Dear All,

There has been a number of issues recently involving the Mac Profile Updater (MacOSX_AddProfile) script overwriting existing profiles.

The problem has been identified.  It related specifically to an AppleScript paramater assignment. 

Each time the Addprofile script is run, it was supposed to prompt for the server (ie profile) name for the new server.  This was not happening, and the result was that the most recently added profile was being loaded each time and overwritten.  The bug was related to the use of a global (unix level) parameter assignment which was being remembered between instances of the script.  We updated the script to use a local variable and the script now functions correctly.

We also updated the MacOSX_Installer:

1. The "default" profile no longer exists.  You will be prompted for the profile name on first install.  This should remove the possibility of confusing your profile with another service providers.

2. The script will not run if it has EQ2j has already been installed.  In the past, running the script more than once resulted in multiple crontab entries which would cause multiple concurrentl logins for the same user.

3. The "Get AllTalk Results" desktop alias is now downloaded by the installer.  At the end of the install, the installer now prompts you to use this Alias on the desktop rather than the older Application version which only ran the default profile.

Action to be taken.

At new sites:

Just run the new Installer as normal, you will be prompted for a profile name for your sever.  If EQ2j has already been installed (if you didnt realise), the installer will prompt you to use the AddProfile script instead.

At existing sites:

Open the users home folder and then the EQ2j folder.  Delete (drag into trash bin) the existing EQ2j_AddProfile and MacOSX_addProfile.zip Download the new version of the MacOSX_AddProfile.zip Script.  Move the Zip file into the users EQ2j folder and then double click.  This will extract the script from the ZIP file.  Double click the script to execute it.

You should always be prompted to enter your Profile name when running this script.  Do not proceed if you arent prompted. 

Also: if the Application (default profile only) Desktop shortcut is present, remove it and replace it with the "Get AllTalk results" script instead.

Thanks

Glen.

When changing from EQ2 to AllTalk, the client Descriptions are not transferred.  For large sites this can be troublesome.

The following is an outline of how to transfer the descriptions (and assign web interface passwords) into AllTalk from the EQ2 Database.

1. Extract the descriptions from the DocTable.db paradox table into a spreadsheet or other text editor. 

We have found the simplest way to do this is to use MS Access although the various other methods would be suitable.  Steps are

• Open a blank MDB
• In tables, click Import Table
• Select Paradox type
• Browse to the EQ2 SErver folder click on Doctable.db
• Import should take only a few seconds
• In queries create a new query to return the mailbox name and the description ("user" and "Real Name")

2. Construct a script to update the descriptions

Once you have the list either export to a CSV file or simply Select the entire table and copy into MS EXCEL or similar spreadsheet.

Using the concatenate command create a string in the following format

aciu <user><CRLF>name=<realname><CRLF>.<CRLF>

eg. assuming a1 has userid and b1 has the description, in cell c1 enter 

=concatenate("acui ",a1,char(13),Char(10),"name=",b1,char(13),char(10),".")

Copy this down for all rows then copy the entire column C into notepad.  Excel kindly (but wrongly) puts Double quotes around the string, so you will need to search and replace all Double quotes with Blank.

The result in Notepad should be something like this:

aciu mb1
name=Mailbox 1
.
aciu mb2
name=Mailbox 2
.

Up to N number of mailboxes.  Select all of the text in Notepad (CTRL-A) then copy it into the windows clipboard (CTRL-C)

3. Update the server with the details

Using windows telnet (from a dos window or Run)  log onto the AllTalk server's Client (pop3) port VIA A TRUSTED LAN CONNECTION

telnet <alltalk server address> 21110

At the greeting type

user manager
pass <alltalk server manager password>

Then right-click the window and the Clipboard contents will be "pasted" onto the server.  The server will update each user's description in turn, returning

+OK aciu "Mailbox 1" <mb1@...>
+OK aciu "Mailbox 2" <mb2@...>

NOTE: This same technique can be used to assign web interface passwords.  you can do this at the same time as the descriptions or later - it is of no consequence.  Use the parameter "emailpassword" to assign passwords

eg

aciu mb2
name=Mailbox 2
emailpassword=mb2001
.

Glen,

Just a couple of bugs that I have come across recently (?ver 1.1.95)-

1 - Stack overflow error, when alltalk set to close after fetching.
2 - Alltalk doesn't cope with being unable to write to destination
directory (ie directory exists but current user does not have write
priviledges).
3 - When migrating multiple equery accounts to a new install of alltalk
the profile editor does not load the profiles properly, in the first
instance.
4 - Seem to be having a problem with mac installs corrupting their
keys, two in the last few days.

Rodney

FROM: Mark Rose, St Vincents Pathology

http://www.lrsupport.com.au/downloads/ATTrack.exe

-----Original Message-----
From: Monaghan, Darius
Sent: Friday, 18 May 2007 3:50 PM
To: Glen Kleidon
Subject: pki

<<SNIP>>

Also, maybe a tiny bug in v1.1.1.92… when u double click on a profile
from "connection profiles" tab, the profile editor opens but all
fields are blank. If you open profile editor from tools menu and
select profile that way, fields are filled in…

[Glen Kleidon]

Thanks for this feedback.  I couldn't reproduce the problem at first
in my test environment.

