VFS naming guidelines_SysAdmin

Whenever you export an asset from the client using drag and drop, a REST URL is created and applied as a directory structure in the VFS.

This VFS path will be saved as a link in the layout when you drag and drop an asset into an InDesign layout. It doesn't matter here if an image is placed in a Windows environment and the layout is then later edited in a Mac OS X environment.

Given the three following constellations, problems may occur with regard to resolving the VFS path in conjunction with products from third parties:

• Adobe InDesign Server up to version 5.5 and CC 2015

• Multiple Render Clients on a Windows computer

• Render Clients in Windows and Adobe InDesign up to version 5.5 and CC 2015

The problems caused by the first two constellations can be solved by selecting the appropriate VFS name. This is part of the VFS path and is determined in the "hosts.xml" file in the entry for the server in question. For more details on the setup see the section "Configuring the VFS name".

Adobe InDesign Server up to version 5.5 and CC 2015

Symptom

When using Adobe InDesign Server up to version 5.5 and CC 2015, performance problems may occur in conjunction with the VFS name. Two constellations cause problems here. In the first one, a censhare Server, Desktop Clients, and a Render Client all work together. On one or more Desktop Clients, however, a different VFS name is configured than the one on the Render Client.

In the second scenario, a main server 1 and at least one remote server 2 are in use. The configuration looks like this: the Desktop-1-Clients that are accessing the main server are using the VFS-1 name, while the Desktop-2-Clients for the remote server is using the VFS-2 name. The Render Clients use the VFS-1 and VFS-2 names for the main and remote servers, respectively.

Cause

The performance problem arises from the Adobe InDesign Server's behavior when the VFS paths in an Adobe InDesign document do not match the VFS path of the Rendering Client. That is always the case when the Desktop Client that placed the images in the layout uses a different VFS name than the Rendering Client that is editing the layout. The Adobe InDesign Server's behavior has been corrected with Adobe CS6. But it reappears with version CC 2015.

In the second scenario, no performance problems occur as long as the Render-1-Client is only editing layout documents that were created by Desktop-1-Clients. This is different if a Desktop-2-Client is accessing a layout created by a Desktop-1-Client and wants to create a PDF, for example. Then the VFS-1 names used in the layout differ from the VFS-2 name used in the Render-2-Client.

In both constellations, the Adobe InDesign Server attempts to resolve the VFS path for the images placed in the InDesign document. But the Adobe InDesign Server doesn't know the VFS volume indicated in the VFS path. That is because the own VFS volume has a different name because the Rendering Client uses its own VFS name to mount the volume. This differs from the VFS name in the image paths.

Depending on the number of placed assets, it can take a long time for the Adobe InDesign Server to give up on its attempt. It may even only happen once censhare has initiated a timeout. The Adobe InDesign Server is unavailable to the rendering client during that time. Performance falters accordingly.

While the Adobe InDesign Server tries in vain to resolve the path, it remains in the "Open layout" state. During this time, censhare doesn't receive a message that the server can't resolve the paths. As a result, the censhare plug-in can't update the file links.

The more placed images in a layout, the longer the delay. The larger the difference between the VFS names of the placed images and the names on the rendering client, the longer the delay will be on the Adobe side.

The problem lies in the behavior of the Adobe InDesign Server up to version CS 5.5 and CC 2015. censhare AG has no influence on this! In the versions from CS 6 up to CC 2014 of the Adobe InDesign Servers the problem does not occur. In these versions, the server immediately sends a message about the incorrect paths, which the Render Client then corrects.

Solution

To solve the problem with the current layout document, open it in Adobe InDesign. The VFS paths are then updated. In doing this, it is important that the Desktop Client and the Render Client that will edit the layout are using the same VFS name. This way the volume names in the paths match the volume name of the computer and the Render Client. Otherwise, the problem will continue that the Adobe InDesign Server can't resolve the image paths.

To avoid the problem permanently, configure the same VFS name in the "hosts.xml" files for all of the Desktop and Render Clients. For more details on the setup see the section "Configuring the VFS name".

Multiple Render Clients on a Windows computer

Symptom

With Adobe InDesign Servers problems may occur in Windows. The following system constellation is a prerequisite: multiple Render Clients are running simultaneously on a Windows computer and each is using the same VFS name.

