CopiaFacts Internal Messaging Service
CFMSG /install | /uninstall
net start CFMSG
Description
This service performs CopiaFacts internal inter-process messaging tasks. It is a pre-requisite for running COPIAFACTS and FFEXTERN as service applications, and for using the CopiaFacts Control Panel (CFCP).
 | CFMSG must not be installed and run as a service on more than one machine on your network. |
| The CFMSG service should ideally be run only on the fileserver on which the COPIA share resides, with the \FAXFACTS\CALLBACK folder and its subfolders. See Special Cases below if you cannot do this. |
| When CFESERVICE or CFXSERVICE is installed on the machine running CFMSG, it is essential to install CFMSG as a service first. Then when CFESERVICE and CFXSERVICE are installed as services, a dependency on CFMSG will be added to these services so that CFMSG will always be started before them. |
Installation
CFMSG is installed as a service automatically when you install the executable from CopiaSererInstall91xxxx.exe. But this will be the machine on which you are installing CopiaFacts applications, and it is recommended that you run CFMSG on your file server containing the COPIA share if this is possible.
We recommend using CopiaServerInstalll910xxx.EXE to install CFMSG on a separate Windows file server. From build 366 onwards this has been moved from 'Services" to the selection "Essential Utilities, Help File, and CFMSG", so that you can uncheck the other CopiaFacts applications not required on a file server.
This assumes that your file server is a Windows system which can run Windows programs and services. The service will be configured to start automatically, delayed. If not, see Special Cases, below.
| You should aim to keep CFMSG running at all times. |
If the fileserver where the CALLBACK folder resides cannot run a Windows service, or is not a Windows filesystem, you need to add a CFMSGIP entry to FFCFG.INI in the \COPIA\FAXFACTS folder, which would then contain (but with your own IP values):
[FFCONFIG]
ConfigurationFile=FAXFACTS.CFG
SerialNumber=1234
ExpectedUNCpath=\\fileserver\COPIA
ServerIP=192.169.1.123
CFMSGIP=192.168.1.789
| Do NOT edit CFMSG.INI with similar values: CFMSG.INI is rewritten by CFMSG every time it starts. |
Even if the CFMSG service is not running on the machine with the COPIA share, it needs to run in on a "CopiaFacts Node", which has been set up with CopiaServerInstall91xxxx.
Incoming Messages Configuration
CFMSG creates and writes a CFMSG.INI file (in the FAXFACTS folder) to specify the IP address and the port on which it will listen for incoming messages.
The CFMSG.INI will contain as a minimum the following data (for example):
[CFMSG]
IP=192.168.1.11
Port=43210
The initial IP value is derived from the FFCFG.INI file. If you move the COPIA share to a different machine, you should run COPIAINSTALL9 to create another FFCFG.INI file with the new IP address, before installing or starting the CFMSG service on the new machine and allowing it to update CFMSG.INI. Currently, the specification only supports IPv4 addresses.
The initial starting Port value is set to 43210. The range of eight ports starting 43210 (default) should be opened in your firewall for local communication between nodes. If you need to change the starting port value for the purposes of configuring your firewall, you can edit FFCFG.INI to add or edit:
[FFCONFIG]
MessagePort=xxxxx
where xxxxx is the port you wish to use, and restart the CFMSG service. It may take a couple of minutes for the communicating applications to re-synchronize.
If your CALLBACK folder is not on the same machine as the COPIA share (because you have a non-standard $request_dir specification) then you must add an entry in FFCFG.INI to allow for this:
[FFCONFIG]
CallbackIP=x.x.x.x
where x.x.x.x is the IP address of your machine which has the CALLBACK folder and its subfolders.
Other sections of FFCFG.INI may used by enabled CFMSG sub-tasks. You should not edit the Port and IP values in CFMSG.INI manually, because the values will be overwritten when CFMSG is next started.
Outgoing Message Configuration
Outgoing messages are sent on the same adapter and port as is specified for incoming messages. You can use the $cfmsg command to override this. with a first parameter of CFMSG.
Starting and Stopping
| On starting CFMSG with new settings or in a new location, CFESERVICE / COPIAFACTS, and CFXSERVICE / FFEXTERN, and CFCP. must be restarted so that they read the new CFMSG.INI which the CFMSG service will have written on startup. |
When you plan to upgrade CopiaFacts, you should shut down CFESERVICE and CFXSERVICE on each machine before shutting down CFMSG, and restart CFMSG first after upgrading. You can use NET START and NET STOP or the Services tool in Computer Management to do this.
If any start-up problems occur, details will be reported in the CopiaFacts Windows Event Log and in the trace file (see below) if enabled.
Normally, CFMSG uses the first specified port (default 43210). The next three (default 43211/2/3) are used by the CFESERVICE, COPIAFACTS, and "COPIAFACTS in management mode" on a node, if running, and the next three (default 4321/4/5/6) by the CFXSERVICE, FFEXTERN, and "FFEXTERN in management mode" on a node, if running. The last port in the block of eight (default 43217) is used by CFCP. You can change the default of 43210 as described above, and you can override the network adapters selected by each communicating node, using the $cfmsg configuration command. These ports need to be open for communication within your network.
If you need to use CFCP from outside your network to communicate with the CFMSG service, port 43210 (or as overridden) needs to be opened for access from outside your network. We suggest that you enable access through your firewall from specific locations only. In a NAT environment, you also need to forward this port to the machine on which the CFMSG service is running. The IP address setting for CFMSG should remain as a local NAT address in this case, for use by local machines.
