Power Outages

Here's a complete procedure to follow in the event of a power outage. This should be followed if the outage lasts longer that a couple of minutes.

1. When a power outage occurs, alarms will sound from the UPSs (Uninterruptible Power Supplies). The AHMS should continue to work, though you may not be able to print, since the laser printers should NOT be plugged into the UPS/Battery Backup side, and thus they will have no power.
Close the AHMS at all workstations, then shut down all workstations.
Close the AHMS at all laptops. If you have a laptop configured for remote/house call/farm call, once the AHMS is closed everywhere, double-click on COPY DATA FROM SERVER.
1. if you are using the laptop for house calls or farm calls, you must have completed the RETURN procedure before doing this, or you will overwrite all recent visits done on the housecalls/farm calls.
2. you may need to DELETE NET & LCK FILES on the laptop, after copying the data.
Shut down all laptops except the one used for remote (which you have copied the data).
Shut down the server. With Windows Server 2003/2008, once you click on START -> SHUT DOWN, you will need to select a reason for the shutdown, and also add a comment, as to who is shutting the server down, and why.
1. Ideally, complete steps 1 - 4 in 10 minutes, to conserve any remaining power in the Server UPS. If done quickly, there will be enough power to restart the server, to copy the data, if this was not initially done
Turn off ALL UPSs (to conserver their batteries, just in case).
Now, you can use the "remote" laptop to access the AHMS, at least to reference appointments, visits, etc, and even arrive and depart. Use this sparingly, or if possible, get a generator and plug the laptop into the generator, for longer power outages. With a generator, you could plug in a laser printer, and have all AHMS functions available.
Once power is restored, wait approximately 5 - 10 minutes (based on your utility company recommendation) in case there are any power surges or additional power fluctuations.
Turn on ALL UPSs. Wait 1 - 3 minutes, to verify that the UPSs are working.
Make sure ALL network devices (switch, router, DSL/Cable Modem) have power and are turned on.
Boot up the server. You may want to run Table Analysis, if it was a hard outage.
Once the server is up & running, THEN start up all workstations and laptops.
IF the "remote" laptop was used to arrive or depart, or information was added/changed in the AHMS during the power outage, PLEASE contact BWCi for further instructions.
If the "remote" laptop was only used to reference information in the AHMS, or not used at all, resume normal operations.
Once you're back to normal, please check all UPSs, to verify that all have fully recharged and none have failed batteries. Check the UPS log on the server, to verify that the Server UPS is operating normally.

Recommendations:

ALL COMPUTERS (workstations, laptops, server) and all network devices (switch, routers, DSL/Cable modems) should be plugged into the BATTERY BACKUP side of good UPSs. The server and switch should be plugged into a UPS with a rating >=1500 VA.
Have at least one (1) laptop configured for remote use, and thus it can used to access the AHMS when there is a power outage.
Consider purchasing a small generator, to provide power to the "remote" laptop, and possibly one laser printer, during an extended power outage.
Generally, the UPS for the server should provide enough power to run the server for 20 - 30 minutes. This does allow the possibility of restarting the server to copy the data, if this was not done initially.

Here's a complete procedure to follow in the event of a power outage. This should be followed if the outage lasts longer that a couple of minutes.

1. When a power outage occurs, alarms will sound from the UPSs (Uninterruptible Power Supplies). The AHMS should continue to work, though you may not be able to print, since the laser printers should NOT be plugged into the UPS/Battery Backup side, and thus they will have no power.

Close the AHMS at all workstations, then shut down all workstations.

Close the AHMS at all laptops. If you have a laptop configured for remote/house call/farm call, once the AHMS is closed everywhere, double-click on COPY DATA FROM SERVER.

if you are using the laptop for house calls or farm calls, you must have completed the RETURN procedure before doing this, or you will overwrite all recent visits done on the housecalls/farm calls.

you may need to DELETE NET & LCK FILES on the laptop, after copying the data.

Shut down all laptops except the one used for remote (which you have copied the data).

Shut down the server. With Windows Server 2003/2008, once you click on START -> SHUT DOWN, you will need to select a reason for the shutdown, and also add a comment, as to who is shutting the server down, and why.

Ideally, complete steps 1 - 4 in 10 minutes, to conserve any remaining power in the Server UPS. If done quickly, there will be enough power to restart the server, to copy the data, if this was not initially done

Turn off ALL UPSs (to conserver their batteries, just in case).

Once power is restored, wait approximately 5 - 10 minutes (based on your utility company recommendation) in case there are any power surges or additional power fluctuations.

Turn on ALL UPSs. Wait 1 - 3 minutes, to verify that the UPSs are working.

Make sure ALL network devices (switch, router, DSL/Cable Modem) have power and are turned on.

Boot up the server. You may want to run Table Analysis, if it was a hard outage.

Once the server is up & running, THEN start up all workstations and laptops.

IF the "remote" laptop was used to arrive or depart, or information was added/changed in the AHMS during the power outage, PLEASE contact BWCi for further instructions.

If the "remote" laptop was only used to reference information in the AHMS, or not used at all, resume normal operations.

Once you're back to normal, please check all UPSs, to verify that all have fully recharged and none have failed batteries. Check the UPS log on the server, to verify that the Server UPS is operating normally.

Recommendations:

ALL COMPUTERS (workstations, laptops, server) and all network devices (switch, routers, DSL/Cable modems) should be plugged into the BATTERY BACKUP side of good UPSs. The server and switch should be plugged into a UPS with a rating >=1500 VA.

Have at least one (1) laptop configured for remote use, and thus it can used to access the AHMS when there is a power outage.

Consider purchasing a small generator, to provide power to the "remote" laptop, and possibly one laser printer, during an extended power outage.

Generally, the UPS for the server should provide enough power to run the server for 20 - 30 minutes. This does allow the possibility of restarting the server to copy the data, if this was not done initially.