The purpose of this article explains how to setup the A1Comm program to drastically increase speed on a large network. A1Comm also increases notifications of instant messages, Emails and other communication between workstations.
Instructions
1. First, make sure you have the latest version of A1Law (click Help,
check for web updates).
2. Have everyone exit A1Law and it's a good idea to consider reindexing by
clicking Start, Programs, A1Law, Reindex. You may select the Very Fast Reindex
option.
3. Copy the A1Comm.exe program from either the A1Law folder or the a1law\extras folder into the
c:\lawlocal folder on the server.
4. You will need to run the A1Comm program 24 hours a day. It MUST
be running on one computer only (preferably the file server). All
computers must have TCP/IP enabled (which is a default these days). When
workstations connect to the A1Comm program, you may need to allow access (to the
trusted zone on your local area network) if your firewall (ie: ZoneAlarm,
Windows Firewall, Windows Defender, Norton, etc) displays a message.
5. Create a shortcut on the desktop to the A1Comm program. Run
the program and click the Options button and check the box Enable A1Law for use
with A1Comm. Check the box Run on Startup and click Save.
6. Click the Listen button. A1Comm should now be ready to accept
connections.
7. Have everyone sign out of A1Law. Go into A1Law and click Tools, System, Configure System Defaults, A1Comm Settings and check the box Use the A1Comm Server. All the other defaults should be fine.
8. Sign out of A1Law and back in to test it. Send yourself or someone else an instant message. It should appear immediately with A1Comm running (rather than the slight delay without it).
9. Once you have verified it is working properly, consider changing the Target in the A1Comm shortcut on the desktop as follows: path\A1Comm.exe START MINIMIZE or just set it up to run as a service (instructions below).
The Start parameter forces A1Comm to start automatically and MINIMIZE will minimize the program. This will allow you to put A1Comm in the Startup folder so that when the server is restarted, A1Comm will run automatically. Otherwise, if A1Comm is not running, users will get errors when trying to run A1Law.
10. Any workstation can always test to be sure it's connected to A1Comm by sending itself an instant message.
11. If a specific workstation cannot connect to A1Comm then please see the article on A1-Law Cannot Connect to A1Comm. Also, you might need to disable the wifi card if there are several network cards on the computer or you can default to a specific IP address on a workstation by creating the file c:\lawlocal\localip.ini and set the IP address in that file (ie: 192.168.1.65) and A1-Law will then use that IP address for that network card. You can click IPCONFIG at the command prompt to see all the IP addresses.
12. In A1-Law on any computer, we don't want to poll the hard drive. Click Tools, System, Configure System Defaults, General and change the Interrupt Frequency to -1.
Configure A1Comm As A Service
1 First verify that A1Comm works as an EXE before setting it up as a service. Also, in order to set it up as a service, it must be on a local hard drive. If you are using a NAS or mapped drive to another computer, you must run it as a program and not as a service. To setup A1Comm as a service first copy srvany.exe from the A1Law\extras folder into the c:\lawlocal folder.
2. Go to the elevated command prompt (right click command and click Run as Administrator) and type CD \lawlocal to get to the lawlocal folder
3. Type the following:
sc create A1Comm binPath= c:\lawlocal\srvany.exe DisplayName= "A1Comm Service"
4. Type regedit and navigate to HKLM, System, CurrentControlSet, Services, A1Comm
5. Create a Parameters key. In the Parameters key on the right side create an Application string and set it to c:\lawlocal\a1comm.exe
6. Close the registry and go to services.msc and set the parameters of
the A1Comm service.
Caution: A1Comm must be running 24 hours a day. After you have configured firewalls and antivirus, make sure the computer running A1Comm is not set to hibernate or sleep, Make sure the network card is not set to power saver. If any workstation that connects to A1Comm is also set to hibernate or sleep then it's possible the connection may be broken when that computer is awakened. One may need to then either exit A1Law or click Tools, Miscellaneous, Reconnect to A1Comm. But, it's most important the server or computer running A1Comm is not configured to sleep or hibernate and power savings for the network card are off.