The problem was in fact that the profile names after version 1.1.1.90
typically have spaces in them.  In the past we discouraged this
practice but the reason why disappeared into the mists of time!
When you double click on the profile name from the connection
profiles tab, Alltalk performs a ShellExecute of profileedit.exe
passing in the profile name as a parameter.  The profile editor knows
that if Parameter 1 of the execute statement is not blank then that
is a profile name to open.

Of course with spaces in the name, parameter 1 is only part of the
profile name (parameters 2..n form the rest of the name) so the
profile editor can't find the profile.

So this problem actually exists in all versions of AllTalk client
where the profile name has spaces.

I have now fixed this problem and it will be available in the next
release (1.1.1.95).

Some sites report that they dont get an "internal server error"
rather when clicking on certain clients from the management
interface, the client page is simply blank.

This is the same problem however, the Web server fails to return the
appropriate message.

Glen.

--- In alltalk-avp@..., "lrs_y_gk_07" <glenk@...>
wrote:
>
>
> Dear all,
>
> With the Beta Trials of Alltalk 1.1.1.80, it has been discovered
that
> the Midas.dll used to render the Entity and Site XML information
into
> HTML tables by the AlltalkWI CGI, are not distributed with the
Alltalk
> Server install.
>
> Problem:
>
> After a client has updated their Organisation and Entity
information and
> uploaded it to the Alltalk server, the client can no longer log
onto the
> Alltalk User Web interface because the user page returns and Interal
> Server error.
>
> The problem is that when the CGI attempts to convert the Entity and
> Organisation XML data  into HTML, it expects the Midas.dll
(Borland) to
> be present on the machine.  When the dll is missing, the getUser
Action
> has an unrecoverable error which terminates processing of the
request
> and returns an error message to the clients browser.
>
> Resolution.
>
> Get the midas.dll from http://www.galkam.com.au/zipfiles/midas.dll
> <http://www.galkam.com.au/zipfiles/midas.dll>  and save it into the
Web
> servers SYSTEM32 folder.  The next call to the users web interface
will
> be successful.
>
>
>
> Reproducing this problem:
>
> 1) Update a test client to Alltalk 1.1.1.80 Beta client from
> http://www.lrsupport.com.au/downloads
> <http://www.lrsupport.com.au/downloads>
>
> 2) On the Organisation and People Tab, Click Edit and enter the
> Organisation (Site) information and Some Entity (People)
information.
> Click OK
>
> 3) Fetch files.  The alltalk Client will upload the client
information
> to the server.
>
> 4) Access the alltalk Web interface either as Manager or as the
specific
> client user ID.
>
> 5) If the midas.dll is missing, you will see "Internal Server Error"
>

Ok we finished the System resources comparison including Peak Memory usage and CPU time.

Very enlightening - 2Hippo is seriously hogging the system and eClinic seems to closest competitor to AllTalk.  Again though Alltalk wins hands down.

see http://www.galkam.com.au/downloadstats/downloadercomparison.htm

Thanks

Glen.

--- In alltalk-avp@..., "Glen Kleidon" <glenk@...> wrote:
>
> Woops.
>
> Of course the Table should show Memory Usage(Bytes) not (MB).
>
> Sorry about that one.
>
> Glen.
>
> _____
>
> From: alltalk-avp@... [mailto:alltalk-avp@...]
> On Behalf Of lrs_y_gk_07
> Sent: Saturday, 28 April 2007 12:25 PM
> To: alltalk-avp@...
> Subject: [alltalk-avp] Comparison of System Resources Alltalk VS major
> Health Message Downloaders
>
>
>
>
> Once again thanks to Dr Conway, this interesting image was produced.
>
> http://www.galkam. <http://www.galkam.com.au/MemoryUsageComparison.jpg>
> com.au/MemoryUsageComparison.jpg
>
> This graphic shows the Windows Task manager displaying Memory usage.
>
> Dr Conway is a Paediatrician who has just about every health message
> downloader in Australia running on his laptop.
>
> This includes :
>
> * HealthLink
>
> * Medical Objects
>
> * Fetch (Sonic)
>
> * 2 Hippo
>
> * eClinic (Gribbles/VCS)
>
> * miLink (Radiology
>
> * MQLink (Symbion)
>
> * Argus (not running at the time of the test).
>
> and of course
>
> * Alltalk (with AVP)
>
> We brought up the Task Manager and sorted by Memory Usage:
>
> The 3 biggest memory users on the system were 3 of the downloaders! Medical
> Objects topping the list at 52MB followed by Health link (30MB) and Fetch
> (26MB). Argus was not running at the time of the test. I ran Argus Agent
> on my system an d found that it uses 27MB (not counting the Firebird DB
> instance) so it ranks at least in the top 3. For Medical Objects at least,
> the Backend Database is likely to be one of the Service Host applications (a
> database instance) and repres enting yet more usage.
>
> AllTalk ranked lowest memory user < 2.5MB and its interesting to note that
> MQLink uses 5.3MB just for maintenance (scheduler and cleanup), not
> including the actual send/receive process which was not running at the time
> of the comparison.
>
>
> App Memory Usage(MB) Ranking % of Memory Used*
> Alltalk 2372 1 1.25
> MQLink (management only) 5288 2 2.78
> miLink 5460 3 2.87
> Alltalk Virtual Printer 7428 4 3.90
> eClinic 15748 5 8.27
> 2Hippo 17388 6 9.13
> Fetch 26176 7 13.74
> Argus Agent 27816 8 14.61
> Health Link 30044 9 15.78
> Medical Objects 52728 10 27.69
> Total 190448
>
> Note: memory used referrs to Memory used just for downloaders
>
> AVP came in at 7.5 MB by itself so considering AVP + Alltalk together this
> comes to 9.8MB. Even still Alltalk+AVP ranks ranks 2 after miLink (excluding
> MQLink because the transfer agent was not included). I am not familiar
> with miLink (nothing found on a google search) but Dr Conway reports that
> its a radiology downloader. However, it does not support mulitple profiles:
> IE you must install it multiple times with multiple instances for e ach
> provider.
>
> Once again, we emphasise that the major Goals of AllTalk are:
>
> a) Small Footprint and Overhead
>
> b) ease of Installation
>
> c) Speed, Stability and Portability (remember it still works on Win 95!)
>
> d) Advanced functionality including Integration with practice software.
>
> This comparison demonstrates that Alltalk does indeed live up to our
> expectations using at between 1/22 and 1/12 the memory of the major
> competitors with similar functionality.
>
> We may soon have figures on CPU time statistics.
>
> Glen.
>

