| Database/Multi-user
Software F.A.Q.
|
| |
| Q. What does Client/Server mean?
|
A.
Client/server applications have a client and a server component. The
client only talks to the server and only the server has direct access
to the data. File server applications have no server component
and they can directly access the data. |
| Q.
How can we share data amongst several
people with the Standard version? |
A.
To share
data with multiple users over a network you should install the data on
a network shared folder then install the software on each computer. To
do this run the setup program and select the Data only
installation
option. The Select Destination Location screen
will appear. This will be where the program data will be
placed. Complete the setup for the data. Then
run the setup file from
each of the client machines, choosing the Client only installation for
each one. When asked for the data folder enter the folder where you
installed the data earlier. |
Q.
I want
to share data amongst several people. Can I
use the Standard version or do I need to purchase the Client/Server
version? |
| A.
The Standard versions of our software (and Project Clock Pro) can share
data with multiple users over a network. However, the standard version
will be more likely to require database re-indexing especially in
networks with unstable machines or inexperienced users. A general rule
of thumb is not to use the standard version with more than 10
simultaneous users. With 10 or more simultaneous users the
Client/Server version will perform better. |
| Q.
When I
Start Program X why does the following error message
comes up:
DBISAM Engine Error #9217 Error reading From Data File C:\Program
Files\Cyber App\data\ATable.dat |
| A.
This is a database corruption error and it sounds worse than it is.
Several
CyberMatrix programs use a local database to store their data.
Corruption can happen in any local database when a system is shut down
abnormally. You should never shut down or restart a Windows machine
without doing a proper Windows shutdown first (i.e., choosing Shut Down
from the Start menu.) Newer version of our software will re-index
(repair) tables automatically if all users close the software and a
single person restarts it. To re-index the table manually, select the
table in the Data Manager screen and then choose File | Repair table
(or File | Re-index table).
DBSys
If you are unable to open the application to do a repair you
can get
the DBSys utility.
DBSys
is a utility from Elevate
Software,
the makers
of the database engine used in our database software. Use this program
to repair the affected table.
Windows
95:
There exists problems with several versions of the network redirector
provided with the Windows 95 Microsoft Client for Microsoft Networks
that can cause data corruption in DBISAM data files when they reside on
a shared Windows 95 server. One of the problems occurs when the network
redirector (vredir.vxd) improperly caches server data locally and can
cause various problems such as key violation exceptions with
auto-increment primary keys and others that should never occur. If you
are experiencing random problems with data corruption when sharing data
files in a Windows 95-only environment then please download the updated
network redirector and apply the update to all Windows 95 machines on
the network. Please note that these problems do not occur when
accessing Novell Netware servers.
You can find more information at:
support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q174/3/71.asp
Windows
NT:
If you don't have NT Service Pack 3 or higher you may want to check and
see if the NT server has opportunistic locking turned off:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SYSTEM\ CurrentControlSet\ Services\ LanmanServer\
Parameters
"EnableOplocks" (DWORD) = 0 (default=1)
NT Service Pack 3 supposedly fixes the problems with opportunistic
locking on the NT server platform. Remember to re-apply the service
pack after any updates to the system.
Last
Resort
If after trying all these solutions you still have problems, you can
zip up the data files and e-mail them to CyberMatrix. We'll repair them
and send them back. |
| Q.
When I try to re-index a tabled I get the error "DBISAM Engine Error
#10242 Cannot unlock table or record in the table 'TableX'". How do I
fix this? |
A.
Get everyone off the system (shutdown their machines if necessary) and
try re-indexing again. |
| Q.
What
is the purpose of the Users table? |
A.
The Users table merely keeps a running log of which users are believed
to be logged into the system. |
Q.
What is the maximum size of a single database table?
|
| A.
The maximum size of a table (.DAT), index file (.IDX), or BLOB file
(.BLB) is 4 gigabytes. |
Q.
I have
setup Program X on an NT 4.0 station. When
only one person access the software everything is fine. When other
machines use Program X everything slows to a crawl. What's going on?
|
| A.
This is an NT4
issue, and most likely related to opportunistic
locking settings and the SP level. Due to bugs in early versions of NT4
a lot of servers had opportunistic locks turned off, but since this has
been fixed they haven't turned them back on. Ensure the
OpportunisticLocking functionality is enabled (=1) in the registry.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SYSTEM\ CurrentControlSet\ Services\
LanmanServer\
Parameters
"EnableOplocks" (DWORD) = 1
Both the server and the workstation must agree. Make sure you have SP4
or higher. The other thing that can cause slowdown problems is using
NetBeui in conjunction with TCP/IP (especially making NetBEUI the
default protocol). You might also try turning off
StrictChangeDetection. It is recommended that you get an NT server
administrator to look at the server and make sure that it's configured
properly.
If you are running 10 Base T on your network try upgrading to 100 Base
T. |
| Q.
We're
running your software on a Windows 2000
peer-to-peer network setup. We're experiencing performance problems.
How can we speed things up? |
| A1.
On Windows 2000
there is a bug relating to UNC paths. http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q249/7/99.ASP
You will see significant performance problems with database
applications if different people access the same shared files using
different paths. To work around the problem you can map the shared path
to a common drive letter.
A2.
A rather annoying "feature" included
with Windows 2000 can impact the responsiveness in network browsing
from Win2K systems to Windows 98 PCs. When you browse the network and
double-click on an available workstation, you may experience a delay of
up to 30 seconds. This is due to a resource scanning routine that has
to do with Scheduled Tasks. In most cases, it's not necessary, so
simply deleting the associated registry key will work around the issue.
