Typically the server which Fusion Server runs on will be located in the office on a hard-wired network. This section describes the minimum requirements, set up and installation, and other issues pertaining to the server.
The server is the most important piece of equipment for Fusion as this is where all the data is stored. Both Fusion Client and Fusion Truck need to communicate with Fusion Server in order to operate. It is important that the server be well backed up and run smoothly at all times. You don’t need to spend a large amount of money on the server, but this is definitely an area you don’t want to skimp on.
For the latest server requirements, please see our System Requirements page.
We recommend that the server machine be placed in a locked area in your office, if possible. We don’t recommend that a lot of security be placed on the machine itself as this just makes it harder to maintain.
We insist that no other software run on this machine. Only Fusion Installer, Fusion Server, and Symmetry may run here. The machine must not be used for other services such as file sharing. The machine should not be used to access the web through a browser. In essence, the machine should not be used except by our support team or by someone assigned to take care of specific tasks such as operating system updates.
If you run anti-virus software, you must set it up to exclude the Fusion folder (located in the Documents folder) from virus scanning.
It is preferable that the OS account not have a password. If you insist on this, we may need access to this password during trouble-shooting incidents.
Before Fusion Server is installed on the computer, the following things should be set up on it:
If you are unsure how to make any of these changes, please contact us for more detailed instructions.
Once the server machine is completely set up, you can install Fusion Server. Detailed documentation for Fusion Installer is provided in a comprehensive help window within the application as well as in the Fusion Installer section of this resource guide. The basic instructions are as follows:
After installation, there will be an icon shortcut to Fusion Server on the Desktop. Simply double-click to launch.
Fusion Server should not normally be shut down, but if the server needs to be shutdown for a power outage or if operating system updates necessitate a restart, you will want to know how to shut Fusion Server down properly.
There is nothing special about the way Fusion Server (or any of our products) are installed. No registry settings are changed and no extra files are placed outside the Fusion folder. To uninstall Fusion Server, simply find the Fusion Server folder (it will be inside the Applications folder which is just inside the Fusion folder) and delete it. Then delete the shortcut from the Desktop.
If you want to uninstall everything related to Fusion, you can just trash the entire Fusion folder and the shortcuts on the Desktop. But beware that this also trashes the data file!
Within the Fusion folder is a folder named Backup. Every night at 10:00 Fusion makes a backup of the datafile and places it in this folder. We call this the primary backup. By default, Fusion will keep the last 30 backups in this folder and each backup consists of two files: one for the datafile and one for the log file.
Fusion Server also provides the ability to automatically copy the backup files to other locations. We call these secondary backups. You add secondary locations by clicking the Options button in Fusion Server’s task bar and selecting Secondary Backup Paths. You can add multiple paths here. We recommend at least one secondary backup be placed on an external drive and another placed on a network shared drive or some other shared space on a computer located in another building.
It is not recommended to back up over the internet simply because most feedlots have relatively slow internet connections (especially for upload) and the backup files will quickly grow to multiple gigabytes in size.
If a secondary backup path leads to a location on another machine, make sure it is set up so Windows always keeps it mounted and that no password is necessary.
We recommend using the secondary backup system, but if you have a good reason to use your own backup software you may do so. However, only the Backup folder should be included in the backup. Trying to back up the data folder itself will result in a corrupt backup. Everything else on the computer can be installed quickly from the internet in the event of a failure.
Please see the Upgrading Fusion section of the Resource Guide for instruction on how to upgrade Fusion Server.
