See also

• CCB Instruction's ChemGrades FMPro DB support procedures

Links

When completed, here's the URL for the read-only web access:

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• https://chemlabs.csotest.arts.cornell.edu/grades/

Updates

8/16/13

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None, as of 9/13/13.

Projects anticipated to start-up, once everything is settled and working

Enable NetID access to FMPro server

• For all TAs and for all staff.

Review Becky's needs of Grades DB

• Expect prep work in fall 2013.
  • Thus, expect implementation/ cut-over no sooner than winter break.
  Any benefit in changing the current "export" process?

To do's for this project

See the following section for context related to these to-do's.

Enable Pat's "push" capabilities so her DB info can be seen on the web

.

New as of 9/13/13:

Scheduling Faculty meeting to present web service

Lead(s): PatH

• Proposed date: Thur, 9/26/13, 2:30pm
• With assistance from Dani in presenting.

Add permission access to Grades web application

Lead(s): Tu

A control table in FMPro (or edit via web directly?) with who can see what via the Grades web application:

Decide on date to turn on web application for student use

Lead(s): Pat

Do after 1st prelim. Maybe Oct 31st, Thur.?

Who do students contact if they have questions or concerns about the web site?

Lead(s): Pat

Decision from 9/13/13 discussion:

• Tu: Add link from web Grades to to CCB Courses page.
• Pat's office: Create an FAQ page on that Courses page.

Initial questions:

• What is done now for the Waiting List web application? Do same thing?
• Would it not be PatH's office? If so, how communicate on the page?

Change all TA access to be by NetID (and FMPro p/w), instead of their name

Lead(s): PatH

• PatH to make the appropriate updates soon.
• This is not to be confused with enabling true NetID-based access, using CU's NetID p/w's.
• PatH must reinforce to TA Grads that they should //not// use their true NetID p/w's!!

Decision from 9/13/13 discussion:

• Add (or find existing) field to hold TA name.
• In existing "TA" field (currently holding the TA name!), enter TA's NetID
• Ensure Pat enables ~"reset password on next use" checkbox.Tu will work with Roger.
• Tu needs IP addresses. Roger can do the installs.
And Roger may have better alternatives. :-)

Test PatH's restore procedure.

Lead: PatH

• Do ~end of Sept? (No later, please!)

Enable PatH's remote access

• ChemIT must do this.
• Oliver must do or assign.

Enable ChemIT staff's access to CCB FMPro DBs.

• Do via AD group. Enable only "Admin" accounts, not ChemIT staff's user accounts. (Right, Roger?)
• Tu to work with Roger.

...

• To be done by PatH. Presumably via self-service. :-)

Try with course 3570 (no TA data). Do with Dani.

Ensure FMPro access by Cynthia

Lead(s): PatH, MichaelH, and Roger

• Report from Pat and Dan that Cynthia was not able to access the FM DB.
  • Tu asks: Was Cynthia in the AD group <as-chm-GradAdm>? Answer: No!
    • Oliver added her to the group, 9/13/13 and wrote her to tell her to try again.

Done:

• Ensure that all "single account set up for a whole course for use by many TAs" is cleaned up. (Legacy capability which is no longer needed. And confuses things now.)
  • Dani and PatH
• Ensure works from systems at: TA room, DanL, CynthiaK, and Sam's.
  • ChemIT staff:MichaelH.
• Create appropriate "read-only" account for Becky to allow her to continue doing exports herself.
  • Dani and PatH (working with Becky)
  • Outline some options, for later focus. (Unlikely do any other changes right now!)

Decisions, processes, and procedures

Previous:

Done: Establish procedure for PatH to update web-hosted data. "Push the button".

As of 10/17/16, this was done several years ago. (As of 8/16/13, function doesn't exist for PatH.)

• Requires ODBC connection. Not possible at FMPro server; must be set up at FMPro client's computer.
  • Do for PatH's computer. As backup, do on Sam's computer.
  • Current plan: For each computer, set ODBC up as system's Admin (vs. user) so ODBC accessible/ configured for any computer account.

Done: Fulfilled Becky's needs of Grades DB

10/28/2013Mon: MichaelH completed this, following Oliver speaking with Becky and Pat.

LabSer's AD group (3 staff) added to access FMPro DB with read-only access. Access is done for specific classes:

• Setup AS-CHM-LabSvc to read only access of 1560, 2070, 2080, 2090, 2150, 2510, and 3010.

Becky confirmed access to relevant course via <grades.chem.cornell.edu>, within her FMPro (Mac) DB, and successful import.

Past notes:

• Any benefit in changing the current "export" process?
• Create appropriate "read-only" account for Becky to allow her to continue doing exports herself.
  • Roger (working with Becky)
  • Outline some options, for later focus. (Unlikely do any other changes right now!)

Done: Enable Pat's "push" capabilities so her DB info can be seen on the web

Lead(s): Tu

• Tu will work with Roger.
  • Tu needs IP addresses. Roger can do the installs.
  • And Roger may have better alternatives. :-)

Done: Confirm PatH's MacroExpress scripts work with server-based FMPro.

Lead(s): PatH

• PatH to confirm right away.

Done: Enable PatH's remote access

Lead(s): Oliver

• ChemIT must do this. Oliver must do or assign.

Done: Enable ChemIT staff's access to CCB FMPro DBs.

