This month we continue exploring the 300-node network running Alpha Five version 1.2 in an interview with hardware guru Chris Barbariantz. Chris keeps this large data-intensive network up and running smoothly. No small task, especially when it includes multiple Windows versions, Exchange Server, Citrix Server, and yes, even a little Unix thrown in for good measure. Chris, along with his software partner, Thomas Henkel, (see the interview in the last issue) have graciously agreed to do these interviews, sharing their knowledge and experiences with us. If you have any questions you would like to ask either Chris or Tom, please send them to me, Jim Chapman, at jc@cknet.net and we will present them in the next issue.
Q: Chris, you also work for Bergen County Board of Social Services. I understand that you are the 'hardware guy'. Can you tell us a little about your responsibilities?
My responsibilities include the purchase, setup, user training and maintenance of all Agency computer equipment. In addition, I'm the e-mail server administrator and internet manager. I also share duties for the PBX and voice mail systems with our senior accountant, Scott Modery.
Q: How long have you worked for them, and what is your background?
I joined the Agency in December of 1992. I received a B.S. Degree in Meteorology (yes, I'm a real weatherman!) from The City College of New York. After working a stint for NBC's Today Show as an off-camera forecaster, I decided to further pursue my growing interest in computers. I programmed for a little over a year, but it proved too boring. A college acquaintance gave me the opportunity to build and manage a Hewlett Packard mini-computer datacenter at Fairleigh Dickinson University. After ten years of that, I wanted to try my hand at full-time consulting, which led to my current position.
Q: You have a 300-node network. I would assume that there is a fair amount of work just keeping all the hardware running properly. In any given day, what kind of issues do you end up dealing with?
Networks, if properly set up, require very little management. One important factor is to keep all hubs and switches on filtered UPS (uninterruptible power supply) equipment. The equipment remains unaffected by power fluctuations and tends to run more reliably. Don't get me wrong though, even on a small LAN like ours, problems do crop up with a bad port on a hub or NIC (network interface card) here and there, but for the most part, the network is one of the more reliable pieces in our operation.
Q: You mention the UPS for the hubs and switches, how about the server and the individual computers?
Our server room, which also contains the PBX, is covered by a massive 10Kva power supply. We could run our entire operation for up to six (6) hours before power went out. This ensures that the servers can be brought down in an orderly manner. Certain key computers that perform overnight functions are also on UPS units.
Q: Chris, today you can buy a no-name NIC for $10, or you can spend $50 for a 3Com or Intel card. Do you have any thoughts on reliability and performance between the no-name verses a $50 NIC?
My dealings have always been with a brand-name of network card not only for reliability but also for driver support and availability. I can always rely on 3Com or Intel to have the latest configurable drivers on-line and at the ready to download. Configurable is the key word here, as many network cards come with bare-minimum drivers. Intel and 3Com are a tweaker's delight when it comes to changing parameters on the cards.
Q: This is a broad question, but how do you trouble shoot the network if you feel something isn't working as it should; i.e., how do you determine whether it's a bad NIC, cable, switch or hub?
One of the nice features of the better-name network cards is that they provide LED's for visual inspection of signal. Obviously a NIC that's blinking away vs a solid LED is a big giveaway. Cables don't go bad just like that! We purchase but also build our own patch cables here. The only time a cable goes bad is if there was some obvious physical damage done to it. Troubleshooting gets tougher when the network is working, because then it usually means software. The network stack might have gotten damaged or some component file may have gotten overwritten, providing the PC with only partial networking. The list of items that can happen goes on and on, but years of experience is the only true advantage to fixing a network-related problem.
Q: What rules do you enforce on your computer users. For instance, do you allow them to load the latest version of an Internet chat program?
We treat our staff as responsible adults. Open desktops are the norm, but employees are told that any non-agency software to be loaded on a PC must be justified and passed through the IT department. We occasionally do sweeps through the machines and do find screensavers or desktop backgrounds that didn't come with the PC. We ask the employee to remove the offending software (mostly screensavers) and keep to only what is provided with the PC.
Q: What operating systems do you run on the clients?
The clients are made up of Win95, Win98 and a few Win2000 Professional machines. Standard software includes Norton Anti-Virus, Microsoft Office 97 and Exchange (currently migrating to Outlook 2000), Netscape 4.7 and of course, Alpha Five.
Q: Although anti-virus programs are a necessity in today's computer environment, they can be problematic, at times interfering with other software programs and slowing the system down. What has your experience been?
Symantec's Norton Anti-Virus must be configured to ignore index and DBF files; otherwise it can slow Alpha down immensely. We password-protect the NAV auto-protect and it stays on all of the time. With the exception of very few staff, auto-protect cannot be disabled.
Q: What server operating system are you running?
Our servers run everything from Win NT 3.51 through Win 2000. Included in this bunch is an Exchange Server 5.5, Citrix Server and even a small SCO Unix box.
Q: Do any remote users run Alpha Five on Citrix Server?
We make Alpha available through our Citrix Server to our out-stationed employees.
