Banging My Head Against My Desk

[Mike Toussaint]

Hi Gents:

I installed and registered WideFS yesterday and verified that both FSUIPC and WideFS are registered in FS2004.

I installed WideClient on my networked machine and WideServer on the FS2004 machine.

WideClient and find WideServer and connects great. However, non of the utilities that I install on the client machine work!

I installed AS6 did the activeconnector, mapped the drives and it loads up on the client box with no problems for further prompts but it says that it cannot find FS. So I tried something simple like AISmooth. I connected Client to Server and then launched AISmooth and that can't find FS either!

I went though the documentation and I am at wits end. I can find nothing else to change or configure that I haven't tried in the 4 hours I've been trying to get this to work.

- Checked Network

- Machine names are different

- Using TCP/IP

- Verified wideclient says connected

- checked the logs and they are connected

- still banging my head against the wall!

- proper network drives are mapped

- network drives have proper r/w permissions

Can someone PLEASE help???

Thanks,

Mike T.

[Mike Toussaint]

zoinks never mind. I got it working. This is very cool and seems to save CPU cycles!

Excellent utility, I think I'm gonna have to buy this for my PC...can't believe I went this long without it.

Mike T.

[sgr]

Mike,

Which is very cool? AI Smooth, or AS6. I don't know either one, but if it saves CPU cycles, I might like to try it.

-Steve

[JSkorna]

Hi Mike,

What did you do to fix the problem?

[Ste9889]

yeah, im having the same problem, how did you fix it?

[Mike Toussaint]

So, the first problem was that the main computer was sitting behind a firewall that has SPI (stateful packet inspection). Unauthorized application socket connections not explicitely defined are dropped.

Secondly, the client and server are on different network subnets joined by a router and as everyone knows routers do not forward broadcast packets which WideFS uses for discovery (Duh!). Defining a static route directly to the server solved to problem. Most won't encounter this problem...but if you do

Okay, the easy technical stuff aside, I am stupified that I didn't realize the true power of WideFS, ergo Distributed Computing. MSFS CPU dedicated to MSFS and as many CPUs dedicated to other applications as you want!!!

I was experiencing stutters with AS6 when it updated the weather on the fly and RC v4 when it compiled wav files to play ATC commands. FDC drops frame rates also. At the end of the day, with an AMD FX machine, I would end up with a stuttering and frustrating mess. BUT with WideFS it would appear those days are over since I am now distributing Applications over 2 seperated comptuers leaving my FS machine free to crunch scenery, traffic and graphics.

Wow, I know I'm late lauding the praises of WideFS but this darned thing actually works! Changed my FS experience in spades!

[dripley]

I have just installed a network and was looking forward to running ActiveSky 6 on the Client computer but despite my best efforts, I am getting nowhere. I read the first 2 paragraphs of your reply in the hope that they contained a clue to my problems but I don't understand them. I am not very computer literate so explainations have to be in simple terms.

After loading ASv6 on the Client computer, it says 'FS Disconnected". In FS2004 it says 'FS2004 with WideServer not able to serve(see log). It looks like FS2004 is not getting through to the Client computer but why? Your comment about the firewall sounded intriguing but how do I check whether or not I have the same problem? I have FS2004 on a seperate HDD which I can access from the Client computer. My version of WideFS is 5.4.

If you have any ideas which might solve my problem I would love to hear them.

Denis

[Pete Dowson]

In FS2004 it says 'FS2004 with WideServer not able to serve(see log). It looks like FS2004 is not getting through to the Client computer but why?

That message from WideServer normally means WideFS is not registered. Check the WideServer.LOG file and the About/Register option in FSUIPC.

Pete