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ERP 2.50:Professional Subscription Manual

Bulbgraph.png   This document refers to outdated appliances based on rPath and is most likely not what you are looking for.
  • If you are using current appliances based on Ubuntu, go here.
  • If you are using appliances based on rPath, it is required to migrate to the latest appliances because rPath appliance is end of life.




Contents

Introduction

Openbravo ERP Professional Edition software is consumed via an annual subscription service which provides these benefits vs. Openbravo Community Edition. This document explains how to prepare your system, download, install and configure Openbravo ERP Professional Edition.

Choosing your Professional Edition Installation Option

While Openbravo Professional Edition may be installed from sources, three pre-configured deployment packages are available to save time and money:

All these deployment packages install not only the Openbravo ERP, but also a pre-configured / optimized technology stack that includes proven open source versions of the system components required for deployment, e.g. the PostgreSQL database, Tomcat application server, Apache web server, etc. These packages are highly recommended for most deployments--not only do they get you started more quickly with a standard, supported installation, they also provide easy, automated updates of the system components to help ensure secure, reliable operations over time, with minimal IT administration required.

Installation from sources is warranted in cases that require use of specific system components (e.g. Windows OS, Oracle DB, Websphere application server, etc.) or deployment topologies not easily supported by the 2 standard deployment packages. Note that the "custom" approach of installation from sources is a manual process, requiring specific configuration expertise and extra time.

When choosing the best installation option to meet your needs, please also consider the following:

For more information comparing our deployment packages, please review the deployment option comparison chart.

Installation-specific Recommendations

Once you have selected the best installation option for you, please review the corresponding installation-specific recommendations:

After successful installation, please follow these instructions to activate your Openbravo Professional Edition subscription.

Professional Cloud Appliance Recommendations

If you have selected the Professional Cloud Appliance, please review the considerations noted below, and then follow these instructions.

Ubuntu Package Recommendations

If you have selected the Ubuntu Package, please review the deployment considerations noted below, and then follow these instructions to install it on Ubuntu 10.04 LTS.

Custom Installation Recommendations

If you have decided to create a custom installation from sources, please take several deep breaths and follow these instructions.

System requirements

To successfully install the solution stack and Openbravo Professional Subscription, it is recommended that your system meets the following criteria:

Installing the solution stack

If you are not using the pre-packaged Cloud Appliance or Ubuntu stacks or the Amazon Machine Image (AMI), you must first install the solution stack. The solution stack consists of the following applications:

Follow the instructions in the Openbravo Environment Installation Guide.

Downloading the Openbravo ERP Professional Subscription source code

The source code is available as a tarball which you can download from the Partner Portal

The download and installation process described in this document can be used on Windows and Linux operating systems, both for desktop computers and servers.

Installing Openbravo ERP Professional Subscription from source code

Once you have obtained the source code follow these steps to install it.

  1. Extract the tarball using the command: 
    tar jxvf OpenbravoERP-2.50MP1.tar.bz2
  2. From the command line terminal, move to the OpenbravoERP-2.50MP1 directory
  3. Execute the command: 
    ant setup
  4. Move to the OpenbravoERP-2.50MP1/config directory.
  5. In the OpenbravoERP-2.50MP1/config/setup-tool directory, launch the configuration wizard:
    • Windows:launch the setup-properties-windows.exe file.
    • Linux: make the setup-properties-linux.bin file executable and run it: 
      chmod +x setup-properties-linux.bin
      ./setup-properties-linux.bin
    The configuration wizard launches. For GUI systems, the wizard is GUI based. For command line systems, the wizard is text-based. The wizard detects the correct display mode for your system automatically.

This wizard guides you on configuring Openbravo.properties and log4j.lcf. If you are an experienced Openbravo user who feels comfortable with these two files, you can skip the wizard and configure them manually.

Installation and Deployment

Before starting with compilation, check that Openbravo.properties and log4j.lcf files (in the config directory) have been properly configured. If not, use the wizard.

  1. To install the source code and create the database tables from the .xml files, execute the following Ant command from the command line: 
    $ ant install.source
    The BUILD SUCCESSFUL message appears.
  2. If you have explicitly selected war as the deploy.mode during the setup, you must deploy the openbravo.war file into the Apache Tomcat context directory using the command: 
    ant deploy.context
    Note that this step is not needed if you selected the default options.
  3. If you are using PostgreSQL as your database, you must clean the database before you access Openbravo ERP, to prevent performance problems. From a command line, run the following command: 
     vacuumdb -f -z -h hostname -d dbname -U username
    where hostname is the hostname of your database server, dbname is the database name (by default this is openbravo), and username is the name of the DB user (by default this is tad).

