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rwunderlich
Partner Ambassador/MVP
Partner Ambassador/MVP

Distribute to Folder vs Distribute to Server

I'm reviewing a customer site where they are distributing to folders rather than distributing to Server. The folders they are distributing to are subfolders of the server root. I note that there is no .meta file created with this method, but things seem to be working.

Distributing to folders for Access Point use seems "wrong" to me, but I'd like to clarify exactly what the downsides may be before recommending they go to the trouble of redefining everything.

Any comments?

-Rob

1 Solution

Accepted Solutions
Peter_Cammaert
Partner - Champion III
Partner - Champion III

Well, the simple story is that distribution may come with properties like "who is this document distributed to" and "who is allowed to access this document". (This is especially important when the server is running in DMS mode.) That property propagation is falling flat on its face when using Distribute to folder(s). If you want to keep documents under control of the set of QlikView services, then distribute to a server.

You may be right that it feels wrong to "Distribute to folder". But IMHO that depends on what the intent is for this type of distribution. Imagine a distribution of documents for Sales Managers that are bound to hop on a plane to visit customers on the east coast. No need to have a server on their laptops, or in NY.

I guess that Distribute to Folder will only be used in very few (mostly unconnected) cases. I would like to hear about those as well.

Peter

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4 Replies
Peter_Cammaert
Partner - Champion III
Partner - Champion III

Well, the simple story is that distribution may come with properties like "who is this document distributed to" and "who is allowed to access this document". (This is especially important when the server is running in DMS mode.) That property propagation is falling flat on its face when using Distribute to folder(s). If you want to keep documents under control of the set of QlikView services, then distribute to a server.

You may be right that it feels wrong to "Distribute to folder". But IMHO that depends on what the intent is for this type of distribution. Imagine a distribution of documents for Sales Managers that are bound to hop on a plane to visit customers on the east coast. No need to have a server on their laptops, or in NY.

I guess that Distribute to Folder will only be used in very few (mostly unconnected) cases. I would like to hear about those as well.

Peter

rwunderlich
Partner Ambassador/MVP
Partner Ambassador/MVP
Author

Thanks for the reply Peter. I've come to the conclusion that is indeed "wrong" (when the intent is AP access) even in NTFS mode, because properties set for the distribution, like "Allow server Objects", "Allow Clients", etc are stored in the .meta file and therefore ineffective when distributing to Folder. Those properties are applicable and enforced by the Server.

-Rob

amien
Specialist
Specialist

I don't quite get it. I used Distribute to Server, but it took took long to get the job done. I was trying it with Distribute to Folder and saved me minutes of time.

But from the NTFS perspective, i could still get the proper rights in place and  add groups and users. So why can't i keep control over my files if i would use Distribute to folder? I understand the difference behavior in the meta data files.

anyone got an idea why Distribute to Server could be much slower then Distribute to Folder? To server to using the transfer over port 4747 right?

Peter_Cammaert
Partner - Champion III
Partner - Champion III

There is a simple test you can perform to check whether "Distribute to Folder" will allow you to manage AccessPoint documents: Create a new QlikView document in QV Desktop with a unique name, save it and drop it in (one of) the AccesPoint document folder(s). Not in a source folder. Does the document appear in the AccessPoint?

If you are experiencing performance problems with the distribution of one or all documents, better investigate the cause of that. In each TaskLog you can find out where exactly the QlikView services start wasting cycles. Care to upload an example TaskLog for us to check out?

Yes, QDS distributes documents to QVS over port 4747.

Peter