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Slow performance w/NT Network

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    Slow performance w/NT Network

    Are there any recommendations for what settings should be used when using Alpha 5 v.4 on an NT Network. Currently the performance is quite slow.
    Blessings,
    Gail R. Smallwood
    Troy Annual Conference
    Saratoga Springs, NY

    #2
    RE: Slow performance w/NT Network

    This is a big topic, and there have been a number of messages about this in the past. Since I have a little time, I'll summarize what I can remember:

    First, it is possible for an NT network to be quite fast...mine is, so it is worth the effort to tune things up.

    1. Use Network Optimization. This by itself will speed up things tremendously. A search of the board will show lots of discussion about this.

    2. If your server is NT, then NT workstations seem to work faster than W98 or W95. (I have all three on my network)

    3. Use 100 meg ethernet cards and hubs. Throwing money at the problem will help here.

    4. Buy faster computers. (Again a SMOM...Simple Matter of Money). If you can't buy faster computers, then add more memory to the computers you have. Minimum of 256 for the server and 128 for the workstations.

    5. Regularly defragment your server and workstations. A product like "diskeeper" from executive software will do this on a regular schedule.

    6. If you have A5Doc, then run documentation on your application and look for errors. Once I had very slow performance because a lookup was trying to use an index that I had deleted. There was no error message; just everything slowed to a crawl.

    7. Try to set up your forms using sets instead of lots of lookups. It's much faster.

    8. Design your app so that you open tables only when you need them. Some designers try to open lots of forms and tables on startup and leave them open all the time. In my experience, this slows things down in a multiuser setting since the tables cannot be accessed in exclusive mode.

    9. Learn xbasic for posting, appending, and update operations. If I code these directly, they run much faster than using the genie.

    There's more, but that's all I remember at the moment.
    Good luck!
    Pat Bremkamp
    MindKicks Consulting

    Comment


      #3
      RE: Slow performance w/NT Network

      Pat brought some good points, here's a few other things to think about.
      When you say slow, are you comparing it to the app previously running on another platform??
      Is it slow when only one person is doing sonething on the network??
      Is your server for Exchange Server or other services??
      Do you run any other apps that share data and are also slow???
      Is it particular activities that are slow or is it everything in Alpha??
      Pat has already asked this, but are you running optimized??
      Do you see the hourglass from time to time while in forms??
      Do you have a lot of bitmaps emebedded in forms and reports??
      Do users access the internet thru the network??
      What version of Alpha are you running a5v4.5??

      If everyone is slow with very little activity and no intensive services running on the server, the easiest things to change are 1)The cable connecting the server to the hub or switch 2)The server NIC. 3) If you are using virus protection, try excluding the Alpha app's directory.
      I've seen all three of these things kill performance.
      John


      Comment


        #4
        RE: Slow performance w/NT Network

        Thank you Pat. I am forwarding this to our server technician as I am not in the know regarding our network and its settings. My PC has 128MB of RAM and I do periodically defrag. We will continue to look into this. I appreciate your prompt response. Many thanks.
        Blessings,
        Gail R. Smallwood

        Comment


          #5
          RE: Slow performance w/NT Network

          Thank you John for your prompt response. I have forwarded your response to our server technician. He and his company want to blame the slowness on Alpha but the reality is that everyone (using word processors, Print Shop, etc.) is experiencing a slowdown since its installation. I just wanted to know if there was any way to speed the performance of a5v4.5. We do not access the internet thru the network. We are not running any other apps that share data. It is slow when only one person is using the network.
          It sounds like we need to make the 3 changes that you suggested at the end of your message. Thanks for help John.
          Blessings,
          Gail R. Smallwood

          Comment

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