In the latest Vantage auto-update (2.2.0.68), we’ve included an experimental feature to allow multiple instances of WebSpy Vantage to run on the same operating system. The goal here is to run reports at the same time using multiple instances of the application. To do this, we have also include a second experimental feature to disable storage locking. This allows multiple instances of Vantage to read from the same storage at once.
WARNING: With storage locking disabled, it is possible to import into a storage while running a report, and doing this may cause storage corruption. It is therefore very important if you decide to enable these features to ensure that a storage is not written to while running reports.
Due to the experimental nature of these features, they can only be enabled by including a config file next to Vantage’s executable. To enable multi-instance capabilities and disable storage locking:
- Download the following config file:
WebSpy.Vantage.exe.config - Close Vantage
- Extract downloaded zip file into Vantage’s installation folder (usually c:\Program Files (x86)\WebSpy\Vantage <flavour> 2.2). If you already have a file of the same name in that location, make a backup of it before overwriting it with the new file.
- Run Vantage.
You can now run Vantage again to launch another instance of the application.
Be aware of:
Simultaneous reading and writing, and multiple writes
I just want to be very clear that if you run reports while importing, or import into the same storage simultaneously, storage corruption can occur. Storages are not designed to be unlocked for these reasons. The only reason we’ve provided this ability is so that you can READ from the a single storage simultaneously (i.e. run two or more reports). Reading and writing, and multiple writing is NOT supported, but Vantage will attempt to do it if you ask it to, with undefined behavior. Check your Tasks configuration and note when any import jobs are likely to occur to avoid running reports at these times.
Configuration Changes
When Vantage closes it writes all of it’s state to a series of files under c:\users\<user profile>\AppData\Roaming\WebSpy\Vantage <flavour> 2.2). When Vantage opens, it loads these files into memory. When running multiple instances, these instances will be reading and writing the same files. So if you open two instances of Vantage, make a change to a report template in one instance, then close the application, the Vantage.Templates file will be updated. But when you close the second instance of the application, the Vantage.Templates file will be overwritten with a version that doesn’t include the change.
When making configuration changes (templates, tasks, aliases, organization etc), make sure only one instance is running (check Task Manager for the WebSpy.Vantage.exe process).
It’s Experimental!
There may be other undefined behaviors that we are yet unaware of, so we advise running this configuration in a test environment.
We’re providing these feature on an “as-is” basis, meaning we will not be providing technical support for issues that arise as a result. That said, we are certainly interested to hear about any issue to help us improve the feature.
Let us know how you go!