Inconsistent or slow reconnection
Tuesday, July 11, 2006 by Guy Gascoigne-Piggford | Discussion: Multiplicity
I'm connecting from a main machine (a desktop) to a laptop as the slave. The laptop is generally on a wireless connection and often gets picked up and moved out of range of the wireless adapter.
When I bring it back to my desk, if I want to reconnect quickly I double click on the multiplicity icon in the system tray (I'm using Multiplicity Pro 1.05) then double click on the secondary machine in the list, then hit OK and wait for a reconnect. This works about half the time. What I've found works every single time is to just unload multiplicity and then reload it, fewer clicks, seems to be a bit quicker and is 100% reliable.
Can't we have some sort of similar 'reconnect' function available on the context menu?
Thanks.
When I bring it back to my desk, if I want to reconnect quickly I double click on the multiplicity icon in the system tray (I'm using Multiplicity Pro 1.05) then double click on the secondary machine in the list, then hit OK and wait for a reconnect. This works about half the time. What I've found works every single time is to just unload multiplicity and then reload it, fewer clicks, seems to be a bit quicker and is 100% reliable.
Can't we have some sort of similar 'reconnect' function available on the context menu?
Thanks.
Neil Banfield
Reply #2 Wednesday, July 12, 2006 5:54 PM
Reply #2 Wednesday, July 12, 2006 5:54 PM
There should be no need for a reconnect button.
Multiplicity automatically attempts reconnects in the background every 8 seconds. If you touch the edge of the screen where the machine would be, the reconnect attempt will be attempted. It is designed to be seamless and require no thought from the user.
DNS lookups may result in longer delays.
On builds prior to 1.05 the connections were done one by one, so having one pc that was off listed as a secondary could result in a 30+ second delay in connecting to others. In 1.05 they are all done at once.
Chances are that if it takes more than 8 seconds to reconnect then Multiplicity was already trying to connect to the pc before you turned the secondary on and it is waiting on a socket to timeout. This may take 30 seconds or so.
If it never reconnects after a disconnect then it suggests the IP of the secondary has changed.
Notok
Reply #3 Friday, July 14, 2006 2:21 AM
Reply #3 Friday, July 14, 2006 2:21 AM
I just upgraded to a new motherboard, processor, and video card (and therefor new NIC, still onboard but an SiS chipset instead of nForce3) and it actually seems to be behaving itself now. This may just be temporary, and I'll report back here if the problem returns, but disabling my network connection on the secondary and reconnecting it a few times shows good results so far.
Maybe it's just the nVidia NICs in general, at least in my case?
What kind of NIC do you have, Guy Gascoigne-Piggford?
Maybe it's just the nVidia NICs in general, at least in my case?
What kind of NIC do you have, Guy Gascoigne-Piggford?
Guy Gascoigne-Piggford
Reply #4 Wednesday, July 19, 2006 7:51 PM
Reply #4 Wednesday, July 19, 2006 7:51 PM
Neil, I'm really not sure that this is the behaviour that I'm seeing. I can wait for a couple of minutes with no connection and as soon as I restart Multiplicity it connects perfectly. Yes I agree it's hard to prove that this isn't just a timing thing, but it seems pretty consistent - I guess I'll just wait longer.
As for NIC, the desktop is a Broadcomm Netexreme and the laptop is an Intel Pro/Wireless 3945ABG.
As for NIC, the desktop is a Broadcomm Netexreme and the laptop is an Intel Pro/Wireless 3945ABG.
Notok
Reply #5 Thursday, July 20, 2006 5:23 PM
Reply #5 Thursday, July 20, 2006 5:23 PM
As a bit of a follow-up, since getting the new board for the primary machine (SiS 761GX/964 chipset w/ Realtek RTL8201CL 10/100 NIC) Multiplicity has behaved quite well, I dare say flawlessly (that's a good way to jinx it, I know). Of course I've also formatted all 4 machines involved in recent weeks, too. My own unqualified opinion/observation is that it seems to be a matter of certiain components (considering not just this issue, but other connection issues I've had as well). I'd still be interested to know why Multiplicity seems to be more sensitive to these things than Synergy.
As a side note, I wasn't seeing what was described either.. if I shut down Multiplicity and restarted it, it would connect right up. I had all IPs set static, and did not have Multiplicity set to look up the host name each time.
| Neil, I'm really not sure that this is the behaviour that I'm seeing |
Notok
Reply #6 Tuesday, August 8, 2006 11:04 PM
Reply #6 Tuesday, August 8, 2006 11:04 PM
Well it's starting to happen again, although not with the same frequency. I added another laptop to the mix (making a total of 3 secondary machines) and it seems to be happening more since doing so. I have 2 systems to the left and one to the right, the newest being on the far left. What's happening the most now is that the first one on the left will get disconnected and I will have to unload Multiplicity and restart it to get control of that system again.
As a side note, another issue I'm getting is that if one of the systems is not on when Multiplicity starts, it won't connect to any of them. I have all systems set to static IP, so it should not be looking up the host names for any of them.
As a side note, another issue I'm getting is that if one of the systems is not on when Multiplicity starts, it won't connect to any of them. I have all systems set to static IP, so it should not be looking up the host names for any of them.
Neil Banfield
Reply #7 Wednesday, August 9, 2006 9:43 AM
Reply #7 Wednesday, August 9, 2006 9:43 AM
Are you using the very latest beta build (the one with grid mode support)?
Notok
Reply #8 Wednesday, August 9, 2006 4:08 PM
Reply #8 Wednesday, August 9, 2006 4:08 PM
Yes indeed, all machines have been updated to 1.05a(
.003.
BTW, since I tend to have ongoing issues, I'd be willing to take this to email or IM, if you prefer. I also have test machines, so would be more than happy to try out test builds and obtain more technical info for you (ie, logs from whatever tools you prefer). In the interest of productivity, I would, of course, keep it purely technical (in case there's any concern).
.003.BTW, since I tend to have ongoing issues, I'd be willing to take this to email or IM, if you prefer. I also have test machines, so would be more than happy to try out test builds and obtain more technical info for you (ie, logs from whatever tools you prefer). In the interest of productivity, I would, of course, keep it purely technical (in case there's any concern).
ajalan
Reply #9 Thursday, August 10, 2006 12:19 AM
Reply #9 Thursday, August 10, 2006 12:19 AM
I have a similar issue. I have my primary as a desktop that is on almost all of the time. The secondary is a laptop that I taek with me during the day. bring the laptop back, it doesn't always reconnect to the primary. The easiest fix I have found is to use the troubleshooting wizard, and that seems to kick the connection back off.
BTW, how do I get the latest version of multiplicity? I have version 1.5, maybe updating will fix my problem?
Can I just install the eval version and it will keep my license?
BTW, how do I get the latest version of multiplicity? I have version 1.5, maybe updating will fix my problem?
Can I just install the eval version and it will keep my license?
ZubaZ
Reply #10 Thursday, August 10, 2006 7:34 AM
Reply #10 Thursday, August 10, 2006 7:34 AM
instal SDC and update form there.
https://www.stardock.com/products/sdcentral/
https://www.stardock.com/sdnet_login.asp
https://www.stardock.com/products/sdcentral/
https://www.stardock.com/sdnet_login.asp
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Reply #1 Wednesday, July 12, 2006 5:06 PM