Wide Client VAS monitor question

[elsmoko]

Hi Pete,

  I've been using the VAS Monitor on my Wide Client laptop.  Is it possible to disable / re-enable the VAS monitor

"on the fly" (during a flight)?  If yes, how is this accomplished?

Thank you,

Ken Boardman

[Pete Dowson]

  I've been using the VAS Monitor on my Wide Client laptop.  Is it possible to disable / re-enable the VAS monitor

"on the fly" (during a flight)?  If yes, how is this accomplished?

 

Sorry, I don't know this "VAS monitor". The memory check which operated in FSUIPC is only disabled by setting OOMcheck=No in the INI file before FS starts, but I don't see any point in that. What are you trying to achieve? Why do you want FSUIPC to stop measuring memory usage?

 

If you mean you are using some Lua plug-in to display the memory usage on the Client, then, yes, you can program it to hide its screen or display it on some trigger or other. Is that what you want, just to hide a display? Please see the many available functions in the Lua libraries provided.

 

I'm afraid this'll be my last answer for over a week -- back on June 18th

 

Pete

[elsmoko]

Thank you for the fast reply Pete. The attached Readme text file will reveal the VAS Monitor I am referring to.  It's a Lua file that is added to the WideFS folder

on my client laptop and provides a handy real time display of the current free VAS and current FSX frame rate.  My (client) laptop is kind of old and slow (like me) 

and when the VAS monitor is running,  RCV4 communication  / responses slow dramatically.  So, ideally I'd like to be able to control the small VAS Monitor / window

in such a way that I can start it up "on the fly" to do a quick check of the free VAS and then close it,  and repeat this several times during a flight.

Thank you,

Ken

 

[Pete Dowson]

The attached Readme text file will reveal the VAS Monitor I am referring to.  It's a Lua file that is added to the WideFS folder

 

No attachment seen ...

 

when the VAS monitor is running,  RCV4 communication  / responses slow dramatically.

 

Well that most certainly shouldn't happen! It should only be active when the FSUIPC offset for VAS is updated, which is once every 10 seconds (though you can make it up to 1 hour in the latest FSUIPC update).

 

Perhaps you should show me the Lua program itself -- paste the contents into a message, don't try to attach texty files, they are better pasted.

 

Pete

[elsmoko]

Hi Pete,

  Below are the contents of the VAS Monitor's Readme file 

and the contents of the "VAS_Monitor.lua" file :

 

Readme file :

 

Monitoring Virtual Address Space (VAS) in Microsoft Flight Simulator X.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

The attached LUA file will enable you to monitor the free VAS in FSX. This version has been slightly modified to match FSUIPC Lua Standards by removing WND_REGULAR from the font declaration as it's not a standard command.

Requirements.
-------------

Microsoft Flight Simulator X
WideServer.dll v6.78 or later. WideClient.exe v6.9.9.9 or later.
Small area of free space on WideFS display.

Installation.
-------------

Copy the attached VAS_Monitor.lua file to the folder where WideClient.exe is installed.

Configuration.
--------------

Start FSX. Then start WideClient on the WideFS PC. Once a connection has been established the VAS_Monitor display will appear near the top left of the screen.

As well as an instantaneous frame rate readout the free VAS is continuously calculated and displayed. You can adjust both the size and position of the display by adjusting the values in the LUA file. It is possible to adjust the font and font size but I’ve left those at the default.

The top line of the LUA file contains the values that determine the position and size of the display:-
w = wnd.open(“VAS Monitor”, WND_FIXED,  left position of display, position from top of screen, width of display, height of display)

The default values are:-

w = wnd.open(“VAS Monitor”, WND_FIXED, 0, 100, 523, 100)

If you wish to alter the back colour, text colour and font lines those can be altered in lines 2 -4.

Be aware that if you minimise WideClient.exe the lua display will not show.

I am very grateful to my good friend Pete Dowson for creating this file. I hope you also find it useful.

 

Ray Proudfoot
Cheshire, England
10 January 2014.

