Alert: Turn off the flapping wings when using Network install - they create untold volume of packet traffic and network slowness

bryroller

posted Apr 8 '08 at 11:18 pm

OK - here is my setup:

DL380 G1 NW6.5 SP 6 servers (two file, print, home directories, Pegasus Mail, LDAP, DNS, DHCP and so on), one ZENworks 6.5, one BorderManager 3.8. Amazing how well NetWare runs on a PIII 933 with 3GB of RAM - try and do that with a M$ server ;-). HP Procurve 4000m, 2424m, 1600m and Extreme Networks 14001 switches with several different subnets.

Workstations of both W2K SP5 (yes 4 with the rollup) and XP SP2 running the 4.91 SP3 Novell client. Most 100Mb - some wireless. Some are IP only, some IP + IPX all have LDAP enabled.

Three different network shared installs of Pegasus Mail (two on one file & print server, on on the other f&p). Mercury/32 running on an nLite version of W2K Pro inside a VMWare Workstation 4.5 virtual machine. Mercury/32 modules S.P,E,D,X,I with Clamwall + Sanesecurity and Spamhalter. Users can access local mail via IMAP using mail2web.com or with "smart phones" / PDAs.

Since I am not "POP" ing my ISP with Pegasus Mail (Mercury does check every 5 minutes - backup MX) my Pegasus Mail config is somewhat different. I have quite a few things modded with respect to the way Pegasus Mail runs and what users can [not] change.

A couple thoughts...

Is the troublesome workstation on the exact same client SP level as the rest i.e. 4.91.3.20061109 (yes all the numbers at the end do matter)?

Check the Novell client settings against a "working" workstation - have any settings been changed or updated?

Try uninstalling / reinstalling the Novell client on the problematic computer (see a pattern here? - I've been bitten numerous times with Novell client problems). Find a release that works for you and stick with it until there is a newer feature that you just can't live without is my recommendation.

Is SLP setup, and fully functional? If not - I strongly urge you to configure it or resolve any issues it may have before spending much time on other things.

Could the WSOCK32 setting in Pegasus Mail have anything to do with your problem? I have mine set to "on demand only" - don't know if this even matters...

What is the flow control setting of the clients and switch ports?

You could easily setup Mercury/32 to POP and deliver mail for you in a VM... not something to offer as a resolution to your problem but it does give you much greater flexability and control if so desired...

Do you know of the school?

Check your PM for additional info...

HTH

OK - here is my setup:DL380 G1 NW6.5 SP 6 servers (two file, print, home directories, Pegasus Mail, LDAP, DNS, DHCP and so on), one ZENworks 6.5, one BorderManager 3.8. Amazing how well NetWare runs on a PIII 933 with 3GB of RAM - try and do that with a M$ server ;-). HP Procurve 4000m, 2424m, 1600m and Extreme Networks 14001 switches with several different subnets. Workstations of both W2K SP5 (yes 4 with the rollup) and XP SP2 running the 4.91 SP3 Novell client. Most 100Mb - some wireless. Some are IP only, some IP + IPX all have LDAP enabled. Three different network shared installs of Pegasus Mail (two on one file &amp; print server, on on the other f&amp;p). Mercury/32 running on an nLite version of W2K Pro inside a VMWare Workstation 4.5 virtual machine. Mercury/32 modules S.P,E,D,X,I with Clamwall + Sanesecurity and Spamhalter. Users can access local mail via IMAP using mail2web.com or with "smart phones" / PDAs.Since I am not "POP" ing my ISP with Pegasus Mail (Mercury does check every 5 minutes - backup MX) my Pegasus Mail config is somewhat different. I have quite a few things modded with respect to the way Pegasus Mail runs and what users can [not] change.&nbsp;A couple thoughts...Is the troublesome workstation on the exact same client SP level as the rest i.e. 4.91.3.20061109 (yes all the numbers at the end do matter)?Check the Novell client settings against a "working" workstation - have any settings been changed or updated?Try uninstalling / reinstalling the Novell client on the problematic computer (see a pattern here? - I've been bitten numerous times with Novell client problems). Find a release that works for you and stick with it until there is a newer feature that you just can't live without is my recommendation. &nbsp;Is SLP setup, and fully functional? If not - I strongly urge you to configure it or resolve any issues it may have before spending much time on other things.Could the WSOCK32 setting in Pegasus Mail have anything to do with your problem? I have mine set to "on demand only" - don't know if this even matters... What is the flow control setting of the clients and switch ports? &nbsp;You could easily setup Mercury/32 to POP and deliver mail for you in a VM... not something to offer as a resolution to your problem but it does give you much greater flexability and control if so desired... Do you know of the school?Check your PM for additional info...&nbsp;HTH&nbsp;

RFrey

posted Mar 28 '08 at 6:10 pm

I have determined that the Pegasus Mail horse icon that appears in your system tray (bottom right hand corner with clock on your monitor) creates a huge volume of unnecessary network traffic when set to flap its wings to alert you of new mail. You can use the following instructions to be sure that your system is set to not have the wings flap.

