=3.1.1]
</pre>

Solution to the problem is to remove the host key for the host mentioned in the error message in the known_hosts file.

Run the following command in Cygwin terminal.
<pre> ssh-keygen -R [host ip]:port </pre>

e.g in the above message for host ip 192.168.10.1 and port 19580 the command is
<pre> ssh-keygen -R [192.168.10.1]:19580 </pre>
Next re run autologin for the host, see [[Backup_and_Restore#Running_..2Fautologin.sh | Running autologin]]

===Check Scheduled Tasks on the Server===
Check if logs of Scheduled Tasks on the server, to see if the remote backup task executed and completed successfully. It is possible that the remote backup scheduled task hung due to some reason and a new instance of the task fails to start up the next day due to the existing instance. To avoid this situation, in Properties of the task, under Settings tab, check "Stop the task if it runs for:" and configure it to less than 24 hours.

==Adding/restoring SSH key to backup server==

(Will be helpful to understand the concept of asymmetric keys).

This script is usually used to fix the backup procedure. The backup server initiates the backup procedure using the "pull" concept to get data from source servers. The "backed-up server" serves the data (usually using an rsync service) to the backup server on request. They do not use a "push" concept, this is for security reasons. This means that backup servers need to be able to automatically login to the backed-up servers. On most backup servers a NEOSYS Cygwin script called autologin.sh has been installed.

NEOSYS processes on a target server can sometimes reset/ lose autologin (public) keys (particularly when NEOSYS is upgraded) on the target server when it should not actually. This enforces rerunning autologin.sh. You only need to run autologin.sh once per pair of backup and backed-up servers, in the backup server.

This relates to a common procedure used by NEOSYS to provide automatic nightly synchronisation/backups between servers for multi-office configurations. For more information see
http://itwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Setting_up_remote_backup

===Creating/Upgrading autologin.sh===

Follow commands below add autologin.sh to system:

#Copy script below.
#run "cd ~/ && nano autologin.sh", paste script into editor and exit.
#Run "chmod +x autologin.sh"

<pre>
#!/bin/bash

if [ -z $1 ]; then #syntax
echo ./autologin.sh targethostname targetusername sshport
elif [ $1 ]; then
set -e

REMOTEHOST=$1
REMOTEUSER=$2
PORT=$3

test $REMOTEUSER || REMOTEUSER=administrator
test $PORT || PORT=19580

if [ ! $REMOTEUSER ]; then
echo -n "Remote User (blank=administrator)/root?"
read REMOTEUSER
if [ "$REMOTEUSER" == "" ] ; then REMOTEUSER=administrator ; fi
fi

if [ ! REMOTEHOST ]; then
echo -n "Remote Host? "
read REMOTEHOST
if [ "$REMOTEHOST" == "" ] ; then exit; fi
fi

echo PASSPHRASE MUST BE BLANK IF YOU GET ASKED FOR IT!
#Generate priv/pub keys in .ssh if not already done
#Priv key mustnt be accessible except to owner otherwise wont work.
test -f ~/.ssh/id_rsa || \
ssh-keygen -t rsa && \
chmod 600 ~/.ssh/id_rsa

echo
echo "Logging in to the remote server (enter the pass again)"
sed 's/neosys//' ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub | \
ssh -p $PORT $REMOTEUSER@$REMOTEHOST \
"mkdir -p .ssh ; chmod 700 .ssh ;\
cat >> .ssh/authorized_keys ;\
chmod 644 .ssh/authorized_keys"

echo
echo "Test automatic login to the remote server"
echo " SHOULD NO LONGER ASK FOR PASSWORD."
echo " IF SUCCESSFULL, TYPE exit"
ssh -p $PORT $REMOTEUSER@$REMOTEHOST
fi

</pre>

===Using ./autologin.sh===

#Asks you for the username and hostname and port. (if username is administrator and port is 19580, then you can omit)
#Asks you to enter the administrator or root password and copies the public key from the source server to the destination server. 
#Logs you in to the destination server's Cygwin/bash command line.

===Running ./autologin.sh===
In Cygwin on the backup server, you can use any of the following syntax depending on your configuration:

Syntax: (for syntax reminder type "./autologin.sh")

./autologin.sh targethostname targetusername sshport

*targethostname - if omitted will be prompted for it
*targetusername - if omitted will be "administrator"
*sshport - if omitted will be "19580"

Example using prompting for parameters (targethostname)

./autologin.sh

Example using default user and port (administrator/19580)

./autologin.sh examplehost.neosys.com

Example with different user (port will be 19580)

./autologin.sh examplehost.neosys.com administrator

Example with different user and port

./autologin.sh examplehost.neosys.com admin 19500

The username is usually administrator for windows server targets.

