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Adjusting Communication Timeout Settings

Karla Marsh
WAFS and CDP

THE INFORMATION IN THIS ARTICLE APPLIES TO:

  • WAFS (All versions)
  • CDP (All versions)

DISCUSSION

This is an advanced topic. If you are not comfortable with making these settings, do not attempt this. Contact GlobalSCAPE Support for assistance.

What is the system timeout setting?

On-going communication occurs between each of the Agents and the Server. This communication involves sending a packet from the Agent to the Server, and receiving a reply packet that travels from the Server back to the Agent. The Agents and Server have timeouts built into them.

  1. An Agent uses a timeout when waiting for a reply from the Server. If a reply does not arrive within the timeout window, the Agent assumes that the Server is off-line or the communication link to the server is broken, and switches itself to off-line mode. It will then poll the Server until communication is reestablished.
  2. The Server uses a timeout for determining if an Agent is unreachable.

Why adjust the timeouts?

In the majority of cases, the default timeouts built into the software should not be altered. If you were not advised by GlobalSCAPE Technical Support to modify the timeouts, we recommend that you not tamper with them. You should consider modifying the timeouts only if you note communication problems or if you consistently have very large files.

If you have very large files: (single files usually 1GB and over, but 300MB is possible too) you may want to set the communications timeout if you notice the Agents are regularly going off line. The disconnect is because of the time it takes for the Server to respond, once it gets this larger request. The slowness of the platform that runs the Server will determine this response time. Either set the timeout at 500,000 or estimate a better setting, as described below. 

To estimate the appropriate setting

  1. On the computer that runs the Server, time a simple file copy of a large file from one normal Windows folder to another normal folder. 
  2. Multiply this time by 2, and convert to milliseconds for a staring point, then adjust down, if necessary.

If you have communications problems: If you have communications problems, it is best to diagnose the root cause of the problem in your network. Doing a ping or a trace might help identify the problem. For example, a flaky WAN or network could cause the following situations:

  1. The Server Console displays a total of Agents connected to the Server in the total agents field. Each time an Agent disconnects from the Server, it tries to reestablish communication. When it succeeds, the total agents count is incremented. A relatively large number of total agents on the Server Console can indicate that are too many reconnects. For example, if 3 Agents are normally connected and the total agents is 70, you know that there are too many reconnects.  
  2. The "disconnected from server" message appears too often.
  3. An Agent displays "illegal function" when browsing volumes on the computer running the Agent (i.e., not from the LAN).

In cases #1 and #2, increasing the timeout will likely help. For example, if there is a temporary 40-second loss of communication and the timeout is set at 60 seconds (60,000), then communication would resume without interruption. If a change is necessary, adjust the timeout setting by increasing it in 30-second increments, then monitor the performance and adjust the number again, if needed. You should set the same timeout on the Server.

In case #3, the timeout is too long. While the Agent is waiting for Server to reply for a given file operation, other components of the system timed out, resulting in this error. You should consider setting the Agent's timeout at 30 seconds, monitoring the performance, and then adjusting the number as needed. 

If communication is highly reliable, then you can decrease the timeouts to about 30 seconds.

Adjusting the Timeouts

Adjusting the timeouts involves modifying registry settings on the Server and Agent. Only advanced users should modify the registry. Modifying the wrong key or erroneous deletion of keys might harm the operation of the entire computer. Always backup the registry file before attempting any changes.

The new value for the timeout registry should be determined using trial-and-error. We recommend the following procedure:

  1. Identify why you have an occasional off-line situation. Consult with GlobalSCAPE Technical Support to make sure you have correctly identified the problem.
  2. If the problem persists and you can reliably re-create it, adjust the timeouts on the Agents and the Server. Start with 30-second increments (30000 ms), and if the problem persists, increase or decrease the timeout.

To modify an Agent's timeout

Edit the Agent's registry setting:

For 32-bit systems:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Availl\AvaillClient\Settings\SndRcvTOut

For 64-bit systems:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Availl\AvaillClient\Settings\SndRcvTOut

Provide the new value, in milliseconds. For example, to set a timeout of one minute, enter 60000.

To modify the Server's timeout

Edit the Server's registry setting:

For 32-bit systems:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Availl\Availl Server\Settings\SndRcvTOut

For 64-bit systems:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Availl\Availl Server\Settings\SndRcvTOut

Provide the new value, in milliseconds. For example, to set a timeout of one minute, enter 60000.

On the Agent computers, the timeout is read from the registry every time the Agent connects to the server. Therefore, if you modify the timeout, it will take effect upon the next reconnect.

For important information regarding making changes to the registry, refer to Making Changes to the Registry.

Details
Last Modified: 12 Years Ago
Last Modified By: GlobalSCAPE 5
Type: HOWTO
Rated 1 star based on 6 votes.
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