With Pegasus Mail open:

Click on TOOLS menu button at the top of the Pegasus application window.

Click on Options... at the top of the Tools Menu

Click on Reporting/Logging near the bottom of the left hand column under the "User Interface" section.

Make sure the check box (3rd from the top) for "Animate the icon (flap its wings) when new mail arrives" is NOT checked. If it is, just click on it and it will get unchecked.

Click on the APPLY BUTTON.

Then click OK button.

BACKGROUND:

We use only Pegaus Mail (Not Mercury)

We used to have the Pegasus installed on each workstation, but switched it to a server install and then pointed individual workstations to the centralized application - this is when the problem began, but it was months before we narrowed it down to this. We replaced numerous switches, network cables, etc. chasing the network slowness problem.

The problem only presents itself when new mail is received and the icon's wings start flapping. Once new mail folder is cleared or closed then the problem subsides. It also subsides when Pegasus is closed and in spite of clear anti-virus tests and spyware tests, we were concerned we had a virus, trojan, bot, etc.

Some workstations may be more adversely affected than others, I had 4 users who imparticularly created a lot of packets. The packet counts if you checked the status of their network connection were in the hundred millions rather like like most of our workstations in the tens of thousands or less.

Adversely affected workstations experiences intermittent extreme latency in Pegasus application as well as other applications and Windows features.

ENVIRONMENT:

28 User Novell Netware 6.5 Network with Windows XP workstations. (we have other sites with similar set-ups; as well as Citrix users who can access our LAN)

Multiple automatic 10/100 switches connected in a tree fashion to a primary 10/100/1000 Manageable switch.

I searched pretty extensively through this forum looking for a previous report of this issue. I searched under multiple terms and found none that directly related to this. I would recommend that a warning be added to the Netware installation guidance that pops up when first installing Pegasus. If anyone has a solution I would appreciate it as numerous users have grown accustom to being alerted to their new mail this way. I am aware (and use) the "telltale" floating window (my personal preference) as well as a notification sound.

I&nbsp;have determined that the Pegasus Mail horse icon that appears in your system tray (bottom right hand corner with clock on your monitor) creates a huge volume of unnecessary network traffic when set to flap its wings to alert you of new mail. You can use the following instructions to be sure that your system is set to not have the wings flap. With Pegasus Mail open: <OL> <LI>Click on TOOLS menu button at the top of the Pegasus application window.</LI> <LI>Click on Options... at the top of the Tools Menu</LI> <LI>Click on Reporting/Logging near the bottom of the left hand column under the "User Interface" section.</LI> <LI>Make sure the check box (3rd from the top) for "Animate the icon (flap its wings) when new mail arrives" is NOT checked. If it is, just click on it and it will get unchecked. </LI> <LI>Click on the APPLY BUTTON.</LI> <LI>Then click OK button.</LI></OL> BACKGROUND: <UL> <LI>We use only Pegaus Mail (Not Mercury)</LI> <LI>We used to have the Pegasus installed on each workstation, but switched it to a server install and then pointed individual workstations to the centralized application - this is when the problem began, but it was months before we narrowed it down to this.&nbsp; We replaced numerous switches, network cables, etc. chasing the network slowness problem.</LI> <LI>The problem only presents itself when new mail is received and the icon's wings start flapping.&nbsp; Once new mail folder is cleared or closed then the problem subsides.&nbsp; It also subsides when Pegasus is closed and in spite of clear anti-virus tests and spyware tests, we were concerned we had a virus, trojan, bot, etc.</LI> <LI>Some workstations may be more adversely affected than others, I had 4 users who imparticularly created a lot of packets.&nbsp; The packet counts if you checked the status of their network connection were in the hundred millions rather like like most of our workstations in the tens of thousands or less.</LI> <LI>Adversely affected workstations experiences intermittent extreme latency in Pegasus application as well as other applications and Windows features.</LI></UL> ENVIRONMENT: <UL> <LI>28 User Novell Netware 6.5 Network with Windows XP workstations.&nbsp; (we have other sites with similar set-ups; as well as Citrix users who can access our LAN)</LI> <LI>Multiple automatic 10/100 switches connected in a tree fashion to a primary 10/100/1000 Manageable switch.</LI></UL> I searched pretty extensively through this forum looking for a previous report of this issue.&nbsp; I searched under multiple terms and found none that directly related to this.&nbsp; I would recommend that a warning be added to the Netware installation guidance that pops up when first installing&nbsp;Pegasus.&nbsp; If anyone has a solution I would appreciate it as numerous users have grown accustom to being alerted to their new mail this way.&nbsp; I am aware (and use) the "telltale" floating window (my personal preference) as well as a notification sound.

bryroller

posted Apr 8 '08 at 1:46 pm

This is most disappointing to hear as I also have many users that have turned off broadcast messages and rely on the flapping wings. I have nearly identical Pegasus Mail installs (using 4.31) and Netware 6.5 but have 10 times the number of users on my LAN alone. I don't think I have seen this specific problem (but do notice latency when using a notification sound that is located in the PMAIL directory).