Every Render Client is using a different censhare Server. For heavy workloads, a Render Client may access outdated assets and the rendering process then delivers the incorrect content.

Cause

The problem occurs because, in Windows, all Render Clients with the same VFS name access the VFS volume of the same censhare Server. But in actuality, every Render Client should be accessing the VFS volume of the server it is connected with. This is also the case on Mac OS X with the same VFS names. As a result, the problem of having incorrect InDesign documents doesn't happen on Mac OS X.

censhare uses the "Callback File System" (CBFS) from Eldos for the VFS in Windows. In this setup, different volumes can't be mounted with the same VFS name, like they can be on Mac OS X. Instead, the following happens: using the CBFS, the first Render Client mounts the VFS volume for Server 1. The second Render Client wants to mount a VFS volume with the same VFS name.

But because a volume with the desired name already exists, the second Render Client uses this one instead. It thus does not create its own volume for accessing the associated censhare Server.

This results in an incorrect InDesign document. For example, a censhare Server 1 and a censhare Server 2 both exist. Every Server has a censhare database (cdb) for searches and for read access. Server 2 synchronizes cdb 2 with cdb 1 via the Oracle database. For heavy workloads, it can happen that both CDBs are not synchronized for a brief moment.

A new version of a layout asset has now been saved. In the cdb 1, the "Current version" link already leads to the new version. In the cdb 2, the current version is still the previous version. This wouldn't be a problem if Render Client 1 would access the volume from Server 1 and Render Client 2 would access the volume from Server 2. Because both clients are using the same VFS name, however, both access volume 2, for example.

Render Client 1 now requests the current version of the layout asset. If it were connected to volume 1 it would also get the current volume. But now the Render Client 1 is accessing volume 2 at the moment the cdb 2 is still not synchronized with the cdb 1. But the current version in the cdb 2 is still pointing to the previous version of the layout asset. Render Client 1 is therefore editing a layout with the incorrect content.

Solution

Normally, this problem does not occur because the censhare databases are only unsynchronized for very short times when workloads are particularly heavy. To avoid that this situation is leading to an error, every Render Client on the same Windows computer has to be configured with a different VFS name. This will ensure that every Render Client accesses the volume of the associated server and thus always the correct version.

Render Clients in Windows and Adobe InDesign up to version 5.5 and CC 2015

Symptom

The problems from using multiple Render Clients on a Windows computer and from using Adobe InDesign Server (up to version 5.5 and CC 2015) can also occur at the same time.

For more information on the individual problems and causes:

• Adobe InDesign Server up to version 5.5 and CC 2015

• Multiple Render Clients on a Windows computer

Solution

In this case, it is not possible to solve both problems at one time by selecting the right VFS name. One of the two problems will remain unsolved.

The solution is therefore to install every Render Client on its own Windows computer. The VFS names then have to be the same on all of the clients.

Configuring the VFS name

You configure the VFS name in the "hosts.xml" file. The file then contains a proprietary entry for every censhare Server that is allowed to be accessed. This entry is also used for creating the VFS path. It will look like this, as an example:

/Volumes/SYSTEM_NAME/service/assets/asset/id/67485/storage/master/file

This path accesses the Master File of the asset with the ID 67485. The database name of the server entry in the "hosts.xml" file is used as the SYSTEM_NAME. If, for example, the name is "censhare_Tracker", the VFS path is then:

/Volumes/censhare_Tracker/service/assets/asset/id/67485/storage/master/file

If no value exists for the database name, censhare uses the Server name in the associated entry. This name is also shown in the drop-down list if a user wants to log into a system using the Desktop Client. If the name contains special characters, the client might automatically change the VFS name into one that is compatible with a disk drive.

Tip: If a database name exists, the server name in the "hosts.xml" file can be freely given.

You can change the database or server name for a client under the menu option "File→ Preferences->Servers". Go to the desired entry in the dialog and in the "General" section of this entry, enter the database name in the "Database" field and/or enter the server name in the "Name" field.

You can also make your changes to the settings directly in the "hosts.xml" file. For a server entry in the associated tag "<host>", enter the attribute "databasename" for the database name and/or the attribute "name" for the server name. For example:

<host ... name="SERVER-NAME" databasename="DATABASE-NAME" ...>