"Outspoken"

MYOB Premier runs slow with Multi-User.
(written 20 Sep 2013)

A lot of our clients run MYOB Premier as their accounting system, and in fact, we run it ourselves.

Complaints about it running slow when a second or third user signs in are common, and so I thought I would set out to do some research and testing.

So, here is the scenario. MYOB Premier runs fast when the data file is hosted on the local PC. It also runs fast when the data file resides on another machine, be it another workstation in a peer-to-peer environment, or on a dedicated server, both physical and virtual, as long as only one user is in it. But as soon as a second user signs in, it's performance drops off dramatically, often by a factor of more than 10 times slower. If it's in a peer-to-peer environment, then the user that hosts the datafile still enjoys full speed, but any additional user that connects to the datafile across a network connection, runs extremely slow. If both users are connected to the datafile across a network connection, then both users run extremely slow.

When researching the problem via doing some google searches, and was shocked to see how many people / forums / discussions groups are all reporting the same problem. Equally disturbing was the number of posts by MYOB techos, often denying that a problem exists, and clearly not offering a solution to this problem. They often talk about running faster hardware, keeping datafile to a smallest size possible, optimising the data file etc etc, all of which helps, but the speed difference between single user and multi user still exists.

Here are some of my test results. Common factors here in our office are: Entire network is Gigabit, and runs via good quality Cisco switches. Our main datafile is only a small 45Mb file, but delays are still noticeable, and I can only imagine how frustrating the delay would be on bigger files (one of my client's has a file of around 200Mb, and it takes over 10 minutes to generate a small report when 2 users are in the system. We used 3 workstations of various specs, but only ever logged in a maximum of 2 at a time. With 1 user logged in, the speeds were so fast, that measuring the delay accurately was not practical, and so I have only listed the "1 user" results once. We always did the same tests each time, and always signed in with "Multi User" and "TCP/IP" mode. Our Myob is up-to-date (at the time this test was done, being Sep 2013)... Premier version 19.9

Test1: Dedicated server
Data file hosted on our main server, which is Windows 2008R2 64bit virtual server. Resources allocated to this server are 8Gb RAM, 4 cores.
The search results were conclusive that when the second user is logged into MYOB, the speed dropped off dramatically.

Test2: Dedicated windows XP as a "server"
Data file hosted on a test VM, which is Windows XP Pro 32bit virtual server. Resources allocated to this server are 512Mb (0.5Gb) RAM, 2 cores.
Again the search results were conclusive, showing that when the second user signs in, the speed drops of dramatically.
Interestingly, notice that the results were practically identical, even though the machine hosting the data file was dramatically lower spec, being half the cores, one sixteenth the ram, and a 32Bit windows XP operating system. So, this shows that the spec of the "file server" is not a factor in this speed issue.

Test3: Peer-to-peer
Data file hosted on Workstation A, which as detailed in the tables, is Quad core, Win7 pro 32bit. It also has runs on a fast SSD (Solid State Drive).
Again the search results were conclusive, showing that when the second user signs in, the speed drops of dramatically for users that connect across the network.
Notice that despite multi users, Workstation A , which also hosts the data file, still runs at ful speed. This means that the speed issue only happens for users connecting across the network, but ONLY when multi users are on, regardless of whether the other user is running the file locally or not. That of course implies that it's a slow network, but this is dis-proved by the fact that it runs very fast across the network providing only 1 user is on. The speed issue has got to be to do with how Myob handles the traffic across the network when multi users are on.

So, in conclusion, MYOB Premier definitely has a problem when networked, handling more than one person logging in simultaneously. Myob's suggestion is to put in faster hardware, but as you can see from my benchmarks, this only helps a very small amount, and regardless of the speed of the workstation, the second user logging on will result in all networked users running at between 15 and 30 times slower than running with a single user. Myob's recommended solution is to install an expensive Terminal server, but on the other hand, they say that they will not support Premier on a terminal server, instead, you need Myob Enterprise. Sounds like a very expensive exercise just to make two users run at the speed that it's meant to work at.

The later version of Myob use SQL, and I am optimistic that this will not suffer from the same multi-user issue. But after a brief "play" with one of these newer Myobs on a network, it has it's own unique set of limitations, including the fact that Myob don't recommend that you install it on the server, in favour of the SQL being installed on a workstation... so it will not utilise the nice redundant Raid array and backup system that you have invested in on your server!

 These pages were last updated on 20 Sep 2013.