Having recently implemented a database connection pooling in our web applications, I want to share some of the issues we stumbled upon during the implementation.

• Clean up your database calls Make sure that you close your ResultSet and the database connection after every call to the database or you risk to fill-up your connection pool with dozens of active unused connections. When working with only a single connection it’s easy to conveniently “forget” to close a ResultSet or a connection, so the next method can just re-use the same resource. In a pool, any connection could potentially be a newly allocated resource which you might have to initialize.
• Optimize and minimize your SQL calls Use specialized queries when appropriate. Make sure that you don’t initialize an entire object if you only need a handful of fields for a given function. Initializing an entire object might require a number of SQL calls, which can be minimized with a single specialized query. Avoid SQL calls that retrieve large lists of data, use limits whenever possible.
• Don’t expect a connection pool to solve all your database performance problems
  A connection pool is not a magic pill and is not always the best design decision. In most cases an application with well designed and optimized SQL calls will work just fine without a connection pool. In fact a database connection pools introduce their own operational limits (such as the maximum connections allowed) and add complexity to your application. On a positive side, implementing a connection pool will help you identify and expose any short falls in your exiting database design.
• Consider using existing open source database connection pool project Although implementing your own connection pool object is not rocket science, you should consider using an open source project if you can. Most open source connection projects will provide you with dozens of fine-tune settings to optimize your pool. When implementing your own pool, it will be difficult to consider all the settings that might be required to fine-tune your pool. Also most open source pool projects will provide you nice GUI widgets to show the status of the pool within your own application.
  We used Proxool http://proxool.sourceforge.net/index.html because of the comprehensive support for web applications built-in to Proxool.

• Don’t just assume that it works … Load Test! Once your pool is implemented, make sure that you test your application under a heavy load. Watch how your pool behaves and try to determine some benchmarks. Excessive number of active connections in your pool during load testing will tell you that you need to improve your SQL calls. Make sure that the number of active connections returns to the minimum after each load test.

In conclusion, database connection pool can be useful in some applications but should not be treated as a must have requirement in every situation. Just like any other feature in your application, implementing a database connection pool should be approached with a proper design and implementation plan.

Tags: connection, database, pool, sql

FileCatalyst Webmail and Workflow have had a new major upgrade, bringing our ground breaking web applications up to version 4.4

Our new Outlook™ Plugin for FileCatalyst Webmail is now officially released. The plugin integrates directly into Outlook for Windows, allowing people to send large files without leaving their email client. Transfers are still tracked by the Webmail application as before; the only difference is the mechanism for initiating the transfer. Click the image to see full-size.

Here are some of the other key features and improvements:

• Ability to automatically create XML file containing all the Job details in Workflow.
• Java API, ability to submit jobs programatically from any third party Java Application
• Temporary accounts, designated users can now “invite others” to the system, this triggers an invitation sent via email and the new account is set to automatically expire after a predefined number of days.
• Ability to specify when a User Account expires. Once expired, the user will no longer be able to login to the application.
• Automatic deletion of expired user accounts (for both temp and regular users)
• New user status added – “File Area only no job entry”, when a user is in this status they will not have the ability to submit jobs. Only access to file area and group folders will be available to the user.
• Added Database Connection Pooling
• Return first order form found for the user instead of default order form for HotFolder/Plugin/API submissions.
• Capture FTP logs when uploading links, PDF and XML files
• In case of error during upload of PDF, XML or file links, added wait and retry functionality
• In Webmail, simplified the download links sent to the recipients, new links look like: http://myserver.demo/GET/JOBID this helps to by-pass some phishing/SPAM filters
• Improved logging when re-ordering a job
• New filter on user list, allows admins to filter the user list by user status, full access, job entry only, temp user, admin etc…
• Fix installers to work with Windows7 and 64 bit systems.
• Improved performance of many SQL database calls

For download and install instructions, please contact your FileCatalyst representative. For more information about these products, visit http://www.filecatalyst.com/products/

We recommend that all clients upgrade to the latest version as soon as possible.

