Workgroup Expert is a reporting tool that gathers
information about
every Commence client in the workgroup, reports on the status of the workgroup,
and offers recommendations for resolving any synchronisation problems detected in the workgroup.
This can save administrators significant time by providing warnings
about any questionable issues, before they become a problem, as well as
valuable information for troubleshooting.
Once you set-up the Workgroup Expert, it periodically captures status information from the Commence server and
clients. The data is then analysed by the Workgroup Expert and a report
is automatically e-mailed to the Commence
administrator. The report typically contains a summary of the status of each
client, followed by statistics about each client.
Why administrators should use the Workgroup Expert
One of the most important features of the Workgroup Expert is how easy it is to use. Setting up the program is simply a matter of entering the time of day you want to generate a report, and entering the email address to which the reports will be mailed. The Workgroup Expert takes over from there, automatically collecting and
analysing the information, and sending it to the appropriate people via E-mail. You can also generate reports manually as needed. The following benefits can be
realised through using Workgroup Expert:
Saves time and effort. The Workgroup Expert minimizes the amount of time and effort required to troubleshoot a Commence workgroup. The summary section
on the report brings problems to the attention of the administrator, rather than the administrator having to track down problems. The increased efficiency helps administrators solve workgroup problems quickly and easily as they occur.
Prevents problems. By regularly monitoring the workgroup, Workgroup Expert can detect abnormal synchronization
behaviour early on, before it affects the performance of the workgroup.
Allows for remote administration. By gathering all workgroup
information in one place, the Commence administrator can monitor the workgroup remotely without having to go to each client workstation. For workgroups with clients across the globe, or in cases where the administrator is not local to the Commence server, the Workgroup Expert is indispensable.
Positive feedback. Lets you know when the workgroup is functioning normally, so the administrator can concentrate on other tasks.
Reassures users. End-users can feel comfortable that their database and the information they have entered is properly synchronizing with the server.
Installing the Workgroup Expert
The Workgroup Expert needs to be installed on the same PC where the Commence Server is installed.
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Go to the Commence Server PC. If the Commence Server
is currently running, select File > Exit to end the task.
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Insert the Commence installation CD into the drive. The compact disc will start automatically and the Commence installation screen will
appear.
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Click Network Install to select which software to install. Select Network Tools to begin the installation of the Workgroup Expert
software.
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This starts the installation wizard and the Welcome dialog box appears. Click the Next
button.
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Follow the remaining on-screen instructions.
Starting the Workgroup Expert
Once installed, Workgroup Expert launches automatically whenever
a Commence server database is opened so there is nothing you need to do
manually to start the Workgroup Expert.
While running, the Workgroup Expert appears as an icon in the lower right corner of the Windows task bar (next to the current time). To access the Workgroup Expert configuration screens, use the right mouse button to click on the Workgroup Expert icon on the task bar. Then select a command from the pop-up menu that appears.
Setting up Workgroup Expert
Requirements: The system where the Workgroup Expert is installed must already be configured to send and receive E-Mail. The Workgroup Expert can work directly with your SMTP Server or with any MAPI 32-bit e-mail application, such as Microsoft Outlook.
To configure the Workgroup Expert
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Right click on the Workgroup Expert icon on the Windows task
bar.
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Select Configure from the pop-up menu.
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The Report Settings dialog box will appear
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Go to the section labelled Create report every day
at:
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Enter a time (from 12:00am to 11:59pm) in the first box
labelled Time. A report will automatically be generated once a day at this time. If you would like to generate a report two times per day, fill in both
Time boxes.
-
Go to the section labelled Send EMail message using: and select the appropriate E-Mail option for your system.
There are two options available, SMTP Email Server or Microsoft
Outlook.
-
If you select Microsoft Outlook in the Report
Settings dialog box, the Email Login Settings dialog box appears as
follows:
Note: In the box labelled Profile Name, enter the Profile Name (for Microsoft Outlook). For all other MAPI e-mail applications, enter the User Name for the E-mail account that will be used by the Workgroup Expert to send the report.
