RE: Sudden Onset Freezes and Lockups - Ideas

["Mark Stoffan" <mstoffan at wncln dot lib dot unca dot edu>]

We have the same problem at one of our sites. It appeared at about the
same time (7 -10 days ago) with two MilCirc terminals.

Both run Windows XP SP-2. One has 128 MB of RAM, the other 512. Neither
PC has had any changes or upgrades applied that would explain the
problem. Both communicate with the server over the Internet via
100Mb/T-1.

I've asked the staff at this location to copy the output from the Java
window and either print it or e-mail it to me along with a description
of what specific task was being attempted. I haven't received enough
hard data yet to warrant opening a call with III. 

If we identify a cause I'll pass it along to you. The problem is severe
enough to have driven the staff back to using Telnet circulation except
during slow periods.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Mark A. Stoffan
Network Librarian, Western North Carolina Library Network
1 University Heights, CPO 1500
Asheville, NC  28804                        (828) 232-5095 (office)
mstoffan at wncln dot lib dot unca dot edu        (828) 231-6285 (cell)
wncln.lib.unca.edu                            (828) 232-5137 (fax)
 

-----Original Message-----
From: Karl Beiser [mailto:beiser at maine dot edu] 
Sent: Tuesday, August 30, 2005 11:07 AM
To: INNOPAC at innopacusers dot org
Subject: Sudden Onset Freezes and Lockups - Ideas

Beginning a week ago our Minerva consortial system has had a very
frustrating 
problem with momentary freezes and hard Millennium client lockups that
come 
with such frequency that the various Millennium clients are virtually 
unuseable. Any experience or insight you might have with this sort of
thing 
would be much appreciated.

Problem Description

Millennium Circulation, Cataloging, Serials "hesitate" 10 seconds to a
minute 
or more between mouse clicks and keystrokes. This can happen at any
point. 
There is no pattern to when this happens or what the user is doing at
the 
time.  These hesitations can happens as frequently as every minute or
two, 
though once every 5-10 minutes is more common.

Often, the "hesitations" appear to never end.  They turn into full
lockups.  
Staff must use the Windows Task Manager to close down the client, then
start 
up a new one.  Other client software runs normally during the lockup.  

This problem occurs only in libraries that connect to the server through
our 
statewide Maine School and Library Network (MSLN).  Those using a DSL or

cable modem circuit do not have the problem.  However, only 1/4 of the
MSLN 
libraries have the problem -- about 10 libraries.  Those 10 libraries
have no 
geographical or network topology commonalities that separate them from
the 
other libraries as far as we can see.

The problem has been very nearly constant for about a week among the 10 
affected libraries.  Pretty much all the Millennium client machines
behave 
about the same, irrespective of operating system.  The machines are all
over 
the map in respect to workstation memory, from 128 MB to 1 GB of RAM,
from 
Win 98, NT, 2000 to XP.

Oh, and bandwidth tests indicate that there is plenty of available
network 
bandwidth coincident with these problems. There could be downward
spikes, but 
in general terms the bandwidth is not being strangled by some other
factor.

Any suggestions, insights, clarifying questions, etc. would be much 
appreciated as we work with the folks who host our server and manage
MSLN to 
try to uncover what is an elusive and probably compound cause of this 
problem...

Regards,

Karl
-- 
Karl Beiser, Library Systems Coordinator
Maine State Library
POB 2145
Bangor, ME 04402
beiser at maine dot edu
tel:207-581-1656; fax: 207-581-1653; pager: 207-750-0330
http://www.maine.gov/msl/