Configuration Validation

Before you access your Openbravo instance, it is strongly recommended that you run the following command to validate your system configuration: 

ant diagnostic

Installing Openbravo ERP Professional Subscription for Ubuntu

Follow these instructions to install Openbravo ERP on Ubuntu.

Then follow these instructions to activate your Openbravo ERP Professional Subscription.

Installing the Cloud Appliance Stack

There are three ways to install the Openbravo ERP Professional Subscription SMB appliance.

Please choose one, and then follow these instructions to activate your Openbravo ERP Professional Subscription.

Installing the Cloud Appliance Stack from an ISO DVD

Before you begin, make sure that the BIOS of the server is configured to boot from the DVD drive, otherwise the installation process will not start. Consult the documentation for the motherboard to find out how to configure the BIOS.

Now follow these steps:

  1. Insert the DVD in the DVD drive.
  2. Reboot the system.
  3. For a standard installation, press Enter when prompted. If there are any problems with hardware detection, you may need to set up further parameters. To set up hardware parameters, use the following function keys:
    • F2: Options
    • F3: General
    • F4: Kernel
    • F5: Rescue

Once you have set up the parameters correctly, the kernel loads.

  1. The installation wizard appears. Click Next.
  2. The license agreement appears. Scroll down to read the agreement.
  3. Click Next to accept the agreement and begin installing the appliance.
  4. From the Keyboard Configuration window, select the keyboard layout you require.
  5. Click Next. The Automatic Partitioning window appears.
  6. Choose from the following options:
    • Remove all Linux partitions from this system. This option is recommended if you are replacing an already installed Linux system, but want to keep other partitions (for example a Windows partition).
    • Remove all partitions from this system. This option is recommended if you are installing the appliance on a dedicated server.
    • Keep all partitions and use existing free space. Select this option if you use an external tool for partitioning.
  7. To manually configure the partitions select the Review (and modify if needed) partitions checkbox and click Next. A separate window appears for you to specify the partition structure. To accept the default partitions without reviewing them, clear the checkbox and click Next.
  8. The Network Configuration window appears, showing a list of network devices that have been detected.
  9. To configure a device manually, select it and click Edit. If the device is allocated an IP address by DHCP, type DHCP in the box. Otherwise, specify the IP address. To make the device active at boot time, select the Active at boot time checkbox.
  10. Select Manual and type the hostname in the box.
  11. Click Next. The Timezone window appears.
  12. If your system clock is UTC (Universal Time Co-ordinated) select the System Clock is UTC checkbox. Otherwise, select the time zone you require from the list. You can enable UTC in the BIOS settings.
  13. Click Next. The installation process begins. Checking dependencies and installing the appliance can take up to an hour.
  14. When the installation is complete, remove the DVD from the DVD drive and reboot the system.

At this stage, you do not need to configure firewall and network services because they are configured using default parameters. You can make further adjustments using the Administration Console.

Installing the Cloud Appliance Stack in a virtual server

You can install the Openbravo ERP Cloud Appliance Stack using the following virtualization systems:

Before you begin, make sure that your system has a hypervisor that will support your chosen virtualization system. Or in the case of EC2, make sure you have an account.

Amazon EC2

Choose your preferred management method to boot your instance:

In case of the command-line, follow these steps:

In case of the Web Management Console, follow these steps:

Parallels

Decompress ops-2.50-x86.qemu-parallels.hdd.gz and open the ops-2.50-x86.qemu-parallels.hdd file with Parallels.

QEMU

The installation and its networking configuration are out of the scope of this document. Assuming it is ready, run the following command: 

$ qemu -hda ops-2.50-x86.qemu-parallels.hdd -m 2048 -net tap -net nic

VirtualBox

If you use VirtualBox as your virtualization system, follow these steps:

VMWare Player/Server/Workstation

  1. Download and open the relevant virtual image you want to install.
  2. Configure the virtual image as follows. You can expand the available RAM memory to improve performance if the hardware has enough resources to do so.
    • VMware image: 15GB of free space, 3GB of RAM, 512MB of swap space, bridged networking with DHCP.
  3. Start up the virtual machine, and wait until the initial compilation has taken place. This process takes approximately one hour.