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In the Password: box, enter the e-mail password of the person sending the
report.
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Retype the password in the Verify Password: box.
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Click on Next and proceed with Configuring e-mail recipients. Then press Finish to accept the settings.
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If you selected SMTP EMail Server in the
Report settings dialog, the SMTP Settings dialog box appears
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In the SMTP Mail Server: box, enter the SMTP Mail Server address. Ask your network administrator or your ISP for this address. The address can be in the following valid
formats:
-
In the Senders EMail: box, enter the E-Mail address from which the reports will be mailed. This E-Mail address is used to connect with the SMTP Server. If a separate E-Mail address has been setup for the Commence Server to synchonize with the workgroup, the same address may be used
here.
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If your Server Requires Authentication, check the box to turn on this option then press the Settings button to enter the additional
information.
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Enter the Account Name or E-mail Login ID used to login to the SMTP
server.
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Enter the e-mail password in the Password box.
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Click on Next and the E-mail Recipients dialog box
appears
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In the box labelled E-mail Recipients, type in the e-mail address of each person who should receive a copy of the report. Press Enter after each e-mail address
so that each address appears on a separate line.
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Press Finish to accept the settings. You have now finished configuring the Workgroup Expert.
Workgroup Expert Errors
The Workgroup Expert is designed to detect the most
common workgroup synchronization errors as well as conditions that lead
to errors. When any errors are detected with data synchronisation, the
report will identify the problem and refer you to the Workgroup Expert
online help for detailed recommendations on how to resolve the problem.
Here is the list of the errors which Workgroup Expert detects, and the
list of suggestions to try to resolve each problem.
| WG-101 |
The workgroup database has generated errors or warnings. |
Check the Message Log or the
Active.log file, for any error messages. The Active.log file is
in the database directory. |
| WG-102 |
This client is not properly synchronizing with the server. |
Check that the client is running. Make sure
that the Workgroup Communication settings for the shared LAN directory are the same at the client and server.
Use the File > Workgroup Sync at the client to force a sync with the server. |
| WG-103 |
This workgroup database may be low on available disk space. |
Delete any unnecessary files on the local hard drive to free up more disk space |
| WG-104 |
This client is using an older version of a Commence program file. |
Verify that the client and server are running the same version of
Commence (including patches). |
| WG-105 |
The synclog.pim file in this
database is getting too large. |
Remove (un-register) all inactive clients from the server.
Ensure that all active clients are properly synchronized. Move the
Commence server to a faster PC that can respond to client requests more quickly.
Set the sync period on the clients to a shorter time so that the clients can send data more frequently. |
| WG-106 |
This workgroup database was closed improperly. |
Inform users that Commence should only be closed using the File-Exit command. They should not use CTL+ALT+DELETE or shut down their PC while Commence is running.
Run Dr. Watson if a general protection fault or exception error is occurring.
In the event of a power failure, the Workgroup Expert is shut down,
in this case the error cannot be detected by the Workgroup Expert.
|
| WG-107 |
Synchronization transactions failed at the server resulting in an error packet being sent to the client. |
Check the Message Log or the
Active.log file, for any error messages. The Active.log file is
in the database directory. |
| WG-108 |
Error files were found in the
database’s WORKGRP subdirectory. |
Commence will automatically re-send the data in these
packets. Locate the WORKGRP folder within the database directory.
Any files in this folder that have .ERR or .SER file extensions
can be deleted. If the error persists, Check the Message Log or
the Active.log file, to determine what problem caused these error files to be generated.
|
| WG-109 |
This client is re-sending the same synchronization data due to lost packets. |
Allow the server to catch up by leaving both the client and server running longer, maybe overnight.
