Database Administration

The FootPrints database design is optimized to work with the most popular relational databases for efficient and fast performance. This chapter covers the following topics:

• System Architecture—The general architecture ofFootPrints.
• Database Design—Design of theFootPrints database, including table structure and connection types.
• Services—FootPrints services for connecting to the database.
• Database Maintenance—Purging and archiving Project data
• Backups and Disaster Recovery—Information about backing upFootPrints and creating a disaster recovery plan.
• Upgrades—About upgrades toFootPrints.
• Performance—Guidelines and troubleshooting system performance.
• Field Limit Specifications—Rules regarding the number of Project fields allowed based on database used.
• Security—About security inFootPrints.
• Upgrading Keyword Searches to 6.5 from Previous Versions—An option tool for enhancing the keyword searches in very large databases

Restrictions

With respect to size limits for the number of fields in an individual project, there is very little danger of exceeding the limits of most databases.  Nevertheless, there are limits of which administrators should be aware.  When the number of fields in an individual project grow into the hundreds, performance may begin to degrade or data may begin to be truncated.  Administrators should at least be aware of this possibility.  There are two ways in which field proliferation might become a problem.  One is through the use of field dependencies and the other can occur by using field-level permissions to combine multiple projects into a single project.  Both field dependencies and field-level permissions are extremely valuable and help to simplify life for the user.  Administrators should not in any way avoid using these features.  They are mentioned here only because of the slim chance that they could cause a problem through field proliferation.