FAQ about the CMD

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) about CMD

John Yoh, version 1.3, 12/3/01--if you have anything to add, please send email to johny@fnal.gov

COMMON PROBLEMS --SOME RESOLUTIONS
WHEN CAN I USE THE CMD
HOW DO I GET STARTED
HOW DO I ENTER UNITS INTO THE CMD
HOW DO I UPDATE THE INFORMATION ON UNITS
HOW DO I GET REPORTS ON UNITS I AM INTERESTED IN
WHO HAS THE ACCESS TO ENTER UNITS AND UPDATE INFO
THE DATABASE SEEMS TO BE HUNG, WHAT DO I DO
I'M GETTING ERROR MESSAGES--WHAT DO THEY MEAN??
I NEED TO MAKE A BUNCH OF UPDATES, AND THE WEB IS REAL SLOW HOW DO I GET A DENSER PRINTOUT OF A REPORT

COMMON PROBLEMS --SOME RESOLUTIONS

Here's some common problems, and how to resolve them

THE SYSTEM IS VERY SLOW--(12/3/01 update) The new Sun Machine and Oracle 8.1.6 is working now, so the performance should be okay During prime time (mid morning and mid afternoon, delays of fewseconds is not unusual; if that is unacceptable, try to access the db during non-prime time (early morning, lunchtime, or after 4PM).
I CLICK ON "MODULE MAINTENANCE FORMS", WAITING FOR ACCOUNT/PASSWORD-- NOTHING HAPPENS--Click on the Refresh or reload button
I NEED TO ENTER A BUNCH OF UNITS INTO SLOTS, AND IT'S TAKING TOO LONG--get a direct access account into fncdug1, and telnet to it--since it is due to the current machine being overloaded). The process of entering a large number (50+) of units into slots will take roughly 1/2 of the time as using the web. Alternately, if you have a large number of units (100+) to enter, just give me a list (such as a spreadsheet) and I'll enter them.
WHICH CRATE IS THE TOP CRATE--Crate 1 is top; for a two crate rack crate 2 is bottom; for a 3 crate rack, crate 2 is middle and 3 is bottom.
WHICH SLOTS ARE FRONT, WHICH ARE BACK--Slots Ax are the main front slot, while the Bx slots are back.
I TRY TO MOVE A MODULE INTO A SLOT, AND THE DATABASE SAID THAT THE UNIT EXISTS, BUT I CAN NOT MOVE IT--The cdfdb is essentially the PREP database with a flag on units that CDF can update. If a unit exist in the PREP database that is not flagged by the CDF flag, then cdfdb users can not act on those. Use the report, and inquire on that module (type and unit) to see if cdfdb has access to it. Send email to the stakeholder inquiring why that units has not been marked for CDF.
I TRY TO INSERT UNITS INTO CRATE 1 (TOP) OF A RACK AND I WAS UNABLE TO DO IT--Unless a crate has been installed into cdfdb (by Fred Lewis or Roberto), no units can be move into any slots of that crate. The easiest way to find out is to use the reports, and the "Filled position with history" row, inquiring on the rack of your choice.
I FORGOT TO PRESS "QUERY" FIRST --HOW DO I GET BACK--In many forms, you have to press "query" button first to be in query mode, before entering the items you want to update (e.g., position modification form--you need to be in the "query" mode before you can type in the rack of your choice and click on the query button to get the current information on that rack). You can "delete" the data you have inserted mistakenly by highlighting the inserted data, and then clicking on the "clear" button. You can then press the "query" button
HOW DO I ENTER THE SAME ITEMS A SECOND TIME WITHOUT HAVING TO RETYPE EVERYTHING--If you want to enter a second item of the same type (and, presumably, with only a different serial number) --
FORMS THAT INSERT NEW RECORDS--After hitting commit on the first record, go to the next line, do a SHIFT F6. This will copy the whole record you entered. You can then make the appropriate changes before hitting commit button.
FORMS THAT UPDATE EXISTING RECORDS (e.g., Position Modification Form) You can not copy the whole record. You can however copy each field individually using SHIFT F5--then you can make any changes, or enter new information (such as serial number) before hitting the commit button.

