OT Network Problem I may have solved.

I have a nexus server running on an ordinary pc on a vast network
involving four hospitals. There are so many terminals that every floor
of every hospital is on a different subnet. I have lots of programs
running on terminals all over this one hospital where I am 3 days a
week. Now I am faced with having to move my nexus server to some other
real server, some day in the near future. I have to make the switch
between 7 am and 7:30 am ....

I wanted to figure out a way to get this done and not have to run
around to every machine and change an address in an ini file ...

So what I did is:

In my datamodule, I open an inifile. If there is a IPchange value,
then I check its effective date against the current date. If it is
less than or equal to the current date, I change the ip address in the
ini file and close it.

Then I open the ini file and read the address . Then I open the
database and a second database named network. If there is a change
address and date in the network db table, I open the ini file and write
a new IPchange set of values. Then I close the second db and go on
about my business.

By using this datamodule in every application, I can then change the
network address table from wherever ... and the programs will find the
change and on the day of the switch will update their address to locate
the server ...

following is a sample of the inifile:

[TCP/IP Address]
Adr=Nexusdb@10.14.22.4
[IPChange]
Effective Date=10/18/2005
IP Address=Nexusdb@10.11.12.135

I am posting this because this concept may be useful to others.

have a nice day
--

David,
Good solution provided each and every computer that is running Nexus
application opens up at least once before the actual IP switchover date.
Another solution would be to see if any DNS server is running in your
network and utilize a URL instead of IP in your DM.
Srini.

"David Guest" <dpguest@bestweb.net> wrote in message
news:4353fcc1$1@wic040d....
>
> I have a nexus server running on an ordinary pc on a vast network
> involving four hospitals. There are so many terminals that every floor
> of every hospital is on a different subnet. I have lots of programs
> running on terminals all over this one hospital where I am 3 days a
> week. Now I am faced with having to move my nexus server to some other
> real server, some day in the near future. I have to make the switch
> between 7 am and 7:30 am ....
>
> I wanted to figure out a way to get this done and not have to run
> around to every machine and change an address in an ini file ...
>
> So what I did is:
>
> In my datamodule, I open an inifile. If there is a IPchange value,
> then I check its effective date against the current date. If it is
> less than or equal to the current date, I change the ip address in the
> ini file and close it.
>
> Then I open the ini file and read the address . Then I open the
> database and a second database named network. If there is a change
> address and date in the network db table, I open the ini file and write
> a new IPchange set of values. Then I close the second db and go on
> about my business.
>
> By using this datamodule in every application, I can then change the
> network address table from wherever ... and the programs will find the
> change and on the day of the switch will update their address to locate
> the server ...
>
> following is a sample of the inifile:
>
> [TCP/IP Address]
> Adr=Nexusdb@10.14.22.4
> [IPChange]
> Effective Date=10/18/2005
> IP Address=Nexusdb@10.11.12.135
>
> I am posting this because this concept may be useful to others.
>
> have a nice day
> --
>

David,


Good work!

An alternative...if you can get the IT people to cooperate, (which is
sometimes like pulling teeth) is to have the global user login script
"push" an ini file out to each workstation.

Or, better yet, the application looks for a single ini file off of a
mapped network drive...potentially the same drive mapping for the
application itself.

I have to ask though...When you refer to "terminals" are you referring
to thin-client machines?

What I like about your approach is the fact that it is triggered by a date!

John

> I have a nexus server running on an ordinary pc on a vast network
> involving four hospitals. There are so many terminals that every floor
> of every hospital is on a different subnet. I have lots of programs
> running on terminals all over this one hospital where I am 3 days a
> week. Now I am faced with having to move my nexus server to some other
> real server, some day in the near future. I have to make the switch
> between 7 am and 7:30 am ....
>
> I wanted to figure out a way to get this done and not have to run
> around to every machine and change an address in an ini file ...
>
> So what I did is:
>
> In my datamodule, I open an inifile. If there is a IPchange value,
> then I check its effective date against the current date. If it is
> less than or equal to the current date, I change the ip address in the
> ini file and close it.
>
> Then I open the ini file and read the address . Then I open the
> database and a second database named network. If there is a change
> address and date in the network db table, I open the ini file and write
> a new IPchange set of values. Then I close the second db and go on
> about my business.
>
> By using this datamodule in every application, I can then change the
> network address table from wherever ... and the programs will find the
> change and on the day of the switch will update their address to locate
> the server ...
>
> following is a sample of the inifile:
>
> [TCP/IP Address]
> Adr=Nexusdb@10.14.22.4
> [IPChange]
> Effective Date=10/18/2005
> IP Address=Nexusdb@10.11.12.135
>
> I am posting this because this concept may be useful to others.
>
> have a nice day

"John Turner" <John@cnpr.com> wrote in message news:43542656$1@wic040d....
> David,
>
> Or, better yet, the application looks for a single ini file off of a
> mapped network drive...potentially the same drive mapping for the
> application itself.