Installation using VMWare ESX

If you are using VMWare ESX as your virtualization system, follow these steps:

  1. Choose or establish an ESX datastore from which the appliance image can be installed. For instructions on how to do this, consult the official VMware documentation.
  2. Unpack the compressed appliance image folder into the datastore. Verify that the folder contains all three files (two .vmdk files and one .vmx file).
  3. On the ESX server, select the Summary tab for the server where the datastore resides.
  4. Double-click the datastore name in the Datastore list.
  5. In the Datastore Browser, browse to the .vmx file.
  6. Right-click the vmx file and select Add to Inventory. The Add to Inventory Wizard starts.
  7. In the text box, type a name for the virtual machine.
  8. Click Next.
  9. Select a resource pool within which to run the virtual machine.
  10. Click Next.
  11. Review the selections on the Summary screen.
  12. Click Finish.
  13. Close the Datastore Browser if it is still open.
  14. Start the Virtual Machine.

Xen

  1. Download and open the relevant virtual image you want to install.
  2. Configure the virtual image as follows. You can expand the available RAM memory to improve performance if the hardware has enough resources to do so.
    • Citrix XenServer image: 15GB of free space, 512MB of swap memory.
  3. Start up the virtual machine, and wait until the initial compilation has taken place. This process takes approximately one hour.

Installing OB ERP using Amazon Machine Images (AMI)

Choose the management method to boot AMI:

  1. Command Line
  2. Web console

In both methods you have to follow the same steps:

Bulbgraph.png   To receive an access to OB professional edition AMI please register a request in the OB Support Portal providing your Amazon EC2 user ID.

System configuration

Once you have installed the Openbravo ERP Professional Subscription software appliance, you can use the web-based Administration Console to configure and manage the appliance, including rollbacks, updates and backups.

NOTE: Internet access is required during the installation process.

The Administration Console

If you are using Openbravo Professional Subscription SMB + Appliance, you can manage your installation using a convenient web-based administration console.

Accessing the Administration Console

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  1. Launch your preferred Internet browser.
  2. Type https://ip_address:8003 (where ip_address is the system's IP address) into the address bar of your Internet browser. This IP address is displayed at the end of every boot process.
  3. The Administration Console appears.
  4. The Yourcompany logo which is displayed is a placeholder image. If you configure Openbravo ERP to display your own company logo, the same logo appears in the administration console. If you are administrating more than one instance of Openbravo ERP you can use a different image for each instance of Openbravo ERP, making it easier to identify the console for each different system.
  5. Enter the administrator's username and password:
    • User name: admin
    • Password: password
  6. Click Sign In.

Using the Configuration Wizard

If you are accessing the Administration Console for the first time, the Configuration Wizard appears. The wizard only appears the first time you log in to the Administration Console. However, any settings you alter within the wizard can be changed later using the console.

Changing the admin password

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For security, it is strongly recommended that you change the administrator's password immediately:

  1. Enter the new password twice. The password must be at least seven characters long.
  2. Click Save.

Configuring notifications

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The Configuring e-mail window enables you to specify the address from which Openbravo Network will send system notifications, for example updates or backup notifications.

  1. Specify a mail relay host from which e-mails will be sent, for example localhost. A local mail relay server is installed with the appliance. If there are multiple instances of the appliance in your organization, you can set up an address for instance, so that you can tell which address comes from which instance.
  2. Specify an address that the appliance will use to send e-mails, for example openbravoerp@mycompany.com. You can enter any valid e-mail address.

Specify the e-mail address or addresses to which the appliance will send notification e-mails by clicking on Add email.

Configuring networking

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The networking configuration window shows the network information you specified during the initial setup (if installed from an ISO image). To change any of the network settings, edit the information in the forms. Then click on Save, followed by Restart. Click in Skip Networking Configuration to skip this step.

Back up and restore

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You can back up the appliance automatically by scheduling backups in this window. Specify when the backup will take place and where it will be stored.

System user password

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For security reasons, it is strongly recommended that you immediately change the user password of the underlying operating system (Linux).

  1. Enter the new password twice. The password must be at least seven characters long.
  2. To validate this operation, you must enter the admin password as well.
  3. Click Save.

System root password

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The appliance's virtual machine uses a Linux operating system which has its own root user password. For security reasons, it is strongly recommended that you immediately change this root password.