Some support staff have reported that the Profile Editor has been
starting instead of Alltalk after a users log on.

After much searching, it was found that the update to the current
release of the AllTalk Profile Editor 1.1.1.32 which is distributed
with version 1.1.1.64 of AllTalk wrongly specifies the Auto Schedule
on Start Registry Entry as
<startdir>/ProfileEdit.exe /s

Rather than

<startdir>/AllTalk.exe /s

This Problem applies to:
Alltalk (Windows) versions 1.1.1.64 and beta clients up to but
excluding 1.1.1.89 which were deployed with Version 1.1.1.32 of the
Profile Editor.

This problem does not apply to:
Clients running on Windows Vista.  The "Enable Scheduler at start
up" feature is not supported in Windows VISTA.  Vista installations
must manually apply a shortcut to Alltalk in the All Users Startup
folder. (Target should be "c:\alltalk\Alltalk.exe" /s)

This problem has been fixed in version 1.1.1.47 of the Profile
editor.

REMEDIAL ACTION:
If version 1.1.1.47 is not available,
1. Install Alltalk as normal.
2. After Initial download, go to Tools-->Schedule.
3. Untick "enable schedule at startup"
4. Re-tick "enable Schedule at startup"
5. Click OK

This will reset the registry entry to the correct setting.

NOTE:
Version 1.1.1.47 of the Profile Editor will be packaged with Alltalk
Client version 1.1.1.89 and future releases.

Once again thanks to Dr Conway, this interesting image was produced.

http://www.galkam.com.au/MemoryUsageComparison.jpg

This graphic shows the Windows Task manager displaying Memory usage.

Dr Conway is a Paediatrician who has just about every health message downloader in Australia running on his laptop.

This includes :

• HealthLink
• Medical Objects
• Fetch (Sonic)
• 2 Hippo
• eClinic (Gribbles/VCS)
• miLink (Radiology
• MQLink (Symbion)
• Argus (not running at the time of the test).

and of course

• Alltalk (with AVP)

We brought up the Task Manager and sorted by Memory Usage:

The 3 biggest memory users on the system were 3 of the downloaders! Medical Objects topping the list at 52MB followed by Health link (30MB) and Fetch (26MB).  Argus was not running at the time of the test.  I ran Argus Agent on my system and found that it uses 27MB (not counting the Firebird DB instance) so it ranks at least in the top 3.  For Medical Objects at least, the Backend Database is likely to be one of the Service Host applications (a database instance) and representing yet more usage. 

AllTalk ranked lowest memory user < 2.5MB and its interesting to note that MQLink uses 5.3MB just for maintenance (scheduler and cleanup), not including the actual send/receive process which was not running at the time of the comparison. 

Note: memory used referrs to Memory used just for downloaders

AVP came in at 7.5 MB by itself so considering AVP + Alltalk together this comes to 9.8MB. Even still Alltalk+AVP ranks ranks 2 after miLink (excluding MQLink because the transfer agent was not included).   I am not familiar with miLink (nothing found on a google search) but Dr Conway reports that its a radiology downloader.  However, it does not support mulitple profiles:  IE you must install it multiple times with multiple instances for each provider.

Once again, we emphasise that the major Goals of AllTalk are:

a) Small Footprint and Overhead

b) ease of Installation

c) Speed, Stability and Portability (remember it still works on Win 95!)

d) Advanced functionality including Integration with practice software.

This comparison demonstrates that Alltalk does indeed live up to our expectations using at between 1/22 and 1/12 the memory of the major competitors with similar functionality.

We may soon have figures on CPU time statistics.

Glen.

Glen,

I think my problem was an additional cr lf at the end of the HL7
message that was causing HMV grief.

Rodney

>>> "lrs_y_gk_07" <glenk@...> 29/03/2007 15:53 >>>

Get the latest ATTrack Update from

http://www.lrsupport.com.au/downloads
<http://www.lrsupport.com.au/downloads>

(Just get the Zip file might be simplest)

Glen.


