Formerly Tid Bytes, the TRZ offers tech notes from the field written by BASIS Technical Support personnel. This regularly appearing column features practical answers to the real problems developers face on the frontline of getting their systems up and running.

PRO/5 Data Server for Windows NT Is A Windows Service

Q:	I've installed the PRO/5 Data Server® for Windows NT, but I can't find the program group to start it. What happened to it?
A:	Starting with revision 2.04, the PRO/5 Data Server for Windows NT is now a Windows Service. This means that a login to the NT Server is not required to have the PRO/5 Data Server running.
Q:	How can I invoke the Data Server if it doesn't have a Program Group anymore? Also, how can I be sure it's running once invoked?
A:	To start the PRO/5 Data Server, go into the Windows Control Panel and run the Services applet. Locate the PRO/5 Data Server in the list, highlight it and click the Start button. There is another button called Startup in the applet window that, when clicked, allows you to choose the mode in which the Data Server will start: Automatic, Manual or Disabled. Once you have started the Data Server, there are two ways to verify it is running: Open the Windows NT Task Manager and look under the processes tab. The PRO/5 Data Server process is called pro5srv.exe and should be in the list of active processes. Note that each connection to the Data Server creates another process by this name so you are able to check connections also. Open the Administrative Tools - Event Viewer from the Programs menu and check the Application log to ensure the Data Server was started. The Event Viewer should have two entries in it: one showing that it was started and the Process ID, and another entry that contains our copyright information, including the serial number and revision level.
Q:	How do I configure the PRO/5 Data Server under Windows NT? What happened to the command line parameters for the Data Server?
A:	Once the PRO/5 Data Server is installed, open the Windows Control Panel and you will see a new applet called PRO/5 Data Server. This applet allows you to modify all the parameters that used to be in the command line. For example, there is an entry line at the bottom named Config File. Enter the location and file name of the config.bbx file to use for the Data Server. Enable logging by selecting the checkbox next to Enable Event Logging.
Q:	I used to have logging turned on when I installed the Data Server, but there isn't a log file created anymore. How can I troubleshoot any connection problems without this log file?
A:	First, turn on logging by selecting the Enable Event Logging box in the PRO/5 Data Server Control Panel applet. Once this is selected, Apply the changes and close this applet. Then, in the Services Applet, stop the PRO/5 Data Server and restart it. Once the Data Server is restarted, all events and information regarding the PRO/5 Data Server will be logged to the Windows Event Viewer Application log. The Event Viewer Application log can be found in the Administrator's Tools (Common) in the Startup menu/Programs. Some of the information you'll be able to get from this log include the PRO/5 Data Server's serial number, the number of licenses and information about connections from a Visual PRO/5 client. If you are unable to find this information in the Event Viewer, be sure to check the following: You are logged into the Windows NT machine as Administrator or a user with Administrative rights; Logging has been enabled and the Data Server stopped and restarted; You are looking at the Application log and not the Security or System log, which is also available in the Event Viewer.