Freechain errors

[Shane Gray]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: 
> filepro-list-bounces+fplist=satsof.com.au at lists.celestial.com 
> [mailto:filepro-list-bounces+fplist=satsof.com.au at lists.celest
> ial.com] On Behalf Of Don Coleman
> Sent: Friday, 22 December 2006 2:58 AM
> To: 'filePro Mailing List'
> Subject: Freechain errors
> 
> I have a client (fP v5.0.13, Windows 2000 & XP Pro. Clients, 
> Windows 2000
> Advanced Server) who is having frequent freechain issues.  
> Unfortunately
> they occur most frequently at the worst time of the day, near 
> their pickup
> time for their FEDEX carrier, which is crunch time.  An 
> automatic freechain
> rebuild will occur in one of their *clerk processes and bring 
> their system
> to a halt.  Standard resolution is to have everyone exit fP, kill the
> automatic freechain rebuild, rebuild the freechain manually, and they
> continue normally until the next occurrence.  Unfortunately 
> the customer
> doesn't have the luxury of 5-10 minutes of down time during 
> crunch time to
> have everyone finish their record, exit, execute freechain, 
> and start again.
> 
> Several observations; first the automatic freechain rebuilds seem to
> increase in frequency the larger this file gets.  For 
> example, this AM I
> compressed this file (copied the key to a mirrored file key, 
> then ran a
> process to copy and write the "used" records back to my 
> original file),
> effectively shrinking the file from 157,000 records to 16,000 
> records.  This
> file would normally grow to a maximum of 40,000 records on 
> any given day.
> All "completed" records are then archived to another file 
> each evening after
> the close of business.  So if I understand freechain 
> correctly, this file
> should never grow larger than the max size of 40,000 records. 
>  However,
> within a week or 10 days it will be > 100,000 records.  I 
> assume this occurs
> because the application is "taking" new records when there are free
> (previously deleted) records available.  My understanding of 
> the freechain
> function is it acts as a pointer for the next record to be 
> used.  If there
> are previously deleted records available to be reused they 
> would be reused
> first before the app. takes a new record.  
> 
> As mentioned above, the frequency of the freechain errors 
> increases with the
> file size.  When the file was >150,000 records it was 
> happening at least
> daily, if not twice daily.  Any suggestions? 


Rebuild the freechain after the nightly archive which deletes the original
records.

Shane.