Year 2011

64-Bit ArchivistaBox, Award, VM Cluster in 100 seconds, 2.4 mill. pages per day

Paffhausen, 21 December 2011: This year we were once again able to implement many great features and I would like to take this opportunity to thank our clients for their invaluable cooperation. I am convinced that the Swiss Open Source Award 2011, which we were so delighted to receive, is due entirely to our clients. The following features (and many more) would not have come into being without their assistance. We would hereby like to give a brief overview of the features here.

New casings for Universal and Dolder/Rigi/Säntis

The ArchivistaVM-Universal-Servers mean we can put together compact Boxes. The complete assembly provides 6 disks and max. 4 10GB network cards per computer. This enables the construction of extremely space-saving clusters with up to 40 cores. Very small Boxes (mATX format) have recently been added to the DMS Systems for the Dolder, Rigi and Säntis models.

Better security with RAID software

Two Hot-Swap hard drives can be implemented per Box in the Pilatus, Titlis and Eiger models. Hardware-Raid-Controllers are no longer necessary; but of course the latest Controllers will continue to be supported.

Virtio-Cache for ArchivistaDMS

Until now we had experienced a certain amount of loss in the operational capacity of hard drives and network cards in virtually installed DMS Systems in ArchivistaVM. Now all Archivista Systems can also be installed with virtio-devices. The required drivers are loaded independently during installation; the only important thing to remember is to set the devices as available at the virtualisation level.

Writeback for all VM instances

The cache in ArchivistaVM can now be set to 'writeback'. The result is a higher speed hard drive, without the need to install additional drivers in the guests. For development (extremely fast snapshots) in the qcow2 format, the 'unsafe' option is also available.

Better security with mirrored hard drives

A very important feature is the mirroring of hard drives from one machine to a neighbouring ArchivistaBox. This means data can be saved simultaneously on two computers. If one ArchivistaBox fails, the data can be called up in real time via the second machine, thus making the Master/Slave Concepts no longer necessary in the ArchivistaDMS Systems.

Support for 10GB network cards

With regard to the mirroring of hard drives: To ensure we can transfer data at a rate of up to 900 MB per second, we have given ArchivistaBox all the drivers available on the 10GB network cards.

SwissRocket Cluster with up to 24 hard drives

Having implemented effective hard drive arrays and rapid 10GB network cards, we completed the SwissRocket model series for client projects. This enables up to 24 hard drives to be integrated in 2 height units.

Support for UPS devices from APC

In order to ensure that there is no loss of data in RAID software in the event of a general power cut, all ArchivistaBox Systems can be connected to UPS devices made by APC.

WebConfig on all DMS Systems

Until now, WebConfig could only be called up on the first ArchivistaBox (Master). But since data backup is normally carried out on the second Box (Slave), WebConfig can now be started on all DMS Systems (Master as well as Slave), regardless of whether the database has been started or not.

ArchivistaERP with VESR Support

We put the ArchivistaERP module into active operation at the end of August. Thanks to VESR Integration, the deposit slips could be printed directly from ArchivistaERP. VESR can also automatically register incoming payments.

Cluster in 100 seconds

Highly available virtualisation doesn’t have to equate to complexity or high prices. At the 13th linuxday.at we were able to demonstrate live what we have been providing with the ArchivistaBox since 2005. Setting up a Cluster with ArchivistaVM takes a mere 100 seconds. The hardware requirements are modest: 3 computers with 2 disks and 3 network cards – and away we go!

Daily output of 2.4 mill. pages per ArchivistaBox

In connection with a project we had to import approx. 750,000 PDF pages contained in approx. 500,000 documents. The Import programme at that time had capacity for approx. 400,000 pages per day. Writing a 100-line programme resulted in a grand daily output total of 2.4 mill. pages on one ArchivistaBox. To be precise, those approx. 750,000 pages were processed in under 7 hours.

RDP Server on every ArchivistaBox

Until now, SSH (consoles) and VNC (screen transmission) were available for remote servicing. In both cases clients who operated Windows had to install one (!) programme file to enable remote servicing. Now not even this is necessary as every single ArchivistaBox can be accessed directly from Windows via the Remote-Desktop (RDP).

Self-supporting archive – New with ArchivistaRAM

Since implementing ArchivistaRAM in October, self-supporting archives can now be established more easily and more rapidly. This involves the creation of a normal ArchivistaBox CD, which can then be installed in RAM (self-supporting) or just as normal in 1 to 2 minutes.

Annual office closure 23 December 2011 to 6 January 2012

Our company will be closed from 23 December up to and including 6 January 2012. Naturally the online shop will remain open for business during this time. And clients with a maintenanc
e contract will receive the usual support. We wish you all a happy holiday and a successful 2012!