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an opening video bumper.
Automate Server Mastery
Keeping Your Automate Server at Its Best
Presented by
Brandon Lippie & William Smalley
Who Are We?
I’ve worked with Automate going on 7 years
with 5 years working for ConnectWise in
Automate Support (3 years) and Consulting (2
years). While with Automate Support I was on
the Server Down team, working heavily with
the Automate Server. After leaving
ConnectWise I spent 6 months working for a
MSP as a SysAdmin helping with Automate, Brandon Lippie
Project Consultant
and now I find myself working with Stack Stack Advisors
Advisors as a RMM Consultant for the past 9
months.
#ITNExplore20
Who Are We?
William is Project Consultant at Stack Advisors.
His roles are new client implementations and
current client stabilizations and customization
assistance. He started his IT career in 2000 in
the networking and systems side of Ybor
nightclubs and bars, moved into the booming
real estate IT sector before the crash, then the
Telecom sector through the early 2000's and William Smalley
Project Consultant
worked for Labtech and a myriad of Tampa Stack Advisors
based Law firms, MSP and telecom companies
over two decades.
#ITNExplore20
What is Stack Advisors?
Stack Advisors was founded in 2011 by longtime ConnectWise power users when
they realized they had overcome many of the obstacles that left other MSPs
struggling.
Driven by the desire to help others, Stack Advisors continued to evolved into a
premier resource for the ConnectWise Suite of products. Today our experts fill the
gaps for ITSPs when they don't have the bandwidth or expertise to get the most
out of their investment by providing Consulting, Management Services and our
automated machine deployment tool: MSP Toolshed
#ITNExplore20Agenda
Provide attendees with the guidance required to keep your on-
premise Automate system running at an optimal level
Provide you with the steps necessary to troubleshoot issues that
may arise
Detail the information you should gather before requesting help
from ConnectWise support
Please submit questions via the Q/A button
We will provide a link for all SQL
#ITNExplore20Setting a Baseline
Start with ConnectWise’s recommendations for server configuration,
tweak as necessary
• https://tinyurl.com/y7jhphcv
Ensure that enough RAM is allocated to host most of the DB in
memory – memory is a lot faster than disk!
• < 16GB = 50% of RAM, >16GB = 70-75% RAM
Follow good practice in allocating disks – if on platters, make sure
you’re not sharing space with other Databases. SSDs are wonderful!
Avoid priority windows for external maintenance like AV and Backup
#ITNExplore20Avoiding Conflict
CW Automate has some key windows to be aware of
• 12-1 AM
• Plugin Calls
• Health & Compliance Calculations
• AutoNight
• 3-5 AM
• DB Backup and Zip
• Daily Maintenance (Retention management)
• 1-2 PM
• Plugin Calls
• AutoDay
#ITNExplore20Avoiding Conflict - AV
Avoid Active Scans during the CW Automate Maintenance Windows
Disable aggressive functions that can slow down Database Activity
Create Exceptions
• CW Automate processes and Program Files
• MySQL process and Program Files
• MySQL DB file space
• MySQL Temp and log file spaces
#ITNExplore20Avoiding Conflict - Backup
Don’t run backups during the maintenance windows
Avoid VSS if possible. If not, stick to key directories:
• \Program Files\LabTech\Backup\*.zip
• \LTShare\
VM Level backups typically run the best.
#ITNExplore20Advanced Configuration
Dashboard Configs
• MaxRunningScripts
• ScriptPerBatch
IIS Configs
• Worker Processes
• Recycler Timing
My.ini Configs
• Max Connections
• Buffer Pool
• Enable Slow Log and Long Query Time
#ITNExplore20Finding Backlog
• Max Connection Utilization
Query links on last page
• Database Backlog
Query links on last page
#ITNExplore20Your Database Grows with
Your Organization
A number of factors will cause your database to grow:
• Time (historical data retention)
• Agent count growth
• Technician utilization of Automate
• Custom Automation
• New features
• Integration additions
#ITNExplore20Monitoring Growth
• Keep an eye on table sizes
Query links on last page
#ITNExplore20Watching the Common Culprits
Large tables cause issues at startup and in monitoring
• EventLogs Table
• WindowsUpdateETLFiles Table
• (Product) Integration tables
• History tables
• Ticketdata Table
#ITNExplore20Retention Times
1 2 3 4
Try to find a What are your What would be a What age
balance between contractual realistic timeframe conditions are your
necessity, obligation to your a technician would monitors filtering
usefulness, and clients? reference? on?
performance • Are your current
settings optimal?
#ITNExplore20Trimming the Fat
When cleaning up a whole table, use Truncate
Query links on last page
Alternatively, when a table is too large, you can drop the table and
recreate from the SQL queries provided in the setup folder.
