[KLUG Members] Re:Re: Re:Samba reprocess config file questions

[Bob Kanaley]

Date: Fri,  8 Mar 2002 15:14:50 -0500
From: adam@morrison-ind.com
To: members@kalamazoolinux.org
Subject: Re: [KLUG Members] Re:Samba reprocess config file question

>
> >The windows clients who own the shared files are routinely and massively
> >massaging those files all day long with no errors. I don't understand why
> >sharing them in a common directory via a logical link in another samba
> >share should cause a networking error.
>
> Possibly the file is changing "beneath" the read-only client?  This will
be
> *BAD*.  IMHO, you need to look at a somewhat more sophisticated technique
> for "publishing" the files.  Dealing with file-locking issues is tricky,
and
> due to partial writes performed by the read-write clients I don't think
you can
> arbitrarily just copy the files.  You need to test for locks,  and copy
> unlocked files periodically.
>
> Not to be a pin head, but it sort of sounds like your trying to use a
> spreadsheet to do the job of a database.
>

BINGO!!!

The company locked onto Lotus 123 v5 for a macro application that runs the
production department. The designer and maintainer started working on this
shortly after I started working here eight years ago when we had about 12
stand alone DOS computers and one Mac. I suggested Foxpro for the production
application, but the developer was a chemist (like me) and former math
teacher who understood spreadsheet functions a lot better than database
fundamentals like full normalization. Most everybody around here knows how
to use Lotus, and we get lots of great reports from custom macros massaging
all the lotus files. BUT sharing that data has turned into a nightmare.

Another of the projects I am working on is to come up with a workgroup
server function for all these M$ clients.
I am trying to figure out how to setup more apache virtual servers (I setup
one) then give key people the correct permissions to the publishing
directories so they can use the M$ "Publish to web wizard" to dump the info
to be shared to the correct directories to have them show up on a webpage.
Then there is the minor task of letting the appropriate people know what
information is where and finally sticking links on our intranet home page.

I think everything is do-able, all it takes is time, time, time. And it is
time for me to go home to my wife and have some lunch .... or I guess it is
supper time.