  1. Enter the new password twice. The password must be at least seven characters long.
  2. To validate this operation, you must enter the admin password as well.
  3. Click Save.



Bulbgraph.png   WARNING: accessing the system as root is a delicate operation and can permanently damage your system or even backups. Do not do it unless you know what you are doing. In case of doubt contact the support team.

Manage Entitlements

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The final page of the configuration wizard requests the entitlement key which is supplied by Openbravo and enables you to receive system stack updates. Each entitlement key is unique to each system. If you do not have an entitlement key, contact Openbravo.

About the Administration Console

Once you have completed the initial configuration using the Configuration Wizard, you can access the Administration Console to change the configuration settings and manage the system. Select which setting you want to manage:

Status

This window displays some appliance status information, such as:

System information

In this window you can view information about the underlying hardware, disk usage, and installed software. The following is displayed:

Configuration

The configuration area of the Administration Console enables you to configure the following:

SSL certificate

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By default, the appliance has a self-signed SSL certificate. If you have an external certificate (for example from Verisign),You can upload the CERT: we recommend using a well known CA (Certificate Authority) how to.

  1. Click Browse.
  2. Navigate to the SSL certificate file. SSL certificate files have the .pem extension.
  3. Click OK to begin uploading the certificate. It will be used by both Openbravo ERP and the Administration Console.
  4. You can check for the new Fingerprints displayed
How to get Certified SSL cert

If the ERP is available to the Internet:

If the ERP is not available to a LAN only: 

$ javac InstallCert.java
$ java InstallCert <(sub)domain>
$ cp jseecacerts $JAVA_HOME/jre/lib/security
#Restart Tomcat to apply the changes

System user password

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Linux users can access the appliance server physically via a terminal. To access the system in this way, an additional password is required. The default is openbravo and the password is set by this window.

Note that this password does not allow you to SSH into the server. A public-private key pair is required for SSH, see TODO:add for more details.

System root password

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This windows allows you to change the root password of the underlying Linux operating system. The usage of the root account should be avoided



Bulbgraph.png   WARNING: accessing the system as root is a delicate operation and can permanently damage your system or even backups. Do not do it unless you know what you are doing. In case of doubt contact the support team.

System Time

Changes to the date and time could result in unexpected behavior such as service timeouts.

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To update only the timezone:

  1. Select Set Timezone Only.
  2. Select the timezone you require.

To adjust the time and date manually:

  1. Clear the Synchronize clock with Internet servers checkbox.
  2. Select the timezone and time you require from the drop-down list.

To use a network time protocol (NTP) server to set the time:

  1. Check the Synchronize clock with Internet servers checkbox. The drop down lists for selecting the time and time zone become unavailable.
  2. Type the DNS hostname or IP address of the NTP server in the text box.
  3. Click Save.

When you have set the time and time zone, click Proceed to continue, or Cancel to make further changes.

Maintenance

The Maintenance menu contains the following options:


Back up and restore

Configuration

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The Backup and restore window enables you to launch a manual backup of the appliance, schedule regular backups, or restore the system from a backup.

To configure backups and set the backup schedule:

  1. Select the Backup Configuration tab
  2. From the Enable Backup Schedule option, click Yes.
  3. Select how often you want the schedule to take place. You can choose to schedule backups daily, weekly or monthly.
  4. If you have selected weekly backups specify which day of the week the backups will take place. If you have selected monthly backups, specify which day of the month the backups will take place.
  5. Specify the time of day that the backup will take place.
  6. In the Number of Backups box, type the maximum number of backups that will be stored at any one time.
  7. From the Backup Type list, select the format of the backup. You can select a Mounted File System, or select one of the following remote shares:
    • Network File System Share (NFS).
    • Windows(R) File System Share (CIFS or SMB).
  8. If you selected Mounted File System, label the disc by typing in the Disc Label box.
  9. In the Connection Host box, type the IP address or host name and the shared resource name, for example 192.168.1.100/backups. You do not need to type // before the IP address.
  10. Specify the connection path. For remote shares (NFS, CIFS, and SMB), this is the full path on the share where the backup should be stored. For mounted filesystems, this is the path relative to the mountpoint where the backups are to be stored.
  11. For remote shares, specify a username and password to connect to the connection host, if required.
  12. Click Save.

Once you have set up the backup location you can also back up the appliance at any time using the manual backup button:

  1. Select the Backups tab.
  2. Select Backup Now.

Backing up the system manually does not affect the normal backup schedule. You must set up the backup location in the Backup Configuration tab before performing a manual backup.