--- In alltalk-avp@..., "rodneyebird" <rodney.bird@...>
wrote:
>
> Glen,
>
> The HMV documentation shows a menu item of File>HL7>Extract.. or
Load..
>
> This is not showing on the HMV I have istalled - version 1.0.1.10
>
> Unable to find any reference elsewhere in the group.
>
> Rodney
>



IMPORTANT: This email and any attachments are for the sole use of the
intended recipient. They may contain confidential or privileged
information. This information may not necessarily be the view of St John
of God Health Care Inc (SJGHC). SJGHC does not warrant, represent or
guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information. SJGHC does
not accept liability for any loss or damage in connection with the
information. If you are not the intended recipient then any use,
reliance, interference with, disclosure, distribution or copying of this
information by you is unauthorised and prohibited. If you have received
this email in error then please notify the sender by return email and
delete all copies. SJGHC does not waive any privilege.

Glen,

The HMV documentation shows a menu item of File>HL7>Extract.. or Load..

This is not showing on the HMV I have istalled - version 1.0.1.10

Unable to find any reference elsewhere in the group.

Rodney

Get the latest ATTrack Update from

http://www.lrsupport.com.au/downloads

(Just get the Zip file might be simplest)

Glen.

--- In alltalk-avp@..., "rodneyebird" <rodney.bird@...> wrote:
>
> Glen,
>
> The HMV documentation shows a menu item of File>HL7>Extract.. or Load..
>
> This is not showing on the HMV I have istalled - version 1.0.1.10
>
> Unable to find any reference elsewhere in the group.
>
> Rodney
>

1) In Notepad create a logon entry and a list of your users in the
following format:



user manager
pass <alltalk server manager password>

crea username=mb1 type=1 name="Mailbox 1" emailpassword="mb101"
crea username=mb2 type=1 name="Mailbox 2" emailpassword="mb201"
...
crea username=mb87 type=1 name="Mailbox 87" emailpassword="mb8701"

... as many as you want....



2) Select all and Copy into clipboard. (ie CTRL-A, CTRL-C)

3) Telnet to the Alltalk server on port 21110, ie at DOS prompt or Run

    TELNET myalltalkserver 21110

4) Paste the clipboard contents of Clipboard (just right-click in the
screen if using windows Telnet).

5)<enter>

6)quit

Each Mailbox will be created in turn.  Errors may occur if you run out of mailboxes during the creation process.

VOILA!

Important!

The Auto Start at logon feature of the Alltalk Scheduler is prevented
from functioning by the increased security protocols in Vista.

YOU MUST ADD a shortcut to alltalk in the All users startup for Alltalk
to automatically start when the user logs on.

Create a new shortcut On the desktop with the command being
"c:\alltalk\alltalk.exe" /s

Now, move the Shortcut into the Start up folder.

Right click on the Vista Start button and select "Explore All users".

Navigate to Programs--> Start up.

Drag the new desktop shortcut into the start up folder.  Vista will
require administrator permission to add the shortcut to Startup

--- In alltalk-avp@..., "lrs_y_gk_07" <glenk@...> wrote:
>
>
> Does Alltalk Work on Vista?
>
> Yes.  It all works fine.
>
> The current release of AVP Does not automatically create the Alltalk
> Printer object.  Updates will be availalbe sortly
>
> Vista View <http://www.galkam.com.au/alltalkonvista.jpg>
>

Dear all,

With the Beta Trials of Alltalk 1.1.1.80, it has been discovered that the Midas.dll used to render the Entity and Site XML information into HTML tables by the AlltalkWI CGI, are not distributed with the  Alltalk Server install.

Problem:

After a client has updated their Organisation and Entity information and uploaded it to the Alltalk server, the client can no longer log onto the Alltalk User Web interface because the user page returns and Interal Server error.

The problem is that when the CGI attempts to convert the Entity and Organisation XML data  into HTML, it expects the Midas.dll (Borland) to be present on the machine.  When the dll is missing, the getUser Action has an unrecoverable error which terminates processing of the request and returns an error message to the clients browser.

Resolution.

Get the midas.dll from http://www.galkam.com.au/zipfiles/midas.dll and save it into the Web servers SYSTEM32 folder.  The next call to the users web interface will be successful.

Reproducing this problem:

1) Update a test client to Alltalk 1.1.1.80 Beta client from http://www.lrsupport.com.au/downloads

2) On the Organisation and People Tab, Click Edit and enter the Organisation (Site) information and Some Entity (People) information.  Click OK

3) Fetch files.  The alltalk Client will upload the client information to the server.

4) Access the alltalk Web interface either as Manager or as the specific client user ID. 

5) If the midas.dll is missing, you will see "Internal Server Error" 

Does Alltalk Work on Vista?

--Updated message - removed private email address from message content.

From: Dr Brian Conway

Sent: Sunday, 21 January 2007 9:10 AM
To: Glen Kleidon
Subject: Re: Equery request

Getting the specialists seems to be hard. Less of them use computers it seems, and they were left out of the Broadband for health and practice improvement incentives. What Argus did was to get the GP Divisions to invite the specialists practicing in the area along to the meeting as well. Argus put on a dinner at the Pub. (The person representing Argus didn't actually know anything about the product!) but from that meeting there were many requests for installation but at that time it was free. The promotion for it was done by the division in terms of getting people to the event. The real drivers for this seems to be the receptionists/practice managers who have to employ an extra person to scan all of the incoming correspondence in. One of them got up and threatened the specialists saying the practices will start to adopt a practice of only allowing the doctors to refer to specialists who have electronic messaging! The fact that Argus can't handle referrals from GPs to specialists never came up. I thought it could but have since found otherwise.