The hostname can be found in backup email logs or in the CONFIG.CMD file in the backup server.

There are often two alternative hostnames. Try the first one first. If you succeed with the first then there is no need to try the second.

Sometimes one of the host names is based on alternative network access methods like hamachi which uses ip addresses starting with "5." and requires hamachi service to be running in both servers and this sometimes is dependent on being logged in and correct setup of hamachi. You can ping the host names to discover the ip numbers of course.

If Autologin is configured successfully, it logs you in to the backed up server's cygwin/bash command line. YOU should NOT be required to enter the password each time. You type "exit" to quit the backed up server's command line.

If Autologin is not configured successfully, you might be required to enter a password. In that case, enter the password and follow instructions on screen.
The system asks for the password to the target server to transfer an identity file and once again to access the command line of the target server from where you must follow a set of instructions in order to load the identity file properly.
Follow the instructions on the screen VERY carefully.

====Checking if autologin is configured correctly and working or not====
On the source system, in Cygwin/Terminal console, type the following, changing port number, administrator and clientname to suit the case.
ssh –p 19580 administrator@clientname.hosts.neosys.com
After a few seconds, if it is working properly, it should give you a command prompt on the target system. This indicates that autologin was successful. You may exit using the command:
exit
Otherwise, if it gives some error and in particular if it asks you anything at all, for example “confirm fingerprint?” or “password?” then autologin is not working.
You can then type in the following command in cygwin to configure or reconfigure autologin:
./autologin.sh

==Switching to a backup server==

As NEOSYS provides clients with option of backing up their data to a remote NEOSYS server in case of emergencies or server problems, it is crucial you understand the below procedure on how to switch to a backup server in the event of such a situation. Extreme care must be taken when switching over to using a backup server otherwise unnecessary data loss is very likely.

Backup servers are normally switched off and should not be started automatically otherwise there is a serious risk of the client’s staff working on two systems. It is not possible to merge two databases into one database. Before the backup server is enabled the main server must be disabled, and before the main server is re-enabled, the backup server must be disabled again. This can be managed technically without requiring any decision from senior non-technical staff.

However, there are also some potentially hard decisions about unavoidable loss of data versus continued system availability. *** Backup servers should therefore only be started with the written approval of the clients senior staff. A suitable email requesting approval follows.

The following case assumes that the main server has gone down sometime during the working day and that therefore the data on the backup server is out of date. Allowing them to use the backup server therefore implies some loss of data. They may wish to lose the data. They may wish to work on the backup server data and then try to redo the work on the main server once it is restored. There are a variety of options depending on the situation.

If the main server is still functioning AND you are reasonably sure that the database is not damaged (which is perhaps an unlikely situation if you need to use the backup server!), it may be sensible to trigger an additional “backup/sync” process to bring the backup server database up to date with the main server. Before you do this, it is advisable that you take a backup copy of the backup system on the backup server. In this case there would be no data loss in using the backup.

An additional option of providing usage of the backup server in read-only mode so that people can at least access some data is being developed. The backup server could be available continuously at any time in read-only mode. This article would then be related to switching a backup server into main operational mode.

Dear {senior staff} cc {IT staff}

Please note that we can enable the backup server if you wish.

However the data on the backup server is out of date since it is a copy of your main database as at 11/22/33 99:99.

If you wish to allow work to be done on the backup server then any data entered on your main server since the above date will be lost if we
subsequently copy the data on the backup server to the main server.

If, after using the backup server, we do NOT copy the data on the back server to the main server then any data you have entered on the backup
server/database will be lost.

Please confirm a) you want to work on HOSTS2 database and that we should therefore enable it and b) you have disconnected your main server
for the duration.

Best Regards,
xxxxxx xxxxxxx
NEOSYS Support

==How to Restore NEOSYS from Backup==

For a more detailed step by step go to [[http://techwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Installing_NEOSYS_Service#Installing_initial_or_Restoring_Database Restoring or Installing initial Database]]

#Log into Maintenance Mode
#Go to General > Backup & Data Management
#Select (the 4th option) Restore from disk or diskette
#Select the drive where the latest successful backup.zip file is present and follow the prompts ahead.

