Freechain errors

[Don Coleman]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: filepro-list-bounces+dcoleman=dgcreact.com at lists.celestial.com
> [mailto:filepro-list-bounces+dcoleman=dgcreact.com at lists.celestial.com] On
> Behalf Of Shane Gray
> Sent: Thursday, December 21, 2006 6:07 PM
> To: 'filePro Mailing List'
> Subject: RE: Freechain errors
> 
> 
> > -----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.
> 
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Shane:

This was actually already being done both before the archive process runs
and after it completes.  I was still having almost daily (sometimes twice
daily) freechain errors.  After compressing (shrinking) the file yesterday
morning there have been no freechain errors as of yet.  During the course of
business the file size grew to 39,000 from 16,000 after my shrink process.
That number is quite possible but should not grow much higher unless an
archive process fails to execute.

Don Coleman
Donald G. Coleman, Consultant
402 Andrew Circle
Indiana, PA 15701
dcoleman at dgcreact.com
(724) 349-6302