Tech Arsenal 1/Tech Arsenal (Arsenal Computer).ISO/tek-07/medisof2.txt

Text File | 1991-10-21 | 8KB | 275 lines

Technical Bulletin            October 10, 1991



Running MediSoft Advanced Multi-User under LANtastic





Paul Turley, Technical Support manager

The Computer Place, Inc.    Mesa, AZ



MediSoft Patient Accounting is fairly easy to set-up and run
under LANtastic if the network and program are configured
correctly.  These are the most common considerations:



PROGRAM & VERSION



MediSoft Patient Accounting and MediSoft Advanced Single User
should not be used on any network.  The Multi-User program
performs record locking which allows more than one user to
access data files with causing sharing problems and file damage.
The current program version is 3.0.



DATA AND PROGRAM PATH



With LANtastic and many other peer-to-peer systems it is
possible to access the same disk drive using different drive
letters.  For MediSoft, it is important that the program be
executed from a common drive and path on all computers on the
network.



To find the shared drive's true path on the file server's hard
drive, do the following:

On the server, log to the LANTASTI directory (or where the
LANtastic program files are stored.)



Type NET_MGR.



Choose "Shared Resource Management" from the menu.  This shows
you all of the shared resources which have been set-up for this
file server.  Resources are names for common drive paths or
devices on this server which can be accessed by any user on the
network.



On each workstation (including the server), type NET SHOW.  This
will show you which logical drive letters represent which shared
resources.



For example, if "C-DRIVE" is a resource whose actual path is C:\
then logging to any drive letter which is redirected to the
resource, "C-DRIVE" is simply the same as logging to the C:\
prompt on the server's drive.  It may not be quite this simple,
though.  If  "MEDI" is a resource that actually represents
"C:\MEDISOFT" on the server and is redirected to "G:" (as seen
when running NET SHOW), then all workstations must have "G:"
redirected alike.  Redirection is typically done as a command
line in the STARTNET.BAT file on each machine.   The MediSoft
program may appear to operate correctly at the server's
"C:\MEDISOFT" but will cause severe problems if other's are
running the program from the "G:" prompt.  In this case the
server must be logged to "G:" as well.



On the server you may use the SUBST command or LANtastic's NET
USE command so that the shared drive is the same on all
workstations including this server.  If this is the case, add
the SUBST command to the server's AUTOEXEC.BAT in the C: root
directory, after the PATH statement (which includes the \DOS
directory or where ever the DOS programs are stored.)



    Example:    SUBST F: C:\



It is possible to share the server's C: drive and to create a
logical "C: drive" for diskless workstation user's as well.  If
this is the case, no SUBSTitution is necessary as long as the C:
prompt on all workstations represents exactly the same C: prompt
on the server.  The limitation here is that a hard drive could
not be added to a workstation.  On larger systems the shared
drive (sometimes referred to as the "logical" drive used to
access the server's disk) may represent a sub-directory on the
server's C: drive.  Running either SUBST or NET USE will
accomplish this as well.



    Example:    SUBST F: C:\NETWORK



In all cases, set-up the appropriate data path in the MediSoft
program.  Choose operation 1 from the program menu, and the
sub-option 1 for "Office Information."  The program will give
you the opportunity to set the "DATA PATH."  Make sure that this
path is set to the sub-directory on the network SHARED DRIVE
where your MediSoft data files are stored.



    Examples:    F:\MEDISOFT

            E:\MEDISOFT\DATA



LANtastic gives you the ability to configure shared drive paths
in a variety of different ways.  The only two requirement are
that what ever the drive letter and path where you find the
MediSoft program is on any machine, it must be the same on all
other machines where MediSoft will be used, and the data path
(in operation 1-1) must be an acceptable, shared path on the
network.





MEMORY



MediSoft currently requires a little less than 480 K of RAM (we
expect this to be a little less in the future.)  Other programs
which come with MediSoft can take additional memory.  If
extended or expanded memory is found and the appropriate memory
drivers are in place (HIGHMEM for extended and EMM??? for
expanded memory), the program will automatically "swap" itself
to upper memory.  This allows MediSoft to not be such a "memory
hog" and to run a little faster.  Practically everything added
to a machine's configuration takes memory.  After running the
network card driver, network BIOS, REDIR, LANPUP, caching, and
all of those nifty TSR's, there may not be a lot to play with. A
utility called RAM.COM comes with MediSoft to help manage your
available RAM.  Run this to make sure you have enough memory.
If you are using DOS 5.0, use MEM /C.



MediSoft Program and memory requirements:



        MEDISOFT ADVANCED                    470 - 480 K

        OFFICE HOURS FULLY RESIDENT (HOURS R)        103 K*

        OFFICE HOURS IN 10K SHELL    (HOURS10K)        11 K~

        POP-UP CALCULATOR/DIALER  (PCD)            12 K



        MAXIMUM POSSIBLE:                    ~503 - *595 K



FILE HANDLES



MediSoft needs a minimum of 46 file handles per user.  If you
are running TSRs which open additional files, raise this number
accordingly.  For most LANtastic systems, 60 per user will do
it.  Edit the CONFIG.SYS file on each workstation and change (or
add) the statement to read FILES=60.  Buffers are not utilized
by our program since we require SHARE to be loaded.  The network
server (for the drive containing MediSoft data) needs to have
the sum of file handles needed for all workstations.  Place the
appropriate number in the CONFIG.SYS file on the server.   DOS
tops-out at 255 so if you need more than this, use the LANtastic
NET_MGR.  Choose "Server Start-up Perameters," and place this
number under MAX FILES OPEN.



Here's a simple formula for the server's File Handles:



    [(number of workstations + server) x 60] + 10 (a little extra
for the network).



SHARE



With MS DOS 4.01 and higher, SHARE should be installed in the
CONFIG.SYS file.  Older versions of DOS typically run SHARE in
the AUTOEXEC.BAT.



You should always be running SHARE when using MediSoft but large
network systems may require some special perameters.   By
default, SHARE gives itself enough room to open between 50 and
60 files at a time and to perform record or file locking on 20
files at a time.  This is fine for one or two computers but for
any more, add the following on the server's CONFIG.SYS:



    INSTALL=(path)\SHARE.EXE /F:fff /L:lll



As a general rule, fff=4096 and lll=200.  If you receive a
"sharing violation" error or the "file lock failed" error is
displayed, raise these numbers; "F" in increments of 512, and
"L" in increments of 50.  Try these numbers first.  If all else
fails, below are some guides for figuring these values.



fff (file name size) = (number of workstations + server) x 50
(max. open files) x 40 (max file                 name size + 11)

lll (record locks per user) = (number of workstations + server)
x 5 (max. record locks per user,                 per file)



These figures may be a little liberal but better overkill than
underkill.  You can adjust the file name size depending upon how
deep you bury your data files into your sub-directory tree.  DOS
needs an additional 11 bytes per file.  Also see a tech.
bulletin on Artifacts BBS (602-293-0065)  called SHARE.TXT.



If you need any help, call Technical Support at The Computer
Place or the friendly folks at ArtiSoft.



The Computer Place        [phone]

ArtiSoft            [phone]



PS. The Computer Place will be opening a BBS with our tech.
bulletins available for download in the near future. Please give
us a call.