==Deleting all current and historical backups of a particular directory in NEOSYS==

===Step 1. Searching for directories to delete without deleting them===

There must be no similarly worded directories. Here the example directory is called DDBTEST.

find /backups/current /backups/snapshots -type d -path "*/DDBTEST/*"

===Step 2. Deleting the directories using rm===

This command uses the VERY DANGEROUS rm command. If the search is done even slightly wrong - which is well known to be very easily done - then rm will happily remove *all* files on the server causing *partial or complete loss of all backups and/or complete loss of the whole server*, requiring installation from scratch.

Blunders with rm are notorious in IT.

The command given below is incomplete and should only be completed by a skilled and responsible IT person who knows what to check and what to add.

In its incomplete form, it is safe to run and will only highlight what directories will be deleted or delete empty directories.

In its completed form, it is DANGEROUS and should not be used except as described above.

find /backups/current /backups/snapshots -type d -path "*/DDBTEST/*" | xargs -n 1 rm

===Step 3. Check all gone===

Redo step 1

==While Moving NEOSYS to a new server, after copying D drive the Maintenance does not contain all data sets==

After copying D drive, when you open Maintenance if the data sets are not present as in the old server you MUST restore Backup as restore is a verified/quick method of creating data sets. While restoring last night's Backup for missing data sets, the system gives a warning message "Dataset is already on the computer" as shown below. You MUST select the 2nd option "Overwrite the existing dataset" from the options in the warning message. In this way, all data sets will be created/saved on the new server.

<pre>
╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ *** WARNING *** ║
║ TEST /TEST ║
║ IS ALREADY ON THE COMPUTER ║
║ IF YOU CONTINUE, THE EXISTING FILES WILL BE DELETED. ║
║ ║
║ What do you want to do? ║
║───┬─────────────────────────────────────────────────────║
║ 1│Cancel the restore process ║
║ 2>Overwrite the existing data set ║
║ 3│Restore and make a new dataset ║
╚═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
</pre>

==Accessing historical snapshots of NEOSYS hosted clients data==

The main NEOSYS backup server nl19 contains backups of NEOSYS hosted clients along with all NEOSYS internal servers.

It also contains historical snapshots of the backups going back six months.

NEOSYS SUPPORT TEAM *MUST* AVOID COPYING, MOVING OR RENAMING FOLDERS ON NEOSYS WINDOWS SERVERS because this causes severe duplication and consumption of valuable resources for up to six months on nl19. Any exception to this rule must be discussed with NEOSYS IT *before* implementation.

===How to restore?===

nl19 is only accessible by NEOSYS IT so recovery of any data cannot be done directly by NEOSYS support team and is not a routine procedure.

The secondary NEOSYS backup server hosts2 is accessible to NEOSYS support team but contains only the latest snapshot of the current NEOSYS hosted clients as at last night. No historical versions are available.

===What snapshots are available?===

As of 2017/05/25 the NEOSYS backup server nl19 takes snapshots (of the backups listed in Nagios) as follows using crontab:

*120 historical hourly backups done at **:10 every hour (5x24 hours)
*8 historical daily backups done at 01:11 every night
*5 historical weekly backups done at 01:12 every Saturday
*6 historical monthly backups done at 01:13 on the 1st of every month

===What is backed up?===

Inspecting Nagios shows daily backups of NEOSYS hosted clients to nl19 of win3/d. Complete hourly backup is not possible due to limitations of Windows and/or the backup software used. However, there are hourly backups of win3/d/DATA.BAK so NEOSYS process "backups" to win3/d/DATA.BAK (on the same server and disk and therefore not a proper backup) do get properly backed up to a different server once an hour.

General Office Procedures

2023-02-20T13:48:43Z

Arvind:

=Working hours=
NEOSYS office working hours are from 9.am until 6 p.m., Monday to Friday. It is required for all staff members to report to office at 9 a.m. irrespective of any meetings during the day. There is a one hour lunch break, which can be taken between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.

=Keeping to NEOSYS Office Hours=

NEOSYS management does not want to spend time worrying about staff attendance, so these are the traditional rules of attendance for the NEOSYS office.

#If you are late, DO give your apologies but DON'T give any reason. You may be asked, for personal interest, but it is NOT relevant.
#Be in the office 5 or 10 minutes EARLY every morning and if you are ever late, increase this to 15 minutes early etc.
#Apply the same rules to returning from lunch at 2 p.m.
#Use your early time in the office to attend to your own business - on your phone/browser etc.
#Always stop work immediately at 1pm and 6pm. Any time you spend in the office after that must be on your own business.