To keep informed of tasks that are due to take place without logging into the Administration console, subscribe to the Schedule RSS Feeds

Restoring from a backup
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To restore the appliance from a backup, follow these steps:

  1. Select the Backup and Restore menu option.
  2. Select the Backup tab.
  3. Select the backup file you want to restore.
  4. Click Restore.
  5. Click OK. When the restoration is complete, the appliance is restarted and a notification is sent to the administrator.

Collection tool

In this window you can run a collection operation which creates a compressed archive of important appliance information, and the user can download that file. This is especially useful for support tickets who need this information to help troubleshoot appliance issues.

Use the following steps to collect and download data from the appliance:

  1. Click Collect Data to run the collection tool and create the compressed archive file.
  2. Click OK when the page displays that the collection completed successfully.
  3. Click Download to download the compressed archive file.

Logs

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You can view the following Openbravo, Tomcat and Apache httpd logs from the Administration Console:

To view a log:

  1. Select System Logs.
  2. From the drop-down menu, select the log file you require.
  3. Click Download to obtain the whole log file.

Manage SSH keys

This page is used to submit your SSH public key data. Multiple keys may be submitted at once; keys should be separated by a newline.

Password authentication is not accepted by the appliance's SSH system, a public/private key pair is required. This means you must create one if you already do not have it.


Linux/BSD/OSX

To generate a public/private key pair: 

$ ssh-keygen -t dsa
Generating public/private dsa key pair.
Enter file in which to save the key (/home/johndoe/.ssh/id_dsa): 
Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase): 
Enter same passphrase again: 
Your identification has been saved in /home/johndoe/.ssh/id_dsa.
Your public key has been saved in /home/johndoe/.ssh/id_dsa.pub.
The key fingerprint is:
e9:f2:8f:06:0c:ee:b0:e0:48:3c:1b:ce:31:e8:62:e5 johndoe@laptop
The key's randomart image is:
+--[ DSA 1024]----+
|                 |
|                 |
|                 | 
|    .    .       |
|o  . o  S        |
|oB... o.         |
|B.O+  ...        |
|oB.E.  o..       |
|o      .o..      |
+-----------------+

The contents of /home/johndoe/.ssh/id_dsa.pub should be copied and added to the list of keys.


Windows

Use PuTTYgen to generate a public/private key pair:

  1. Download and install Putty using the PuTTY installer.
  2. Open PuTTYgen.
  3. Make sure that SSH2 DSA is chosen in the parameters section.
  4. Click Generate and move the mouse over the grey area to create entropy for the keys.
  5. Enter a personal passphrase in Key passphrase and Confirm passphrase. Do not forget this passphrase, you will need it to access the server. Note that the chosen passphrase is a local one on your own machine that allows you access to your keys. This prevents other users accessing the server even if they intercept the private key.
  6. Save the public key as, e.g. pub_key on your hard drive.
  7. Save the private key as, e.g. priv_key on your hard drive.

At the top section of the window copy the contents of the section Public key for pasting into OpenSSH authorized keys file, and paste it into a new line of the Manage SSH keys window.

Manage services

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Use the System services page to start, stop and restart the following services:

You can also schedule restarts for each service at a particular time:

  1. Click the calendar icon next to the service for which you want to schedule a restart.
  2. Specify the date and time that the service will restart.
  3. Click Save. The time and date of the restart appears underneath the service.

To cancel a scheduled restart:

  1. Click the calendar icon next to the service for which the restart is scheduled.
  2. Click the date that the restart is due to take place.
  3. Click Remove. The restart is removed from the list.

Schedule reboot

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Use the Schedule Reboot page to reboot the Administration Console, Schedule a reboot or close down the Administration Console.

To reboot the Administration Console:

  1. Click Reboot.
  2. Click Yes to confirm your choice.

To shut down the Administration Console:

  1. Click Shutdown.
  2. Click Yes to confirm your choice.

To schedule a reboot of the Administration Console:

  1. Click Schedule.
  2. Use the calendar to specify a date and time for the appliance to reboot.

To cancel a scheduled reboot:

  1. Select Schedule.
  2. Using the calendar, navigate to the date that the reboot is due to take place.
  3. Click Remove. The scheduled reboot is removed from the list.