[Glen Kleidon]Tricky that bit isn't it.  Just as well Alltalk does it.

Can Alltalk be used by people without practice management software (PMS), e.g. if they only use a word processor and have an internet connection? I assume this is what AVP does.

[Glen Kleidon] Yes, There is a word plugin for this too (actually it's a bit out of date and needs some work) but otherwise a standard AVP template is fine in MS Word.

Can non PMS people receive and read and print (I.e. do you have a viewer if no PMS?)  

[Glen Kleidon]

There are a couple of add-ons that allow for this including a Fully featured PIT and HL7 viewer and PIT-to-word which automatically converts PIT documents into Word documents as they are received by Alltalk.  RTF are viewable directly from ATMessage Viewer.  SO if you send Rich Text created in Word or you use the RTF save type in AVP Templates, then the person at the other end can just browse into the message Section from ATMsgViewer (turn on Popups in Alltalk Options).

Medical Objects has a word plug-in, 2hippo doesn't need any special software, division report is apparently expanding, they target individual divisions set up in an area and then move on. They are $30 per month to be able to send but can do individual PKI, apparently free to receive, 2Hippo is $27 per month to receive, but free to send,, Promedicus is $15/ week plus 85 cents per message for specialists, but they do have a large client base (13000 doctors) and works on all platforms. healthlink is currently free, Argus free to use but $300 to install. Medical Objects is free to GPs, but they charge specialists $750 per year to send but free to receive. Healthlink free to use and free if x-ray or pathology set it up. Medemail is free but has limitations but I think only uses RTF so could be used by people without PMS but I think it is fiddly, certainly no info other than for MD on the website but have asked for more info. 2hippo obviously got a fair number of people to try it. as I notice there are now a lot of "Pending" users, which means non active, they can still send but not receive, but might be able to receive from those who pay for "outbound packages" or who are sponsored by a specialist. Many of these systems sting the specialists, but I think the smarter strategy is to get the revenue from the hospitals and pathology and X-Ray providers. Its hard enough to get specialists interested, let alone charge them a lot. Allied health seem to be left out in a lot of systems (speech pathology, physio, psychology, occupational therapy, social work, dietitians) and not a lot of them seem to use PMS, but most are using word processing. Also most systems assume that specialists don't make referrals, we do, to other specialists. I would like more specialists on board to be able to do this, I mostly fax referrals currently or hand them to the patient.

if you can get the major hospitals on board in terms of sending Discharge summaries, and outpatient letters,  then there is greater impetus for the GPs and specialists to take up the system. I know Argus and division report are looking at doing this. I currently use the connecting care portal to send some referrals to monash but this is fiddly. If they could receive valid referrals via alltalk from GPs  and specialists this would be a great bonus.

[Glen Kleidon] Barwon health (Geelong hospital) has been doing this since 2001.  The Geelong area is pretty much all on Alltalk/EQuery and creeping along to coast to Warnambool and through Swanhill and Echuca.

Is the license fee for Alltalk/AVP a once off? Is there going to be a charge for sending or receiving or a monthly or annual subscription?

From my point of view Alltalk seems to hold out the most promise, but you will need to solve these issues of every doctor being able to sign in a multi doctor practice. What are the cross platform (OS) capabilities of Alltalk? I'll keep my eye out for meetings.

[Glen Kleidon] No ongoing fees for Alltalk or AVP.  Alltalk is available on Mac/Linux/Sun for downloading (ie receiving) but not currently for sending.

As for multi-doctor AVP already works in this environment for MD2/3 and ZedMed (probably also MedTech32), just not Genie.  Genie has a bit of a strange method for exporting the files – but as mentioned, I need to update AVP to get around this trouble.

Damien has pointed out that the USRL command in Step 2 does not
regenerate the EQK files as expected.
In step 1(c) after >