 

======================================================================

 

The contents of the VAS_Monitor.lua file :

 

w = wnd.open("VAS Monitor", WND_FIXED, 0,100,523,100)
wnd.backcol(w, 0x000)
wnd.textcol(w, 0x6c0)
wnd.font(w, WND_ARIAL,-3)

-- Update the display at 500 msec intervals (see event at end)
function mytimer(time)

wnd.clear(w)

fr = ipc.readUW(0x0274)
if fr ~= 0 then fr = 32768/fr end
fr = math.floor((fr * 10) + 0.5)/10
mem = ipc.readUD(0x024C)
memmb = math.floor((mem/1024) + 0.5)

wnd.text(w, "Frame Rate " .. fr .. " fps\nVAS free " .. memmb .. " Mb")

end

-- Adjust timing to taste: 500 = 1/2 second
event.timer(500, "mytimer")

 

=====================================================================

 

Thank you for looking into this,

Ken

[Pete Dowson]

Below are the contents of the VAS Monitor's Readme file 

and the contents of the "VAS_Monitor.lua" file :

 

Okay. This is the one I use. It only does anything once every 500 milliseconds (half a second), and on my system it runs in parallel with several other programs, including Radar Contact, with no noticeable ill effect. Since it hardly does anything nearly all of the time, I don't think there is any way it can be the cause of your problem.

 

To prove this to yourself, just try changing that line:

 

event.timer(500, "mytimer")

 

Change the 500 to, say, 5000 (5 seconds), or even 50000 (50 seconds), so it does even less, and see.

 

You could also make it do less by removing the Frame Rate display and monitor, but again I don't think that'll do anything. here's a copy with that removed:

w = wnd.open("VAS Monitor", WND_FIXED, 0,100,523,50)
wnd.backcol(w, 0x000)
wnd.textcol(w, 0x6c0)
wnd.font(w, WND_ARIAL,-3)

-- Update the display at 500 msec intervals (see event at end)
function mytimer(time)

wnd.clear(w)

mem = ipc.readUD(0x024C)
memmb = math.floor((mem/1024) + 0.5)

wnd.text(w, "VAS free " .. memmb .. " Mb")

end

-- Adjust timing to taste: 500 = 1/2 second
event.timer(500, "mytimer")

Pete

[Ray Proudfoot]

Ken,

 

Can you edit your post and remove my email address please.

[elsmoko]

Sorry Ray. I know better, I just missed it.

Best regards,

Ken

[Ray Proudfoot]

Thanks Ken. :)

[elsmoko]

Thank you for the VAS Monitor timing adjustment tip Pete and for the edit / illustration.  I look forward to trying it very soon.

Best regards,

Ken

[elsmoko]

Hi Pete,

  I followed your advice, removing the Frame Rate monitor, and changing the sampling frequency to 20,000ms.

I've noticed some improvement in RCV4 communication (less delay of responses),  but I'm thinking that I

may just need a speedier laptop.  I've started saving my allowance  ~:)

Thank you again for your help with this.

Ken

[Ray Proudfoot]

Ken,

 

For info I run the VAS Monitor and RC4 on an Intel i5 desktop and have no problems with either. Neither program uses many resources so I suppose it could be down to your laptop.

[Retard]

Hi,

sorry for picking up this old thread but I am a little confused now. I am not using any LUA file but I would also like to get rid of the VAS Monitor window which has become a bit annoying since I use P3D 64 bit. Unfortunately I could not find any entry for that VAS display in the wideclient.ini (see below) nor in the fsuipc.ini. Expecially there is no OOMcheck entry.

So how can I prevent this VAS monitor window from appearing on my second PC?

Thanks and regards

Ulli

------

My wideclient.ini:

[Config]
Port=8002
Window=43,44,886,589
Visible=NO
ButtonScanInterval=20
ClassInstance=0
NetworkTiming=5,1
MailslotTiming=2000,1000
PollInterval=2000
Port2=9002
ResponseTime=18
ApplicationDelay=0
TCPcoalesce=No
WaitForNewData=500
MaxSendQ=100
OnMaxSendQ=Log
NewSendScanTime=50
Priority=3,1,2
ReconnectMinutes=0

; -----------------------------------------------
[User]
Log=Errors+

; ===============================================
[Sounds] .....

[Ray Proudfoot]

Just delete the lua file or rename the extension. All lua files in that folder run automatically.

[Retard]

Excellent, thanks!