Disaster recovery

In the event of a disaster, complete the recovery process as follows:

  1. Reinstall the appliance.
  2. Access and log onto the administration console.
  3. Select Management > Backup and Restore.
  4. Specify the location of the existing backups.
  5. Enable backup scheduling. This is necessary to enable a scan for existing backups.
  6. In the Backup tab, choose the backup file from which to restore. Click Restore beside the desired backup in the list.
  7. Click OK. When the restoration process is finished, the system will restart and a notification e-mail is sent to the administrator.

System Updates menu

The Update menu contains the following options:


Updates

Use the System Updates window to check for and install updates.

To check for updates:

  1. Select System Updates > Updatesfrom the menu.
  2. Select Check for Updates.
  3. A list of available updates appears in the window. If there are no available updates, a message appears saying that no updates are available.
  4. Click the triangle icon to expand the list of updates.
  5. To install the update, click Apply Now which will backup the existing ERP and system configuration and begin installing the update.
  6. To schedule the update for installation at a later date, select Schedule and specify the time and date when you want the update to be installed.

You can also set up recurrent checks for updates that take place on the time and date of your choosing.

Scheduled checks for updates are performed at a random time between the hour selected and the next hour. The precise hour and minute of the check is displayed on the Updates window.

To schedule a recurrent check for updates:

  1. Select System Updates > Updates from the menu.
  2. Select the Preferences tab.
  3. To enable scheduled updating, select the Check for updates checkbox.
  4. Choose from the drop-down list whether you want to check for updates daily, weekly or monthly.
  5. For daily updates, specify the time of day that the update will take place.
  6. For weekly updates, specify the day of the week and the time that the update will take place.
  7. For monthly updates, specify the day of the month and the time that the update will take place.
  8. To automatically install any updates, select the Automatically Install Updates checkbox. Clear the checkbox if you want to only be notified when updates are available. It is recommended that you do not install updates automatically, in case the installation takes place while users are operating the system; installing updates while the system is in use can lead to database inconsistencies.
  9. Click Save.

Rollbacks

A rollback is a prompt to reverse an update to the appliance software. When each update is made, a corresponding rollback is created. The underlying system places the rollback on top of a stack of previous rollbacks. To roll back the appliance software to a previous state, select how many updates must be reversed, and apply their corresponding rollbacks, starting from the top of the stack.

The rollbacks displayed are those corresponding to the most recent updates, with the highest number being the most recent. Click the corresponding arrow button for a rollback to see what software packages are affected, and click a package name in that display to see how that package will change if the rollback is applied.

Click the corresponding button in the Roll Back column to apply the rollback, returning the appliance software to its state prior to its corresponding update. Rollbacks must be applied in chronological order starting with the most recent. Click Roll Back in the dialog box to confirm your choice.

Accessing Openbravo ERP

The URL used to access Openbravo ERP follows the following format:

http://hostname:port/context_name

For example:

http://ip_address:8080/openbravo

The appliance users access Openbravo ERP in the following URL:

http://ip_address


Professional Subscription Activation

Bulbgraph.png   Professional Subscription Activation is available starting from version 2.50MP4

After acquiring your Professional Subscription you will receive an email including the System Key you will use to activate your instances.

You can activate more than one instance with this System key. Usually you will activate one (or more) instances for development, one instance for testing and one instance for production.

The standard procedure is the Online activation, which requires the ERP server to be connected to the Internet. It is however also possible to perform the activation offline.

Online Activation

Follow this procedure to activate an instance that is connected to the Internet:

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Offline Activation

Follow this procedure to activate an instance that is not connected to the Internet:



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Instance refresh

If your license conditions change, you must refresh your instance's information to make these changes available to the ERP. Here are some examples of license condition changes that require an instance refresh:

To refresh you instance:

In the same way as for activation, it is possible to refresh the license online or offline. If your instance is not connected to the Internet, download the new Activation File from Key Server in the same way it is explained in the previous subsection of this document. Once you have the new Activation File in your local file system:

Deactivation

You can deactivate a Professional Subscription instance at any point and transform it into a Community Edition Instance:


License Expiration

When the license for the instance or for one of the commercial modules installed expires, only System Administrator roles are allowed to log into the application. This user will be able to refresh the instance license. In case this situation is caused by an expiration in a module's license and it is not desired to renew this license, System Administrator will have to uninstall this module to allow again all the users to log into the application.

Bulbgraph.png   Notice that when you uninstall a module, the data stored in tables and columns belonging to that module will be deleted from database.

