During the evening of April 23, 2013, the TariffShark team gathered in a conference room at the Links Technology headquarters in order to test our disaster recovery procedures. In the event that our Tier 4 data center experiences an outage that makes the hosted TariffShark servers unavailable, we restore service to a secondary data center. We test these procedures every 6 months as a service to our hosted TariffShark customers.
The test ran successfully in just under two hours.
If you'd like to learn more about Hosted TariffShark, please visit our website or contact sales.
Friday, April 26, 2013
Monday, April 15, 2013
Reducing the Size of a TariffShark Database
TariffShark databases tend to grow larger and larger over time. If you think about it, this makes perfect sense. Each time an eTariff filing is made, Tariff Record Versions are added as are the filing's FERC Attachments. Data is constantly being added to a TariffShark database and seldom deleted.
As the size of a database grows, so does the cost of maintaining it. The files that comprise the database require more space on disk and its backups run longer and also require more storage. Therefore, it may be wise to take any steps available to reduce database size. In a TariffShark database, there are opportunities for size reduction, which by and large come from tables in the database that store transient or audit data.
As the size of a database grows, so does the cost of maintaining it. The files that comprise the database require more space on disk and its backups run longer and also require more storage. Therefore, it may be wise to take any steps available to reduce database size. In a TariffShark database, there are opportunities for size reduction, which by and large come from tables in the database that store transient or audit data.
- Audit - All interactions between a TariffShark client and the application server are written to an audit table. The audit table can grow quite large over time. Records in the audit table are seldom if ever needed, but can be helpful when tracking down software issues. In any event, data in the audit table older than a few weeks provides no value.
- TRV Processing Queue - The Tariff Record Version processing queue is used to track and manage the processing of all TRV documents. This is truly transient data in that after a TRV document is processed successfully, the queue data is no longer needed.
- Binary Data - TariffShark stores binary data (Word documents and PDFs, for example) separately from other TariffShark data and seldom deletes table rows that are no longer needed. Over time, unneeded documents can take up quite a bit of space in the database.
Each of these database areas can be cleaned up and, as a result, database size reduced by running a separate administrative stored procedure that ships with TariffShark Hammerhead. If you would like to learn more about these stored procedures so that you can keep your TariffShark database running efficiently, contact TariffShark Support.
Monday, April 1, 2013
Diagnose Problems Submitting to FERC's eTariff Sandbox
In an earlier blog article, we described a method for submitting a tariff filing to FERC's eTariff sandbox, which is helpful for users who don't have TariffShark Hammerhead. We also posted a screencast that shows how TariffShark Hammerhead has built-in FERC sandbox submission. The purpose of this article is to help you diagnose why your computer may not be able to successfully submit a filing to FERC's eTariff sandbox.
FERC's eTariff sandbox is an FTP server. FTP is an acronym for File Transfer Protocol, which provides a means for sending and receiving files over the Internet. Some organizations have configured their corporate networks to block FTP, which also blocks the FERC eTariff sandbox. In addition, some desktop computers are configured to run a software firewall. A software firewall could also be blocking FTP.
When we are asked to diagnose problems sending files to FERC's eTariff sandbox, we try to isolate the root cause. One trick is to eliminate as many layers of software as possible, which we do by following this handy guide:
If a user is able to connect to FERC's eTariff sandbox using the procedure above, then the problem is not one of blocked access and we will continue to dig deeper.
If you have questions about using FERC's eTariff sandbox or run into problems trying to submit a filing to the sandbox, we'd love to hear from you. Please comment below or contact TariffShark Support.
FERC's eTariff sandbox is an FTP server. FTP is an acronym for File Transfer Protocol, which provides a means for sending and receiving files over the Internet. Some organizations have configured their corporate networks to block FTP, which also blocks the FERC eTariff sandbox. In addition, some desktop computers are configured to run a software firewall. A software firewall could also be blocking FTP.
When we are asked to diagnose problems sending files to FERC's eTariff sandbox, we try to isolate the root cause. One trick is to eliminate as many layers of software as possible, which we do by following this handy guide:
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| Use Windows command prompt to connect to FERC's eTariff sandbox [click to enlarge] |
![[click to enlarge]](http://www.tariffshark.com/blogimages/eTariffFTP.png){kind=link}
If you have questions about using FERC's eTariff sandbox or run into problems trying to submit a filing to the sandbox, we'd love to hear from you. Please comment below or contact TariffShark Support.
Monday, March 4, 2013
Fonts Change When I Build Content
If you are struggling with fonts changing when you import a Microsoft Word document into TariffShark, then this article is for you. What you are experiencing is a designed behavior of Microsoft Word (and probably frustration).
Every Microsoft Word document contains an underlying style named "Normal". It forms the basis for the document's appearance by establishing defaults for such characteristics as font (type face), font size, and paragraph spacing (among many other document characteristics). Imagine that you have two documents: one is a research paper and the other is the bibliography for the paper. Ultimately, you plan to merge these documents into a single document, but you find that it's easier to work with them as separate documents while your research paper takes form. Further, imagine that the research paper's Normal style names Times New Roman as the default font and the bibliography's Normal style uses Courier New.