• Don’t forget Procs, Triggers, and Views.
• Doesn’t hurt to use CheckTables.exe after also.
#ITNExplore20Trimming the Fat
If getting rid of a majority of entries in a large table
1. Create another table with the same structure
Query links on last page
2. Insert all results you’d like to keep into this new table
Query links on last page
3. Drop the old table
Query links on last page
4. Rename the new table to the expected name
Query links on last page
#ITNExplore20Using Automate
as its own Watchdog
Consider using Automate, or a backup product, to watch for server
issues like:
• Disabled Internal Monitors (Next Scan is a year from now)
Query links on last page
• Scripts queued up
Query links on last page
• Heartbeat and LastContact discrepancies
Query links on last page
• Database Agent resource usage
#ITNExplore20Automating Maintenance
If you have maintenance actions, you can split them up into two
parts:
• OS activities that need to be performed on the server
• SQL activities that can be driven through any engine
#ITNExplore20Automating Maintenance
OS Scripting
Leverage CW
Automate Use Scheduled
wherever you can Tasks to call
to manage itself. batch/PowerShell
Use CW scripts to handle
Automate scripts anything that
to handle things would require
that don’t require stopping the
stopping the Database Agent
Database Agent
#ITNExplore20Automating Maintenance
SQL Management
If you’re comfortable managing MySQL, then you can create Stored
Procedures to run SQL and use a routine to call the procedure
If you’ve got a cleanup script in the form of a .SQL file that you run
periodically, you can call it using an Automate Script
Consider converting it to an array of script steps in an Automate
Client Script and schedule that to occur in the dashboard with
whatever frequency necessary
#ITNExplore20Something’s Broke #ITNExplore20
Now What?
1 2
Isolate Review
• Isolate the issue • Review the associated log files
• What components of CW Automate • Does CW Automate recognize
are affected? there’s something wrong?
• What rogue behavior is being
exhibited?
#ITNExplore20Where Can I Find These Logs?
What Are They For?
MySQL Log (DB Dir) – @ServerName@.err
MySQL Slow Log (DB Dir) - @ServerName@-Slow.err
General DB Agent Log (Program Files) – LTAErrors
ASP Log (Temp) – LTAsp
API Logs (Temp\_Automate Logs)
DB Agent Loop Activity - LTAProcess
Script Engine – LTAScriptEngine
Solution Center – LTSCServiceLog
Licensing – LTLicense
Alerting (Monitor Failure tracking) – LTAAlerts, LTADBAgent
#ITNExplore20Now What?
1 2 3
Isolate Review Research
• Isolate the issue • Review the associated log • Review Known Issues on
• What components of CW files CW University
Automate are affected? • Does CW Automate
• What rogue behavior is recognize there’s
being exhibited? something wrong?
#ITNExplore20Known Issue (KI)? Who Knew?
Usually you’re not the first person to experience something…
• Check the University to see if CW has seen this before
• http://www.connectwise.com/knownissues
If you’re not on the current version of CW Automate or the Solution
having issues, check the Resolved Known Issues
• If you see the issue in a ‘Released’ status:
1. Update the core (or solution)
2. Restart
3. Retest
If you see a matching open KI, check for the replication steps – if it’s
similar to what you’re seeing, then prepare to let the front line
know.
#ITNExplore20Now What?
1 2 3 4 5
Isolate Review Research Attempt Reach out
•Isolate the issue • Review the associated log • Review Known Issues on • Attempt to troubleshoot it • Reach out to ConnectWise
•What components of CW files CW University yourself Support for help
Automate are affected? • Does CW Automate • Start with Service
•What rogue behavior is recognize there’s Restarts!
being exhibited? something wrong?
#ITNExplore20Getting Help
Screenshot behavior and upload to Imgur/Gyzao/etc
Copy relevant log entries into a Pastebin
Join the Chat Queue – but not until you’ve got your documentation ready
Provide them with everything that you’ve collected – if it’s already a KI, save
both of you the extra search time and let them know.
Be Patient - Chat techs may take on multiple roles and multiple issues at once.
By now you should’ve provided enough information to give them a good head
start on their troubleshooting and they can either fill in the gaps, or dispatch
this out for the next tier.
Most often you may reach a Tier 1 Support Tech, all the information in chat is
saved and will be sent to Tier 2 Support Tech.
Remember, CW Support will only Support current release version of Automate
when it comes to bug fix.
#ITNExplore20SQL Queries:
https://stackadvisors.com/explore2020
#ITNExplore20Don’t Forget
to Fill Out Your
Session
Survey
#ITNExplore20Leave up as last slide
Thanks for Watching!
Don’t forget to visit the Virtual Solutions Pavilion and
to share your IT Nation Explore experience on social.
#ITNExplore20
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