Problems with WideFS 6596

[Thomas Richter]

With 6.51:

Frames = 78-90

DataRate = 22-31

FS-Frames = 21-29

With WideFS 6.596/8:

Frames = 80-92

DataRate = 40-44

FS-Frames = 34-44

...

And I can reproduce it.

That's quite an astounding difference, much more than I could have reasonably expected. I am very pleased it all works so well for you. I've not actually done any numerical comparisons like you, only watching everything subjectively.

Thanks!

Pete

Hi Pete,

same to me.

I think network stole FS Processor-Time, so it went to lower FS-Frames.

FS is working faster now, not so much that it seems (much more FsFrames), but I can see the difference to before.

The same happends too pmSoftware.

[Wizball]

Well..

Yesterday I reinstalled my fs2004 computer..

Installed Windows XP with SP2 and all windows updates.

Installed fs2004 with the patch 9.1

Installed wideserve on it.

But the broadcast still not works. Amazing.

I have tried almost everything.

But... The weakness of my testing was that I almost only was testing from one client. I tried a another client yesterday, and the broadcast worked.. hmm.. strange.. Why doesnt the 4 other clients works? .. The clients that are not working are compaq computers. Different models. Have tried to upgrade the network card driver. Even tried different settings on the NIC. with no luck.

And now the very scary part.

Why did the broadcast worked for my client when I was running fs2004 on my Media Center Edition PC ?

Im going crazy soon :)

[Pete Dowson]

Im going crazy soon :)

I am sorry, but I really have no ideas about this. Later today I will add some optional debug messages to the code and send versions to you to try. If we look at the logs it may tell us what my Mailslot windows API calls are returning which prevents it working in each circumstance.

Don't go crazy yeteven if we never get it working, you can still configure WideFS without it, it is just one feature less.

Later then ...

Pete

[Pete Dowson]

I have tried almost everything.

Okay, more things to try now -- not that it'll fix anything, but hopefully the Logs will show why it is wrong on those PCs on which it doesn't work.

Please install the versions of WideServer and WideClient attached (both "6.598a").

Edit the INI files for both, changing the Log= parameter in the User section to "Log=Mailslot".

Run it in each of the circumstances you already tried, carefully saving both Server and Client logs each time and labelling them (renaming them) appropriately.

The logs should tell us what is going on, IF it is detectable by the programs. If the mailslots are merely being blocked or discarded somewhere deeper down then I'm afraid I don't know any way to find out why.

Thanks,

Pete

WideFS6598a.zip

[Wizball]

Great.. I will take a look at it to night.. :D

do you wont the logs here or email?

Best Regards

Tom Stian

[Pete Dowson]

do you wont the logs here or email?

You can Zip them all together and attach them to an email to petedowson@btconnect.com, please.

Regards,

Pete

[Wizball]

You got mail :)

[Pete Dowson]

You got mail :)

Okay, thanks.

It is exactly as I feared I'm afraid. The Server is okay, it is quite happy and certain it is sending mailslot messages with no errors:

44031 Broadcasting service every 1000 mSecs

44031 Preferred protocol = TCP

44531 Mailslot message sent okay ...)

And the Client is also certain that is it listening and wating for them with no errors reported at all, yet nothing being received either:

3675 Mailslot being created

3675 Mailslot "\\.\MAILSLOT\MS_WideServer" created ok

4676 Readfile for mail returned 0 (read 0 bytes, needed 28 or 26), Error=121

Error 121 just means the read timed out (set at 1 second -- as can be seen here, the difference between 3675 mSecs and 4676 mSecs).

So, what are the possibilities?

First, perhaps they are being blocked somewhere. How that can be I don't know. Sorry.

Second, perhaps there is some service or other part of Windows which isn't running for some reason. Again I have no idea what or why.

Third, perhaps some other service, some add-on perhaps, is hooking this system and losing or blocking the messages -- though is is really the same as reason 1.

Fourth, and this is more obtuse but possibly experimentally provable, perhaps the message is only available to be read for a short time and by some coinicidence it is never there in the 1 second out of every 3 that WideClient is waiting for it.

I don't wait all the time because I found, even if I do this in a separate thread, it makes the WideClient window rather unresponsive to mouse operations such as Window movement/sizing or closure.

What I could do is supply a WideClient with both the interval (3 seconds at present) and the timeout (1 second at present) configurable. Then you could experiment, from the daft (timeout of 10 seconds, every 11, or similar) to the fast (timeout of 100 mSecs every 150 mSecs) -- assuming I set the values in mSecs.

What do you think? Is it worth a try? Let me know. I sohuld be able to fit that in tomorrow some time.

Regards,

Pete

[Wizball]

You got mail :)

What I could do is supply a WideClient with both the interval (3 seconds at present) and the timeout (1 second at present) configurable. Then you could experiment, from the daft (timeout of 10 seconds, every 11, or similar) to the fast (timeout of 100 mSecs every 150 mSecs) -- assuming I set the values in mSecs.

