SeedCode Support Forum

In the Sample Build 1.1 'ZuluSampleData' database, the script 'Publish Calendar' there is a notation for "Multiple Machine Server Deployment" and how to adjust the script, stating 'edit the line below'. This notation is above the addition of the _host element to the $url, but does not properly reference the 'webPublishEngineHost' variable setting above it.

As a result of this, making the modification where the specified still results in the url attempting to go to the regular DB server, rather than the web publishing engine.

Although I've found a couple information pieces looking through the website (regarding multiple machine setup) I'm still having trouble and want to confirm what's expected. I have installed the plugin in the web publishing plugins on the publishing machine. I can access the http://<...>:8040/zulu on that machine. I have modified the script to point the 'webPublishEngineHost' variable to this machine (so that it alters both the hostname and the _host entry) and still get the following error:

An error occurred while communicating with your FileMaker database. Please verify that the database is on, and web publishing is enabled.

So at current (<> are placeholders, not literal addresses):
* http://<www.db>:8040/zulu -- Successful, still shows time remaining in the demo phase
* IWP access through <www.db> to database -- Successful
* DB access thorugh <db> -- Successful
* Publish script going to http://<www.db>:8040[...]_host=<www.db> -- Error

Is my url and plugin setup correct? Is there any other step for multiple machine I haven't been able to fully uncover?

* I'm currently on an FMSA9 2-machine windows (2003) install, although migrating to an FMSA11 2-machine osx install 2010Q4

Fully restarted both FMS and the web publishing services on the two machines. Triple checked configurations and XML access (confirmed XML access to the files in question via the web publishing services.) Tested repeatedly with zulu integrated into a test of a solution and with the provided sample file.

Finally found the Zulu log file, I had not noticed that the troubleshooting link referred to it being in the 'Default User' documents directory.

After tracking the debugging information, I discovered that the Zulu plugin was running all local connecitivity through http://localhost/fmi/[...]. Our server provides a separate response to localhost than to the public facing ip#, so localhost was hitting the internal web service rather than the filemaker WPS.

I have made an adjustment to work with this for the time being.

Not intending to look too post-ful, but although I figured out the actual serving error, I wanted to re-iterate the incorrect location for the comment in the script that specifies where to update for a multiple machine setup. It sits above one of the usages for the web publishing hostname, rather than above the actual setting of the web publishing hostname.

Thank you for this Stephen: much appreciated! And I'll swap that script comment when I get our next build up.

Nicely done.

Let me know if you think there is something else we could do here to smooth this out.

- John

What would've made this easier for me is related to how I followed the install documentation, so I'll roll through my path and mention where I would've' liked to have seen the notation.

• Opened the ZuluSampleData database
• Read the 'Home' page
• Clicked 'Get Started'
• Clicked 'open in a new window
  Of interesting note: 'open in a new window' opens in IE, while the 'online version' opens in my chosen primary web browser.
• Read the entire 'integration' page
• Opened the plugin install instructions on another page -- Read this entire page
• Read the Limitations, Security, Troubleshooting (admittedly I missed the SystemRequirements page)
• Returned to the plugin installation and walked through each step
  It would be nice if step 2 (place the file on your server) specified the multiple machine install location. Both machines get the web publishing files installs [at least in FMSA9] so I was able to actually follow the install instructions, it just didn't do anything. After research I discovered which functions run from which machine (XML in this case), but I wasn't entirely clear when starting. I'm looking forward to trying the servelet and expect this will be much simpler and more common sense based for me personally.
  Plugin troubleshooting should also probably reference that it uses "localhost" for communicating with the WPE. [Will the servelet do the same?]
• Finally got the host:8040/zulu up on the WPE machine
• Returned to the integration page and walked through each step
  Here it would've been nice to have a tip to look for the customization required in the Publish script for multiple machine install.
• I spent a lot of time testing and reading through the documentation, this is when I finally found the multiple machine entry in the main troubleshooting section and altered the script. [This is when the scripts corrupted and required me to start the entire thing over from scratch.] Upon redoing this without a script corruption, when that failed, I read more of the script and noted the proper editing location. This got me to the next step finally.
• Finally satisfied that the install was working correctly, I kept doing test cases to try to find why zulu was reporting a database communication failure. I triple checked security and XML access, etc. I finally re-read the log location (I had been looking in the Administrator documents folder rather than the 'Default user' for logs, where all my other 360works logs go, both on the FMS and the RDP FMPA machine.)
• Once I found the log file, I did step through manually testing each of the urls zulu was using, until I finally remembered that we keep the localhost ip used for an internal dashboard [not actually used much] and altered the IIS service to respond to localhost for WPE.
• Success!
  (mostly... I had missed the notation that the filename could not have a space in it, much testing and reading later I remembered that a lot of things have issues with the spaces and got it up, super sweet filemaker direct calendar goodness!)

Although I "get" FMS, the FMSA portions still sometimes confound me, so I more or less just went into 'follow instructions' mode.