Multiple Issues with Hog3 console as 2nd server

I am working on a show with Benoit Richard. We have multiple servers on one large Hognetwork. Each stage has a laptop running Hog3PC as a server with a DP8K, and each kit is on a different port number. There is also a network drive inline. Ben uses a Full Boar and I am using a Hog 3 console. We also both use a tablet PC as a remote. We are running v3.2.3. Every device has a static IP address.
Ben has his FullBoar set up as a 2nd server which allows him to backup the show from his console onto the network drive without having to go to the laptop server. For my Hog3 console, there are a couple of issues.

Issue1) My console is unable to connect to the network drive. All the settings and password are right. Ben even tried it out, but it does not want to connect.

Issue2) At times, there is a small hiccup in the WiFi connection, even when the signal strength is full. We figure it is probably interference from another device in the same frequency. Anyways, what I see on the Tablet is a message saying the main server dropped and the other one took over....as it should. The laptop server never really goes down. Whenever I see this message, I check the network window, and it shows everything still running. Now the HogPC on the Tablet, which is a client, is still able to program, however it will not update the cues. So I just log off and back on, and everything is fine.
Here's the weird part. At the end of the day, I log off the tablet and the console and shut them down, leaving only the laptop server running. Then I go to the laptop server and run a backup of the show, quit, and power down. The next day I come in and boot the show up, everything looks fine except the fact that all the groups are missing. I have all my cues from the previous night, all my views, and even the patch is still intact, but no groups to be found.
Now, it just so happens, when this came about, we also had a problem with the show's backup file. It was missing too, but we believe it was due to a time/date error on the laptop. My quick fix was to merge the groups from a older backup. This would allow me to keep my cues and get my groups back. The weird part was that when the merge completed, the original groups that were missing came back and the merged groups were added in as .5 groups. So I just deleted the merged groups and all was well.

What do you guys think?
  • Hey Scott,

    I have been sending some emails back and forth with Ben on this. The first and biggest issue in this setup is running the tablet PC as a wireless server. The tablet should only ever been run as a show client. There is a lot of potential for dropped packets over wifi as well as potential connectivity issues as you have discovered that can lead to bad show server syncing between the main show server and the wireless show server. Stick to using the tablet as a client only (means it does not sync and remain responsible for show data) and you should see a lot of these problems clear up including backups because a backup from a wireless tablet that does not have a complete and healthy copy of the show may not load.

    In terms of the network drive the Hog 3 might be having trouble with wins naming support on that network. Make sure you type in the file server's IP address as the server name. I know that Screen Gems network was a real beast to troubleshoot just to get our multi-cast traffic up and running so it wouldn't surprise me if there are some additional loopholes to patch up for network drivers either on their end or ours.
  • Hey Chris. My statement might have been a little confusing. I conitinue to see the server error(dropped) message on the tablet remote, however it is not, nor has ever been logged in as a server. I always log in my wireless tablets as a client. The Hog3 console is connected via cat5, but it never gets the server error message. Also, the settings for connecting to the network drive are exactly the same as what we entered on all the other consoles, laptops, tablets, and Ben's FullBoar, and they all connect to the network drive perefectly. So I am not sure why the Hog3 console is having these issues. I should note that I have switched the console to a client until we figure out whats going on.
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