TriDent (was: Safe and stable)

[Mike Bostock]

In your message regarding Re:  TriDent (was: Safe and stable) dated Wed,
01 Mar 2000 14:20:13 -0500, David Collier-Brown said that ...

>    Ok, anyone know if we're subject to the same bug as MS fixed
>  in 95B vredir.vxd?
>  
>    A test, with log level 3, sound like it's in order.

I don't *think* so.  The reason I say this is that the person who
discovered this vredir.vxd bug (with respect to TriDent) was the (then)
programmer, Simon Craythorn <simon-c at intervations.co.uk>
[http://www.intervations.co.uk], who wrote a little program to prove (to
Microsoft) that the problem existed.

The program consisted of a server and client module.  The server module
wrote a file and with each keypress incremented the file size by n bytes
and output the current size and the client then reported the file size (I
think this is how it works).  Anyway under Win95B vredir.vxd the two
frequently didn't match.  My tests with this program on Samba have always
given consistently correct results.  However, since I am a dentist and not
a programmer I don't believe that qualifies me to state that the whole
thing is absolutely 100% foolproof :-).  I am content for me to fill teeth
and you guys do the coding.

I am assured that the file locking in TriDent uses normal Windows methods
and there is nothing 'idiosyncratic' about the process.

The issue of oplocks is perhaps the only aspect of Samba which concerns me
in this respect.  Namely the possibility of the cache (for this is what I
understand is provided by oplocks) failing to update should client_1 (say)
write to a file and then client_2 not 'see' the update but only what has
been cached (you can tell I'm not a programmer by now :-)  ).   Now I
don't really want to turn oplocks off since I understand that this would
lead to a significant drop in performance but would really like to know
what effect it could have in this situation (I have got your book, David,
and have read the Samba documentation and only 90% of it went totally over
my head ;-)  ).

I have now moved the database over to Samba from its situation on a Win98
peer and BTW noted by wishful thinking or imagination a significant
improvement in the speed at which the data arrives at the client (in the
case of TriDent).

I *am* using log level 3, and my question remains "what errors am I
looking for?" - I have only seen one oplock error so far and that was
related to a M$ Excel document!

Also of interest is that I am currently co-authoring an article (or series
of) for a dental professional publication on the advantages of using Linux
in the Dental Practice environment as an alternative to Windows NT server
(about UK£700 worth of advantage and a lot more fun!)

Thanks for your help so far.


-- 
Mike Bostock
Home: mike at yew-tree.co.uk
Work: mike at wistaria.co.uk
Work Tel: 01363-773377
Fax:  01363-777729 (Office Hours)
http://www.toothfairy.co.uk/