Everybody joining NEOSYS has adapted to these rules and come to appreciate them. You are advised to apply them immediately on joining to avoid friction. Your punctuality will be noticed and appreciated.

=Working out of hours=
NEOSYS staff should not work out of hours except in case of real emergency unless approval has been obtained for the same from NEOSYS management.

Emergencies are only things like dealing with a system crash of NEOSYS own systems providing client services (e.g. win3) and we are trying to get clients back online as fast as possible from backups. Failure of client's own systems should be dealt with inside normal office hours only. Since NEOSYS systems have never failed to date, there are practically no emergencies in our work. "Emergencies" are generally for people who dont prepare for the unexpected and/or are disorganised.

Approval for working out of office hours may be granted if there is specific work to be done and you are making up time for being late due to some special circumstances.

Apart from the above, NEOSYS staff should be IN ON TIME and OUT ON TIME.

=Purchases=
If you require to make any purchases on behalf of the company, you must first get an approval from your Manager.

=Stationery=
All stationery is kept in the office cupboard. In case there is anything required, you may inform your Manager.

=Sick leave =

You are required to visit your doctor for every sick period and bring original sick note otherwise claims for sick leave will be rejected and treated as absence without pay or deducted from annual holiday at your choice.

=Claiming Expenses=
You should use an Expense Claim Form to reclaim expenses incurred in the course of your work. Completed claim forms, accompanied by relevant receipts, must be authorised by your Manager before being given to accounts. The expenses claim forms must be submitted to accounts before the end of the month in order for them to be reimbursed with that month’s salary.

If you take business contacts out for lunch or dinner, the expenses can be claimed supported by detailed receipt(s). Expense claims for entertainment, i.e. lunch or dinner, should state the names of the people entertained, including the name of any colleagues.

No expense claims will be accepted more than 60 days after they were incurred.

Please note that if your salary is over AED 6000 per month, no taxi fares are reclaimable.

All expenses claimed must be wholly, necessarily and exclusively incurred on behalf of the Company.

You must not entertain other members of NEOSYS at the Company’s expense without prior authorisation from your Manager.

You may claim back the value of business phone calls made from your home and your mobile phone on producing an original invoice, highlighting the relevant calls. International call claims must have details of the company called.

=Travel=
All business travel must be sanctioned in advance by your Manger. A travel requisition should be submitted to your Manger no less than 1 week in advance of your proposed travel date. Our policy is that economy class travel should be used. When travelling abroad, the Company pays for your accommodation, food and conveyance. To reclaim this amount you should add it to your monthly expenses claim form.

=Mail services=
It is the company’s policy that all documents that commit the company in regards to staff expenditure or contracts are signed specifically by appointed authorised signatories. Employees are welcome to use the company’s PO Box for incoming personal correspondence; however the company cannot be liable for any delay/loss/damages incurred by its use.

=Documents=
ALL personal working files however trivial MUST be stored in Nextcloud and MUST NOT be stored anywhere in personal computer (My Documents/Desktop etc. )

=Computer systems=
Your computer system given by NEOSYS remains the property of NEOSYS at all times.

Your computer should be accessible to your immediate manager at any given point of time. You may store your personal files, but please note that privacy isn’t assured as your computer system might be accessible by your manager at any point of time.

Installing any software, applications, browser add-ons, drivers or devices must be done only after getting prior consent of your manager.

If you are given a laptop, you should not be taking home the same without an approval.

=Network systems=
All NEOSYS networks i.e. Wi-Fi, LAN, VPN, Servers, Storage devices etc are monitored due to the nature of business and to assure our clients that we have the highest possible security measures in place. As such your network and internet traffic might be under surveillance.

=Internet=
NEOSYS internet or VPN can be used for personal purposes outside of business hours or during breaks, however you are restricted from any torrents or file sharing programs because of a high risk of security they pose to our business. Also ensure that you do not use this facility for pornographic or any other illegal activity that is not in line with the Sharia law of the country.

=Instant Messengers=
You will be provided with exclusive IDs for Skype. These IDs should only have business contacts listed in them. If you need to have a personal instant messenger, you are recommended to download Pidgin or Ebuddy. However you should be able to cut off personal chat during heavy work hours or times of pressure.

