ADS error 6420 - only for some users on server

[ic2]

On a new server, a small number (8 out of dozens) of users get an ADS error 6420 on trying to start the ADS (DBF) driven program. This is what happens:

1 Error is returned on this line of code: ulRetVal:=DWORD(_cast,DBFAXSAdsIsServerLoaded(String2Psz(cDatapath),@usLoaded))
2 If they restart the program, it eventually works without error (sometimes after up to 10 times)
3 If they start another ADS driven program or 2nd version, the error can return even though the previous login eventually worked
4 If they use an experimental loop, simulating 2) it never works
5 For one of the 'problem' users, the Windows profile was rebuilt.That fixed it for him
6 As it works for the majority of the users without any error, ADS.INI (like IP addresses etc) or whatever is global shouldn't be the cause....

What could cause this? Can this be fixed without rebuilding the other profiles?

(Posted earlier on subscriber forum, intended to post it here)

Dick

[ic2]

Nobody apparently had any knowledge about this issue as I did not get a reply.

Eventually after some user server rights had been adapted (I don't know which) all users could proceed without issues or recreating the profile. Typically MS, you would expect if the rights are not sufficient that they would never been able to proceed and not that they could after multiple times....

Another customer has moved to a new MS Server 2022 server where ADS is on 1 physical server and the users work from a RDS server. From time to time a user gets our message "ADS is not active" which is issued when the above mentioned check -in 1)- returns an error. The next start always works.

Could there be an issue with later MS server version and ADS?

Dick

[wriedmann]

Hi Dick,
I have also sporadic ADS errors when the server is on a Linux machine (but ADS on Linux is yet another level of adeventure....).
So I would tend to blame ADS for this.
Wolfgang

[Jamal]

Hi Dick,

This may be caused by a sudden connection drop. Things to consider:

1. Firewall temporarily blocking connection. Check firewall settings.
2. Anti-Virus protection. Try to exclude the EXEs folder.
3. If the DBF files are accessed remotely over an Internet connection or on a LAN, connectivity might not be constant and packets are dropped. Check ethernet cables and if router has a newer firmware, or try replacing routers and switches to help isolate the issue. Also, check Power Plan and make sure that none of the workstations go into sleep mode after being idle for sometime and when apps are still open.

HTH,
Jamal

[ic2]

Hello Jamal, Wolfgang,

Thanks for your replies. The error is rare and (as far as we know) only appeared sometimes in my RD environment. This basically should be equal to that of the other users, only extra are the admin rights. Hence we leave it as it is for now. I think the issue might be that ADS is not updated anymore for a long time. No updates are usually a good things in terms of reliability but I can imagine that newer OS like Windows server 2022 or the Linux server some of Wolfgang's clients use may have characteristics that are not always handled correctly by ADS.

Dick

[TrevorLE]

Hi Dick

have you tried putting and ADS..ini file in the programs start folder per below, but using the server ip and server name that DS is running on, so the ADS client can directly resolve the ADS server connection without having to get it via discovery.

[SETTINGS]
MTIER_LOCAL_CONNECTIONS=1

[ServerIPAddress]
LAN_IP=ServerIPAddress
LAN_PORT=6262

[ServerName]
LAN_IP=ServerName
LAN_PORT=6262

we also put Windows Defender Firewall rules in place to allow full access for TCP and UPD on port 6262 if Windows Defender Firewall is active.

cheers
Trevor