Managing Concurrent Users

When the maximum number of concurrent users limited by the license is reached, only System Administrator roles can log into the application. Thus, users without this role assigned will no be allowed to log into the application at all, and users with this role will only be able to use it but they will not be able to switch to another of assigned ones.

In this situation it is useful for System Administrator to use the Session window where he will be able to see which are the currently active sessions and to kill them in case it is necessary, making possible to access the application other users.


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Executing the Kill Session process will finish the selected session forcing that user to log out the application.

Bulbgraph.png   Kill Session finishes the session immediately, this means the next action the user in that session tries to do will be redirected to the login page, therefore it is possible the user to lose the last non-saved changes.

This tab is filtered by default to show only the currently active sessions. This filter can be cleaned up to show all the historical sessions clicking on the Search Records icon and leaving all the fields empty.

Subscribing to Update Notifications

It is strongly recommended that you subscribe to the Openbravo update and security distribution lists. The on-update-announce@openbravo.com distribution list notifies you when maintenance packs are available. The on-security-announce@openbravo.com notifies you of important security updates.

Alternatively, you can subscribe online via the subscription site:

Applying maintenance packs

Maintenance packs for Openbravo ERP Professional Subscription are now distributed as modules, in the form of .obx files, which you can access from within Openbravo ERP.

-Before attempting any update, it is recommended to first backup all your data; that is, a backup of the source code and a backup of the database. In case of error you will be able to rollback to the previous release.
-Execute also the following task to detect possible errors before updating:
ant diagnostic

There are two possible ways of doing it: online and offline, depending if the server has an Internet connection or not.

Online

In Openbravo ERP go to Module Management Console and click on Scan for updates then apply the core updates.

Note: This method works after 2.50 MP8

Offline

There are also two possible ways of doing it: using the ERP or in a command line.

Graphically

  1. Download the maintenance patch from Sourceforge.
  2. Save the .obx file to a convenient location on your file system.
  3. Log into Openbravo ERP with a System Administrator role.
  4. From the Application Menu, select General Setup > Application > Module Management.
  5. Click Add Modules.
  6. Click Browse file system.
  7. Select the Maintenance Pack module you want to apply.
  8. Click Install Now. Details of the maintenance pack appear.
  9. Click Continue to proceed with the installation. The license agreement appears.
  10. Accept the license agreement to continue. The module installs.
  11. In the Module Management window, click Rebuild Now to rebuild Openbravo ERP.

Command line

If you prefer to work from the command line, you can use the following commands to apply maintenance patches.

  1. Go to the root OpenbravoERP sources directory.
  2. Execute the command 
    rm -rf lib legal src* web
  3. Unzip the maintenance patch using the command 
    unzip /path/to/downloaded/OpenbravoERP-xxxx.obx
  4. Check the config/Openbravo.properties.template to see if there are changes. #Apply any changes in the template to the config/Openbravo.properties file.
  5. Update the database and deploy the maintenance pack using the command 
    ant core.lib wad.lib trl.lib update.database compile.complete.deploy
  6. Restart Tomcat.

Developer guidelines

Note: From version 2.50 onwards, Openbravo ERP supports the development of extension modules. If you are planning to develop your installation of Openbravo ERP, it is strongly recommended that you use the modular development process. The Modularity area of the wiki tells you everything you need to know about developing, installing and publishing modules. Before you begin any development effort, make sure you have read and understood the information on developing modules.

New development is required if you want to change the system behavior of Openbravo ERP. For example, you may want to add a new window or modify a particular process. Development is an iterative process that makes the system potentially unstable, so development should always take place outside of the production environment. Any change that requires compilation should also take place in the development environment first.

Openbravo ERP Professional Subscription comprises a single Openbravo ERP environment, which is intended for production. It does not provide alternative environments for development and testing purposes, so you must create these alternative environments on other machines. It also describes how to synchronize these environments.

It is important that you do not perform any development activity on the production environment, although it is safe to perform basic configuration tasks such as defining document types, roles and clients. You are strongly advised to perform any development tasks in a separate development environment. For complex developments and for organizations with strict change management policies, you may also need to move changes into a testing environment where they can be validated by end users before they go live in the production environment. In simpler situations moving the developments from the development environment to the production environment may be sufficient.

