SpendMap incorporates a Rollback Utility that will reverse any updates to the database in the event that a transaction cannot be completed in its entirety.
For example, if a system error occurs while part way through processing a PO or other transaction, SpendMap will "undo" what it had started.
How Does Rollback Help?
A “transaction” is a process that updates multiple tables, such as processing a PO that updates the open PO table, the item history, budgets, etc. By contrast, updating a supplier’s address in the Supplier Master File is not a transaction as it only affects one table.
Rollback is important in that, if a transaction is not completed in its entirety, it would be difficult or impossible to determine how many of the applicable tables were updated and which were not. Naturally, a partially processed transaction would affect the data integrity of the system.
Performance Implications
While rollback provides an increased level of data security/integrity, there is a price to be paid in system performance.
In order for Rollback to reverse a partially completed transaction should it be necessary, the Rollback Utility must log the image of each record that will be affected as transactions are being processed. Essentially, when using rollback, data is being written to the database twice; once in the rollback logs (to be used to undo the transaction, if needed) and a second time to the actual tables that the transaction needs to be stored in.
When rollback is enabled, transactions will take approximately two to three times as long to process. This is the cost of the added security. If you are confident that your infrastructure is stable, you may decide to not use the Rollback Utility as it may not be worth the performance investment. We suggest that you try using rollback and, if the performance is acceptable, continue using it.
The rollback feature can be turned on/off with a setting in the Database, Maintenance and System Performance Settings.
If you choose to not use Rollback and a system error occurs, you may be required to manually cancel transactions and/or delete data or even restore from backup to restore data integrity.
Custom Utilities
Rollback is integrated with all out-of-the-box transactions in SpendMap. However, if you have custom utilities, you may want rollback attached to those transactions as well. Please contact SpendMap Client Services for additional details or a quotation.