When you upgrade Windows components or versions of Internet Explorer,
this may be replaced, so you'll have to delete the key again in order
to rid yourself of the reinstated delay. Navigate to the following
registry location:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \
Explorer \ RemoteComputer \ NameSpace
Then delete the following key:
{D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF} |
| Q.
We're
running Program X on a Windows 95/98 peer to
peer network. Performance seems very slow. How can we make it faster?
|
| A.
Make sure your network cards are set to half duplex. If you are running
Norton Antivirus, disable "Auto Protect". |
| Q.
Will
Program X run on Novell? |
| A.
CyberMatrix database applications will run fine on a properly
configured Novell Network. Novell does have one issue you need to be
aware of. Unlike Windows NT, Novell has a default maximum number of
record locks per client of 500. So you may need to change the Novell
default record locks. You can do this by adding 2 lines into your
system autoexec files as follows:
SET MAXIMUM RECORD LOCKS PER CONNECTION = 5000
SET MAXIMUM RECORD LOCKS = 40000
You should use TCP/IP and eliminate the IPX/SPX protocol (may
need Novell 5) completely from the NT box. On the workstation make sure
the Microsoft Client is bound to TCP/IP only and the Microsoft Novell
client is bound to IPX only. Remove any protocols you do not use such
as Netbios from your workstations (you need it for NT server). Also
look at the protocol resolution order.
With Novell it is also important to make sure you are not running full
duplex if your network design is 10BaseT or 100BaseT since without a
intelligent (expensive) switch this can corrupt Novell packets.
|
| Q.
How
can I export table data into Excel? |
A.
Export the table into CSV format in the Data Manager screen: select
View | Data Manager from the main menu. Select the table then choose
File | Export to CSV. Load the saved file into Excel. |
| Q.
Which
database engine is used in your software? |
A.
We use the DBISAM database engine for all our Windows business
applications. |
| Q.
Can
DBISAM tables be accessed from Crystal Reports or
other common database software? |
| A.
For newer non-enterprise versions of our software (Class Scheduler v3+, Employee
Project Clock v2.20+, Employee Scheduler, In Out Scheduler, Meeting
Manager v4+, Point Of
Sale, Project Clock v5.10+, Pro Schedule v3+, Timesheets) we have an
ODBC driver available. See:
ODBC
Driver
A.
For older version of our software
there is an ODBC driver available that others have used to access database tables from Crystal Reports. You can get it here:
http://www.cybermatrix.com/download/odbc.zip
We do not offer any support for this older driver. |
| Q.
Where
can I learn how to use SQL? |
| A.
Try these links: SQLCourse2.com, SQL
Tutorial 1 |
| Q.
We are
using the Client/Server version of program X.
Why are we getting a windows socket error (10065) on API connect on one
of the client stations? |
| A.
This is probably a firewall issue. You need to open a port. All our
server software runs on port 9000. |
| Q.
I have
a single license for Program X. I logged in as
someone else, then I had a crash. Now when I try to start Program X
again it says "The number of users have exceeded your license. Contact
CyberMatrix to purchase additional licenses." What do I do to use the
software again? |
| A.
Login as the other person, shut down Program X and then login as
yourself. |
| Q.
We are
very interested in the Client/Server version
of your software. However, we want the server application to run as a
service. Is this possible? |
| A.
Yes, you can use the "srvany" tool from the Microsoft
Resource kit
to
run the server application as a service. Here is a tutorial on setting
up our servers as a service.
1)
use the "instsrv" tool to install the
service to the registry
Example:
instsrv yourservicename "C:\Program Files\Resource Pro
Kit\bin\srvany.exe"
Note that the executable name has to be "srvany.exe"
2)
After you done with step (1), you
need to edit the registry either by using the registry editor or using
a batch file.
create a subkey name "Parameters" under
"HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\yourservicename\"
so that the tree structure looks like
"HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\yourservicename\Parameters"
Then, in the Parameter Subkey, add the values "Application"
and make it
point to your application executable.
Example, "C:\ProjectClock\PCServer.exe"
3)
DONE. You will be able to start/stop
the service from both the
"service" manager and the command prompt using "sc stop service name"
|
| Q.
We use
the Client/Server version of your software. We
want to install the latest version on a new server. What is the best
way to upgrade and still use our old data? |
A.
You can either copy over your entire old server folder over to the new
server machine and then install the new server software into this
folder or install the new server software on the new machine and then
copy over the database files. The database files are those with the
.Dat and .Idx extensions. |
| Q.
I want to move Program X to a new machine but keep all my data. What is
the best way to do this? |
A.
You could over your program and data folder over to the new machine but
then there would be no shortcuts in your start menu. The best way is to
install the software on the new machine. Then on the old machine do a
backup from Program X's Data Manager, copy that backup file to the new
machine, and then restore the backup file on the new machine using
Program X's Data Manager.
|
Q.
We are using version 1 of your software. Is it possible to install the
V2 trial of the software on the same machine so that both versions can
be run side by side. |
| A.
Yes. For the Client/Server version the V2 server would have to run on a
different server machine but V1 and V2 of the client can be installed
into different folders. However you would have to log in as another
user for V2. For the Web version you would just install V2 in another
folder. For the Standard version (or Project CLock Pro) you would have
to do a Data Only and
Client only install of V2. The data would have to be installed in a
folder called Data just off the program folder i.e.: C:\Program\Data.
The software would have to be installed in the C:\Program\ mfolder.
Then you should run V1 and make sure it is still using the old data
folder. Alternatively you could just run V2 under a different user
account i.e. log in as another user for V2. |
