FMS question, for those that run it

[Kitkatninja]

Hi guys,

 

We use Sims .net and FMS (old SIMS), we have gotten sim .net to work via TS and VPN, however we are unable to get FMS to work via VPN, I don't really want to install FMS on our TS just yet.

 

This is the error that I get when I try to run FMS via VPN:

 

Unhandled Exception in SIMS FMS Module

 

General SQL Error

(Sybase)(ODBC Driver) Unable to conenct to database server:unable to start database engine

Alias: dbInitialConnection

 

Now if I connect internally, FMS works fine.

 

If anyone has experienced this already, please let me know, if not I may have to install this onto my TS server..

 

-Ken

 

p.s. we use the TCP/IP protocol

Edited January 16, 2008 by Kitkatninja
more info

[ChrisH]

Check the ODBC connection you are trying to run the program on. Make sure the path it is pointing to is as if its on the local server where the database is. The other thing that can cause it is file permissions. Also are you mapping the correct drives as well?

[Domino]

hmmm...could it be connected to LanID's?

[ChrisH]

I was told last week you dont need the LANIDs anymore but maybe if your using an older version?

[wesleyw]

You don't need LANID's for FMS. However there is no point in doing this if more than one person is going to use it remotely as until you've upgraded from sqlanywhere to MSSQL a lock file is created which means you would need to install a separate instance for every user that may want to connect via TS.

[Kitkatninja]

Hi guys,

 

Check the ODBC connection you are trying to run the program on. Make sure the path it is pointing to is as if its on the local server where the database is. The other thing that can cause it is file permissions. Also are you mapping the correct drives as well?

 

Thanks, checked that and it seems ok.

 

hmmm...could it be connected to LanID's?

 

I was told last week you dont need the LANIDs anymore but maybe if your using an older version?

 

We haven't used lanID's since we upgraded to Sims .Net. FMS runs fine internally without them.

 

You don't need LANID's for FMS. However there is no point in doing this if more than one person is going to use it remotely as until you've upgraded from sqlanywhere to MSSQL a lock file is created which means you would need to install a separate instance for every user that may want to connect via TS.

 

Thanks for that.

 

Thanks to all of you that are throwing things for me to check/do. We will not be defeated on this matter

 

-ken

[sahmeepee]

There's a fairly hefty kb article on supportnet about these sorts of problems. You may be able to fix it by specifying the IP of the server in the connection string. I will try to dig up more details if you don't have a Supportnet acc set up

 

EDIT: Hopefully there's no problem with me posting stuff from Supportnet on here. If there is I'm sure Phil will let me know and I'll edit it back out! Here are the suggested fixes for your error:

 

Fix 1

 

On the Server:

 

1. At Start | Run type DBSVMN50

 

 

2. If the service is not running, click the Start button to start service.

 

 

3. If the service is running, check which protocols are being used by following the next fix:

 

 

Fix 2

 

 

On the Server:

 

 

1. Stop the Database Server using Start | Run | DBSVMN50 and click Stop.

 

 

2. At Start | Run type: DBSRV50 -n SIMS_Server

 

 

This will try and broadcast on all protocols: make a note of which protocols are used.

 

 

On the Workstation:

 

 

1. At Start | Run type DBCLIENT -n SIMS_Server

 

 

2. This will try all protocols and will display which are used

 

 

3. Check if the protocol used by the client is also being used by the server, e.g TCPIP.

 

 

Note: the server normally uses NamedPipes as a protocol to connect to itself.

 

 

The protocol should be specified in the Database Server as follows:

 

 

1. At Start | Run type: DBSVMN50 and open the SQL Anywhere Service Manager.

 

 

2. Click Edit and then edit the parameter line. So, for example if protocols used are Named Pipes and TCP/IP it should read as follows:

 

 

-n SIMS_Server -c 8192 -tl 1500 -x NamedPipes,TCPIP

 

 

Note: The Service will need to be restarted for this to take effect.

 

 

The protocol should be specified on the Client machine as follows:

 

 

1. At Start | Run type: odbcad32

 

 

2. Select the System DSN tab

 

 

3. Select SIMS32

 

 

4. Click the Configure button

 

 

5. Click the Options button

 

 

6. The parameter line for TCP/IP should read as follows:

 

 

c:\sqlany50\win32\dbclient.exe -ta 600 -x TCPIP

 

 

Fix 3

 

 

Try pinging the IP address of the server from the workstation AND the IP address of the workstation from the server as follows:

 

 

1. Start | Run | CMD

 

 

2. Type PING [iP address of server/workstation]

 

 

eg. Ping 192.168.2.1

 

 

If two way connection is not possible this may be a problem with addressing on the network.

 

 

Fix 4

 

 

This error can also occur if the workstation or server are using 2 IP addresses, or are on a subnet. If this is the case, unplug, or disable one of the cards to confirm that this resolves the problem.

 

 

To resolve the above issue, and other possible network issues, it is also possible to specify explicitly the hostname of the FMS Server the client is trying to connect to and for the FMS Server to only accept requests.

 

 

To try this:

 

 

1. Stop the Database Server using Start | Run type: DBSVMN50 and click Stop.

 

 

2. On the Database Server at Start | Run type:

 

 

dbsrv50 -n SIMS_server -x tcpip{Broadcast=FALSE}

 

 

3. At the workstation at Start | Run type:

 

 

dbclient -n SIMS_server -x TCPIP{host=10.128.2.226} (e.g ipaddress of Database Server)

 

 

4. If both of these respond positively (server starts and dbclient can see server):

 

 

5: At Start | Run type: DBSVMN50 and open the SQL Anywhere Service Manager.

 

 

6: Click Edit and then Edit the parameter line. So, for example:

 

 

-n SIMS_Server -c 8192 -tl 1500 -x NamedPipes,TCPIP{Broadcast=FALSE}

 

 

Note: The Service will need to be restarted for this to take effect.

 

 

The protocol should be specified on the Client machine as follows:

 

 

1. At Start | Run type: odbcad32

 

 

2. Select the System DSN tab

 

 

3. Select SIMS32

 

 

4. Click the Configure button

 

 

5. Click the Options button

 

 

6. The parameter line, for example should read as follows:

 

 

c:\sqlany50\win32\dbclient.exe -ta 600 -x TCPIP{host=10.128.2.226}

 

 

FIX 5

 

 

The WIndows Firewall can interefere with FMS if enabled on the server machine. Please see KB38029 for instructions on adding exceptions to allow workstations to connect to an FMS server with Windows Firewall enabled.

 

 

FIX 6

Follow the route to the sims.db and check that System with Full control has been added if using NTFS

 

right click on sims.db and select - Properties

select - Security Tab

click - [Add..]

Type 'SYSTEM' into the object box, and then Check Names to verify

click - [OK]

Ensure that you Allow 'Full Control' for this SYSTEM user

click - [OK]

Each FMS user will also require 'Full Control' access rights to this file.

Edited January 16, 2008 by sahmeepee
added kb info

[tcbgeek]

Oh, wow; i love this forum. Just come on to see if I can get a bit of help for a FMS6 issue after looking everywhere else - and 6 fixes are staring me in the face - and they worked!!!

Thank you - I am a much relieved tech :-)