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Troubleshooting an Assignment Manager Merge Problem

If the LogTxnChgOnly (Log Transaction on Change Only) parameter for Assignment Manager is True, then Siebel Remote might log a lot of merge conflicts. You can safely ignore many of these merge conflicts. This topic describes why this situation occurs and includes a scenario that describes how these merge conflicts occur.

Why LogTxnChgOnly Affects the Quantity of Merge Conflicts

When LogTxnChgOnly is True, Assignment Manager does not log transactions for modifications that only affect the ASGN_DT field for a record. The ASGN_DT field records the most recent date and time that Assignment Manager assigned that record. This field is not typically visible in a Siebel application.

If you modify only the value of the ASGN_DT field, then Siebel Remote does not log transactions and it does not send these modifications to the remote client. Not sending these modifications causes a discrepancy between the record version that is stored on the Siebel Server and the version that is stored in the local database on the remote client. The discrepancy causes no immediate problem because it does not affect the data fields that are visible for the record. Allowing such harmless discrepancies can significantly reduce the amount of data that Siebel Remote must transfer to the remote client during synchronization.

If Assignment Manager updates data fields that are visible in the record at a later time, then Siebel Remote logs a transaction. In this situation, Siebel Remote detects the discrepancy in the value of the ASGN_DT field the next time that the remote client attempts a synchronization, and it reports the discrepancy as a merge conflict.

Scenario for a Harmless Merge Conflict

This topic gives one example of how a harmless merge conflict occurs. You might experience this merge conflict differently, depending on your business requirements. For clarity, the value of the ASGN_DT field that this scenario describes is a date only, although the field actually includes date and time. The following sequence of events is an example that produces a harmless merge conflict:

1. The Siebel Server runs Assignment Manager and modifies the value of several fields in record X, including setting the value of the ASGN_DT field to 2009-10-29. Siebel Remote modifies values in one or more visible fields and logs a transaction.
2. A remote client synchronizes and receives the updated values for all fields in record X, including the value of 2009-10-29 for the ASGN_DT field.
3. The Siebel Server runs Assignment Manager and modifies the value of the ASGN_DT field to 2009-10-30 but it does not modify values in any visible fields. Siebel Remote does not log a transaction and it does not send the modified value of the ASGN_DT field to the remote client.
4. The Siebel Server runs Assignment Manager and modifies the value of several fields in record X, including setting the value of the ASGN_DT field to 2009-10-31. Siebel Remote modifies values in one or more visible fields and logs a transaction.
5. The remote client synchronizes and receives the updated values for all fields in record X, including a value of 2009-10-31 for the ASGN_DT field. This situation causes a conflict because the transaction updates the value of the ASGN_DT field from 2009-10-30 to 2009-10-31, but the current value of ASGN_DT in the local database is 2009-10-29. The old value in the transaction does not match the current value in the local database, so Siebel Remote reports a conflict.

Distinguishing Between a Harmless and a Meaningful Merge Conflict

This topic describes how to distinguish between a harmless merge conflict that is caused by modifications to ASGN_DT fields and a potentially meaningful conflict that involves your data.

To distinguish between a harmless and a meaningful merge conflict

1. Using the remote client, navigate to the User Preferences screen, and then the Remote Status view.
2. In the Remote Status list, choose the record of a synchronization session that interests you.
3. In the Session Actions list, choose a record that includes the following value in the Item Name field:

   Apply database changes

4. In the Session Action Details list, examine the messages in the Item Details field, using values from the following table.

   Description	Guideline
   The Item Detail includes the following information: Who updated the record. For example: Updated by HKIM A visible data field. For example: Field: Product Under Warranty Flag, New Value: Y, Old Value: N	This detail identifies a potentially meaningful conflict. To determine if Siebel Remote resolves the conflict correctly, you can examine the values that exist on the Siebel Server and the remote client.
   The Item Detail includes the following information: Does not identify who updated the record. For example: Updated by? Identifies an Assignment Date field. For example: Field: Assignment Date, New Value: 2003-11-04 11:09:18.000000, Old Value: 2003-10-25 10:10:02.000000	This detail identifies a harmless conflict. You can ignore it.