Slow database response with FP 2.2 under NT 4.0

[tiercel]

We have a custom application, written in FoxPro 2.2, and running across a 100mbps network. Response time varies wildly. If I run a report connected directly to the server with a crossover cable, the report will run in say a minute and 29 seconds. If I run it in a local copy, (with Win 2000 on my laptop - same computer), I can a result in a minute and 30 seconds.

However, if I run the same query with other users on the system (perhaps 2 or 3), I get no response for 3 to 7.5 minutes! This happens with all users, not just me.

Also note that this server is also acting as a printer server for a large volume printer printing from this program, and as an Excel/Word file server, but not much else.

Any thoughts? Our developer doesn't have a clue.

Thanks.

 

[rgbean]

First, there never was a FP 2.2 - FP (DOS) 1.0, 1.01, 1.02, 2.0, 2.5, 2.5b, 2.6, 2.6a, FPW (Windows) 2.5, 2.5b, 2.6, 2.6a. (And a couple others if you count the Mac and Unix versions.)

From what you are describing, it seems to obviously be a network problem - cabling, NICs, switches, routers, etc. Have you had the network administrator check throughput with an analyzer? Speed is only one component - how many users are normally connected, how "busy" is it normally, what kind of retry rate are you seeing? What kind of disk setup does the server use (mirrored, RAID, EIDE/SCSI)? How much RAM on the server is setup for the file caching? Desktop database applications are notorious for high network usage, where Excel/Word files have very little useage.

Rick

 

[repete]

another couple of things you might like to check is the available space on the server, and the fragmentation of the server, these 2 issues caused me similar problems just this last month where with one user and little traffic things worked fine, but throw some users and a bit of traffic at the server, and it just didn't want to go at all.

we had 12 gig with only 1 gig free, and had 70% fragmentation. we now have 7 gig free, and 11% fragmentation, and our problems have gone.
Pete Bloomfield
Down Under

 

[davidtoranzo]

Hi,

Queries use lot of disk space. It is very important, to improve network speed, avoiding traffic of temporal files.
This means that that FP temporal directory points to the local machine. Check, in CONFIG.FP, the existence of a line like this:
TMPFILES = C:\TEMP
Of course, this directory must exist in any terminal.

If speed is that critical and terminals have enough memory, you can still define a virtual disk (ramdrive, remember?) to use for temporal files.

Hope this helps!

David.