WHEN CAN I USE THE CMD

The Phase 1 production version of CMD is available now. People should try this out, and send comments and suggestions for improvements to johny@fnal.gov. All the information on using the CMD are available linked from the main CMD web page. Note that a substantial upgrade would require a phase 2 (and a new MOU), so there might be a lead-time.

HOW DO I GET STARTED

See the main CMD web page. If you are a stakeholder, click on the stakeholder links

HOW DO I ENTER NEW MODULE TYPES OR UNITS INTO THE CMD

See New user's guide

HOW DO I UPDATE THE INFORMATION ON UNITS

See the main CMD web page

HOW DO I GET REPORTS ON UNITS I AM INTERESTED IN

See the Module Database Reports Reference on how to get read access to the CMD through Reports. The reports allow you to find out what units are in the CMD, what your access privileges are, etc:

WHO HAS THE ACCESS TO ENTER UNITS AND UPDATE INFO

A table giving access privileges for various account/password is checked whenever you desire to make an update. Thus, if you need to be able to update a particular unit, convince the stakeholder, and have him/her send email message to the CMD people to add your name/access level to the table.

To see what privileges you have, go to the web reports/misweb, and click "run" on the line with "CDF USER ACCESS". You will get a list of all user accounts, and what privileges each accounts have. Alternately, if you are only interested in your own privileges, type in you own account name and click on "run". Note that you have to apply for an account in cdfdb-- follow the links in the cmd web page --"stakeholders: getting an account ...".

THE DATABASE SEEMS TO BE HUNG, WHAT DO I DO

When using the update forms, it is easy to hang the system, if you click on some unexpected places. Here's some of the most commone problems, usually in web access :

Often the response on the web is real slow; you may have to wait.
After selecting one of the 6 update procedures, you should get a prompt asking for your account, password. If you are waiting for the account/password prompt to show up and nothing happens, click on the browser "refresh" or "reload". Leave the database box blank and log in.
When the work window shows up, you always start in the "query" mode-- just enter the rack name of interest (or select from the ? button--though it's real slow); then press "Enter" or click on "query" to get details of the rack, with crate 1 slots displayed. If you wish to look into some other crate, put the cursor on the crate of interest, and click on the mouse button. The crate/slot display should display the crate you asked for.
To insert a spare module into a slot, just type in the PREP number, or the module-type/serial-number.
To move a module, click on the "M" button next to the module you want to move.
If you get errors, click on "clear" and try again.
remember to click on "commit" in order to process your request--the bottom of the top window should show "recorded updated" or some other "success" message. This must be done before moving to another crate or rack for more moves.
with some practice, you will be able to do all changes without much problems. the Oracle database is quite exacting, so you need to learn to avoid the "gotchas".

I'M GETTING ERROR MESSAGES--WHAT DO THEY MEAN??

Of course, this depends on the error messages. Here's some possible answer to some common error messages I've seen :

"This asset exist but is not assigned to CDF" --This particular module you try to move, fix, etc. exist in the PREP database, but is not assign to the cdfdb. Check that you have typed in the correct serial or property number. Also, go to the cdfdb report to query on that particular module, to make sure that cdfdb has access to it---NOTE : The production cdfdb (miscomp) and test cdfdb (misint) may not have the exact same modules !!!! If you intend to move a bunch of the same type of modules, it might make sense to print out a list all available modules of this type (if not too many) to make sure.
"There is no record of this module"--module has not been put into the PREP database
"This module is in rack xxx, crate yyy, slot zzz)--you need to go to that rack/crate/slot and do a move using the "m" button--make sure that the unit really belongs in the slot you are moving it to (is there a typo in the serial or PREP number ??).
In general, if you get an error, click on "clear" and try again. Another possibility is to click on "query" before doing anything.

I NEED TO MAKE A BUNCH OF UPDATES, AND THE WEB IS REAL SLOW

For speedier multiple-updates, you can get an account on fncdug, where the PREP database resides, and "use telnet to direct connect to fncdug". Contact Shirley Jones (jones@fnal.gov) for more information.

HOW DO I GET A DENSER PRINTOUT OF A REPORT

For any large printout of lots of info (such as the "Filled positions" for all the racks), you could output the report as a spreadsheet, which you can transfer to your PC and printout using reduced Zoom. To do this, simply click on "Build" instead of "Run", and scroll down and select "Output" as "Spreadsheet".