How did you come to this being the root of the network traffic - trial and error / luck? Do you use NDS mode Pegasus Mail? Where do you have the mail directories located? Do you use the Novell client?

Just curious, what do you use instead of Mercury/32? The nlm version may be stable but is too basic for my needs.

I would like to rule this out as a possible problem in my environment and would be willing to work with you on a resolution. Let me know if you would like additional info on my network / server / workstation configurations or compare notes on the phone.

This is most disappointing to hear as I also have many users that have turned off broadcast messages and rely on the flapping wings. I have nearly identical Pegasus Mail installs (using 4.31) and Netware 6.5 but have 10 times the number of users on my LAN alone. I don't think I have seen this specific problem (but do notice latency when using a notification sound that is located in the PMAIL directory). How did you come to this being the root of the network traffic - trial and error / luck? Do you use NDS mode Pegasus Mail? Where do you have the mail directories located? Do you use the Novell client? Just curious, what do you use instead of Mercury/32? The nlm version may be stable but is too basic for my needs. I would like to rule this out as a possible problem in my environment and would be willing to work with you on a resolution. Let me know if you would like additional info on my network / server / workstation configurations or compare notes on the phone.

RFrey

posted Apr 8 '08 at 9:27 pm

Thank you for your questions and interest in this issue.

As for the notification sound - I point to the user's own C:\WINNT\Media\ringin.wav (or whichever sound they desire).

We recently installed brand new HP Procurve 2810 10/100/1000 switch. Upon experiencing network latency (slow responsiveness in Pegasus application and others on same work station) I checked the status page on the Procurve's web interface. The port for the Netware server and the port for the work station in question were both pegging the chart for "Port Utilization". I confirmed via the work station's own Local Area Connection Status window that "packet" counts for "Sent" and "Received" were very high (compared to other work stations). I noticed that the Procurve Status could be triggered to increase by sending a new mail to the work station and waiting for Pegasus to poll for new mail. Once it dowloaded the new mail and started to advise the user of new mail, both the Procurve status data and the work station's packet count rate of change would increase dramatically. I then used Tools / Options to turn off different notifications and re-tested the work station. Finally, I isolated to the flapping wings.

We do use NDS mode for Pegasus. Mail directories on located on our primary server for file and print operations (utilization typically 1-2% with spikes to 8-12% on infrequent short occasions). Using Novell Netware Client 4.91 on most work stations. We use Pegasus in conjunction with our ISP's Pop3 mail server. No in house mail management occurs.

Since turning off the flapping wings packet counts at the work stations have been reduced 90% from 5-6 million to .5-.6 million per 8 hour day. A possible resolution that one of my user's suggested would be to create an icon that was a different color Pegasus horse and/or background and get Pegasus to utilize that instead of the flapping wing.

Let me know if you can confirm my experience and/or if you have ideas for a resolution.

btw - great place of employment you have there!

Best Regards,

Thank you for your questions and interest in this issue. As for the notification sound - I point to the user's own C:\WINNT\Media\ringin.wav (or whichever sound they desire). &nbsp;We recently installed brand new HP Procurve 2810 10/100/1000 switch.&nbsp; Upon experiencing network latency (slow responsiveness in Pegasus application and others on same work station) I checked the status page on the Procurve's web interface.&nbsp; The port for the Netware server and the port for the work station in question were both pegging the chart for "Port Utilization".&nbsp; I confirmed via the work station's&nbsp;own Local Area Connection Status window that "packet" counts for "Sent" and "Received" were very high (compared to other work stations).&nbsp; I noticed that the Procurve Status could be triggered to increase by sending a new mail to the work station and waiting for Pegasus to poll for new mail.&nbsp; Once it dowloaded the new mail and started to advise the user of new mail, both the Procurve status data and the work station's packet count rate of change would increase dramatically.&nbsp; I then used Tools / Options to turn off different notifications and re-tested the work station.&nbsp; Finally, I isolated to the flapping wings. &nbsp;We do use NDS mode for Pegasus.&nbsp; Mail directories on located on our primary server for file and print operations (utilization typically 1-2% with spikes to 8-12% on infrequent short occasions).&nbsp; Using Novell Netware Client 4.91 on most work stations.&nbsp; We use Pegasus in conjunction with our ISP's Pop3 mail server.&nbsp; No in house mail management occurs. Since turning off the flapping wings packet counts at the work stations have been reduced 90% from 5-6 million to .5-.6 million per 8 hour day.&nbsp; A possible resolution that one of my user's suggested would be to create an icon that was a different color Pegasus horse and/or background and get Pegasus to utilize that instead of the flapping wing. Let me know if you can confirm my experience and/or if you have ideas for a resolution. btw - great place of employment you have there! Best Regards,

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