The development environment does not need to be a mirror of the production environment and it does not need an Openbravo ERP installation, it just needs the necessary tools to develop Openbravo ERP. For more information about installing these tools, consult the environment installation page of the wiki. It may also be useful to have a testing environment. The development environment is used for testing purposes by the developer while the testing environment is the system where the end users can test the application and the new developments.

There are two ways to copy an Openbravo ERP instance to a new environment:

A typical schema for the development process looks like this:


OB basic environments2.svg


The numbers 1-4 show the development processes taking place:

  1. Creating and updating the development environment: sources and the database of Openbravo ERP (core + modules) are copied from the production environment to a development environment. This means that development can take place without disrupting the production environment.
  2. Development: changes are coded and tested in the development environment. The developer prepares a OBX file with the latest changes.
  3. Creating and updating the test environment: a testing environment is created as a mirror of the production environment using an automated replication technique. The changes are then deployed from the development environment to the testing environment by using OBX files and the Module Management Console.
  4. Deployment: when the changes pass testing, repeat the OBX files deployment in the production system

The colored lines represent the differing levels of environment setup from the simplest to the most complex:

Creating a new development environment

The first stage of the process is to copy the working Openbravo ERP application from the production environment to the development environment. It is important to ensure that the development environment is up to date with the production environment, otherwise previous changes may be lost when you deploy the new development in the production environment.

To create a development environment, follow these steps:

  1. Copy the /opt/OpenbravoERP directory from the production environment to the development environment. In the production environment, execute the following command: 
    $ tar zcf /tmp/oberp.tgz /opt/OpenbravoERP
  2. In the development environment, execute the following commands: 
    $ scp openbravo@server:/tmp/oberp.tgz /tmp
    $ cd /opt/
    $ tar zxf /tmp/sources.tgz
  3. Run the wizard to configure the database access and paths. See Configuring Openbravo.
    You will have to provide the following configuration information from your development environment:
    • Database name (the SID in Oracle).
    • Database IP address (or host name).
    • Database superuser password.
    • Openbravo database username and password.
  4. Create the database and compile it using the the following commands: 
    $ ant install.source
  5. In the development environment, restart the Tomcat service. You can now access Openbravo ERP on the development environment via a web browser.

Updating an existing development environment

If you have already set up and configured a development environment, it is important to keep it up to date to prevent losing changes from previous development when new developments are deployed to the production environment. To update the development environment:

  1. Copy the /opt/OpenbravoERP directory from the production environment to the development environment. In the production environment, execute the following command: 
    $ tar zcf /tmp/oberp.tgz /opt/OpenbravoERP
  2. In the development environment, execute the following commands: 
    $ scp openbravo@obnserver:/tmp/oberp.tgz /tmp
    $ cd /opt/
    $ tar zxf /tmp/sources.tgz
  3. Update and compile the database using the following Ant commands: 
    $ ant update.database -Dapply.on.create=yes
    ant core.lib wad.lib trl.lib compile.complete.deploy
  4. In the development environment, restart the Tomcat service. You can then access Openbravo ERP via a web browser.

Development

Once you have created a development environment you can develop it and compile it without affecting the production system. For more information on how to develop Openbravo ERP, see the Developer's Guide.

Creating a mirror copy of the production environment

The procedures described above for creating and updating a development environment do not copy transactional or master user data into the development environment. In most situations, transferring user data from the production environment to the development environment is not advisable because of privacy issues. Where sample data is required for testing, you can create sample data in the development environment. Data in the development is retained when you update the environment.

If it is necessary to create a development environment with real user data, the recommended method is to create a mirror of the production system. The new environment is created by backing up the production database and restoring it as a development database.

To create a mirror of the production system, follow these instructions.

Creating a test environment

In a production Openbravo ERP system it is usual and recommended to have a testing environment. Among its benefits we could highlight the ability for end users to test new features in advance and for the system integrator to test new customization deployments.

Before any of these testings happen, it is important to make sure that the ERP in the testing environment is identical to the one in the production environment. Check the article explaining the replication process, or learn how get to use the command line tool that implements that process.

Updating the production environment

When code changes have been fully tested, update them on the production environment using the following process:

Reference documentation

Replicating production into a testing environment

Reporting bugs and requesting support

To report a bug or raise a support ticket, visit http://support.openbravo.com and log in using the username and password supplied to you by Openbravo. If you have Openbravo ERP installed on multiple instances, it is recommended that you use the same account for all of those instances, so that you can see all the bugs you have raised in one place.

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