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Why is the database machine bound?

mantrasong said:
I dislike the idea that I can't just make automatic copies of my database, like I do every other file, in a standard "backup changed files on my hard drive" backup system. While I am no database expert, it seems to me that a bit-by-bit binary backup, that I would restore post computer failure, ought to work regardless of hardware changes. If that isn't the case, it seems to be because it is designed in, and I'd like the reason why. At the end of the day, that's something I'd need to hear from a Lone Wolf staff, not speculation.
Click to expand...

You can ABSOLUTELY backup your database doing normal backups. However, the caveat is that you definitely should NOT be running Realm Works when you do so. If you do, then the ability to recover that backup is not guaranteed.

This is a standard thing with all professional-grade database systems. If the database is running and in use, you can grab a snapshot of it, and it will USUALLY be valid, but that's not guaranteed. The only way to GUARANTEE the integrity of the backup is to make sure that the database is in a "quiet" state with zero activity of any sort going on. And the only way to guarantee that is to do it when there are no clients accessing the database (i.e. product is shutdown) OR when the product itself goes into a "safe" state where it can perform the backup.

Since you're comfortable playing things a little fast and loose in your environment, the above considerations may be perfectly reasonable to you. Just as long as you're fully aware of the implications. If you want to be 100% certain the backup is valid, there are only two ways to achieve that, so either retain multiple backups in case is invalid or ensure the database is "quiet" as outlined above.

From our perspective, though, we're only going to advertise the ways that are GUARANTEED to safeguard data for user. The last thing we want a user to do is take a shortcut without realize the risks and end up with lost data as a result.

Hope this makes sense!
 
mantrasong said:
Because I can't help but push my luck, what would happen if I did keep it on the network drive, and used two different computers to access it, as long as I'm only accessing the database from one computer at a time, presumably updating the ID as needed? (Again, all the usual caveats about how I know this is a bad idea, but I'm curious anyway)
Click to expand...

Here's the best way to put it that I can come up with...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyaLZHiJJnE
 
rob said:
You can ABSOLUTELY backup your database doing normal backups. However, the caveat is that you definitely should NOT be running Realm Works when you do so. If you do, then the ability to recover that backup is not guaranteed.

This is a standard thing with all professional-grade database systems. If the database is running and in use, you can grab a snapshot of it, and it will USUALLY be valid, but that's not guaranteed. The only way to GUARANTEE the integrity of the backup is to make sure that the database is in a "quiet" state with zero activity of any sort going on. And the only way to guarantee that is to do it when there are no clients accessing the database (i.e. product is shutdown) OR when the product itself goes into a "safe" state where it can perform the backup.

Since you're comfortable playing things a little fast and loose in your environment, the above considerations may be perfectly reasonable to you. Just as long as you're fully aware of the implications. If you want to be 100% certain the backup is valid, there are only two ways to achieve that, so either retain multiple backups in case is invalid or ensure the database is "quiet" as outlined above.

From our perspective, though, we're only going to advertise the ways that are GUARANTEED to safeguard data for user. The last thing we want a user to do is take a shortcut without realize the risks and end up with lost data as a result.

Hope this makes sense!
Click to expand...

So, what you're saying is, so long as Realm Works is shutdown, I can backup the database with a file-level backup, and I can email it to myself as a backup.

And if it's too big to email, I can compress it with a zip file.

And if the zip file is still too big, I can chop it up into smaller files, and email each smaller part in a separate email.

Then, if I have to restore, I can download all the parts, reassemble them (ideally in the right order), unzip them, put the database file back where it's supposed to be, and if it's a new computer or something, all it'll have to do is request a new ID number.

That should all work fine, right?
 
EightBitz said:
So, what you're saying is, so long as Realm Works is shutdown, I can backup the database with a file-level backup, and I can email it to myself as a backup.

And if it's too big to email, I can compress it with a zip file.

And if the zip file is still too big, I can chop it up into smaller files, and email each smaller part in a separate email.

