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bluepennylady
(enthusiast)
09/07/06 08:36 AM
Networking Auction Wizard  

Hi all!

grumpy3b and I decided we should start a thread concerning the ins and outs of networking Auction Wizard. I frequently receive email inquiries concerning the "how-do-you" handle this situation.

There are some workflow steps you can take to help Auction Wizard work efficiently in a network environment. And there are some things you just really shouldn't do in a Aw2K network environment.

So if you have always wanted to know how to network, how easy is it. What do you need to network, how many computers can you network? Well just jump right in and ask. Or by all means, share your AW2K networking experience.

Judy/blue




bluepennylady
(enthusiast)
09/08/06 03:54 PM
Re: Networking Auction Wizard new [re: bluepennylady]  

Hi,

For starters, to network Auction Wizard, you don't have to have umpteen computers and a mega switch or router. I started out using a couple of not so big and not very good computers and a Belkin router. Used peer to peer. My computer at my desk acted as the "server".

I can tell you from personal experience, it is really important for the computer acting as the "server" to be beefy enough to handle the load. Plenty of memory and processing. And it really isn't a good idea to use the computer acting as the "server" as a workstation too. I did that for a while. But it sure slowed down everything. I worked the guts out of my first server, literally. Had to rebuild it.

The "Help" file in Auction Wizard contains all the computer networking information including optimizing the BDE. The instructions are easy to follow as there are even screen shots of what the windows look like.

Judy/blue



grumpy3b
(newbie)
09/15/06 09:42 PM
Re: Networking Auction Wizard new [re: bluepennylady]  

Hi,

I dint forget just have been really bizzy here. I finally got things configured right network wise and am pretty happy overall with aw2k in our leetle 2-user setup. Oh, while I really dislike using a peer-peer setup vs. something like a Novell Netware Server, for a small network Winblows seems to be finally working OK...but we'll see after we really start testing things the next couple weeks.

When I have time I will write up my notes and tips on what to remember beyond the Multi-User portion of the aw2k help file.

BTW, the help file is pretty complete in this area but there are a couple Windows network config tips I can add to help. Plus you might need to really tweak the suggested BDE settings to find your setup's "sweet spot"...



bluepennylady
(enthusiast)
09/16/06 04:27 AM
Re: Networking Auction Wizard new [re: grumpy3b]  

Hi,

I glad you are up and running. That is cool! I am going to do the same thing. There are a few tips for working in an AW2K network setting I have learned over the last few years.

Judy/blue



bluepennylady
(enthusiast)
09/18/06 05:40 PM
Re: Networking Auction Wizard new [re: bluepennylady]  

Hi all,

As promised, a few tips, tricks and I tried it and here's what happened posts concerning Networking with AW2K.

First, it is true, if you are networked, you can use one computer to list at eBay and the other can list at eBay stores or Overstock. Or you can list on eBay using a computer while you update ended Auctions with the other computer.

You cannot upload images to the same FTP account at the same time. You can try it but you'll get this little warning promptly informing you another user is uploading images and you'll need to--well it means just to "wait a while". The same thing happens if 2 people attempt to Check email at the same time. So the first to hit the "check email" icon, gets to check email first. It's a first come, first serve thing.

It was well worth the 2nd computer investment when I first started using AW2000 back in 2002. Could do twice as much work in half the time. One was listing while another updated. And when I hired staff, one computer was either listing or updating all morning long. The other computer was used for deaing with Invoices, logging payment, sending shipping notices, etc. After the Listing/Update computer was finished with those 2 functions for the day, we used it for entering Inventory Items into the database.

I said all that to say this, if you are restricted to the quantity of auctions you list because you only have 1 computer, you might look at adding another computer. Then network those little dudes together. It works slick as all get out.

Judy/blue



BreckLundin
(stranger )
02/07/08 08:01 PM
Re: Networking Auction Wizard new [re: bluepennylady]  

I agree the LAN functionality is pretty nice. And it's pretty simple to setup. Thom's instructions in the help file are very complete.

The biggest issue is the the complete lack of access over the web. We need, and I mean need our auction data on a web server now. And access via a VPN or some ridiculous thing like PC Anywhere is a joke. BTW, you can setup that exact ability in XP Pro free and use something like No-IP.com to let you access your home network free of any fees for basic needs and also using a friendly name for your home LAN.

But access via remote control software is not reliable plus many people simple do not have a fast enough UPLOAD service with their broadband. Trust me a 768k upstream connection is SLOW the way Aw2k handles data access. And a lot of users do not even have a 768k upstream connection.

But at least the remote access idea will work in a pinch but it's not a reasonable long term solution because of speed.

You do run a risk if you use the connection via remote access too much and are with an ISP such as Comcrap or even Verizon, they can claim you are in violation of your TOS by hosting a server over your connection and can terminate your contract charging you for the full amount still due or an early termination fee or even both could be a possibility. Believe me these days ISP's are becoming very draconian not because of lack of system capacity but rather because their growth rate has flattened substantially. So they look for any way to charge more by forcing an upgrade to a "business" class service. Of which there is no difference you simply pay more...a HUGE amount more in all cases.

Edited by brecklundin on 02/07/08 08:03 PM (server time).



bluepennylady
(Pooh-Bah)
02/07/08 08:14 PM
Re: Networking Auction Wizard new [re: BreckLundin]  

Hi,

I use logmein to access my company network and work on 'AW2000. The speed is incredible. It is as if I am sitting at my office desk. In fact, while posting here, I have another window open, have logged into my office from here at home, ran AW2K and am listing.

I used PC anywhere and it didn't go "anywhere"
I used WebEx. and the speed was Xtra slow
Logmein is not the least bit slow. Well the only time it gets at tad slow is if I am in a vehicle and using my cell card Internet access. And then it is only the typing response that is slow. Everything else works fine.

Just what works for me..


Judy/blue

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http://stores.ebay.com/bluepennylady?refid=store
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http://www.pennyworthsales.com


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