Citrix: What Happens To MS Access App After Citrix Sesh Timeout?

[(PeteCresswell)]

I've got one of my apps up and running on a Citrix server.

So far, so good....

But it looks like there's an obligatory timeout. I'm told we
have it set to the 60-minute max.

But if the user doesn't do something within that period, their
Citrix window closes and they have to re-connect via the
Mega-whatever screen.

My question: what happens to the running MS Access application?
---------------------------------------------------------------
- Does it go "Poof!" just as if somebody pulled the power cord
on a PC running it locally?

- Does the user's session live on within the server? If so,
how long?

- Is there some Citrix option that would let Citrix post a
.txt file or something to signal the app to close itself
gracefully?

 

[David W. Fenton]

From poking and prodding, I think I know the answer and it
doesn't sound good to me.

I don't know the answer for Citrix, because I've only used Windows
Terminal Server. But for WTS, it's a configurable setting -- you can
have it set so that closing the client closes the user session, or
leaves it open to be reconnected to. I don't know about the session
timeouts, whether those are set on the server or on the client,
though. I've encountered them in both scenarios, and with one Win2K
server, the session doesn't survive the timeout, while on all the
Win2K3 servers I've used, the session survives the timeout so you
can reconnect to it.

 

[Rick Brandt]

I've got one of my apps up and running on a Citrix server.

So far, so good....

But it looks like there's an obligatory timeout. I'm told we
have it set to the 60-minute max.

Must not be mandatory because we have no such restriction on our Citrix
apps.

But if the user doesn't do something within that period, their
Citrix window closes and they have to re-connect via the
Mega-whatever screen.

My question: what happens to the running MS Access application?
---------------------------------------------------------------
- Does it go "Poof!" just as if somebody pulled the power cord
on a PC running it locally?

- Does the user's session live on within the server? If so,
how long?

Citrix can be configured to either end a disconnected session or not to do
so. If the session is ended Access will be closed but it would be like
re-starting Windows while Accesss was open, not like yanking the power cord.

You should get a "somewhat" graceful shutdown. I say somewhat because when
Windows forces an app to close it is not going to be "as graceful" as if the
app were closed on its own, but again, it should be nothing like hitting
reset or pulling the plug.

 

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per Rick Brandt:

Citrix can be configured to either end a disconnected session or not to do
so. If the session is ended Access will be closed but it would be like
re-starting Windows while Accesss was open, not like yanking the power cord.

What are the implications of re-starting windows? Flushing
caches and all that?.... i.e. No increase in the probability of
corrupting the back end?

 

[Tony Toews [MVP]]

I don't know your answers however I always have my apps setup to shut
themselves down after 30 minutes of inactivity. The idea being that
by the time backup is scheduled all the users will be booted.

This also works within your Citrix limit and allows for Citrix to then
do whatever it wants after 31 minutes.

Tony

--
Tony Toews, Microsoft Access MVP
Please respond only in the newsgroups so that others can
read the entire thread of messages.
Microsoft Access Links, Hints, Tips & Accounting Systems at
http://www.granite.ab.ca/accsmstr.htm
Tony's Microsoft Access Blog - http://msmvps.com/blogs/access/

 

[Tony Toews [MVP]]

What are the implications of re-starting windows? Flushing
caches and all that?.... i.e. No increase in the probability of
corrupting the back end?

No, unless you're running a long running batch job such as I had to at
one client. Some processing to generate the invoices could take up to
an hour or two.

Corruption only happens if the connection to the backend is lost
during that very brief moment in time when Access is updating/writing
to the backend. This is that moment in time when either an empty
record is created and thus when the triangle on the record selector
changes to pencil or when the pencil on the record selector changes
from pencil to triangle.

Thus Access isn't doing anything anyhow after the 60 minutes and
Access is terminated.

I've had clients who've had fifteen users in the backend, some with
updates pending on the screen, when the power was cut to the building.
And there was no corruption. I was on site at the time.

Tony
--
Tony Toews, Microsoft Access MVP
Please respond only in the newsgroups so that others can
read the entire thread of messages.
Microsoft Access Links, Hints, Tips & Accounting Systems at
http://www.granite.ab.ca/accsmstr.htm
Tony's Microsoft Access Blog - http://msmvps.com/blogs/access/

 

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per Tony Toews [MVP]:

I always have my apps setup to shut
themselves down after 30 minutes of inactivity.

Timer() event in the home screen?

 

[Tony Toews [MVP]]

Timer() event in the home screen?

Almost.

HOW TO: Detect User Idle Time or Inactivity in Access 2000 (Q210297)
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=210297
ACC: How to Detect User Idle Time or Inactivity (Q128814)
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=128814

However we found that the code which runs on the timer event must be
disabled for the programmers. Otherwise weird things start happening
when you're editing code.

Also print preview would sometimes not allow the users to run a menu
item to export the report to Excel or others. So you had to right
click on the Previewed report to get some type of internal focus back
on the report so they could then export it. This was also helped by
extending the timer to five minutes.

The downside to extending the timer to five minutes was if a person
stays in the same form and at the same control for considerable parts
of the day, ie someone doing the same inquiries, the routine didn't
realize that they had actually done something. I'll be putting in
some logic sometime to reset this timer whenever they do something in
the program.

Tony
--
Tony Toews, Microsoft Access MVP
Please respond only in the newsgroups so that others can
read the entire thread of messages.
Microsoft Access Links, Hints, Tips & Accounting Systems at
http://www.granite.ab.ca/accsmstr.htm
Tony's Microsoft Access Blog - http://msmvps.com/blogs/access/