[dba-Tech] re-acquiring network connectivity

[Janet Erbach]

Gustav -

I am the unfortunate developer who wrote this sweep app.  I say
'unfortunate' because I'm not sure I'm in a position where I can win with
this.  Originally all the machines out on the shop floor were relying on a
network connection in order to update the backend directly;  but as you
said, GUARANTEED GLITCHES.  So at the advice of this forum, I rewrote the
app so that each shop floor machine uploads a csv file of the data whenever
there's a network connection, and created a 'sweep' app to pull all the
data into the backend.  The floor machines are runninng just fine now as a
result. But...

The 'sweep' machine needs babysitting ALL THE TIME.  If it's not a lost
network connection,  it's windows updates firing off and re-booting the
computer.  And then there's all the times I see the 'Microsoft Access has
stopped responding..." error.

The machine already has a hard wired connection to the network, but it's
right next to the shop floor.  Could EMF interference from the shop floor
still be affecting it?  Could it be network 'brown outs'?  And is there any
way to write, say, a powershell app that could do the babysitting for me?

Janet Erbach

On Mon, Mar 21, 2016 at 10:36 AM, Gustav Brock <gustav at cactus.dk> wrote:

> Hi Mike
>
> If it stops with a "Disk or Network error" your application is hosed.
>
> There is no workaround for this, so you will have to ask the "notwork guy"
> to fix the LAN (or rather the switches) for example by configuring
> Quality-of-Service so at least some bandwidth will be left to service your
> sweep PC.
>
> If the floor PCs are connected via WiFi, you are in trouble as it is
> almost impossible to guarantee no glitches. However, with the most modern
> Access Points from one of the top vendors you can come close.
>
> /gustav
>
> -----Oprindelig meddelelse-----
> Fra: dba-Tech [mailto:dba-tech-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] På vegne af
> Zimmer, Michael
> Sendt: 21. marts 2016 15:16
> Til: Discussion of Hardware and Software issues <
> dba-tech at databaseadvisors.com>
> Emne: [dba-Tech] re-acquiring network connectivity
>
> Good morning all,
>
> I have a question for the community:
>
> Currently we (at work) are using a MS Access 2007 database as a "sweep" PC
> which periodically collects data from 17 PCs running on the shop floor.
> This sweep PC is connected to the network via Ethernet, however, it seems
> particularly vulnerable to the little network connectivity "glitches" we
> experience here.
>
> For example, I came in today and sometime over the weekend there was a
> momentary loss of network and the sweep database stopped collecting and had
> to be manually re-started.  Now it is running its access VB code and
> picking up 3000 records.
>
> Does anyone have a good way for a database to re-acquire the network after
> a brief outage? This database needs to run unattended.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Mike Zimmer
>
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