What do you think? Is it worth a try? Let me know. I sohuld be able to fit that in tomorrow some time.

Regards,

Pete

If you feel you have the time it had been very kind of you to do that.. :)

until you have made that new version I will still test here to get it to work. I dont going to cry even if we dont find out what the problem is. The wideserve/client is still working good with the wideclient defined setup :=) .. But it had been nice to find it what the problem is.

Isent there anyone else that have tested this ?

Tnx for the great support

Best Regards

Tom Stian

[Pete Dowson]

Isent there anyone else that have tested this ?

I have had no one else report that the broadcast connection facility, which was added in version 6.50 last August, does not work on WinXP networks. Now I also find that it works well with Win2K -- it is only WinMe and earlier systems which apparently don't support the needed facilities.

This of course doesn't mean no one else has such prblems. after all, I assume you have previously been using 6.51 and even 6.50, but didn't think to either try the facility or report the problem, nnot until we discover it when I propose an interesting use for it (that of easier change of protocol via server INI change only).

I'll send another WideClient tomorrow (Thursday).

Regards,

Pete

[Pete Dowson]

until you have made that new version ...

Okay. Attached is WideClient.exe version 6.598b.

This has another [Config] parameter:

MailslotTiming=2000,1000

That is the default -- you will see it in the INI after you run WideClient once. The first number (2000) is the number of milliseconds between attempts to read the mailslot, and the second number (1000) is the timeout used on the read -- i.e. how long the read is waiting, somewhere deep in Windows, for the mail.

The overall retries, by default, are every 3 seconds (1000 + 2000 mSecs).

I would not advise increasing the read timeout (it will make WideClient unresponsive to user mouse actions until it is connected), but you could decrease it whilst also decreasing the interval. I have found that with

MailslotTiming=100,200

I still get reliable connections, and the Wideclient window is still very responsive, but if the latter figure is 100 it doesn't always connect.

Intervals below about 20 aren't worth considering as other things will make them vary too much in any case.

Please experiment and see if you can make it work. just to check that the mailslot messages are not being blocked, by all means set something rather unrealistic like

MailslotTiming=100,5000

initially. This will make it wait for 5 seconds every 5.1 seconds. If it still doesn't see the message then I have to give up -- it is being blocked or lost someplace. You may have to kill Wideclient then by using the Task Manager, as it will be horribly unresponsive.

However, if this proves the messages are arriving, then it is a matter of finding a timing solution which works properly. Something more realistic like the 100,200 maybe. If you can find some settings which work 100% I can test them here too and may change the defaults.

Regards,

Pete

WideClient6598b.zip

[Wizball]

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES :)

I SOLVED IT :) ..

(sorry for caps :=)

I am really happy now..

All the computers have to be in the same workgroup for the mailslot to work correctly .. :)

I have not tested it very much yet, but as I said it worked :)

There is a known bug for microsoft, you can read about it here

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=822345

Microsoft says that the resolution is to obtain the latest servicepack. But I have all updates from windowsupdate. But MS also says that it is possible to get an HOTFIX for this problem.

Best Regards

Tom Stian Bjerk

[Pete Dowson]

All the computers have to be in the same workgroup for the mailslot to work correctly .. :)

Oh, rightShows how much I know, as I thought they all had to be in the same workgroup for WideFS to work at all in the first place! Do you mean to say you can get two-way interaction between PCs in different workgroups?

Anyway, thanks for telling me. It's something I shall have to be explicit about in the documentation.

The Microsoft report you reference describes the problem like this:

"System error 53 has occurred. The network path was not found." error message when you try to send a mailslot message to a different workgroup

Yet it is certain that no such error was reported back to WideServer when it sent the mailshot. Of course it is not explicitly sending the mailshot to a specific PC, it is a broadcast. So I presume that's why it never fails. How annoying.

The article also says it is fixed in SP2 with the following file or later:

Date Time Version Size File name

------------------------------------------------------

04-Jun-2003 18:27 5.1.2600.1230 149,248 Netbt.sys

Mine appears to be version 5.1.2600.2180 dated 03-Aug-2004 and 162,816 bytes in size.

Regards

Pete

[Wizball]

Do you mean to say you can get two-way interaction between PCs in different workgroups?

WideFS has worked perfecly for me until this problem with the mailslot/broadcast case.

I dident now that the recommandation was to have all to computers in the same workgroup to get the WideFS to work two-way interaction.

That is something I have missed.

well well.. but I will check all my computers now and change them all to the same workgroup..

Anyway.. I am happy now.. :) ..

Tnx again for the great support Pete..

Best Regards

Tom Stian Bjerk

[Wizball]

Date Time Version Size File name

------------------------------------------------------

04-Jun-2003 18:27 5.1.2600.1230 149,248 Netbt.sys

Mine appears to be version 5.1.2600.2180 dated 03-Aug-2004 and 162,816 bytes in size.

My netbt.sys is also version 5.1.2600.2180