About the User Pool

 

Overview

A User Pool can store NetSuite account information on the server rather than having your warehouse staff enter the account details on the mobile device.  A user pool can be helpful when you have fewer NetSuite accounts than devices, or if your warehouse staff shouldn't be entering account details on the mobile device.  Accountability is reduced when using a user pool.  If you would like to turn the user pool on or off, please contact Oz Development.
 

Sign In Method and Accountability

If you are not using a user pool then your warehouse staff will need to enter full NetSuite usernames and passwords on the devices.  This results in very high accountability as long as each person using the devices has a unique NetSuite account.  OzLINK will store information in NetSuite that indicates which user completed each task.  This method can become costly if you have many staff members since you will need a NetSuite account for each person using the mobile devices.  This method can also be slightly slower if your staff switches between tasks on the device often, since they will have to enter their full NetSuite credentials each time.  If you are willing to sacrifice accountability for cost and time savings, you can switch to a user pool.
 
A user pool will store your NetSuite account information on the server rather than asking for it on the mobile devices.  The server will choose an available NetSuite account to use each time a request comes in from a device.  The devices essentially share a few NetSuite accounts.  An individual device is not guaranteed to use the same account throughout the day.  Staff will still be asked to sign in on the mobile device, but they are able to type in anything they would like as a sign in name.  The sign in name will be recorded with each NetSuite transaction, but there is no way to verify that the sign in name actually belongs to the person doing the work. 
 

Speed and Efficiency

The fastest way to use OzLINK Mobile is to use a user pool with as many NetSuite accounts as there are devices in use.  This will allow your staff to enter simple sign in names and to avoid waiting for available NetSuite accounts.  Using this method does sacrifice some accountability, outlined above, and can also increase your cost, outlined below.
 

Cost

Each new NetSuite user has a cost associated with it.  Each staff member should have a NetSuite account if they will be signing in on the device.  Using a user pool instead can reduce the number of NetSuite accounts necessary.  You can use as few or as many NetSuite accounts in the pool as you would like.  One NetSuite account is used for each request from or write to NetSuite, so the minimum number of NetSuite accounts should be the number of simultaneous requests you would expect from your devices.  Requests from the devices will queue up in a list if all NetSuite accounts are currently busy.  The devices could end up waiting a long time if there are not enough NetSuite accounts to handle the number of requests in a timely way.
 
OzLINK will not be able to use excess NetSuite accounts, so there is never a need to add more NetSuite accounts to the pool than there are devices being used.
 

Setting Up the User Pool

Setting up the user pool involves entering the NetSuite accounts that you would like to use with OzLINK Mobile.  The NetSuite accounts must already be set up correctly.  For more information about setting up your NetSuite accounts, see: NetSuite Setup.
 
  1. In the OzLINK Mobile Server window, click the File menu, then Setup.  Your devices cannot talk to the server while setup is open.
  2. In the setup window that appears, click the Edit User Pool button.  NOTE:  You can only edit the user pool if the user pool has been turned on.  Contact Oz Development if you would like to turn the user pool on or off.
  • To add a NetSuite account to the list, click the Add button.  Enter the username and password, and check the 'Web Services Plus' checkbox if applicable.  OzLINK will start up to 5 workers for each Web Services Plus user, since these users can be logged in to NetSuite 5 times simultaneously.  See the NetSuite documentation for more information about Web Services Plus.
  • To remove a NetSuite account from the list, click on it once to highlight it, then click the Delete button.
3. Click Close to finish setting up your user pool, then click OK in the server setup window to return to normal operation.