Network File In Use

Network File In Use – the DIAMOND.D02 is the multi-user control file for the Datafile system and is accessed thousands of times during operations in the Datafile system. As you open a database file or record the system opens this file to update the control file to show that you have this record open, similarly as you exit the system updates this file to clear these locks. During each update the system places a file lock to prevent other users updating this file – this lock takes fractions of a second but if another user tries to update during this time they will receive a ‘network file in use’ or ‘waiting for diamond.d02’ message.

This message, if seen at all, should automatically clear itself – when this message stays on screen and requires user intervention to resolve its a symptom of another problem.

• Affecting All Users At Once - If all users are receiving this message at the same time it indicates that the DIAMOND.D02 has been locked on the network and not released. This may be a third-party program such as a virus checker or backup process or could be that one user has had an error which has left this file locked. In these circumstances you should initially review the Open Files/Folders on the network using the Computer Management tools in the Control Panel to see who has locked this file and follow from here and begin closing connections to the file until it has been released.

• Affecting A Single User - If a single user is receiving this message at a time and other users are continuing to process normally it’s typically symptomatic of a network connection error. As the D02 is one of the first files updated for any action then this message, or a similar message ‘Error Accessing DIAMOND.D02’, will often be displayed as the first indication of a network connection failure.

You can sometimes determine the ‘error’ message being returned to Datafile that is resulting in the ‘Waiting’ message by adding an entry LOGLOCK=TRUE to the DATAFILE.INI. This logs to the SYSERR.DAT error file the response received from the network that is triggering the message. Googling this response can then give pointers to network triggers that result in that message.

One such reason can be the use of mapped drives – if the mapped drive is disconnected or disabled, even temporarily, then Datafile could report the waiting for / error accessing message.

An alternative to mapped drives is to use the UNC path to access the Datafile system – i.e. a shortcut along the lines of \\SERVER\DATAFILE\DFWIN\PROGRAMS\DFWIN.EXErather than F:\DFWIN\PROGRAMS\DFWIN.EXE for example. This may not be a simple change of shortcut, you would need to look at other paths in the Datafile system – i.e. location of files and DATAFILE.INI paths are relative (DATA\DEM-SLA.DFD for example). The DFWIN.INI, if in use, may need updating for the UNC path also.

You may also wish to look at our Knowledgebase article - http://datafile.co.uk/kb/article/smb2-smb3-and-opportunistic-locking-2132.html