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Connect

To use Xythos Drive to access files on the serverm a connection between Xythos Drive and the server must be established. A service identifies the server you want to connect to, your username, and other information Xythos Drive needs to be able to make the connection. The Connect Tab is used to define, connect and monitor services.

Creating a service

You can define up to 66 services. If you have accounts on different servers, you can set up a serivce for each server. You can also define different services for the same account to connect directly to different folders on the same server.

  1. On the Connect tab, Click the Service arrow to display the Service menu, and then click New.
  2. In the Service box, type a service name. The name must be unique; if you choose an existing name, Xythos Drive will automatically add add a number to make it unique. Service names must not contain the characters '\','/','"', or ','. The service name may contain the character '.', but '.' must not be final character of the service name.
  3. In the Server URL box, type the server address of the server you are want to connect to, i.e. www.bicvault.ky. The prefix http:// is not necessary.
  4. If you are connectiong to a secure server, you must include the prefix http://, i.e. http://www.bicsecure.ky.
  5. If you want Xythos Drive to save your user identification so you will not have to enter it every time you connect, in the Username box, type your username.
  6. If you want Xythos Drive to save you user password so you do not have to type it each time you connect, in the Password box, type your password and select the Save password check box.

Your username and password identify your account on the server you are accessing. Xythos Drive needs this information for you to access your account data. If you do not have an account on the server, you can not connect to it. If you leave either of these boxes blank you will be prompted for the information when you connect to the service.

Running a service

Running a service is similar to mapping a network drive in Windows; it is a way to associate a local drive letter with a folder on another computer on the network, so that you can access files located on the server just like you access local files.

Your administrator may have already pre-defined services for your Xythos Drive.

To make a connection to a server:

  1. On the Connect tab, click the Service box to display the available services, and then choose a service.
  2. In the Drive box, choose a drive letter or use the default, and then click Work Online
  3. If you see a dialog box, type your Username and password, and then click OK

Ending a service

You can end a service in two ways:

To end a running service, on the Connect tab, click Disconnect

Or

In the windows explorer window, right-click the mapped drive and then select Disconnect.

Changing server properties

In most cases the default server properties wil be suffcient. However, depending on the type and configuration of the service you are adding, you may also need to make changes to the default property values.

  1. On the Connect tab, click the Service Box to display the available services, and then choose a service name.
  2. Click the Service arrow, and then click Edit to view the service properties.
  3. To the right of the Server URL box, click the (...) button.
By default you will connect to your home directory.

To select a folder on the server:
  1. On the Server URL dialog box, in the Server directory box, type the folder name, for example, company\sales.
  2. If you have no further changes to server properties, click OK.

A computer typically has one physical connection to the network. All data destined for a particular computer arrives through that connection. The network port number identifies the data to applications on the server. The Server you are connect to and Xythos Drive must both agree to use the same port number. Port 80 is the standard port number for HTTP traffic, whic is processed by a Web server. Port 443 is the standard port number used for secure (encrypted) HTTP data or HTTPS. Under Some Circumstances you may need to change the port number.

To change the port number:

  1. On the Server URL dialog box, in the Port box, type a port number.
  2. If you have no further changes to server properties, click OK.
To make a secure connection:
  1. To connect to the server using secure communication, select the Use secure connection check box.
  2. If you have no further changes to server properties, click OK

Changing advanced service properties

Depending on the type and configuration of the service you are adding, you may also need to define the service's advanced properties.

  1. On the Connect tab, click the Service box to display the available services, and then choose a service name.
  2. Click the Service arrow, and then click Edit to view the service properties.
  3. To view and change other service properties click Advanced
  4. Select the advanced properties you need.

    Do not adjust server time to local time Xythos Drive displays the date and time using the setting of the machine where the Xythos Drive is installed. If you want to display date and time based upon the server select this option.
    Bypass proxy server for this Service Xythos Drive can use a proxy server to connect a service. Proxy settings are configured on the Advanced tab. If you need to use a proxy server to connect to a Service, select this option.
    Allow connection to be accessed with elevated permissions This option is available only on Microsoft® Windows Vista™. If this option is enabled for a service, then that service can be accessed by programs running with elevated privileges under the User Account Control feature of Vista.
    Startup mode This optopn is used to select the state of the service when Xythos Drive is started.

    Online - connect to the server.

    Disconnected - do not attempt to connect this service or to work offline.
    Sharing Level

    Initial Folder Listing Refresh time Auto Locks Check Before Open
    None From cache 60 min Never No
    Light From cache 15 min Yes Yes
    Medium From server 5 min Yes Yes
    Heavy From server 1 min Yes Yes

    Initial Folder Listing: If Sharing Levels is None or Light, when you connect to the service the folder list is retrieved from the Xythos Drive cache so that you can immediately start browsing folders. If you haven't connected recently, the folder listing may be temporarily incorrect while Xythos Drive refreshes it. If Sharing Level is Medium or Heavy, when you connect to the service the folder list is retrieved from the server first before displaying it. This Ensures that the folder list is accurate, but you must wait for the refresh to complete before you can start browsing.

    Refresh Time: Windows makes lots of requests for folder listings. If all folder listing requests are sent to server, response time will be poor. Instead, the folder listings are cached. When Windows requests a folder listing and the refresh time is expired, the cached listing displays immediately, and then a request to update the folder listing is sent to the Xythos on Demand server.

    To manually update the folder listings from the server, on the Xythos Drive Options tab, select Refresh. You can also right-click the Xythos Drive icon in the system tray, and then select Refresh.

    Auto Locks: If the sharing level is None, the files are never automatically locked. If multiple users edit the file, one user can overwrite the changes another user makes. To prevent this, one of the users should explicitly lock the file until changes are complete.

    For the other sharing levels, files are automatically locked when opened, and unlocked a few seconds after being closed. (For some programs like Notepad and WordPad, the file is unlocked as soon as the program that opened it closes.)

    Check before open: When this option is active, before a file is opened, Xythos Drive will check to see if a newer version exists, ensuring that even if the folder listings is cached, any open file request will get the most current copy of the file.

    Recommendations: Xythos recommends running at Medium (default) or Heavy sharing level for most users. Running at these levels ensures that users are always working with the latest copy of documents. For environments where there is virtually no collaboration between users, then None and Light may be used.