If the Commence server is running on older hardware, move it to a faster PC that can respond to client
requests faster. Set the synchronization period on the client to a shorter time interval so that the client sends data more frequently. |
| WG-110 |
A client that has been unregistered is still being used and attempting to synchronize with the server. |
Check the Active.Log file in the database directory for any error messages. The name of the file that could not be processed will be referenced at the end of the error message. Take note of the last 4 digits of the filename. These will correspond to the client’s workgroup ID number.
Locate the WORKGRP folder within the server’s data directory. Delete the synchronization file from the unregistered client. (Note: This is the same file that was referenced in the error message.)
Identify the unregistered client by determining the workgroup ID number of each client in the workgroup.
Use File > Open/Manage Database to delete the client database from the client PC since it is no longer a valid client. |
| WG-114 |
A workgroup communications error
from ADMINENG.DLL was found at this database. |
Use the Customize > Workgroup command to verify the Communication settings are correct.
Check the Message Log or the Active.log file, for any error
messages
|
| WG-115 |
The server is spending too much time
managing the SYNCLOG.PIM file in the server database. |
Close the Commence server database. Open the
Data.ini file (in the server’s database directory) using a text
editor and verify that the settings for the maximum size of the SYNCLOG.PIM are not set too small.
Ensure that all active clients are properly synchronized. |
| WG-117 |
The server is configured to use Sync Link with remote databases. |
It isn’t recommended to use the Sync Link feature with the Commence server. Use the File-Sync Link Out command to delete any remote databases connected to the server database.. |
| WG-118 |
A client synchronization packet was received out of order due to lost client packets. |
Allow the client to re-synchronize with the server by leaving it running longer, maybe overnight.
Inform all clients not to delete any files in their WORKGRP directory unless instructed to do so by the Commence administrator. |
| WG-119 |
This workgroup database is located on a network drive which can reduce performance. |
Consider moving the database to a directory on the local hard drive to improve performance. |
| WG-120 |
This client is registered with the
server but has not been enrolled to create a client database.
This will prevent the server from properly managing the
SYNCLOG.PIM file. |
Either un-register the user from the shared
database or proceed with enrolling the client which will send a complete copy of the shared database to the client’s local hard drive. |
How to disable the Workgroup Expert
The Workgroup Expert automatically monitors any server databases that are launched on the Commence server,
however there may be times when you don't want the Workgroup Expert to
be active.
To temporarily disable Workgroup Expert:
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Right-click on the Workgroup Expert icon on the Windows Task bar.
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Select Exit from the pop-up menu.
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Repeat steps 1-2 for each active server database.
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To re-enable the Workgroup Expert, simply close and restart each server database. The Workgroup Expert will automatically launch and begin
monitoring that server database again.
To permanently disable Workgroup Expert from monitoring a particular
database:
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Determine the server's database directory. This path is given in the title section of the Workgroup Expert report for that database. Take note of the directory listed next to the words “Server Database Path:”
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Exit Commence (by selecting File > Exit) on the
Commence server.
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Edit the text file named Data.ini, which is found in the servers database directory.
Add the following line under the [Workgroup] section of this
file StatusLevel=0
The above steps will prevent the Workgroup Expert from launching another task bar icon when you restart that particular server database only.
To re-enable the Workgroup Expert for a particular database:
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Repeat steps 1-3 above.
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Comment out the StatusLevel line by placing a semicolon in front of the line as
shown. ;StatusLevel=0
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When you restart the Commence server database, the Workgroup Expert will automatically launch and begin
monitoring the server database again.
To permanently uninstall the Workgroup Expert application:
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Click on Start > Programs > Commence Workgroup Expert
> Uninstall Commence Workgroup Expert
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This will clear the Windows registry settings for the Workgroup Expert application, which will prevent it from running.
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You should now be able to run all of your Commence server databases without the Workgroup Expert.
The Workgroup Expert can be an amazingly powerful ally
for a Commence Administrator, but we still see many situations where the
Workgroup Expert is not being used. Hopefully if you fall into this
category and after reading the benefits that the Workgroup Expert
provides, installing it will soon be on your to-do list.