Ø      Xcopy \\myoldserver\mailboxes\*.aci
  c:\alltalkclients\mailboxes /e

Add

Ø      Xcopy \\myoldserver\mailboxes\*.eqk
  c:\alltalkclients\mailboxes /e



--- In alltalk-avp@..., "lrs_y_gk_07" <glenk@...>
wrote:
>
>
> DRAFT NOTES: 10/01/2007
>
>
>
> Moving your Alltalk Server to a new Machine.
>
>
>
> These notes relate to moving the Server components only.  Remember
that
> the Alltalk client you do most of your sending with may also be on
the
> same machine!
>
>
>
> There are 4 steps:
>
>
>
>     1. "Install" Alltalk server on the new machine    2.
> Re-license the New Server.    3. Move the Web management page.    4.
> Move the client mailboxes and resync the logs.
>
>
>
> 1.    "Install" Alltalk on the new machine.
>
> a.    Copy the c:\alltalkserver folder in its entirety to the new
> machine.
>
> b.    Using RUN or from the dos prompt execute:
>
> C:\alltalkserver\alltalksvc.exe /install
>
> c.     Re-initialise your client files by copying the ACI files
from the
> original machine.  Assuming you want to move the server in exactly
the
> same structure as the original machine execute (adjust to match your
> server names and pathways) :
>
> Ø      Mkdir c:\alltalkclients
>
> Ø      Mkdir c:\alltalkclients\mailboxes
>
> Ø      Xcopy \\myoldserver\mailboxes\*.aci
> c:\alltalkclients\mailboxes /e
>
>    (all on one line)
>
> d.    Note: If you want to change the file structure, make sure
this is
> adjusted in your settings (c:\alltalkserver\settings.txt) file.
>
>
>
>
>
> 2.    Re-license the Server.
>
> a.    In the Windows Management console, start the Alltalk control
> service.  This will reinitialise your security file
> (c:\alltalkserver\_security.inf) showing the PC Code.
>
> b.    Email the PC code to support@...
> <mailto:support@...>  (and the mailbox count from your
> settings file) and LRS will issue you with a new server code.
>
> c.     Overwrite your original security file with the new Security
code:
> All uppercase, no spaces or dashes.
>
> d.    Restart all Alltalk services on the new server.
>
> e.    Test the new server by logging onto the Client service using
> Telnet
>
> Ø      telnet mynewserver 21110
>
> Ø      user manager
>
> Ø      pass <password>
>
> Ø      USRL
>
> f.      This will recreate all of the EQK files and return a list
of the
> users.
>
> g.    Log out by typing quit
>
>
>
>
>
> 3.    Copy the management pages.
>
> a.    Reminder: The Web management pages do not have to reside on
the
> Alltalk Server – as the Web interface is just a client like any
> other Alltalk Client.  In most cases it is convenient to do so
though.
>
> b.    Copy the entire Alltalk folder from
c:\inetpub\wwwroot\alltalk to
> the new server.
>
> c.     Configure the website in IIS Management Console, as per the
other
> machine.  Don't forget that in Win2003 and later, the CGI
> (alltalksvrwi.exe) must be added to the Allowed Scripts and the
Folder
> permissions for the APPS folder must be set to Scripts and
Executables.
> You can also want to change the permissions for settings.inf in the
> _private folder to "All users"
>
> d.    Your Web server certificate can be exported from the original
> machine and reimported to the new server (see Microsoft web site for
> more assistance here).  For Alltalk Certificates, it may be simpler
to
> just regenerate a new one but either way is fine.
>
> e.    On the server console or terminal session add a host entry
> pointing to local host for the "real" hostname of the server (
> Eg alltalk.mydomain.com.au)
>
> Ø       notepad c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts
>
> Ø       127.0.0.1 localhost alltalk.mydomain.com.au
>
> f.      You should now be able to access the management webpage at
> http://alltalk.mydomain.com.au/alltalk/manage.htm
>
>
>
>
>
> 4.    Moving the Client messages.
>
>
>
> Thoroughly test the new server by setting up a few test clients
pointing
> directly at the new server (override the Remote host settings in the
> profiles).  Once you are happy that you have full functionality on
the
> new server, you can proceed with the final steps.
>
>
>
> The downtime when for the cut over will depend on how you are
> redirecting public access to the new server.
>
>
>
> When using mapped ports on a Firewall (recommended method), and just
> remapping the ports to the new server, it is possible to cut over
to the
> new server with practically no downtime.
>
>
>
> If you are redirecting the traffic by updating the DNS, downtime
will be
> longer depending on how long it takes to move the client messages.
> There is a possibility that the servers will get out of sync if some
> clients are accessing one machine and other are accessing the old
server
> (especially with regards to files being sent).
>
> It probably goes without saying that in either case, it is best to
do
> the change over at off peak times.
>
>
>
> Method for Mapped Port Configuration.
>
>     1. Shut down only the Messenger Service (SMTP Service) on the
> original Server.  This will prevent new messages arriving on this
server
> while cutting over.    2. Update the Mapped ports on the Firewall to
> point at the new server.  The clients will now be accessing the new
> server.    3. Now move all of the messages from the old server to
the
> new server using XCOPY
>
> Ø                Xcopy \\myoldserver\mailboxes\*.eml
> c:\alltalkclients\mailboxes /e /c > c:\alltalkcopy.txt
>
>     1. As files arrive on the new server, clients will immediately
have
> access to them.    2. The copy progress is logged into a file called
> c:\alltalkcopy.txt.  This file needs to be reviewed after
completion to
> track down any error messages.    3. After the copy if completed,
Stop
> the original Alltalk Server.  We just need to resync the logs files.
>     1. Copy the recent logs from the old machine to the new machine
> (c:\alltalkserver\logfiles)    2. For TODAYS log, we need to merge
the
> contents of the original machine and the new machine. There may be
an
> autoresync program available (see this forum or the Alltalk
> Documentation or files), but not at the time of writing this doc.
It is
> fairly simple process but a bit fiddly so be careful: we just need
to
> join the contents of the two log files from today re-sort by date-
time
> order.  You might have a text editor that can sort lines of text.
> Otherwise you might want to use Excel or some other spreadsheet to
do
> it.  You will need to stop the new server for a minute or two while
you
> merge the two logs.  You might use this method:
>
>
>
i.
> Stop the Alltalk Server on the new machine
>
>                                                            ii.
Open
> c:\alltalkserver\logfiles\<todayslog> in NOTEPAD or similar text
editor.
>
>                                                          iii.
Open
> the same log on the original server in the same way
>
>                                                          iv.
Cut and
> past the contents of the old log into the new log
>
>                                                             v.
Sort
> the new log in date-time order – perhaps paste into EXCEL and use
> dataàsort option or your text editor may be able to do it.
>
>                                                          vi.
Save
> the updated log.
>
>                                                        vii.
Restart
> the new server.
>
>     1. ALL DONE.
>
>
>
>
>
> Method for DNS Update.
>
>     1. At a quiet time (AH say).  Shut down the Alltalk Servers on
both
> the Original and new machines.    2. Update the DNS entry in the
> (public) DNS server.    3. Resync the logs files.
>
>
>     1. Copy the recent logs from the old machine to the new machine
> (c:\alltalkserver\logfiles)    2. For TODAYS log, we need to merge
the
> contents of the original machine and the new machine. There may be
an
> autoresync program available (see this forum or the Alltalk
> Documentation or files), but not at the time of writing this doc.
It is
> fairly simple process but a bit fiddly so be careful: we just need
to
> join the contents of the two log files from today re-sort by date-
time
> order.  You might have a text editor that can sort lines of text.
> Otherwise you might want to use Excel or some other spreadsheet to
do
> it.  I have used this method:
>
>
i.
> Open c:\alltalkserver\logfiles\<todayslog> in NOTEPAD or similar
text
> editor.
>
>                                                            ii.
Open
> the same log on the original server in the same way
>
>                                                          iii.
Cut
> and past the contents of the old log into the new log
>
>                                                          iv.
Sort
> the new log in date-time order – perhaps paste into EXCEL and use
> dataàsort option or your text editor may be able to do it.
>
>                                                             v.
Save
> the updated log.
>
>     1. Now move all of the messages from the old server to the new
server
> using XCOPY
>
> Ø                Xcopy \\myoldserver\mailboxes\*.eml
> c:\alltalkclients\mailboxes /e /c > c:\alltalkcopy.txt
>
>
>
>     1. The copy progress is logged into a file called
c:\alltalkcopy.txt.
> This file needs to be reviewed after completion to track down any
error
> messages.    2. After the Copy process is complete and the copy
errors
> (if any) have been sorted out, restart the new Alltalk server.
3. ALL
> DONE.
>
>
>
>
>
> --- In alltalk-avp@..., "zeronemisis0" <zeronemisis@>
> wrote:
> >
> > Hi I need complete instructions for setting up a new server and
> > migrating all mailboxes and setting across.
> >
> > Regards,
> > Damien
> >
>

