Technical Note: 20011004023

Corporate Communication Installation Sequence of Events

(Maitre'D 2002, and later versions of Maitre'D)

Corporate Office Computer

Restaurant Computer

Maitre'D Corporate Communication flow chart

The following example shows the information flow chart for a Maitre'D Corporate Communication installation with three clients (restaurants).
This example uses the following setup:

Maitre'D Communication Server (Dial up connection)

Data path (Communication Server / General): C:\POSERA\CCM\DATA\DBF
Incoming path (Communication Server / General): C:\POSERA\CCM\INCOMING\SERVER
Outgoing path (Communication Server / General): C:\POSERA\CCM\OUTGOING\SERVER

Maitre'D Communication Client (Restaurant with Dial up connection)

Restaurant identifier (Communication Client / General): 1001 for Restaurant no.1 and 1002 for restaurant no.2. andldots;
Incoming path (Communication Client / General): C:\POSERA\CCM\INCOMING\CLIENT
Outgoing path (Communication Client / General): C:\POSERA\CCM\OUTGOING\CLIENT
Schedule (Communication Client / Schedule): Call frequency = After End Of Day

Converter
Output path (Converter / View / Options / General): C:\POSERA\CCM\INCOMING\SERVER
Restaurant ID (Converter / View / Options / General): 1001 for restaurant no.1, 1002 for restaurant no.2
Files selection (Converter / View / Options / Files): each restaurant will transfer the following files DIVISIONS and TRANSACTIONS.

In our example, the file transfer will occur each time the End Of Day is performed. The conversion process starts automatically at step no.2 of the End Of Day. Since we have chosen to transfer only the Divisions and the Transactions files, only these two files will be converted and copied into the C:\POSERA\CCM\OUTGOING\SERVER directory. The converted file names will be respectively DIVISION.DBF and TRANSACT.DBF. For a complete file name definition and structure, refer to the Maitre'D Corporate Communication Files Structure section.

After the conversion is done, the End Of Day process will continue as usual. Once the End Of Day is completed, the Maitre'D Communication Client will transmit the files to the Maitre'D Communication Server computer. This process will start automatically. It usually takes 10 to 15 seconds for the program to start. The Communication Client program will establish the connection and transfer all files located in the C:\POSERA\CCM\OUTGOING\SERVER directory. After the files are transferred successfully, they will be backed up under a special directory named BACKUPdd where dd represent the date of the transfer. If the file transfer was done on the 6th of the month, the backup of the DBF files transferred will be in C:\POSERA\CCM\OUTGOING\SERVER\BACKUP06.

This completes the description of all process done at the Maitre'D Communication Client (restaurant) level.

The Maitre'D Communication Server program is able to manage multiple communications at the same time. In our example, we only have two clients that are sending their files. In this case, only one communication line is sufficient. In larger installation, you will need to consider other setup options to avoid transmission delay. A Windows NT server with multiple modems or an Internet connection might be needed.

Regardless of your Maitre'D Communication Server setup, the way the Maitre'D Communication Server handles the communication is the same.
 
All files received from the restaurant are copied into the C:\POSERA\CCM\INCOMING\SERVER directory. The files received from the restaurant will have the following structure: rrrr.FILENAME.DBF where rrrr represents the restaurant identifier. So in our example, the Division file from restaurant no.1 will be 1001.DIVISION.DBF. The Maitre'D Communication Server program always gives priority to the communication between the restaurant and the Communication server. After 30 seconds without communication, the Maitre'D Communication Server begins to transfer the files received from the C:\POSERA\CCM\INCOMING\SERVER directory to the C:\POSERA\CCM\DATA\DBF directory. This process is done very quickly and will not affect the communication.

After all files are transferred from all restaurants, the C:\POSERA\CCM\INCOMING\SERVER directory will be empty. All files received from the restaurants will be transferred into the C:\POSERA\CCM\DATA\DBF directory.
Let's take a closer look at the Maitre'D Communication Server directory before, during and after the communication.

Before During
C:\POSERA\CCM\INCOMING\SERVER C:\POSERA\CCM\INCOMING\SERVER After
C:\POSERA\CCM\DATA\DBF C:\POSERA\CCM\INCOMING\SERVER As you can see, all files received from the restaurant are placed into their respective file in the DBF directory. The Report Manager will then use these files to create reports, make comparisons…

Depending on the size of the restaurant chain, you might need to use the compact utility program in the Database Manager (File / Compact Database).

Graphically, the flow chart of events for the transmission of a file called DIVISION.DBF from 2 restaurants to the Corporate Office would look like:

Setup for the Database Manager

This application is installed at the home office. It allows the management of the data files received from the different units. It is also used to synchronize the data received from the restaurant with the Database Manager.

The Database Manager program should only be installed on one computer at the home office. It is usually the Database Administrator's responsibility to manage the files received from the remote locations.

Since the data used by the Database Manager is coming from the restaurant, it is recommended that you wait to have received at least one transfer before you start working with it. It is also recommended that you transfer files from only one or two restaurants before you hook up other locations. That will give you time to get familiar with this new program and it will be easier to troubleshoot if you are experiencing problems.

The main database functions are:

The Import data function is used to add records received from a restaurant to the Database Manager. Instead of having to create each record individually, it is faster and easier to wait to have received at least one file transfer from a restaurant to import the data.
The only time you will use the Import data function is when you start a new database or when you add a new restaurant to the corporate office that does not have the same data as the one in your current database. If the data is the same you do not need to use the import function.

 

When you need to use the import function, under the file menu, select Open. Select the Divisions file. Under the Edit menu, select Import Data from restaurant Do the same for the following files: Items, Inventory Ratios, Revenue Centers, Modes, Restaurants.

Add record

Enable this option when you need to add a new record into the Database Manager.

Remove record

Enable this option if you need to remove a record in the Database Manager.

Re-Index

The only index files in the Database Manager are the Local Files (configuration files for the Corporate Office, refer to the appendix for a complete list). The files received from the restaurant are not indexed to give you more flexibility depending on the database tools that you want to use.

Compact Database

The Compact database option allows to select the information that you want to keep in the Database Manager. Depending on the number of locations that are connected to the Communication Server and the files that they are sending, the Database Manager will keep on getting larger each time you receive new files. Larger database files will eventually slow down the generation of the reports and will take more space on you hard disk. For example, you might just want to keep the weekly summary up after a year of operation.

WARNING: IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED THAT YOU MAKE A FULL BACKUP OF THE DATABASE BEFORE YOU USE THIS FUNCTION. YOU MUST ALSO SHUTDOWN ANY RUNNING MAITRE'D CORPORATE COMMUNICATION MODULE INCLUDING THE COMMUNICATION SERVER.