Multiple Machine Farm issues..

[bwolfsohn]

We run a number of services to support our client's online activities. It's reached the point, where we are taking steps to offload some of the activity onto different machines.

Our services have a public side http: access for buyers, and a private soap side at the same ip# on a different port for communication between our desktop Xbase++ application and the soap server.

The machines running our application do not have IIS or FTP installed. the only things running are our xbase++ service applications and the O/S w2k3.

In our never-ending quest for scalability, We now want to offload the pictures that our clients use onto another machine.

Options i can think of are as follows. If you have any better suggestions, i'd like to discuss them.

1. Map a drive to the 2nd machine. No problem to map a drive as we've always done. Works when we run the application from the command line.. i.e. MYAPP.EXE DOS . Does NOT run as a service. In all likelihood, the service can't see the mapping. Andreas Gehrs-Pahl from Michigan has code to map a drive from within the application, so that seems like it will fix the problem.

2. We can access the machine directly through a named UNC.. i.e. copy file abc.jog \\anothermachine\d$\myclient\pictures

3. We can access the machine directly through a private decimal UNC.. i.e. copy file abc.jog \\10.0.0.6\d$\myclient\pictures

4. We can access the machine directly through a public decimal UNC.. i.e. copy file abc.jog \\208.118.123.123\d$\myclient\pictures

I'm concerned about latent response time, and losing connections. #2 seems to have a very slow startup. 20 - 30 seconds delay while creating the connection. Same with #4. #3 Seems to have rapid response. It's on a private switch.

If anyone has dealt with these issues, i'd appreciate any feedback, suggestions, or other options..

P.S. When ARE we having that Express++ Devcon ??

Brian

[Cliff Wiernik]

I was going to send you my login routine but Andreas already did. After the initial 15 second on-time connection, connections after that are very quick. We do something similar to connect to our SQL server housing our 3rd party document management system to get the file names, then copy the file names to the workstations they can be display in the document viewer. Speed is very quick after the first time. Did run into the 15 minute timeout issue with windows servers but addressed this by spawning a thread that checks for existence of a directory every 10 minutes and thus no connection latency.

Cliff.

[Auge_Ohr]

hi Brian & Cliff,

how do you login to both Server ? which is the Domain Server ?
did you use active Directory to manage Network Folder or do you use "simple" P2P sharing Folder ?

Server are W2K3, using SMB(1), what OS() does work on your Workstation ?
What SMB (Op´s locking) Setting ?




Server 2008 SBS contain 2 DVDs, but only 1st DVD is need to install SBS.
on 2nd DVD "seem" to be a 2nd Server which is 32bit. This you can not install as "stand alone"

as i read it seem to be a "Cluster" Server which act as 2nd Fileserver and can be upgrade up to 256 "Cluster"
Application and Service still have to be installed on x64 Server, you can not run a "external Service" on a "Cluster" only

It does work with Vista / Win7 Workstation only while using SMB2(.1) for fast Performance and Security (compression, zertificat, encryption ) ... i did not have test it yet

[Cliff Wiernik]

What we are doing is rather straightforward. We have a main novell netware network with a windows active directory network that only a portion of the computers is actively connected to. We make a connection to one of the servers on the domain and map the letter T: to that directory but a drive mapping would not be needed.

Code: Select all

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*+
*+    FUNCTION LB_LoginWinServer(cImageDir)                                 
*+
*+      cImageDir - full path to image directory
*+
*+±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±
*+
FUNCTION LB_LoginWinServer(cImageDir)                                 
  LOCAL ErrInfo, cDocServerPassword, cDocServerUser
  LOCAL aBin, oNetR, cDrive := "T:"
  LOCAL cPath                          
  
  cPath := "\\servername\images"