When you bring the two documents together, it would be strange to use different fonts (and your professor may even deduct points). Microsoft Word understands this and tries to be smart when merging documents. For example, if you copied the content of your bibliography and pasted it to the end of the research paper, the Courier New bibliography would appear as Times New Roman in the research paper document. Similarly, if you copied the research paper and pasted it to the top of the bibliography, the Times New Roman research paper would appear as Courier New in the bibliography document. Microsoft Word is essentially making the content that you paste into a document "blend in".
So, what does this have to do with TariffShark?
Our customers sometimes get tariff content from outside parties who provide the content within Microsoft Word documents. If a source Word document defines a different default font than what TariffShark defines in the Document Layout, when the content is brought into TariffShark, the content can adopt the default font from the Document Layout and take on a very different appearance. If this isn't what you intend, one solution is to create a new Document Layout whose Normal style establishes the correct default font.
If you have any questions relating to TariffShark's Document Layouts and Microsoft Word's Normal style, we will do our best to answer them. Post your questions and comments below or contact TariffShark Support.
Every Microsoft Word document contains an underlying style named "Normal". It forms the basis for the document's appearance by establishing defaults for such characteristics as font (type face), font size, and paragraph spacing (among many other document characteristics). Imagine that you have two documents: one is a research paper and the other is the bibliography for the paper. Ultimately, you plan to merge these documents into a single document, but you find that it's easier to work with them as separate documents while your research paper takes form. Further, imagine that the research paper's Normal style names Times New Roman as the default font and the bibliography's Normal style uses Courier New.
When you bring the two documents together, it would be strange to use different fonts (and your professor may even deduct points). Microsoft Word understands this and tries to be smart when merging documents. For example, if you copied the content of your bibliography and pasted it to the end of the research paper, the Courier New bibliography would appear as Times New Roman in the research paper document. Similarly, if you copied the research paper and pasted it to the top of the bibliography, the Times New Roman research paper would appear as Courier New in the bibliography document. Microsoft Word is essentially making the content that you paste into a document "blend in".
So, what does this have to do with TariffShark?
Our customers sometimes get tariff content from outside parties who provide the content within Microsoft Word documents. If a source Word document defines a different default font than what TariffShark defines in the Document Layout, when the content is brought into TariffShark, the content can adopt the default font from the Document Layout and take on a very different appearance. If this isn't what you intend, one solution is to create a new Document Layout whose Normal style establishes the correct default font.
If you have any questions relating to TariffShark's Document Layouts and Microsoft Word's Normal style, we will do our best to answer them. Post your questions and comments below or contact TariffShark Support.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
FERC Posts Updated Validation Error Codes
On February 11, 2013, FERC staff posted a small update to the list of Validation Error Codes that the Commission provides on its eTariff webpage. The changes are summarized below.
The most significant change was to error code 120 which used to read "For an Amendment Compliance Withdrawn or Motion filing Associated Filing Identifier cannot be a Report Withdraw or Motion filing" and now reads "For an Amendment Compliance Withdraw Report or Motion filing Associated Filing Identifier cannot be a Report Withdraw or Motion filing". Essentially, the Commission is clarifying that a Report-type filing (note the highlighted word) may not be associated with a Report-type, Withdraw-type, or Motion-type filing.
Mistakenly, error code 158's description was a copy of 159. Error code 158 has been corrected to read "If provided the tariff record's Record Binary Data RTF file is not well-formatted".
Finally, a typographical error was corrected in the description of error code 121.
If you have any questions relating to these changes or to Validation Error Codes in general, you may post them below or contact TariffShark Support.
The most significant change was to error code 120 which used to read "For an Amendment Compliance Withdrawn or Motion filing Associated Filing Identifier cannot be a Report Withdraw or Motion filing" and now reads "For an Amendment Compliance Withdraw Report or Motion filing Associated Filing Identifier cannot be a Report Withdraw or Motion filing". Essentially, the Commission is clarifying that a Report-type filing (note the highlighted word) may not be associated with a Report-type, Withdraw-type, or Motion-type filing.
Mistakenly, error code 158's description was a copy of 159. Error code 158 has been corrected to read "If provided the tariff record's Record Binary Data RTF file is not well-formatted".
Finally, a typographical error was corrected in the description of error code 121.
If you have any questions relating to these changes or to Validation Error Codes in general, you may post them below or contact TariffShark Support.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Cancelling a Tariff Database (or FERC Tariff Id) in TariffShark Hammerhead
An FAQ article is provided on the TariffShark website that answers the question "How do I cancel an entire Tariff Database?" It answers this question for pre-Hammerhead TariffShark versions in the 1.x range. If you're running TariffShark Hammerhead and you'd like to know how to cancel a Tariff Database, keep reading.
