Visual FoxPro Application hangs when accessed from multiple workstations
Hoping to find some nudging in the right direction with this issue. We cannot say exactly when this started, neither can the end users, but slowly certain functions of this custom FoxPro application have started to take 10-15 seconds to respond, when the response used to be instantaneous. The program will also hang periodically for each user, once a day or more.
All clients are Windows 7 Pro, Server is SBS2008, all machines connect at gigabit speed.
We have been working for a few weeks on the issue and tried a variety of fixes that resolved these types of issues for others. Some of the changes we have made are:
1. Disabling SMB2, enabling SMB1, disabling OpLocks on server/client
2. Installed various hotfixes = see attached
3. Reindexed the foxpro tables
4. Changed various settings on the NIC, interrupt moderation disabled, Jumbo Packet changed value from 1514 to 9014, Large Send Offload/TCP Connection Offload/TCP-UDP Checksum offload all disabled
5. Moved shared Foxpro data to a workstation and tested accessing - issue went away so we contacted Microsoft Suppor but haven't tested with multiple users accessing the data at once this way (currently in progress of testing this scenario)
6. Contacted Microsoft Critical Business Support - they did similar work to the above notes but also updated all TCP/IP dll's to most current version, took network logs on both server and client during the Application hang ups which their senior analysts looked at (weren't able to come up with anything specific, only that there was much more network traffic showing when FoxPro data was shared on the server vs when we did test it shared from a workstation) Microsoft is at the end of helping us due to FoxPro not being supported any longer. They stated this would be a "Best Effort" type situation.
7. A local cabling company did thorough test on network cabling - a few small issues were discovered and resolved but nothing major
I'm hoping others that have run into this with aging FoxPro applications can shed some light on what may be going on here.
hotfixes.jpg
All clients are Windows 7 Pro, Server is SBS2008, all machines connect at gigabit speed.
We have been working for a few weeks on the issue and tried a variety of fixes that resolved these types of issues for others. Some of the changes we have made are:
1. Disabling SMB2, enabling SMB1, disabling OpLocks on server/client
2. Installed various hotfixes = see attached
3. Reindexed the foxpro tables
4. Changed various settings on the NIC, interrupt moderation disabled, Jumbo Packet changed value from 1514 to 9014, Large Send Offload/TCP Connection Offload/TCP-UDP Checksum offload all disabled
5. Moved shared Foxpro data to a workstation and tested accessing - issue went away so we contacted Microsoft Suppor but haven't tested with multiple users accessing the data at once this way (currently in progress of testing this scenario)
6. Contacted Microsoft Critical Business Support - they did similar work to the above notes but also updated all TCP/IP dll's to most current version, took network logs on both server and client during the Application hang ups which their senior analysts looked at (weren't able to come up with anything specific, only that there was much more network traffic showing when FoxPro data was shared on the server vs when we did test it shared from a workstation) Microsoft is at the end of helping us due to FoxPro not being supported any longer. They stated this would be a "Best Effort" type situation.
7. A local cabling company did thorough test on network cabling - a few small issues were discovered and resolved but nothing major
I'm hoping others that have run into this with aging FoxPro applications can shed some light on what may be going on here.
hotfixes.jpg
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
membership
This solution is only available to members.
To access this solution, you must be a member of Experts Exchange.
SOLUTION
membership
This solution is only available to members.
To access this solution, you must be a member of Experts Exchange.
ASKER
Sorry for the delay in reply - thank you both for you input on this. While I did disable SMB2 on both server and client when testing I did not disable it on all, only the ones I was testing with, which may be part of my problem. I did disable oplocks as well but did not use any monitoring tools to verify it was turned off, just changed the registry setting, rebooted server/client and tested the app.
I'm not a programmer, so changing the code is out of the question for me.
There are no changes to the software or database that we are aware of. Its not something that is updated or maintained by the vendor (a one man gig), he is only called on in times of need.
I'll do more testing and report back - thanks
I'm not a programmer, so changing the code is out of the question for me.
There are no changes to the software or database that we are aware of. Its not something that is updated or maintained by the vendor (a one man gig), he is only called on in times of need.
I'll do more testing and report back - thanks
ASKER
I've tested this more - just using a small network switch with a couple clients connected to the server - same issues. I wasn't able to verify whether Oplocks are occurring or not but will continue to test for that.
We have tested Terminal Services and this appears to work fine - if no other resolution comes forth this may be our go to.
pcelba - you mentioned "did you switch SMB2 off on both the server and all workstations?" If i had only done this on the ones testing with is that an issue?
Microsoft continues to push the case away saying its only a best-effort case as FoxPro isn't supported - i've pushed them with arguments aided by your points (appreciated) and asked for a move from the SBS team to one more well versed with this type of issue. Awaiting the supervisor of the tech i was working with to get back to me.
We have tested Terminal Services and this appears to work fine - if no other resolution comes forth this may be our go to.
pcelba - you mentioned "did you switch SMB2 off on both the server and all workstations?" If i had only done this on the ones testing with is that an issue?
Microsoft continues to push the case away saying its only a best-effort case as FoxPro isn't supported - i've pushed them with arguments aided by your points (appreciated) and asked for a move from the SBS team to one more well versed with this type of issue. Awaiting the supervisor of the tech i was working with to get back to me.
SMB2 must be turned off on the server and all workstations used for the testing. All other workstations which do not open DBF files are irrelevant.
ASKER
That's how I tested - I'll have to look at OpLocks more to verify its actually off - I'll test and get back - thanks
ASKER
Nothing I tried helped the speed of this VFP App over the network - Microsoft continued to troubleshoot and gave us access to a Senior technician. We tried various fixes, updating system files, patches, disabling various NIC settings, etc. Took network and process traces while running the VFP Application when it hangs vs when it runs fine to compare the two, nothing conclusive from Microsoft Tech Support. Tried another network card in case the driver/a nic setting was causing issue, didn't resolve it. I tested recently with sharing the data from a Windows XP machine in a test environment (not XP Mode, tested that initially but that didn't work) and the issue seems to have gone away.
Planning to test in the production environment to see if any bugs occur, will update when i have tested.
Planning to test in the production environment to see if any bugs occur, will update when i have tested.
my family wanted form name a few weeks ago and was informed about a document management site that has 6,000,000 forms . If others need Acord 127 also , here's a link http://goo.gl/Ms4ebj
ASKER
Hosting the VFP App on another machine running Windows XP natively (not via Windows 7's XP mode) resolved the issues instantly and completely although we did not put this fix into productioin. Some developers are looking at rewriting the app and a server replacement may be in the works. Thanks to all who contributed. I learned much through these trials. I appreciate the effort.
ASKER