To see information about the current status of the database in Dynamics NAV, click File, Database, Information. The Database Information window appears:
This is where you can check to see whether everything is set up correctly, whether there is enough space available in the database, how much cache has been allocated to the program, and so on. (You can’t change anything in this window – you can only view information.)
Database
The Database tab contains information about the database that is currently open. The name of the database appears in the Database Name field. A database can be set up to consist of several individual files. You can see the names and sizes of the files if you click the AssistButton to the right of the field. The Database Files window appears:
If you click Tools, Zoom (CTRL+F8) from the menu bar while this window is displayed, you will get more detailed information about the database – information that can be used for statistical purposes and to check the performance level. You can read more about performance issues in the chapter called "Advanced Performance Issues" on page 147.
The Database tab also displays the following information about the database:
• How much of the total database is currently in use and what percentage of the total space in the database is being used. This should not exceed 90%. If it does, you can expand the database by clicking File, Database, Expand. See page 61 for details.
• How large the total database is, and what percentage this is of the total database size you have permissions for.
• How much database space you have purchased permissions for.
• Whether DBMS cache has been allocated in the system – and how much. The value affects the program speed. To specify cache size, use the program property Cache or click Tools, Options and enter the size as the value for DBMS Cache (KB).
• Whether Commit Cache is turned on (a check mark means that it is). The commit cache affects the program speed. To specify the size of the commit cache, use the program property Commit Cache or click Tools, Options and enter the size as the value for Commit Cache.
• Whether object cache has been allocated in the system. The Object Cache program property is used only on clients where it affects the speed of the program.
Note
Due to the size of the memory allocation blocks (8KB), the DBMS Cache field can display a slightly different figure than expected. The DBMS Cache rounds down to the nearest block, for example, if you have allocated 500 it will be rounded down to 496.
You can read about the various program properties in the chapter called "System Setup"on page 31.
Connection
On the Connection tab, you can see the following information:
• Whether the database you are working in is located on your computer or on a server.
• If you are working in a database that is located on a server, the name of the server and the network protocol that is being used.
Sessions
The Sessions tab contains the following information:
• The Current Sessions field tells you how many sessions (active Dynamics NAV programs) are presently connected to the database. The number is shown both as the number of sessions and as a percentage of the maximum number of sessions for which you have permissions. Each computer can have several sessions running at once.
• The Licensed Sessions field tells you the maximum number of sessions (active Dynamics NAV programs) that can connect to the database. If you need more, you must obtain them from your Microsoft Certified Business Solutions Partner.
If you click the AssistButton to the right of the Current Sessions field, the Database Sessions window appears listing details of all the sessions connected to the server:
The window lists all the current connections to the database and the time when each user logged on. Each line represents one login. A user can appear more than once if they have started more than one session. The session that you are currently using has a check mark in the My Session field.
Terminating a session
You can terminate one of the sessions by selecting the line in question and deleting it.
The session will no longer take up any resources on the server. This user will then be disconnected from the server and will have to restart the program if they want to continue working. To terminate a session, you must have permission to delete data from the Session table.
If you put the cursor on a line in the Database Sessions window and click Tools, Zoom on the menu bar, you will get more detailed information about a particular session. The following window appears:
The information here can be used for various statistical purposes.
The Tables button at the bottom of the Database Information window opens a window displaying information that is used for analyzing where and how data is distributed in the database. You can read about this in the following section.