I keep getting a message saying "Communication with the synchronization server has failed. You must restart "
The synchronisation server is a service that runs on the machine where Business Plus was first installed. When you connect a Business Plus User machine to the shared data, you have to tell Business Plus User (BPU) where the shared sites directory is. BPU then looks in the database to find the IP address of the PC that is running the synchronisation server. It will then try and connect to the server on that PC.
If you receive the error:
---------------------------
Business Plus
---------------------------
Communication with the synchronization server has failed. You must restart SellerDeck.
---------------------------
OK
---------------------------
there are a number of things to check for:
1. You can check whether the synchronization server is running correctly by going to 'Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services' in Windows. You should see a service called 'Actinic Synchronization Server'. If there is nothing under the 'Status' column then you should start the service. If the service is running, try restarting it (Note that all users should close SellerDeck before doing this).
2. Connections to/from the synchronisation server take place via ports 54387 and 54388 (version 18). If you are having trouble connecting, it could be that this port is blocked on the Business Plus PC. Check that the Firewall settings on the PC are not blocking these ports. You can open these ports on Windows Firewall as follows:
- Go to 'Control Panel'
- Double-click on the 'Windows Firewall' option
- If you are using Windows Vista, click the 'Change Settings' link
- Click the 'Exceptions' tab and click the 'Add Port' button
- In 'Name' type 'Synchronisation Server' and in 'Port number' type '54387'.
- Click 'OK' and then repeat for port '54388'
- Click 'OK' and close the 'Windows Firewall' configuration
PLEASE NOTE: for older versions of SellerDeck, the ports are different:
3. Check that SellerDeck has been included as an allowed program in windows firewall.
Click Start, and then click Run.
In the Open box, type wscui.cpl, and then click OK.
Click Windows Firewall.
In the Windows Firewall dialog box, click the Exceptions tab, and then click Add Program.
In the Add a Program dialog box, either select the program from the list that appears, or click Browse to locate SellerDeck.
Example path may look like "C:\Program Files (x86)\SellerDeck vX\Catalog.exe" (where 'vX' is replaced by the version number).
NOTE: From SellerDeck 2016, this path changes to: -
C:\Program Files (x86)\SellerDeck\SellerDeck 2016\Catalog.exe
and in version 18 to: -
C:\Program Files (x86)\SellerDeck\Sellerdeck v18\Catalog.exe
On the Exceptions tab, make sure that the check box next to your program is selected, and then click OK.
4. On the computer running SellerDeck sync service
Click Start, and then click Run.
In the Open box, type wscui.cpl, and then click OK.
Click Windows Firewall.
In the Windows Firewall dialog box, click the Exceptions tab, and then click Add Program.
In the Add a Program dialog box, either select the program from the list that appears, or click Browse to locate SellerDeck.
Example path may look like "C:\Program Files (x86)\SellerDeck vX\ActSyncSvr.exe" (where 'vX' is replaced by the version number).
On the Exceptions tab, make sure that the check box next to your program is selected, and then click OK.
5. On some networks, the IP address of a machine can change from time to time because they are allocated dynamically via a DHCP server.
If the IP address of the Business Plus machine changes, BPU will no longer be able to locate the synchronisation server, and you'll get the 'unable to connect' message.
A workaround for this is to:
1. go to 'Settings | Synchronisation Server' on the Business Plus PC and untick the box that says 'Use IP Address for Notifications'.
2. then you need to edit the 'ActinicCatalog.mdb' database in the shared site data and go into the 'SetupInfo' table.
3. locate the line with an 'nID' value of '247'. It should have an 'sName' of 'sSynchronizationServerURL'.
4. replace the 'sData' value with the Computer Name of the 'Business Plus' PC (you can get this by going to 'Control Panel > System Info > Computer Name').
5. close Access and re-open SellerDeck. You shouldn't get this problem happening again.
