Technical Services Report: April 2007

System news and work completed

The Harp database was cloned to the aleph6 region on Lute for testing a new method of indexing (similar to indexing the Delta).
Adjacency indexing was reinstated on Lute and the keywords were reindexed. The results look good. The whole record is being indexed, and it hasn’t caused any performance issues.
The latest ILL service pack was installed on Harp which contained rep changes that seemed to significantly improve performance.
Oracle was upgraded from version 9.2.0.6 to 9.2.0.8, and the latest Oracle security patches were installed on Lute and Harp.
A copy of the base source code from Ex Libris was installed and is running on Lute without problems.
Set up z39.50 GPO access for SCS to test.

Work in progress

Ongoing system maintenance and upgrades.
Ongoing installation of service packs on Lute and Harp for version 17 and ILL.
Attending Indexing Task Force meetings.
Attending Reports Group meetings.
The OWN code was added to the direct indexes, but there is a problem in the retrieval function that has been reported to Ex Libris.
While testing the indexing process on Lute, a problem with “see references” was discovered and reported to Ex Libris. They stated there is a problem with running manage_02 in duplicate mode. They advised that manage_02 (update headings index) cannot be run in duplicate mode and manage_17 (alphabetize long headings) must be run. Documentation stated that manage_02 could be run in duplicate mode so that manage_17 would not need to be run. Ex Libris stated there have been improvements to manage_17 so that it should not take as long to run now. This past weekend, manage_02 was rerun without duplicate mode, and it appears to have fixed the “see references” problem. Still need to run manage_17 to test run time.
Will be testing a new method of indexing on Lute to reduce down time on Harp.
Al and Rod will be away at Solaris 10 training April 30-May 4.
Continuing to work with the UNIX system monitoring software.
Continuing to work on LibProxy.
Will be installing a test version of EZProxy as an option to replace LibProxy.
Continuing to monitor memory and performance issues on Harp. The problem is still surfacing, and we are working with Sun and Ex Libris to diagnose it.
Will be setting up two parallel A trees on Harp to copy the base code that is running on Lute and check whether memory and performance issues improve on Harp if no problems are reported on Lute.
Preparing to upgrade to Solaris 10 and ORACLE 10G for version 18.
Continuing to perform weekly updates to the Authorities database on Harp.
Continuing to report ILL and Aleph version 17 software problems to Ex Libris.
Prepared an update document about the Marcive loader for discussion with the four libraries that still subscribe to the service: BSU, SBJ, SCS, and GAC. A conference call will be set up to discuss the status of the Marcive loader and options available for the libraries.
Working on SQL reports and services recommended by the Reports Group.
Continuing to work on PALS Support Center tickets.
The next Discovery Tool Task Force meeting will be on May 11th at St. Benedict’s College.
Working on setting up a secure ftp site on Harp for patron data.
Will be installing Wiki software.
Waiting for p_manage_18_p (record loader using parallel processes), p_file_99 (Marcive), and “golem” fixes from Ex Libris.
Waiting to hear from Ex Libris about problems with discounts and funds when using Blackwell’s Book Services Collection Manager to create order records in Aleph.
Waiting to hear from Baker and Taylor to enable MWW to order from two accounts.
Work on the file transfer from the business office and reformatting it for input to Aleph remains to be done.