In a few weeks, we will be in Amsterdam at one of the year’s biggest events, the IBC Conference and Exhibition. If you’re going to be in attendance, visit us during the exhibition (September 11-15) at booth 7.J41. Check out the press release here

The atmosphere is always electric at the IBC, and it’s exciting to meet face-to-face with existing European clients as well as meeting with the growing number of people interested in accelerating their file transfers or improving their workflow.

Each year, the number of attendees interested in file acceleration technology—and FileCatalyst in particular—grows significantly. Only a few years ago, most people meeting us at trade shows and conferences were unaware that there were alternatives to FTP or other TCP-based transfer protocols, and weren’t certain that they needed our kind of technology. In subsequent years, and with a bit more knowledge about TCP’s limitations under their belts, visitors were actively seeking more information or were ready to ditch FTP outright. At this point, a high percentage of our visitors are aware of accelerated file transfer software, and are asking very educated questions while looking for a solution.

At IBC, FileCatalyst will be able to answer those questions face-to-face, as well as discuss the latest products and news.

This year we are also welcoming Turning Point Integration, our integration partner and reseller in the UK, who will be on-hand to talk about the ease of integrating FileCatalyst accelerated file transfer with other 3rd party software, as well as being a point of contact for European attendees wishing to learn more about FileCatalyst after the conference.

With FileCatalyst Direct 2.7.3 released just days ago, as well as FileCatalyst Webmail and Workflow having recently moved to version 4.3, there has been quite a lot of development to discuss. Next versions are just around the corner with some much-requested new functionality. Swing by for a peek at what’s new and find out more about what’s coming up.

Enjoy the show!

FileCatalyst Webmail and Workflow have been updated and released as production versions.

The latest version included some changes to internal components and libraries, as well as improvements to the way the web application interacts with the file server. Some of the changes included in 4.3 are:

• Logging improvements (memory usage, FTP logs from applets)
• Delta transfers (RSYNC-like) for HTTP uploads
• Workflow only: overwrite location of job files and transaction PDFs
• Upgraded internal libraries and components
• New session-based security as an additional security measure
• Resolved issue uploading files to 3rd party FTP server (such as IIS) using fc upload and 2-way applet
• New confirmation dialogs for certain upload functions

Version 4.3 is a recommended upgrade.

A formal press release is due soon, but I thought I’d get a bit ahead of myself with an informal post:

As some of you may have already discovered, we have been in the beta stages of a new file transfer service for a few weeks now. The service is powered by our FileCatalyst Webmail offering. It ressurrects an old product name that some longtime users may recognize, but in a completely new form. Check it out at files2u.com

files2u.com - fast file transfer for free

The catch? There’s not really one. We have placed some FileCatalyst information easily available on the website itself, but it’s not “in your face”. Mainly, the ‘catch’ is simply that it’s a very simplified version of Webmail. You don’t get any administrative-side functions, or things that a Webmail user might get (like individual and group storage, address books, etc).

All files2u.com does is allow you to send files (LARGE files) to anyone with an email address. That’s it. But we make it easy. No client software to install, no registration process, no fuss. Zero installation because we use Java applets to empower fully-accelerated FileCatalyst transfers though most networks.

The benefit to you? You get to send large files, of course! If you’re a developer, artist, or producer who works on projects with large files, you already know that email doesn’t cut it (10MB at best is NOT a large file by today’s standards) and FTP can be an annoyingly slow and unreliable beast. With Files2U, a few clicks and your large file is on the way.

The benefit to us? For starters, it’s sort of a “portfolio” piece. Anybody in the world can check out what a Webmail experience (simplified though it may be) would be like. It’s also another way to get the FileCatalyst name out there.

But mainly, it just gives us the chance to provide a free tool. We’ve always used our private demo site for sharing files around the world, and figured we could make something public. Not everyone has the ability to transfer large files, and we’re providing it for students, families, businesses…whoever. We have the technology. We like to help people. We like to show off what we have. It’s really that simple! And if you like what you see, you just might contact us about putting Webmail into your organization.

Enjoy!
Greg