6. If you are using the 'Enterprise' software and have upgraded from v8 to v9, then the problem may occur if the synchronization server has not upgraded. v8 will be able to use the v9 synchronization server but v9 cannot use the v8 one because of changes made in v9. To upgrade it do the following:
1. close SellerDeck on all machines
2. stop the service for 'Actinic Synchronization Server' in your 'Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services' window
3. on the pc with the synchronization server installed browse to the 'C:\Program Files\Actinic v9\' folder
4. double-click on the 'ActSyncSvr.exe' file
5. check in the services window that it has started (start it if it hasn't)
6. open SellerDeck and it should work ok.
Tracking Down Intermittent Problems
The worst kind of problems with the synchronization server are intermittent ones as they are very difficult to track down and diagnose. There are some tracing features that can be activated to record activity on the synchronization server. Then when the problem re-occurs, the trace file can be use to aid support find the problem.
To activate tracing of the synchronization server on the Business Plus PC with SellerDeck version 11 onwards:
1. Go to Help | Troubleshooting
2. Click the button "Start tracing"
To activate tracing of the synchronization server on the Business Plus PC with SellerDeck version 10 and below:
1. Go to 'Settings | Synchronization Server'.
2. Select 'Enable Tracing'.
3. Choose where you want the trace file to be saved to.
4. Click 'OK'.
This will create a .txt file which can be sent to the support team for checking. Please note that enabling 'Tracing' may cause the system to slow down as it has to write all communications via the synchronisation server to a file. Ensure that you turn it off when the problem is sorted.
Additionally, you can also trace the sending and receiving of information on problematic PCs. To do this:
1. Go to 'Start | Run' and type 'regedit'.
2. Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Actinic\CatalogX (where 'X' is the version number i.e. 'Catalog9', 'Catalog10' etc.).
NOTE: In later versions, this path will be: -
3. Create a new 'DWORD Value' at the right hand side called 'TraceOn' and set its value to '1'.
A file called 'CatalogTrace.txt' will be created in the installation directory.
Remember to remove this registry entry when the problem has been diagnosed as it causes performance to slow down.
The synchronisation server is a service that runs on the machine where Business Plus was first installed. When you connect a Business Plus User machine to the shared data, you have to tell Business Plus User (BPU) where the shared sites directory is. BPU then looks in the database to find the IP address of the PC that is running the synchronisation server. It will then try and connect to the server on that PC.
If you receive the error:
---------------------------
Business Plus
---------------------------
Communication with the synchronization server has failed. You must restart SellerDeck.
---------------------------
OK
---------------------------
there are a number of things to check for:
1. You can check whether the synchronization server is running correctly by going to 'Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services' in Windows. You should see a service called 'Actinic Synchronization Server'. If there is nothing under the 'Status' column then you should start the service. If the service is running, try restarting it (Note that all users should close SellerDeck before doing this).
2. Connections to/from the synchronisation server take place via ports 54387 and 54388 (version 18). If you are having trouble connecting, it could be that this port is blocked on the Business Plus PC. Check that the Firewall settings on the PC are not blocking these ports. You can open these ports on Windows Firewall as follows:
- Go to 'Control Panel'
- Double-click on the 'Windows Firewall' option
- If you are using Windows Vista, click the 'Change Settings' link
- Click the 'Exceptions' tab and click the 'Add Port' button
- In 'Name' type 'Synchronisation Server' and in 'Port number' type '54387'.
- Click 'OK' and then repeat for port '54388'
- Click 'OK' and close the 'Windows Firewall' configuration
PLEASE NOTE: for older versions of SellerDeck, the ports are different:
- 54387 and 54388 (SellerDeck Desktop version 18)
- 54385 and 54386 (SellerDeck Desktop 2016)
- 54381 and 54382 (SellerDeck 2014)
- 54377 and 54378 (SellerDeck 2013)
- 54375 and 54376 (version 11)
- 4373 and 4374 (version 10)
- 4372 and 4371 (version 9)
3. Check that SellerDeck has been included as an allowed program in windows firewall.
Click Start, and then click Run.
In the Open box, type wscui.cpl, and then click OK.
Click Windows Firewall.
In the Windows Firewall dialog box, click the Exceptions tab, and then click Add Program.
In the Add a Program dialog box, either select the program from the list that appears, or click Browse to locate SellerDeck.