To take this one step further, I have, in the past, made their shortcut to
an .exe on a shared drive. This is very convenient when switching out .exe
files.

John Turner wrote:

> David,
>
>
> Good work!
>
> An alternative...if you can get the IT people to cooperate, (which is
> sometimes like pulling teeth) is to have the global user login script
> "push" an ini file out to each workstation.
>
> Or, better yet, the application looks for a single ini file off of a
> mapped network drive...potentially the same drive mapping for the
> application itself.
>
> I have to ask though...When you refer to "terminals" are you
> referring to thin-client machines?
>
> What I like about your approach is the fact that it is triggered by a
> date!
>
> John
>
> > I have a nexus server running on an ordinary pc on a vast network
> > involving four hospitals. There are so many terminals that every
> > floor of every hospital is on a different subnet. I have lots of
> > programs running on terminals all over this one hospital where I am
> > 3 days a week. Now I am faced with having to move my nexus server
> > to some other real server, some day in the near future. I have to
> > make the switch between 7 am and 7:30 am ....
> >
> > I wanted to figure out a way to get this done and not have to run
> > around to every machine and change an address in an ini file ...
> >
> > So what I did is:
> >
> > In my datamodule, I open an inifile. If there is a IPchange value,
> > then I check its effective date against the current date. If it is
> > less than or equal to the current date, I change the ip address in
> > the ini file and close it.
> >
> > Then I open the ini file and read the address . Then I open the
> > database and a second database named network. If there is a change
> > address and date in the network db table, I open the ini file and
> > write a new IPchange set of values. Then I close the second db and
> > go on about my business.
> >
> > By using this datamodule in every application, I can then change the
> > network address table from wherever ... and the programs will find
> > the change and on the day of the switch will update their address
> > to locate the server ...
> >
> > following is a sample of the inifile:
> >
> > [TCP/IP Address]
> > Adr=Nexusdb@10.14.22.4
> > [IPChange]
> > Effective Date=10/18/2005
> > IP Address=Nexusdb@10.11.12.135
> >
> > I am posting this because this concept may be useful to others.
> >
> > have a nice day

This hospital is part of a consortium of four hospitals. The
consulting group to which they have outsourced their entire DP effort,
except for me, has very strict rules. I don't even run on a server...
I am running my Nexusdb server on a desktop pc down in the dungeon of
the place. If the consulting group were aware of my server, they would
be most unhappy... so I have to be a little inventive about things.

The consulting group has a snooper program that runs around the network
every half hour and eliminates any accounts that have privileges that
they don't want ... this prevents me from installing the Nexusdb server
as a service ....

For example, I have a nice little clock based backup program which runs
on the same computer as the server. At seven at night it automatically
backs up the eight databases to a shared drive on the network. The
structure of the folders I have on that backup drive match those on the
desktop machine. So if I have a catastrophic failure, all I need to do
is copy the folder from the shared drive to the new machine, put two
files in the startup folder and away I go ....

The local people are very happy with what I have done, because I am one
person, not a bureaucracy....

--

David Guest wrote:

>
> The local people are very happy with what I have done, because I am
> one person, not a bureaucracy....

The secret of many things: personal contact.

--
Jean-Francois Nifenecker, Bordeaux (EU)

David,

> The local people are very happy with what I have done, because I am one
> person, not a bureaucracy....

I can't tell you how many times I have encountered the same problems you
are having with this client! I've never seen such "puckered" people in
my life as the IT guys...They protect their turf, are afraid of anything
that makes them look like they can't handle it themselves, and they are
NOT open to any suggestions. And, lastly...they are usually WAY behind
the times!

I could tell you horror stories of dealing with the U.S. Govt...

John

John Turner wrote:
> I could tell you horror stories of dealing with the U.S. Govt...

I bet Brian Moelk has a few of those also

;-)

--
JoeH
[ write a letter, save a life - http://www.amnesty.org ]

Joe Hendricks wrote:

> John Turner wrote:
> > I could tell you horror stories of dealing with the U.S. Govt...
>
> I bet Brian Moelk has a few of those also
>
> ;-)

If you want some stories of dealing with french govt agencies... <vbg>

--
Jean-Francois Nifenecker, Bordeaux (EU)

Beauracracy knows no national boundaries apparently JFN!

John
> Joe Hendricks wrote:
>
>
>>John Turner wrote:
>>
>>>I could tell you horror stories of dealing with the U.S. Govt...
>>
>>I bet Brian Moelk has a few of those also
>>
>>;-)
>
>
> If you want some stories of dealing with french govt agencies... <vbg>
>