GetWeb Interface Stopping Intermittently

[TJG476]

Once in a while (every few weeks or so) our GetWeb interface stops without warning. If I check windows services, it is running. If I check PG Monitor, the service is stopped. Since PageGate is a critical app here at my hospital, it's important for me to know when anything is wrong with the system so that I can fix it.

Is there any way for PageGate or a third-party app to proactively monitor the system and let me know if anything has failed? Our Orion system monitors hardware and windows health, but can't monitor components of specific programs like PageGate.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Tech Support]

There is a way to have PageGate monitor itself and notify you when a service goes down but before I go into that, I wanted to ask what build version of PageGate you're using. You're probably using version 4 but if you would, please go into your PageGate directory and go into the properties of the pagegate.exe file. Go under the version tab and let me know what it says there.

[TJG476]

We are using v. 4.0.0.96

[Tech Support]

Apologies, there was one more piece of informationI need. What is the date created on your pagegate.exe file?

[TJG476]

August 5, 2004.

[Tech Support]

Thank you. The first thing I'd like you to do is update your build of PageGate to the latest build, it fixes a few issues we've had with the GetWeb module in the past. Here's how:

1) Make a backup copy of your c:\program files\pagegate\pagegate.mdb file - this file contains all of your registration, carrier, recipient, mailbox, and connectors information.

2) Make a backup copy of the c:\program files\pagegate\mailboxes\ directory, if it exists.

3) We've posted a new build of PageGate on our website, so download the new installation from here:

http://www.notepage.net - Click on the download button under the PageGate section in the center of the page.

4) Shut PageGate down. Make sure that the system services are stopped, close the Admin, close the Monitor, and make sure nothing regarding PageGate is still running.

5) Uninstall PageGate. When prompted, select the full uninstall option.

6) Once the full uninstallation of Pagegate is complete, reboot the computer.

7) After the computer has been rebooted, manually browse to the c:\program files\ directory and if the PageGate directory still exists, delete it.

8) Use the pgv4.exe file you downloaded in step 3 to install the latest build of PageGate (select the PageGate Server option when prompted).

9) Now that we've got PageGate reinstalled, run the Admin.

10) Ignore the dialog that pops up, just click on Apply. It will tell you a new database has been created and PAgeGate must be restarted.

11) BEFORE you run the Admin again, take that copy of the pagegate.mdb file you made in step 1 and copy it back into the c:\program files\pagegate directory.

12) It'll ask if you want to overwrite the file, say yes.

13) If any of your recipients use mailboxes, restore the Mailboxes directory that you backed up in step 2.

14) Run the PageGate Admin again. Everything should be there (carriers, recipients, connector information, registration, all of it).

15) The last thing is to go to Program - Settings in the PageGate Admin and switch it to have PageGate run as a Windows NT service.

16) Once PageGate has been switched to run as a Service, left click once on the icon of the pager in your system tray and tell it to start.

[TJG476]

Thank you. Since this must be done off-hours I will perform the outage on Thursday, February 8th early in the morning. After the upgrade will we then be able to activate some sort of notification feature as I requested in my original post? If so, could I have those steps as well (especially if they require an outage to perform - it would be nice to do it at the same time.)

Thanks.

[Tech Support]

To have PageGate send a message if one of its services hangs, you'll want to update your copy of the PageGate Monitor to the version 5 monitor:

Here is how to install and configure the update to the PageGate Monitor:

1) From the workstation that's going to be keeping tabs on things, download this installation file:

http://www.notepage.net/download/pgv5.exe

2) When the file has finished downloading, run it.

3) THE ONLY installation option you want to run is the PageGate Monitor installation.

4) After the Monitor has been installed, run it.

5) Go to File - Settings.

6) Under the NotePager Pro Alerts section, in the NPP Recipient box, type the name or group name in NotePager Pro you want to be messaged when PageGate has a problem.

7) Check off each of the options you want. For example, if you want it to message you every time any PageGate services start or stop (including the midnight cleanup routine), you'd check "Start and stop events". If you wanted it to message you when a service 'hangs', you would check "Stalled Modules".

8) Click on Apply.

Now, in order for this to work, you also have to install and configure NotePager Pro. The reason is that the version 5 PageGate Monitor uses NotePager Pro to send alert messages:

Here's how to download, install, and set up NotePager Pro version 3:

1) Go to our website: http://www.notepage.net/

2) In the center of the page, you'll see NotePager Pro. Under that, you'll see three options: Download, Buy Now, More Information. Click on Download.

3) Download the notepagerpro.exe file to your desktop or to any other easily accessible location.

4) Once the file has finished downloading, double click on it.

5) The installation is fairly straightforward and none of the installation options really need to be changed. Just click Next all the way through the installation until it finishes.

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Now that we've got the program installed and registered, here's how to set up your carriers:

1) Go to Carriers - Add.

2) Name the Carrier whatever you want it to be named.

3) Set the protocol to whichever protocol the carrier uses.

4) Be sure to include any host or local domain information it asks for.

5) Click on Apply.

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To add Recipients, go to the Recipients menu and left click on Add. From there, the process is exactly the same as in PageGate.

[TJG476]

Thank you! I have downloaded and installed the software as directed, and it tests fine. One last question - when I open Notepager Pro it says that it isn't registered (which makes sense). My only concern is that it will stop working after 30 days. Do I need to pay and register the program or will it keep working for this purpose beyond the 30 days?

Thanks again.

[Tech Support]

Correct, in order for this to function properly, you do have to own NotePager Pro, which can be purchased for $29.95 from our website (http://www.notepage.net)

[TJG476]

Thanks for your help.

[TJG476]

First let me say that having NotePager Pro monitor PageGate is great. Several times now I've been alerted to PG issues and was able to resolve them before the users noticed. Thanks again for the help.

Now for my question....once in a while I get the following page from NotePager Pro: "PG_Monitor:PGDial 8 Program Halted. Database error: 3239 Too many active users. in Procedure: open_database" (this happens with any of the dialers, not just 8.) When I look at the PG server, all dialers are running, even though I was paged with an error. Does anyone know what this means? It does not appear to be service affecting, just annoying to me (the guy that gets paged at 1:30am about it).

[Tech Support]

It's good to know that the NotePager Pro monitoring has been useful, we were hoping it would be.

As for the error you're getting, this generally occurs when the 'lock' file for the database has an error in it.

If you'll look in the PageGate Database directory, you'll see a file called pagegate.mdb (this is your database) and a file called pagegate.ldb (this is the lock file).

To fix the error you're running into, completely shut PageGate down. Close all Admins, Monitors, Clients, and the PageGate Server itself. Once nothing at all is accessing the PageGate Database, the pagegate.ldb file shouldn't exist. Chances are, yours will still exist. Simply delete it and tell the PageGate Server to start.

The lock file most likely thinks there are still a bunch of machines attached to it that aren't actually connected any more. This can happen with network connectivity problems, among other things.