Monitor Windows Service

[iCodeSharp]

Hi,

I haven't got a code problem..because i haven't created any code
yet..but hopefully someone can put me in the right direction.

I want to create a windows service that acts like redirector and
monitor at the same time. I am creating an indexing application that
is going to use multiple machines to perform the index. The service
needs to know which machine(s) is/are idle so the service can send
that machine a task to start indexing a particular directory. If all
machines are busy it needs to put the task on hold until a machine
comes available again.

I am going install a service on my indexing machines thats send
messages to the monitor service to let it know that the machine is
done indexing...so i going to be something like push and pull
mechanism. Is .NET Remoting suitable for this kind of applications?
Also i want my indexing machine to find the monitor server by its
self...

Again i hope someone can put me in the right direction.

Much tnx!
Martijn

 

[Nicholas Paldino [.NET/C# MVP]]

Remoting would be fine for this. In order for the indexing machines to
know where the coordinator is, that would mean that the coordinator would
have to know which machines are performing the index.

Then, what you could do is have the coordinator send "hello" messages to
the indexers, indicating where the coordinator is. Of course, the indexer
machines would have to publish themselves in a consistent, or discoverable
manner (if it is through a TCP remoting connection, for example, you have to
have a fixed port, or know the port beforehand).

Or, you could have the coordinator pass a class to the indexer that
derives from MarshalByRefObject, and then the indexer can call back into the
coordinator as it wishes.

Personally, I would use WCF and callbacks, which are somewhat similar,
but not exactly (the idea of a marshal by reference object doesn't exist in
WCF).