As a consultant who does only Worldox, I rely on a firm’s IT provider to deal with server setup, general IT infrastructure, etc. Unfortunately many IT firms have some fundamental misconceptions as to how Worldox works, and this can lead to some nasty issues.
The main reason for this is that IT people are looking for an SQL or other server-based database. The key thing about Worldox is that it is NOT a SQL application. Nothing ever runs from the server. This has the advantage that it is extensively and quickly configurable and not very resource intensive.
The Worldox program sits on the same file server that contains your data. Client computers access it; they check for any updates or changes when the program opens, and save any user changes when the Worldox client closes. This means that once the program is installed locally, IT never has to touch end user computers for any updates or upgrades. The client install is run by a command line (something like w:\apps\worldox\wdmirror.exe /I). Worldox clients are NEVER (and in fact cannot be) installed from an *.msi file.
The piece that leads to the most confusion is the Worldox Indexer. Every time Worldox opens or saves a file it also puts metadata information (client, matter, etc.) into stub files in a location on the Worldox program directory. The indexer sits on a separate indexer work station (more about that later) and checks for any stub files every 10 or 15 seconds. When it finds any information it adds it to the main metadata index on the server. Every night the indexer rebuilds the indexes locally (for performance reasons) and then uploads them to the main index on the file server. Indexes are re-initialized weekly so that they are always “clean.”
While many IT firms set up the indexer to run a server OS, functionally it is NOT a server. What defines a server? Information or programs on a server are accessed by multiple users – thus Microsoft sells server licenses that allow 10, 50, 100 people to log into a server simultaneously. Administrators frequently use the indexer to troubleshoot potential Worldox issues, but no end users ever access the Worldox indexer. The indexer is a specialized workstation that logs in to the server (like other users) to perform certain tasks. While it may run server software, in fact it is just a tricked out workstation. So when IT starts talking about the “Worldox server” it is confusing because there is no such animal.
Understanding this structure will save a lot of headaches when setting up and configuring Worldox.
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