Lead(s): Roger

• Do via AD group. Enable only "Admin" accounts, not ChemIT staff's user accounts. (Right, Roger?)
• Roger to work with/ keep Tu informed.

Done: Shut off access to old ChemIT-run instance (Win7 VM). "Legacy Grades".

Lead(s): Roger

• Per 8/15/13 meeting, do anytime. Not being used now- no current data and not being updated anymore.
• Roger to do.

Decisions, processes, and procedures

Make appropriate changes to source FMPro data

• Change all TA access to be by NetID (and FMPro p/w), instead of their name.
  • This keeps the access process the same as it was, but:
    • Enables the correct access restrictions via the web application.
    • Facilitates transition to trueNetID-based access, as a future project.

Establish semester-start procedures and processes. Includes:

This fall, PatH's first pull is no sooner than 8/29/13 (Thur). Later for lecture-only courses.

• Initially populating the DB with PeopleSoft data via a PeopleSoft import.This is a one-time event each semester for each course. (Courses done at different times, depending on course.)
  • Do imports in productions course DBs.
    • Can zero out if mistake made. If major problem, contact Dani or Tu to revert to prior DB.
• At the beginning of the semester (add/ drop period), PatH will periodically grab copies of the back-ups so she can created statistics re: rate of enrollment changes.

Establish semester-end procedures and processes. Includes:

• PatH pulls the final data from the backups.
  • NOTE: If an edit is done, must wait until that edit shows up in a backup (~ half a work day) and then that backup becomes the "final data" for that course.
• PatH zeroed out each of the ChemGrades DBs before the start of their next use.
  • PatH does this within FMPro, when she needs it done (varies by course).
• Cut off TA's access to FMPro.
  • PatH does this within FMPro, when she needs it done (varies by course?).
• Some courses must not show the grade of the final exam, per faculty member's requirement.
  • In those cases, PatH will simply not "push" her final data to the web (varies by course).
    • For these courses, grade changes for a student done after the last push (right before final exam grades entered into FMPro, ideally) will thus not show up on the web.
      • These are edge/ rare cases and PatH will inform the student of this fact.

Establish DB revert procedure. Initiating request and subsequent restoration from back-up.

PatH has access to last 7 calendar days of backups, 2 times per day. So, 14 backup files per course at steady-state, whether changes were made or not.

...

• Zero out course data on the A&S FMPro server.
• Importing data from the correct course backup file.
  • Latest version would be from ~half a work day before.
• If PatH needs backup data older than what she has access to herself (> 7 days, so rare), she must contact Dani or Tu for them to get via back-ups of the SQL server data (or from EZ-Backup).
  • Note that A&S's EZ-Backup would itself only have the 3 prior versions. If course DB was changed each day, that's just three backups. If course DB rarely changed, then that can be a long time.

Enable Pat's view of DB data from home.

The need for this has been reduced since many folks can self-serve, and PatH herself has view-only web access.

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Rejected idea, for future reference: With FMPro installed on dept. laptop, access AS's FMPro server off-campus and do the work that way.

Ensure security of FERPA data in Grades DB.

See Michael Hint's emails with Tu and Frank for more on this. Some thoughts, initially:

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• Confirm FMPro server access is correct: Functional and secure.
  • Confirm that only permitted staff can access Grades (and other CCB) DBs.
  • Confirm Becky can see what she needs to see.
    • Add a read-only account for Becky.
    • Becky will still be able to exports her data, but no longer using PatH'/ the Admin account.
  • Confirm TAs can see/ edit what they need to edit for the TA room's computers.

Clarify support and maintenance expectations

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• Hosting vs. Design/ Creation vs. Support

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For staff

Useful to distinguish between something breaking (worked yesterday!) and something new

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needed (consultation/ design/ implementation).

Map out transition steps remaining

• For now, keep communications flowing directly between PatH, Dani, and Tu.
  • De-bugging, tweaking, etc.
• After project is "completed" (~mid-Sept?), all requests (for breakage or new feature requests) are to go to ChemIT
  • In an emergency (time-sensitive situation), in addition to contacting ChemIT, PatH may contact Dani or Tu.

Instructional staff are encouraged to involve A&S support staff if making structural changes to their DBs. And if Instruction staff make structural changes to any of their DBs, at the very least inform A&S staff as an FYI.

• Debugging a problem is easier if changes to the source DB is known up-front.
• There are many, many moving parts to this complex and interdependent system!

A&S's role

• A&S is providing the FMPro server hosting services.
  • This includes performing and confirming back-ups and restore procedures, especially focus on addressing an infrastructure problem at their end.
• A&S staff can Design/ Creation on a case-by-case basis
  • This will usually require Frank's approval.

For students

Who do students contact if they have questions or concerns about the web site?

• What is done now for the Waiting List web application? Do same thing?
• Would it not be PatH's office? If so, how communicate on the page?

Keywords, for searching results

• FileMakerPro
• Change direction of cname, <grades.chem.cornell.edu> from old to new instance.
  • ChemIT needs a date.
  • Doing this means other systems (2 computers in TA room; Becky's computer) automatically cut-over. :-)
• Shut off access to old ChemIT-run instance (Win7 VM). "Legacy Grades".
  • ChemIT needs a date.
• When add access via AD groups?