  aBin := BaInit(8)
  BaStruct(aBin,RESOURCE_GLOBALNET)
  BaStruct(aBin,RESOURCETYPE_DISK)
  BaStruct(aBin,RESOURCEDISPLAYTYPE_SHARE)
  BaStruct(aBin,RESOURCEUSAGE_CONNECTABLE)
  BaStruct(aBin,@cDrive)        // 0)         // T: assigned as drive letter - either this line or next needs to be commented out
//  BaStruct(aBin,0)                              // no driver letter assigned
  BaStruct(aBin,@cPath)
  BaStruct(aBin,0)
  BaStruct(aBin,0)
  oNetR := BaAccess(aBin)
  
  cDocServerUser := "domainname\domainuser"            // this is a user on the domain.  The workstation may not connected to the domain
  cDocServerPassword := "password"
  
  // If the cDocServerPassword and cDocServerUser arguments are null (use vbNullString), the
  // user context for the process provides the default user name.

  ErrInfo = WNetAddConnection2A(oNetR, @cDocServerPassword, @cDocServerUser, CONNECT_UPDATE_PROFILE)
  
  IF ErrInfo = NO_ERROR 
  ELSE
    LB_Warning({"ERROR: "+ str(ErrInfo),"Cannot Connect to Windows Server",cPath,"Exiting"})
  ENDIF

  BaExtract(aBin,oNetR)
  BaExtract(aBin)
  BaExtract(aBin)
  BaExtract(aBin)
  BaExtract(aBin)
  BaExtract(aBin)
  BaExtract(aBin)
  BaExtract(aBin)
  
  RETURN iif( ErrInfo = NO_ERROR,.T.,.F.)

DLLFUNCTION WNetAddConnection2A(lpNetResource,lpPassword,lpUserName,dwFlags) USING STDCALL FROM mpr.dll

[Auge_Ohr]

Code: Select all

DLLFUNCTION WNetAddConnection2A(lpNetResource,lpPassword,lpUserName,dwFlags) USING STDCALL FROM mpr.dll

your Code is based on KB173011, look on KB256847 which is the "never" Version !

But i have to ask why you do not map you Drive @ Login Script / GPO and make it /persistent:yes ?
i recommend to use M$ Network to show Drive and map them with Checkbox /persistent:yes

We have a main novell netware network with a windows active directory network

so which Novell Client are you using ? IPX and IP or IP Only ?

[Cliff Wiernik]

1. Only a select few individuals are actually logged into the domain as regular users. The rest only use this connection via a common domain user when needed.

2. We are using NC491sp1, ipx and ip. We need IPX for a select few functions still running in our clipper application with ADS because of the IP shim speed issues. We are not putting time into the clipper app to work properly with IP.

Cliff

[Auge_Ohr]

2. We are using NC491sp1

only Workstation OS() < Vista / Win7 ? try NW v4.91SP4

The rest only use this connection via a common domain user when needed.

hm ...

using NW-Client you attach to NW Server first.
with same Username/PW you attach your W2K3 Server, but not all User ?

those User, let say Name is "Billy", have no own Account on W2K3 and use a Common User "all4one" ?
if yes : did you realy wonder why connection need > 10 sec ?

[Auge_Ohr]

hi, just saw that Andreas Gehrs-Pahl have made a

KB256847

Version for Xbase++
on Alaska Newsforum, public.xbase++.data-access, Re: Mapping Network Drive, 18. April 2010

look at WNetAddConnectionA vs. WNetCancelConnection2A

[bwolfsohn]

I ended up using Andreas's mapping example. very easy for the copy/paste expert that i am to implement..

Just finished final testing, in making sure a second service which maps to the same letter didn't disconnect the 1st service from the same drive.

It's somewhat unsettling to not be able to see the drive mappings in my computer when they're done this way...

sigh... just another new paradigm...

I HATE NEW PARADIGM'S!!! <gg>

Brian

[Cliff Wiernik]

We don't use the sp4 client because novell broke it for ADS and Netware with large records. We worked with Novell to fix it way back in 4.83, but they have now broke it again.