Hi Glen

two questions I keep meaning to ask

1. I see there is a message viewer in the AllTalk folder - we have a
few clients who don't use any surgery software - they just want to be
able to see the results. Is there a way to use Alltalk itself to manage
results in this way (basically present a list of results, allow deletion
from the list) ?

This was a question posed some time ago.  Potentially yes, it does.  Alltalk Message viewer is actually the POPup message program (in the Options tab) and is able to:
a) present the contents of RTF and Text documents.
b) Display the content headers of HL7 and PIT messages
c) List and hyperlink (ie open to default editor) for any other kind of document

For PIT and HL7 messages, we had intended to offer the "Stand Alone" version of the HMViewer (Health message viewer) used in ATTrack for the clients to view messages of this type.  There was interest in extending the functionality of this viewer to allow for "Delete" or "Mark as Read" - ie move but not delete. So, it would work so that you could open the PIT or HL7 file into the HMViewer from the Results in AT Message Viewer and then manage the results (ie might be many in a PIT File) from there.

As not everyone will require such functionality, we were expecting to sell this viewer separately for some double figure amount.  There is some interest in doing this but at present we have put it on the back burner until the AVP and Allalk PKI updates are finished. 

Having said that, to add Delete "Mark as Read" functionality into Alltalk Message Viewer and allowing Hyperlinking to the HMViewer from the results view would probably do the job well enough for little effort.  I can probably include these changes in the updates for next week.

2. Is there any way to run alltalk as a service ? The number one cause
of problems for us is doctor's machines that are not logged in.

The simple answer is YES but with a big "HOWEVER"

For Service providers running Alltalk to do bulk transmissions then it is generally fine.  For docotors surgeries, it is generally very bad.

This has been a bone of contention for some years.  Our general opinion is that running Alltalk as a service will actually cause more headaches than it solves. 

The issues are these:

a) More often than not, the download folder is located on a network resource thus SysLocal user cannot be used and a specific user must be logged on to access the network resources.  This is a problem because

• Unless you have a dedicated "alltalk" network user for this purpose, the service is generally gets logged on as whoever happens to be in the surgery the day you install.  When that user either leaves, changes passwords or has permissions changed, the Alltalk client will stop working.  Further because its out of sight, its out of mind and the fact its not working may not be noticed for days.

b) out of sight is out of mind.  For support purposes, it is difficult for the everyday user to even find the computer with Alltalk on it let alone tell if its running, broken, turned off.

c) Often they dont have permission to stop the Alltalk Client service either if a restart is needed.

d) We many not like it much, but most practices run other downloading software which requires that the desktop is logged on, so if it often not warrented.