In order to cancel an entire Tariff Database, you must submit a CANCEL-type Filing. At time of this writing, the following filing types are classified as CANCEL-type Filings:
Follow these steps in TariffShark Hammerhead to prepare a CANCEL-type Filing:
In order to cancel an entire Tariff Database, you must submit a CANCEL-type Filing. At time of this writing, the following filing types are classified as CANCEL-type Filings:
Follow these steps in TariffShark Hammerhead to prepare a CANCEL-type Filing:
- Create a cancellation-type Filing and supply the standard Filing metadata. There are no special requirements regarding TariffShark's Filing data fields.
- Create a TRV for one of the Tariff Records in the Tariff Database and place it into the Filing created in the prior step. For the Proposed Effective, enter the date on which you wish to cancel the Tariff Database. It doesn't much matter under which Tariff Record the TRV is created.
- From an eTariff validation perspective, you may or may not provide content for the TRV created in the prior step. However, from an industry regulations perspective, content may be required.
- Create a transmittal letter and attach it to the Filing as a FERC Attachment in TariffShark. Provide other FERC Attachments as required or desired just as you would for any other eTariff Filing.
- Validate the Filing and then generate and download the XML. You're ready to submit the Filing to FERC.
As always, if you have questions or comments, you may post them below or contact TariffShark Support.
Friday, December 28, 2012
Waiving FERC Attachments
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC") provides sets of rules that describe the types of eTariff filings and the supporting materials (FERC Attachments) that may be submitted for each type of filing. Separate sets of rules are provided for each FERC program (gas, oil, electric) which are aligned with the governing regulations. TariffShark incorporates and enforces these rules to help ensure a pain-free eTariff experience. For those interested, FERC provides a human-readable PDF that spells out the rules in some detail.
With that brief background out of the way, let's dive into today's topic: the waiving of FERC Attachments in eTariff.
Years ago, when eTariff was conceived, FERC staff set out to define the types of filings and associated attachments in a way that they closely mirrored the regulations. Specifically, for a given type of eTariff filing, the regulations describe which attachments are required and which are optional. FERC staff felt that defining the rules to parallel the regulations would help filers to understand the filing requirements and result in fewer rejected filings. Also, among the required attachments, a waiver may be requested under certain circumstances which would permit an eTariff filer to omit a required attachment. Another reason that a waiver might be requested for a specific attachment is when a filer chooses to include mandatory supporting material within another attachment, such as the transmittal letter. For example, when proposing changes to tariff language, it is necessary to provide a transmittal letter, the marked tariff changes, and a clean copy of the affected portions of the revised tariff. A filer could choose to provide three separate attachments or combine all three into the transmittal letter.
FERC staff's intent caused something of an outcry from industry members. Some felt that it would be burdensome to provide a transmittal letter that included all required materials and to also request a waiver of those materials as separate attachments (on account of them being provided within the transmittal letter). In the end, FERC staff deferred to industries' concerns.
So, while eTariff's type of filing and attachment rules are capable of defining mandatory versus optional attachments and designating for which among the mandatory attachments a waiver may be requested, the rules have been implemented in a much simpler way. Across FERC programs, across all types of filings, transmittal letters are the only mandatory attachments and they are defined such that they cannot be waived. Therefore, while TariffShark supports the notion of requesting waivers for mandatory attachments, FERC's type of filing and attachment rules do not define any such attachments, so you will not see this functionality within TariffShark. Further, this "dumbing down" of the rules places a greater burden on eTariff filers to be familiar with the regulations and to understand which attachments are required and which are optional for various eTariff filing scenarios.
With that brief background out of the way, let's dive into today's topic: the waiving of FERC Attachments in eTariff.
Years ago, when eTariff was conceived, FERC staff set out to define the types of filings and associated attachments in a way that they closely mirrored the regulations. Specifically, for a given type of eTariff filing, the regulations describe which attachments are required and which are optional. FERC staff felt that defining the rules to parallel the regulations would help filers to understand the filing requirements and result in fewer rejected filings. Also, among the required attachments, a waiver may be requested under certain circumstances which would permit an eTariff filer to omit a required attachment. Another reason that a waiver might be requested for a specific attachment is when a filer chooses to include mandatory supporting material within another attachment, such as the transmittal letter. For example, when proposing changes to tariff language, it is necessary to provide a transmittal letter, the marked tariff changes, and a clean copy of the affected portions of the revised tariff. A filer could choose to provide three separate attachments or combine all three into the transmittal letter.
FERC staff's intent caused something of an outcry from industry members. Some felt that it would be burdensome to provide a transmittal letter that included all required materials and to also request a waiver of those materials as separate attachments (on account of them being provided within the transmittal letter). In the end, FERC staff deferred to industries' concerns.
So, while eTariff's type of filing and attachment rules are capable of defining mandatory versus optional attachments and designating for which among the mandatory attachments a waiver may be requested, the rules have been implemented in a much simpler way. Across FERC programs, across all types of filings, transmittal letters are the only mandatory attachments and they are defined such that they cannot be waived. Therefore, while TariffShark supports the notion of requesting waivers for mandatory attachments, FERC's type of filing and attachment rules do not define any such attachments, so you will not see this functionality within TariffShark. Further, this "dumbing down" of the rules places a greater burden on eTariff filers to be familiar with the regulations and to understand which attachments are required and which are optional for various eTariff filing scenarios.
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