=Dress code=
The dress code in the office is formal. You should be wearing a smart business dress at all times when you visit a client. Friday tends to be a “dress down” day.

=General Appearance=
As we are in the service industry, you are required at all times to be presentable as you are the face of NEOSYS when you visit clients/prospects. Make sure that you have enough sleep and come to office clean shaven. Smart short haircut for gents is recommended. In case you keep a beard; make sure that it is neatly trimmed.

=Smoking=
Our offices are non-smoking without exception. Smoking is permitted outside the office premises.

=Meetings outside office=

It is always encouraged not to schedule early morning meetings with clients as we believe it is a waste of time. As you are required to be in office by 9a.m. please schedule your meetings thereafter. Incase you have meetings in the old town of Dubai (e.g. Deira) then you could proceed to the meeting directly from home. However you need to keep your Manager informed of the same.

Implementing NEOSYS

2023-01-03T12:00:10Z

Arvind: /* Setting up the System Configuration File */

==Setting up the System Configuration File==
See [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/System_Configuration_File System Configuration File] for detailed description. The following points are essential configuration and must not be ignored.

#All configurations must be carefully done after evaluating which [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/System_Configuration_File#Scope Scope] they fall under.
#Configure the startup of additional processes (Client server:3 for main data and 1 for test data: on Neosys vm server:1 for main data and 1 for test data) and tick the main database with the option to backup. If you do not tick this, the automated backup at 1 am will not happen
#Configure the automatic copy of main database to test database
#Configure backup drive. For virtual servers, refer to [[Handling_backup_in_Virtual_Server| Handling backup in Virtual Server]].
#Configure alert email addresses in the System Configuration File (make sure that there is at least 1 person from the client management [ ] and one person from client IT [ ] who receives the backup alert)
#Set up SMTP Hostname and Port and send a test email from Maintenance to support@neosys.com
#Configure [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/System_Configuration_File#Web_Address_and_Description URL/Web Address] to access NEOSYS. This is very important for a Timesheet module installation as the approver links are picked up from the configuration.
#Set the User Timezone
#Set up [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/System_Configuration_File#Email_Domains Email Domains] and [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/System_Configuration_File#IP_numbers IP Numbers]. Support staff MUST add the client's email domain to NEOSYS internal email whitelist (Webmin -> Servers -> SpamAssassin Mail Filter -> Allowed and Denied Addresses), so that emails from this client do not get automatically marked as spam.
#If NEOSYS is hosted by the client, then add the client's outgoing public IP address to Zoneedit > dns > TXT records > neosys.com , otherwise email providers may refused to receive emails from the client's NEOSYS server. The outgoing IP number can be found by doing Ctrl+u on an email from the client's NEOSYS server and checking the "Received: from" section.
#Set up [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/System_Configuration_File#Sender_Email_Address Sender Email Address]. Support staff MUST add the Sender Email Address to the aliases for support@neosys.com (Virtualmin -> Edit Mail Aliases). Then send a test email to the Sender Email Address to check whether the sent email is received in support@neosys.com inbox

==Start neosysddns service for Client's with dynamic ip==

See [[NEOSYS_DDNS_Service#Starting_Windows_service_on_the_client_server|Starting NEOSYS DDNS Service]] to start the neosysddns service so that NEOSYS monitoring server at monitor.neosys.com updates zonedit.com with the latest ip of the client server.

You MUST check if the ip is actually getting updated otherwise if the ip changes and neosysddns is not working we will lose access to the server. See [[NEOSYS_DDNS_Service#Troubleshooting_NEOSYS_DDNS_Service|Troubleshooting NEOSYS DDNS Service]] for commands to do so.

==Update Support.htm==
Add the new client to the list of clients page.

See [http://itwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Updating_Support.htm Updating Support.htm]

==Setting up a new company in the new database==
Refer to the [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Setting_up_multi_company_installations_/_Setting_up_a_new_company#Draft_email_requesting_info_required_to_add_new_company_to_existing_database sample email for New Company creation in existing Database/New Database]

Once the new company is added to the database:
#Set up exchange rate as "1" for the base currency by going to the Currency and Exchange Rate File
#Delete “Client X” from the Client and Brand File
#Set the letterhead refer to [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Configuring_Letterhead Configuring Letterhead]

Change the system mark for each of the new databases that were created. See [http://userwiki.neosys.com/index.php/Setting_up_and_Configuring_NEOSYS_Generally#Configuring_Client_Security_mark Configuring Client Security Mark]