But instructions for running Alltalk as A Scheduled task instructions are available at http://www.lrsupport.com.au/downloads/alltalkdocs

cheers

Terry Chilvers
Information Systems
SJOG Pathology (WA)

From: Dr Brian Conway

Sent: Tue 16/01/2007 11:39 PM
To: Glen Kleidon
Subject: Re: Alltalk State of Play.

----- Original Message -----

From: Glen Kleidon

To: Dr Brian Conway

Sent: Tuesday, January 16, 2007 2:40 PM

Subject: Alltalk State of Play.

Dear Dr Conway,

 

I thought I would just follow up with you about Alltalk/Genie stuff.

 

Paul Carr has agreed to make the changes for the next version of Genie to support multiple profiles.  This will involved a few changes in the config also as Genie will write Alltalk Messages in the future into the "genie\Alltalk\" folder rather than the "EQuery" folder.

 

In the mean-time, I have also done some updates on Alltalk which will cope with this situation in the future (regardless of Genie changes).  I am still doing the testing at present but I am pretty sure I can get you an update next week. 

 

I am sure that the success of Alltalk at your practice will depend on getting the STVs client list as they are likely to have to most clients in your area although there are likely to be some clients in the Berwick area who have downloading from Dorevitch via the MQLink program.  Dorevitch may be persuaded to issue an Alltalk mailbox instead to these clients where there is a benefit, alternatively we can make a mailbox here for them since you already have an account on our server (RCH).   I have been trying to organise some time with Narre Warren Clinic on prospect Hill, but their IT support person seems to be a ghost-like figure…..

 

Anyway, thought I would just keep you in the picture.

 

 

Glen Kleidon

Last Resort Support

www.lrsupport.com.au

PH 03 9012 7394

 

 

Hi Glen

two questions I keep meaning to ask

1. I see there is a message viewer in the AllTalk folder - we have a
few clients who don't use any surgery software - they just want to be
able to see the results. Is there a way to use Alltalk itself to
manage
results in this way (basically present a list of results, allow
deletion
from the list) ?

2. Is there any way to run alltalk as a service ? The number one
cause
of problems for us is doctor's machines that are not logged in.

cheers

Terry Chilvers
Information Systems
SJOG Pathology (WA)

--- In alltalk-avp@..., "markrose03" <markrose03@...> wrote:
>
> SVHM has had issues with clients not being able to connect getting the
> above message. Other sites have had no issues, so this usually means
> that there is a firewall or other issue. After consultation with Glen,

Yes, Firewall issues are almost invariably the cause of this problem.  It is sometimes difficult to isolate which firewall is actually causing the blockage though as there are so many types and the users arent always aware that they are present (eg Desktop firewall, Windows firewall, Proxy/IAS, Firewall Servers, Hardware firewalls).

> the following command was a good test to see if it was indeed getting
> blocked:
>
> telnet <host> 21110

This is almost a difinitive test - there was a possibility that MS Telnet had in the past been added as an allowed application by the desktop or windows firewall in which case it might have worked, yet Alltalk may still have been blocked.

>
> The site in question was using Nortons, which indeed blocked the port.
> The site changed settings ... all ok now.
>
Incidentally, did you get them to allow 21025 as well?

The message is generated by Alltalk when the TCP Connect IP handshake is not complete within 10 seconds (ie Alltalk asks for a connection and has not received a reply of any kind within 10 seconds).

Other reasons for this message:

a) Routing Issues: Either local Lan or ISP has routing issues between segments of the network.  Eg Datafast had a problem a few years ago routing into Optus from Telstra networks - Packets destined for Telstra we being misrouted and disappearing.  The result was clients on Datafast in Bairnsdale (Vic) could not communicate Australis in Traralgon, yet other ISPs in Bairnsdale could.  The problem was eventually tracked down to a faulty router in Sydney..... Resolution - use

Tracert <Host>

(mostly blocked itself these days) to determine if and where there is a routing issue.  Report to ISP if necessary.

b) Slow link choked by virus or spam traffic (not so much these days).  During a few of the Worm outbreaks a few years back clients on dialup modems (via dial on demand routers) the link was choked with junk Traffic to such an extent real traffic was being delayed long enough to generate the error.

c) DNS fails to respond in timely fashion (rare).  In some cases, DNS requests may not be received in time to make the connetion before the message appears.  To check this use the

Telnet <ip address> 21110

if this works then there is a problem with the local DNS server.

d) Desktop firewalls "Forget" allowed programs.  eg Zone alarm would forget that a particular program like Alltalk or EQuery was allowed to access the internet and inappropriately block it - even when in the past it had worked for many weeks without a problem.

What it is NOT:

If the Alltalk server (application) is down or the actual Server machine is off, Alltalk will detect this as Server "unavailable" (ie gets TCP Connection refused, or TCP Host not found) and skip to the next profile. 

SVHM has had issues with clients not being able to connect getting the
above message. Other sites have had no issues, so this usually means
that there is a firewall or other issue. After consultation with Glen,
the following command was a good test to see if it was indeed getting
blocked:

telnet <host> 21110

The site in question was using Nortons, which indeed blocked the port.
The site changed settings ... all ok now.