Multiple copies of WideFS next to each other?

[Jackson5]

Thought:

1st FS PC running FS2004, FSUIPC and WideFS server

2nd FS PC running FS2004, FSUIPC and WideFs server

Laptop running WideFs Client and Activesky 2004.

Is this possible, I mean will ActiveSky now serve both PC's with te same weather??

Regards Jack

[Pete Dowson]

1st FS PC running FS2004, FSUIPC and WideFS server

2nd FS PC running FS2004, FSUIPC and WideFs server

Laptop running WideFs Client and Activesky 2004.

Is this possible, I mean will ActiveSky now serve both PC's with te same weather??

No. One of the parameters you have to set in WideClient is the name of the Server. You can't have two Servers with the same name.

Regards,

Pete

[JSkorna]

Hi Pete.

I have been working with Jack on this. Can WideFS serve 2 or more clients?

[Pete Dowson]

I have been working with Jack on this. Can WideFS serve 2 or more clients?

Of course. What an odd question!

There's no realistic practical limit on the number of clients -- there is a built-in limit of 256, but I really wouldn't expect anyone to get anywhere near that number (I think problems of performance and timeouts would start occurring long before then). Most Project Magenta users will have several clients -- I myself normally have 4 client PCs for my FS server PC.

Regards,

Pete

[Jackson5]

Hi,

Thanks for your answers.

I am figuring out how to let Activesky serve both of my FSmachines with actual weather, and for practical reasons I am reluctant to change any of my setup for now.

My wish was to have AS on my laptop (which has no FS2004 installed), and to have WideFS transfer the data to both my FS machines.

Because the laptop is not an active FSMachine it can only run Wideclient (Or is this not true?), and as such it does not seem to be possible in the way I want it.

Both my FS machines are connected through WideView, and Wideview is capable of updating the weather (does not a very good job), but to reduce the workload on WideView, I hoped I could find a way to get the weather updated on both FSmachines with WideFS.

So:

Non FS laptop with WideClient, FSCommander and ActiveSky.

FS primary machine (only displays instruments), running WideFS Server, and WideView server.

Fs secondary machine (only displaying outside views on three screens via Matrox Parhelia), running WideView client.

WideView communication runs through IPX, does WideFS use that too, or does it use TCP IP??

Do you see a way to realize what I am thinking of? Can I install WideClient on my secondary FS machine without creating problems with WideView, or is it just not possible without changing my setup?

Thanks, Jack

[Pete Dowson]

My wish was to have AS on my laptop (which has no FS2004 installed), and to have WideFS transfer the data to both my FS machines.

It cannot and never will be able to. WidClient is a single server - multiple client system. The server runs FS, the clients run ancillary programs.

Because the laptop is not an active FSMachine it can only run Wideclient

It can run whatever it is suitable for running. But if you are not running FS on it then it cannot run WideServer (which is an FS DLL, not a separate program, nor WidevieW (ditto).

Both my FS machines are connected through WideView, and Wideview is capable of updating the weather (does not a very good job), but to reduce the workload on WideView, I hoped I could find a way to get the weather updated on both FSmachines with WideFS.

It is WidevieW's job to synchronise everything between the two FS machines, that is what it is for. I don't know how it is dealing with the weather in FS2004 -- in FS2000 and FS2002 it used the advanced weather interface, which only works with "global" weather. It probably does the same now -- i.e. reads the current weather from one and sends it to the other as "global" weather. Recent versions of ActiveSky, of course, deal with local weather stations. However, provided WidevieW transfers the weather regularly, there shouldn't be any big discrepancy.

If you are thinking that clouds formations and edges etc can be synchronised, lined up as it were, then that wouldn't happen even if what you wanted was possible. There's really no way to synchronise cloud graphics, the same as there's no way to synchronize AI traffic.

FS primary machine (only displays instruments), running WideFS Server, and WideView server.

Fs secondary machine (only displaying outside views on three screens via Matrox Parhelia), running WideView client.

Hmmm. I seewhat an odd use of WidevieW. Sorry, I thought you'd use it for multiple views.

Wouldn't your setup work as well, if not better, making your secondary system the one and only FS machine and just add a PCI graphics card for the panel?

If not, then what you really want is WideServer on the machine showing the graphics, and send it the weather, then somehow get WidevieW to transfer weather the other way. This sort of thing was possible in the original, full-blooded WidevieW. It could be run bi-directionally with configured data.

WideView communication runs through IPX, does WideFS use that too, or does it use TCP IP??

As the documentation clearly says, you can use IPX/SPX or TCP/IP. There's even a table in there showing pros and cons.

Regards,

Pete

[Jackson5]

Hi Pete,

Thanks for your insight. It is, little by little, all becoming clear to me now.

To get it working I should install ActiveSky on my Primary FS computer, and let Wideview handle the transfer of the weather to the secondary Fs computer.

My laptop will then only be used for FScommander connected to the Primary FS Computer via WideFs as it is doing now.

As i understand it correctly WideFS client is pretending to be Flightsimulator, and as such, third party programs can be fooled into thinking they are actually running on the FS pc.

They can receive data, but not send it ?

My odd use of Wideview grew slowly as I expanded, and expanded my sim, and it works fine for me, except for these kind of mindbreaking little problems.....

To give you an idea what my setup is about, here is a link to a few pic's:

http://home.wanadoo.nl/j_both/Cockpit2/page_01.htm

Thanks for your time

[Pete Dowson]

To get it working I should install ActiveSky on my Primary FS computer, and let Wideview handle the transfer of the weather to the secondary Fs computer.

Well, it would be the same, with less loading on the FS PC, to run ActiveSky on your laptop using WideFS to send it to the "primary". I never suggested loading up your FS PC more than you have done! Why would you want to do that?

As i understand it correctly WideFS client is pretending to be Flightsimulator, and as such, third party programs can be fooled into thinking they are actually running on the FS pc.

Yes, as described in the WideFS documentation in fact.

They can receive data, but not send it ?

Not at all! They both send and receive it! WideClient provides a complete remote FSUIPC interface. Where do you get the impression that they cannot send data from? There are many cockpits built around programs like Project Magenta, for example, where not only all the instrumentation is held on Client PCs, but the FMS and main autopilot (MCP) controlling flight. TaKe a look sometime at the Project Magenta site.

I've run both ActiveSky and FSMeteo on a client PC, under WideClient, for many years -- in fact right back to FS2000 days in the case of FSMeteo.

Regards,

Pete