Q: Chris, it is my understanding that managing a Citrix Server can be a full-time job in itself. Have you found this to be the case?
Not at all. Adding new clients and printers is about as tough as it gets. Again, once the server is set up and running, it keeps running, and this is on Win NT 3.51.
Q: Do you have a server dedicated to the Alpha Five data files?
Yes. Alpha runs on our Dell Poweredge 6200 server running NT 4.0 with 2 gig of system RAM and 72 gig of hard drive storage. Full backups are performed nightly to an onboard DLT drive (Digital Linear Tape) using Veritas Backup Exec.
Q: How stable have you found your client and server operating systems to be with Alpha Five ?
Alpha Five 1.2 seems to be extremely stable running on a Win98 client against an NT 4.0 server.
Q: Chris, this newsletter is focused on Alpha Software database products, and to date, your network is the largest that I've heard of running an Alpha Five database solution. Of interest also, is that your application is built on Alpha Five version 1. Specific to Alpha Five, what are some of the maintenance procedures that you employ?
We schedule maintenance through automation utilities to run overnight. I employ Executive Software's Diskeeper to run defragmentation on the Alpha Five server every night. Other database tasks are run via a small applet called Launchpad. It gives us the ability to create keystroke macros to run in Alpha.
Q: Do you have routine maintenance procedures that you run after hours?
Besides backups and defragmentation on our main NT servers, no. We attend to problems as they crop up, but with the procedures we do carry out, most problems are nipped in the bud. There is a great amount of clean-up and re-indexing that happens every night. Twice weekly, we generate the financial transaction files for Solomon. We have an "indicator" database that is checked to see if specific routines should be run on any given night. The nightly file maintenance routine is over 1000 lines of Xbasic code.
Q: Data integrity is always of paramount importance. What kind of back-up procedures do you employ?
The Alpha Five server is fully backed up every night onto a DLT tape. These tapes are rotated and archived on a quarterly and yearly basis. Similar procedures are carried out on the other servers. I like to keep tapes separate, so if one tape goes bad, I don't stand a chance of losing data for multiple servers.
Q: Along this same vein, do you have any index issues on this large network?
Yes and no. With the tens of thousands of records currently in our databases, one can get at any piece of information literally in seconds. On the other hand, certain reports can hog the indexes and create a bottleneck. The key here is to write your reports properly and invoke non-locking record procedures while doing so. Better for Tom to explain what he does in these instances.
Q: Any software runs better on a fast network. What are some tips you can tell us about setting up a network?
We have a high-speed backbone connecting 10/100 switches with Virtual LAN (VLAN) capabilities. Hanging off these switches are additional hubs and switches that our clients (desktop computer or printer) are connect to. Our servers are connected directly onto the backbone for increased bandwidth and speed. One item of note when connecting directly to switches is to never allow the network cards to auto-configure themselves. Always go into the NIC configuration and hard code a speed and duplex factor. I've found that by doing this one item alone, data travels so much more efficiently.
There are so many issues involved in "speeding" up a network. They range from proper wiring (run 10baseT on cat3 or better and 100baseT on cat5 or better) to ensuring your patch cables are rated for your speed. Most speed issues ultimately lead to older hub equipment that can't manage the high-speed back-and-forth flow of data between fast servers and clients. Make sure the switches you purchase can handle 10/100 traffic. For large installations, a network professional should be consulted.
Q: You attended Ira Perlow's last Alpha Five Developers Conference in March of this year. Alpha Five version 5 was showcased. What are some of your thoughts about version 5?
What a fantastic and well-thought-out product Alpha Five has matured into. Not only will the new version allow for more productivity, but also it looks like it might be just plain fun to use. Being the email administrator here, I can't wait to see some of the message routing potential Alpha Five might have.
Q: During the conference Selwyn Rabins, of Alpha Software, announced that a client version of Alpha Five was in development with a planned release date of mid to late 2003. This version of Alpha Five will use ADO technology to connect to any ADO-compliant backend database engine. Can you envision this product in your environment, and what are some of the issues involved?
I can certainly see us using an ADO-enabled version of Alpha against some of our State's larger Oracle databases and planned Data-Warehouse. Not much has been released about the warehouse as of yet, but you can bet that we will have Alpha involved with it in some manner.
Q: Chris, can you give us any thoughts as to the support that would be required with what might be considered the 'big iron' database engines, such as Oracle or DB2, as compared with Alpha Five?
As Tom had mentioned, we had looked into migrating to an Oracle platform some time ago and saw that what they would give us would require many years of planning, training and migration for a small shop such as ours. Database administration alone on "big iron" products requires dedicated staff, which we do not have. The beauty of Alpha Five is in its simplicity to get up and running quickly. The Alpha Five application can then be built into a monster of a system, as we have proven, if need be.
Q: Look with me down the road a little. Can you envision Alpha Five making inroads in some of the larger networks that run in many medium-sized business environments?
With a little well directed "PR", Alpha Software has the potential to make inroads in even large business environments. With the planned ADO and HTML features, Xdialog, and the ease of building screens, I envision Alpha as becoming a front-end building environment to even "big iron" databases!
