FMS Update 10.0v2 problems

[BrentHedden]

I've noticed some really odd things happening soon after I updated FMServer from 10.0v1 to v2.

Twice now it didn't see the drive/directory where the DB files were being held and also the backup folder. This is after the server had been up and running for a few days. I know that the directories are valid.

Once External Authentication stopped working in the middle of the day. After rebooting the server it was back up and running.

When either of the two abovementioned problems happened, the console decided to stop responding. I couldn't close any files or disconnect any users. I simply had to force stop the service, which under normal situations is a really bad idea.

I didn't see any log/event entries around the time these problems happened that would indicate any kind of trigger. They just apparently showed up out of nowhere.

None of these problems happened before the update. Nothing has changed with the configuration of the server in several months. Which makes me point my finder twords the v2 update patch.

Has anyone else experienced similar problems?

[Steven H. Blackwell]

What OS is the server running?

Steven

[VFXdbGuy]

I've also had External Authentication stop working. And I am not on v2 yet. It seems to happen when the server loses it's connection to the source of the external authentication, in this case Active Directory on our domain controllers. A reboot seems to be the only solution and it's an ugly solution.

Anyone else see this and know how to get back on track without a reboot?

[BrentHedden]

It's running Server 2003 SP2 Enterprise Edition. 2.4 Ghz quadcore AMD Opteron processor, 8G of memory.

Grant - I believe that the v1 patch released a few months ago was suppose to address the external authentication problems.

[VFXdbGuy]

Is it safe to assume that the v2 update also fixes this issue?

[Steven H. Blackwell]

Is it safe to assume that the v2 update also fixes this issue?

Yes it does. However, I don't think the issue it addresses is the issue you're having. If the FileMaker Server is a member of the domain and cannot communicate with the Domain Controller, then External Authentication won't work correctly.

The patch (10.0v1a) addresses a cross platform issue related to a fix made in 10.0 to address a problem caused by XP Service Pack 3's breaking part of Extrnal Authentication where Database Visibility is employed. See thefmkb.com/7153 Tech Info for more information.

Steven

[VFXdbGuy]

Yes, I realized that after.

The momentary loss of a connection to the DC is not rectified when the connection is available again. All users who normally would gain access via their membership in AD groups are prompted for passwords. In both cases where this happened, a complete reboot of the server was required. This is not good as this server also hosts a SQL 2000 Server and provides Print Service as well.

I was unable to stop the FM server using the administration console and I could not disconnect users and, worst, I could not stop the service through Computer Management.

Is there a best practice order of operations when attempting to restart a v10 FM Server?

[Steven H. Blackwell]

This is not good as this server also hosts a SQL 2000 Server and provides Print Service as well.

Oh my. Oh my. This is [color:red]severely not a best practice and may be contributing to your problem.

There is a sequence:

1. disconnect users

2. close all files

3. Stop database server from console or from command line

Steven

[Tony Martin]

I too am having the exact same problems as reported by the original poster.

We are running Win Server 2008 SP1 on a dual quad core Xeon 5500 w/3TB RAID 5.

Tony