Home Forums Discussions General Discussion networking question: connect on what port?

Does AC allow client/server type communication? The reason I ask is that each machine in our network has an Internet-facing, static IP. They are not networked in the traditional sense.

So can it be set for client/server type communication? If so, on what default port? Or can you choose the port?

I think your best bet is to call tech support on this one. Just click "Help Me Now!"

if you are able to share directories on different machines and find them with explorer then you should be able to have ac work for you.

While peer to peer works fine, a client-server setup is generally better for a network. There shouldn't be a port issue. Simply install AC on the server where its databases hole the data, then when you run AC on the clients, they will look for a database. Choose the bottom option (No), and browse to the AmazingCharts.mdb database on your server.

What operating system are you using on your server? I would be interested to know why you are using static IP addresses on your clients (which you of course can) rather than utilizing the server's DHCP.

Amazing Charts is NOT currently a client-server application. That said, though, running the database on a dedicated file server will greatly improve your throughput.

We're running Windows on most of our clients (We DO have Amazing Charts running under Linux on one laptop.. but that's another thread), however our servers are all running Linux, and are configured to be fast file servers. All of our desktop machines are wired to a fairly fast router - nothing fancy here, just a 10 port router/firewall that can switch ethernet at 100mbps. We have a second wireless router slaved to the primary fast router for feeding wireless tablets and laptops in the office.

This configuration works WELL. Linux seems to handle windows file serving better than Windows does as far price / performance goes.

All of our wired devices - servers, desktops, ethernet enabled printers, etc. are static IP addresses. The DHCP server, though, is in the ROUTER, not the SERVER in our installation. Most low-end router/firewall boxes have a DHCP server built in.

If anyone wants a hand with something like this, drop me a message.

Vinny

Vincent,

From reading your posts, it's obvious you are quite knowledgeable about computers. But, I am not quite sure what you define as a Client-Server application. Sure, the best example of client-server is a browser (client) and a web site (server), but there are many examples of client-servers and a classis is the LAN or WAN. The local area network is what would most likely be used by users of AC. A server-client is best defined as when a client requests information from a server, and the server sends that information back to the client. On a local area network clients and AC can send info to the database as well. Client-Server relationships can even exist on one machine.

AmazingCharts can easily be used in a peer-to-peer environment where all computers are virtually equal and share files and the AC databases with each other -- the AC database HOPEFULLY residing on one PC. We, however, have a client-server environment. We set up the databases on the server and the client versions request and send data to the server.

Our overall setup is very simple. ISP to Cisco PIX Firewall/Router to a Linksys Gigabit switch with Cat 6 cable connected centrally to a Small Business Serve 2003 server. Again, while one can certainly run AC in a peer-to-peer environment, utilizing a server allows the program to run faster and more securely. In a peer-to-peer environment all users are dependent on the computer which may be being used as a workstation which would slow it down or allow more freezes or crashes require reboots, where a server can run unattended for days to weeks without crashes, etc.

Certainly setting up your LAN with static vs dynamic IP addresses is a personal choice, we tend to use a static IP address for our outside interface, the router and the server and allow the server to be our DHCP. While the LAN will work either way, in a true domain network, it is simpler and generally more efficent to allow the server to set IP address, subnets, gateway, DNS, domain names and WINS.

Of course, hardware such as scanners, printers, etc. require a static IP address and can be kept out of the scope of the server's or router's IP pool.

Bert,

The term "Client-Server" when referring to computer network applications has a very definite meaning - one in which there is a server-side application running to assist the client-side application. An example is a database server handling data requests for an application, rather than processing the actual data files from a file server over the network. Generally, client-server applications require much less network traffic, as instead of multiple remote file reads to find a piece of data, a single request is sent to the server application, and a single answer to that request is sent back.

That being said, Amazing Charts is a shared database application, and indeed the data files have to reside on one computer. One thing to consider, though, is that the needs of a file server are much different than the needs of a workstation. A workstation is configured to run applications as fast and efficiently as possible, and sharing data back with the network is a relatively low priority.

A file server, on the other hand, is configured to handle requests for data from the network as quickly. Even so, it is still serving disc file reads, and this does not make this environment "client-server"

Technically my network is "peer to peer", with my dedicated linux-powered file server being a very fast peer sharing files. While they are indeed clients, and you indeed have a server - this is NOT a "client-server" application environment.

Clear as mud yet? lol

We use static IP addressing for our servers and our remote-controllable clients as we remote access them and most low-end routers have a nasty habit of randomly re-assigning IP addresses as DHCP leases expire. We route VNC requests for remote desktop, IPP requests to appropriate printers, and inbound requests to the security camera on our webserver through static routes.

We COULD of course disable the DHCP server on the router and enable the DHCP demon on our main server, which probably wouldn't have that problem, but for now static IP addressing works just fine.

V.