Notification Servers
Prior to this release, the FaxAction Notification Server (Notifier) was a single process that had to run on the database server. All other FaxAction processes could run on any Windows NT server in the network and most were allowed to run multiple processes in order to improve performance or reduce potential bottlenecks. Multiple instances of Notifier can now be run on any Windows NT server in the network, if needed.
In addition, the Notifier name has always been slightly misleading. Each of the Input Servers was actually responsible for sending receipt notifications via fax and email. Notifier was only responsible for sending completion notifications. This arrangement was inefficient in that each Input Server could potentially have its own connection to a mail and fax server and the creation of fax responses is a relatively lengthy process, distracting the Input Server from performing its primary function. This setup also did not provide a method for disabling all outbound notifications in the event of a problem, such as an email feedback loop. As of this release, Notifier is solely responsible for sending all notifications, as its name implies and the process can be disabled without affecting inbound traffic.
To manage the Notification Servers in Admin, select Notification Servers from the Maintain menu. Records in the list can be created, changed, and deleted using the standard list buttons described in the FaxAction Admin Manual.
Additions to and deletions from this list only take effect when FaxAction Server Monitor is stopped and restarted or is asked to re-read its configuration through FaxAction Server Admin.
Changes to all fields in the form except those controlling logging require FaxAction Server Monitor to be reconfigured. Changes to the logging fields will not take effect until the appropriate FaxAction Notification Server is stopped and restarted or asked to re-read its configuration.
Record Details
Program Name should contain the fully qualified name of the FaxAction Notification Server program file on the server. This field is required to contain data, but the path is not validated due to the fact that Admin could be running on a machine other than the FaxAction server.
When pressed, the Find button will display a standard Windows Find File Dialog to locate the application file. It should only be used when Admin is running on the server in order to ensure that the correct path is entered.
If the Disabled field is checked, the process will not be started the next time that Sever Monitor is reconfigured. If the process is running when Server Monitor is reconfigured, it will automatically be stopped.
The Server To Run On field specifies which machine name the process is to run on. If nothing is entered in this field, the specified server process will be run on the same machine as the database. If clustering software is used, a specific machine name should not be entered unless the process is to run on a server that is not part of the database cluster. This requirement is due to the fact that the machine name the database runs on will likely change when a failover occurs. This field is not validated to ensure that the specified server exists. The machine name can either be entered in UNC notation (i.e. \\FAXACTION) or in "plain English" notation (i.e. FAXACTION).
If Fax Log Comm? is checked, all communication by Notifier with the outbound fax server will be logged to the log file directory configured in the General Info record. The file name will be COMM_FAX_OUT_1.LOG where 1 is replaced with the appropriate Notification Server process number. Note that the logging capability of individual fax servers varies greatly.
If Email Log Comm? is checked, all communication by Notifier with the outbound email server will be logged to the log file directory configured in the General Info record. The file name will be COMM_MAIL_OUT_1.LOG where 1 is replaced with the appropriate Notification Server process number. Note that the logging capability of individual email servers varies greatly.