Example path may look like "C:\Program Files (x86)\SellerDeck vX\Catalog.exe" (where 'vX' is replaced by the version number).
NOTE: From SellerDeck 2016, this path changes to: -
C:\Program Files (x86)\SellerDeck\SellerDeck 2016\Catalog.exe
and in version 18 to: -
C:\Program Files (x86)\SellerDeck\Sellerdeck v18\Catalog.exe
On the Exceptions tab, make sure that the check box next to your program is selected, and then click OK.
4. On the computer running SellerDeck sync service
Click Start, and then click Run.
In the Open box, type wscui.cpl, and then click OK.
Click Windows Firewall.
In the Windows Firewall dialog box, click the Exceptions tab, and then click Add Program.
In the Add a Program dialog box, either select the program from the list that appears, or click Browse to locate SellerDeck.
Example path may look like "C:\Program Files (x86)\SellerDeck vX\ActSyncSvr.exe" (where 'vX' is replaced by the version number).
On the Exceptions tab, make sure that the check box next to your program is selected, and then click OK.
5. On some networks, the IP address of a machine can change from time to time because they are allocated dynamically via a DHCP server.
If the IP address of the Business Plus machine changes, BPU will no longer be able to locate the synchronisation server, and you'll get the 'unable to connect' message.
A workaround for this is to:
1. go to 'Settings | Synchronisation Server' on the Business Plus PC and untick the box that says 'Use IP Address for Notifications'.
2. then you need to edit the 'ActinicCatalog.mdb' database in the shared site data and go into the 'SetupInfo' table.
3. locate the line with an 'nID' value of '247'. It should have an 'sName' of 'sSynchronizationServerURL'.
4. replace the 'sData' value with the Computer Name of the 'Business Plus' PC (you can get this by going to 'Control Panel > System Info > Computer Name').
5. close Access and re-open SellerDeck. You shouldn't get this problem happening again.
6. If you are using the 'Enterprise' software and have upgraded from v8 to v9, then the problem may occur if the synchronization server has not upgraded. v8 will be able to use the v9 synchronization server but v9 cannot use the v8 one because of changes made in v9. To upgrade it do the following:
1. close SellerDeck on all machines
2. stop the service for 'Actinic Synchronization Server' in your 'Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services' window
3. on the pc with the synchronization server installed browse to the 'C:\Program Files\Actinic v9\' folder
4. double-click on the 'ActSyncSvr.exe' file
5. check in the services window that it has started (start it if it hasn't)
6. open SellerDeck and it should work ok.
Tracking Down Intermittent Problems
The worst kind of problems with the synchronization server are intermittent ones as they are very difficult to track down and diagnose. There are some tracing features that can be activated to record activity on the synchronization server. Then when the problem re-occurs, the trace file can be use to aid support find the problem.
To activate tracing of the synchronization server on the Business Plus PC with SellerDeck version 11 onwards:
1. Go to Help | Troubleshooting
2. Click the button "Start tracing"
To activate tracing of the synchronization server on the Business Plus PC with SellerDeck version 10 and below:
1. Go to 'Settings | Synchronization Server'.
2. Select 'Enable Tracing'.
3. Choose where you want the trace file to be saved to.
4. Click 'OK'.
This will create a .txt file which can be sent to the support team for checking. Please note that enabling 'Tracing' may cause the system to slow down as it has to write all communications via the synchronisation server to a file. Ensure that you turn it off when the problem is sorted.
Additionally, you can also trace the sending and receiving of information on problematic PCs. To do this:
1. Go to 'Start | Run' and type 'regedit'.
2. Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Actinic\CatalogX (where 'X' is the version number i.e. 'Catalog9', 'Catalog10' etc.).
NOTE: In later versions, this path will be: -
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Sellerdeck\2014
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Sellerdeck\2016
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Sellerdeck\v18
3. Create a new 'DWORD Value' at the right hand side called 'TraceOn' and set its value to '1'.
A file called 'CatalogTrace.txt' will be created in the installation directory.
Remember to remove this registry entry when the problem has been diagnosed as it causes performance to slow down.