How to know if server is down

[Pat_Rick]

Hi everyone!!

Trying to figure-out the best way to detect if the server im trying to get access to is down.

Right know, ive got a dummie file that points to a perticular file on a server.

What i do is open that file,and trap the error.

If error = 100 (File not found) i send user to a layout explaning that the server is down etc...

Is this how a FMP developer would handle this problem, or is there a better way of doing this.

Please advise,

Patrick

[QuinTech]

Hi, Patrick. You might also try pinging that server, just to be sure it's not something else. You can do that from a Send Message script step.

There are a handful of reasons why a file might not be available, so automatically returning a "server down" message might be jumping the gun a bit.

Jerry

[Pat_Rick]

Hi Jerry!!

thanx for that reply. Would-it be possible to expand on that idea of pinging server via e-mail. Im not sure exactly what is required to do this right!

Thanx again!

[QuinTech]

Well, you first need to know the server's IP address. (I will assume you have a static IP for your server--if you're not sure of this, this is a bit beyond my scope, but you may want to talk to a network admin.) To find this, from the server, go to Start > Run > cmd. This puts you into a command line. At the prompt, type ipconfig and make a note of the IP Address that is returned. It will probably be something like 192.168.*.*. Type exit to get rid of the command line interface.

Now, at the workstation, do the same (Start > Run > cmd) but this time, at the prompt, type

ping 192.168.*.*

(using the number you wrote down in the first step)

If you see lines that say "Reply from 192.168.*.* blah blah blah" then this workstation is able to connect to the server and your issue is something different. If, instead, you see "Request timed out" then you probably do have some connectivity issues you need to look into.

Additionally, Filemaker can run the ping command using the Send Message script step. You would use the same syntax (ping 192.168.*.*) under the "Text" option for Send Message.

J

[Wim Decorte]

If you're using FMS7, you can ask for a list of hosted files through a remote command line. If the list is empty, FMS is either not running or has no files open. You can also parse the event log to get the status...

(easier on Windows that on Mac)

[Vaughan]

Create a script that does nothing (or very little) in a file that should always be open on the server.

To test whether the file is open perform this script:

Allow User Abort [off]

Set Error Capture [on]

Perform Script [external, fileonserver, checkscript]

If [ Status (CurrentError) <> 0 ]

Beep

Show Message [ "File is not open or server is down.", OK ]

End If

[Ted S]

You might look into PULIST.exe from the Windows Resource Kit. It can show processes or services running on a remote computer.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/reskit/tools/existing/pulist-o.asp

You could use PULIST in conjunction with the Windows Tack Scheduler, a batch program (written by you) and a command line emailing program (CLemail for instance) to develop a simple and cheap monitoring system.