John@OnyxTheaters

The way our system is set up, we have our server at home and all of the clients at the shop. If the server isn't up, I can't log in to D-tools because there isn't an option at the Login screen to go in to offline mode... Most of the time I'm working in offline mode anyway, not sure why I can't do it outside of the interface...

fryeguy

Here is how that feature works John:
You log in to the server and it checks to verify that a unique license is available. Once you are logged in you can click File -> Disconnect from SI5.5 Server. You might think of it as checking out a license for use. A good example of where this is useful would be when working from a notebook computer at a remote location where you cannot connect to the server. Once you are disconnected, you can create new projects, and modify projects that you have checked out. Everything else disappears.

Two options for dealing with this:

1. As soon as you log in and have the projects you need, disconnect so you have a license available. Then reconnect when you need to checkin projects, etc.
2. Move your server to the shop so that it resides where the software is most used.

The software functions like this because if you never actually had to login to the server then you could have as many users as you want. I think everyone can see why this is a bad thing...

John@OnyxTheaters

I see your point. And thanks for explaining this to me. I have been trying to make a habit of disconnecting after I have everything I need.

David_Haddad

Originally Posted by fryeguy

Two options for dealing with this:

Or the third option . He could set up VPN to the home server and be able to check projects in and out not only from his office but from anywhere with a high speed Internet connection. This can even be accomplished for free now with a VPN service such as Hamachi and it's very easy to set up.

I should mention that although I have this fully functional I rarely need to use it, so I'm not sure if there are any timeout issues related to checking out large files.

fryeguy

Yes, VPN is an abvious solution. Based on the original post I was assuming that he had a VPN connection but that sometimes the server was inadvertently turned off. I was thinking that the "server" was possibly a desktop that was used at home and shared the duties of a server as well.

And yes, there are timeout issues with checking in/out large projects. This has apparently been addressed in the latest SP but I am not running that yet. The timeout can be adjusted but is not recommended by D-Tools as this is the only way for the software to check if the service has failed.

I tweaked my timeouts and this makes my VPN check in/out much more reliable.

John@OnyxTheaters

This is correct, the "server" is a desktop computer. We have a VPN connection from the office(client) router to the home(server) router. Have always had problems with it though. And that is what I meant - the "server"(desktop) is sometimes turned off, which makes it impossible for me to log in to D-tools unless I head home and turn the server on. :P

dtechy1

Originally Posted by David_Haddad

Or the third option . He could set up VPN to the home server and be able to check projects in and out not only from his office but from anywhere with a high speed Internet connection. This can even be accomplished for free now with a VPN service such as Hamachi and it's very easy to set up. I should mention that although I have this fully functional I rarely need to use it, so I'm not sure if there are any timeout issues related to checking out large files.

David

Thanks for the Hamachi tip. Just tried it out and works great and was so easy to install. Now I can be at any customers house and pull up Projects or scheduling on my server at home and whalla! Done and entered.

Thank you

__________________
Daryl
Clear Tech Audio

David_Haddad

Ya, it's pretty cool Daryl, no? Glad I could help.