Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: Interface. Gauging interest.

Steve Blackmore wrote:

> On Tue, 16 May 2006 20:42:40 +0100, you wrote:
>
>>The only windows machines we can run 24/7 are NT4/SP6a but they still
>>get a regular reboot :(
>
> Why? I've NT4, 2K and 2003 servers that have run flawlessly for over a
> year without a boot? (The two remaining NT4 ones are going in the trash
> next week, been replaced with 2003 and have been stand by for a few
> months )

Actually that is part of the problem, code that has run flawlessly on
NT4 for years that does not on W2k and customers who are not willing to
pay to find out why :( Yet they now INSIST on switching to W2003 even
though they never approved the move to W2k - because it was not stable!

> If you have flakey hardware or some crap software with memory leaks
> (like exchange ;), occasionally a boot is necessary, but unless that is
> the case, leave well alone. I've had many more instances of servers
> failing after a boot, than just failing on their own ;)

Main hardware is Dell - not a supplier I would use by choice, but what
the customers insist on. Even machines that only run Microsoft code give
problems. Having said that, one site has bypassed an expensive Cisco
'backbone' and put in simple switched hubs direct to the W2003 servers
and there have not been an error report in days! It took MONTHS to
convince them even to try, but we were not the only third party supplier
with problems. That backbone had run into W2k machines without a problem!

> Sure, occasionally a fan, drive or power supply will fail, but I can hot
> swap all of those.
>
> The only thing I do with the application clusters is switch them over on
> a monthly basis so one is not getting all the action. All the other file
> servers just get temp files deleted and defrags weekly. The ones that
> speak to the outside world get booted when Microsoft deem it because
> they get regular security and software updates. Other than that I leave
> well alone.

We have been fighting intermittent problems with Apache2/PHP5/Firebird
on W2003 since those site changed to 'nice new servers'. Code that IS
running quite happily on many older sites. *WE* do not get any money for
the time spent trying to track these problems and WINDOWS gives no help
trying to monitor what is going wrong. I have no doubt that the problem
will be in the third party code, but WINDOWS changes cause the problem.
I wasted *THREE WEEKS* on a number of sites following the 'must switch
to service pack two' request from customers on XP - just chasing round
updating the third party code XP was now trashing. I simply don't have
the nerve to charge each customer hundreds of pounds to cover the time
fixing £50 worth of software ;)

If I was not wasting so much *UNPAID* time fixing things that WERE not
broken I'd have a lot more time to get out in the workshop and actually
get on playing with my traction engine :(

Sorry to moan but I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO HAVE SOME SPARE TIME :)

--
Lester Caine - G8HFL
-----------------------------
L.S.Caine Electronic Services - http://home.lsces.co.uk
Model Engineers Digital Workshop -
http://home.lsces.co.uk/ModelEngineersDigitalWorkshop/
Treasurer - Firebird Foundation Inc. - http://www.firebirdsql.org/index.php