Attend this session to learn Symyx Notebook administrator tips and tricks provided by Accelrys testing and support teams. Time will be provided for questions and to share customer tips and tricks.

1. (ATS4-APP03) Top 10 Things Every
Accelrys Electronic Notebook
Administrator Should Know
Swati Puri McHale
Lead Technical Support Scientist, Customer Support
swati.mchale@accelrys.com

2. The information on the roadmap and future software development efforts are
intended to outline general product direction and should not be relied on in making
a purchasing decision.

3. Accelrys ELN Administrators Want to Know About…

4. 10. Key Documentation
• Accelrys Vault Server Administrative Tools Guide
• Accelrys Vault Server Administration Guide
• Accelrys Deployment Manager (ADM) for Notebook
Administrators (NEW in 6.7.x)
• Symyx Notebook Administration Guide

5. 9. Accelrys ELN Architecture (High-Level)
Oracle Database Tier
Direct RAS Schema VAULT Schema
Pluggable
Accelrys Vault Server Middle Tier Services
Balance
Services
Integration
Workflow Workflow Index Query Repository
Designer Client Registration
Symyx Windows Communication Foundation
OpenEye
Administration Authentication and Authorization (STS)
Console Database
Web Service
Accelrys Electronic Lab Notebook (Client)
Framework Platform
Notebook Platform
Experiment Materials &
Reporting Search
Editor Chemistry

6. 8 a. Key Services for Accelrys Vault Server
Symyx Vault Message Symyx Workflow Symyx Vault Vault Web
Processing Service Service Server 1.0 Services
Vault Message Processing Workflow RAS (Tomcat): Public: Handles
Service: Monitors Vault enrollment Indexing client
message processor communication
application
Vault Message Processor Transition STS (Tomcat): Private:
manages asynchronous processing Authentication Communicates
processing of Vault with Message
objects via MSMQ Processing and
Workflow services

7. 8 b. Accelrys Vault Server Services
Order of STARTING Symyx services:
1. iisreset /start
2. Symyx Vault Server 1.0
3. Symyx Vault Message Processing
Service
4. Symyx Workflow Service
Order of STOPPING Symyx services:
1. Symyx Workflow Service
2. Symyx Vault Message Processing
Service
3. Symyx Vault Server 1.0
4. iisreset/stop

8. 7. SSL Certificate Tips for AVS Middle Tier
• SSL certificates  secure communication between Client and AVS
• Certificate information is present in:
• IIS Manager
• STS and Tomcat keystores
• Symyx.Vault.Serviceweb.config
• Contact Accelrys Customer Support for help with updating certificate information on AVS
Middle Tier

9. 6. Best Practices for Workflow
• Ensure that workflow association name ≠
workflow definition Keep In
Progress
In
Progress
• Specify the complete VaultPath, including Withdraw
Return
repository name (does not start with “”), Complete
to author
when creating a workflow association To Be
Witnessed
Approve and Sign
• Test the workflow with all expected
transitions
Witnessed
Key:
Author Actions
Witness Actions

10. 5. Permissions
Permissions for Read/Write Data Permissions for Applications

11. 5 a. Permissions for Applications
ALLOW for ALL USERS and GROUPS:
RunAnalysis and RunProtocol =
Used for Pipeline Pilot Protocols in
Accelrys ELN
DisableUndoMyCheckouts = user
cannot undo the checkout of their
own checked-out document
MaterialInfoManager = Display
structure + information for a chemical
from ACD/ChemSeek

12. 5 b. Vault Data Security Permissions
Permission Description
Check Out Check-out to lock an object for editing
Read Data View an object’s content
Write Data Change an object’s content
Workflow Transition Change an object’s state in workflow (subject to rules in the specific workflow definition)
Read Properties View an object’s properties (title, description): If this permission is not granted, the object is NOT
visible to the user in Notebook Explorer in Accelrys ELN Client
Update Properties Update an object’s properties
Read Permissions Read permissions that are set on an object: useful for Administrators
Rollback Revert an object to a previous version
Traverse Folder Enables browsing a repository hierarchy, if the user does not have permission to see the folder

13. 5 c. Recommendations for Permissions
• At the Repository level, set: 
– ReadData, ReadPermissions, ReadProperties
• At the sub-folder level (or folder where check-in 
is ALLOWED), set: 
– ReadData, ReadPermissions, ReadProperties 
– Checkout, UpdateProperties,
WorkflowTransition, WriteData

• Use Workflow to set permissions as the

documents move through approval stages 

14. 4. How do I Index Objects in Accelrys ELN?
Use the RequeueVaultObjects Utility from:
C:Program Files (x86)SymyxSymyx Vault 6.7Symyx.Vault.UtilityRequeueVaultObjects.exe
Parameter Description Required Default Value
Repository The repository that will be acted upon Yes N/A
MessageLimit Maximum # of messages that will be created No 100,000
Status The message handling state to be queued No Failed
Queues List of queues to populate No All
Examples:
RequeueVaultObjects -repository Site
RequeueVaultObjects -repository “Chemical Development" –status Unknown
Reference: Accelrys Vault Server Administration Guide, Appendix A

15. 4 b. Best Practices for Re-Indexing Vault Objects
• Re-queue items so that their state can become known
• Re-queue items for a specific message handler
• Automate RequeueVaultObjects Utility via task scheduler jobs, for example:
– Process all unknown items on Saturday each week

16. 3. Export/Import
Development Test Production
• Build configuration • Transfer configuration • Upon completion of
Transfer
Transfer
objects objects to Test Test approvals,
Build
• Templates, Section • Iterate changes transfer Test
Templates, Reports configuration to
through
• PSDs, Forms, Vocabularies, Production
Signature Policies Development
• Initial testing • Validation and User • Final verification
Test
Test
Test
Acceptance testing confirming correct
transfer from Test
Always promote configuration using Transfer capabilities
Fast, Accurate, Repeatable results

17. 2. Best Practices for Managing AVS Middle Tier
• Restart AVS machine(s) every 30 days
• Archive Vault and Tomcat logs every 30 days Automate via Windows scheduled tasks or
your network management platform
• Restart all Symyx services weekly
For more information about this topic, please attend: (ATS4-APP09) Tips and Tricks for Managing
Symyx Notebook Server Performance

18. 1. Location of Log Files (for ELN 6.7.x)
• Accelrys Vault Server Logs = C:VaultLogs
• STS, RAS Logs = C:Program Files (x86)SymyxSymyx Vault 6.7SymyxServerTomcat6logs
• Logs for Client = C:ProgramDataSymyx TechnologiesLogFiles

19. Summary
Documentation Permissions I hear and I forget.
3-tier Architecture Indexing I see and I remember.
Services Export/Import I do and I understand.
Certificate Manage server - Confucius
Workflows Log Files

20. …and One More Thing!
• Contact Accelrys Support: support@accelrys.com
• Join the Accelrys Community: https://community.accelrys.com/index.jspa
• Accelrys Technical Summit Sessions on 17-OCT-2012:
– (ATS4-DEV06) Building Morphit Binders within Symyx Notebook
– (ATS4-DEV07) How to Build a Custom Search Panel for Symyx Notebook
– (ATS4-DEV08) Building Widgets for the Symyx Notebook Home Page
– (ATS4-APP08) Managing Notebook Configurations with Accelrys Deployment Manager
– (ATS4-APP09) Tips and Tricks for Managing Symyx Notebook Server Performance