Then, if I have to restore, I can download all the parts, reassemble them (ideally in the right order), unzip them, put the database file back where it's supposed to be, and if it's a new computer or something, all it'll have to do is request a new ID number.

That should all work fine, right?
Click to expand...

Yep. That's what the Beta team did for quite awhile until we got syncing operational. It all worked fine for them when they used backup/restore to migrate databases between desktop and laptop (and back again) for game sessions.
 
Galahan said:
I bought the realm works and I was somewhat disappointed that it's not entirely off line. Even after you created your realm in the cloud, you need access to the internet to run the software, because it has to be authenticated everytime you use it. This is a problem for me, because I like to work on my laptop in my spare time and sometimes I don't have internet available.
Click to expand...
MaxSupernova said:
Nope. Run in offline mode. No internet needed at all. No login, no authentication.
When the program first starts, instead of entering a password, click the "Work Offline" button. Make sure your data is synced first, if you've worked on it elsewhere.
All you need the internet for is to create a Realm. Crate a few extras when you are connected just in case.
Click to expand...
EightBitz said:
This is absolutely not true. On the login screen, there's a "Work Offline" button. I've used it many times.
Click to expand...
My mistake. I assumed that I had to fill the login. I'm glad that I'm wrong.
 
rob said:
There is absolutely nothing here motivated by DRM or control over how you access stuff, and it's personally very frustrating when that's the reaction many consumers have had to this architecture. In reality, it's all dictated by the desire to let users have MAXIMUM FLEXIBILITY in how and when they access their content, but we have to also guarantee that all that flexibility NEVER yields a conflict that will CORRUPT their data. It's a very difficult task that we could have simply solved by requiring users to always be online. But that wasn't our objective, and I'm very confident that allowing users to work offline is a huge benefit offered by Realm Works. The problem is that the flexibility has a trivial (IMO) cost, which is that we have to lock the client databases to specific machines in order to ensure everything works correctly.

I hope this all makes sense and helps alleviate the concerns over DRM and control. :)
Click to expand...

It does. I'm afraid you're dealing with an entire generation of people who grew up with things like SecuROM destroying CD Drives, and are seeing new and clever solutions like SimCity, and...it makes us paranoid. I'm sorry, both for the situation and that I fell victim to it.

I almost think it would be worthwhile to put an FAQ entry for just this purpose (some assumptions made for artistic license):

Q: I think Feature X is really just DRM in disguise/a way to push me into your cloud service. Is it?

A: Nope. Really, nope. Realm Works is designed to be a first-class cloud oriented program, and, as such, we made some design decisions that are a bit awkward offline. We have made every effort to make it possible to use Realm Works offline, but some features, like multi-user/multi-computer control, just aren't reasonably possible without some sort of centralized management. We've provided workarounds where we can, but it isn't always possible, or at the top of our priority list.

We aren't trying to force you online; we are hoping that our cloud service will provide enough extra value to you, the end user, to be worth it on it's own merits. Got specific issues you want addressed? Come talk to us in our forums!
Click to expand...

(Feel free to use some, all, or exactly none of that. It does seem like something worth addressing, though)

rob said:
From our perspective, though, we're only going to advertise the ways that are GUARANTEED to safeguard data for user. The last thing we want a user to do is take a shortcut without realize the risks and end up with lost data as a result.
Click to expand...

While I'm suggesting updates to your FAQ, that's something you might wish to address. The way the answer is written now, it almost sounds like you're holding my data hostage to the computer, unless I'm willing to pay for the cloud. Obviously, that isn't the case. In fact, from what I can gather, it is only "tied to my computer" insofar as the database has a machine ID to identify it to the cloud. Something that may work better is:

Can I put the Realm Works database on a LAN or shared drive and use it from multiple computers?

No! The Realm Works database must be installed on a local drive and must only be accessed from one computer. Properly managing a centralized database so that it doesn't get corrupted requires management software that we have on our servers. We aren't supporting that for all of the reasons laid out in "Can I setup my own server instead of using the Realm Works cloud?"

The proper solution is to install Realm Works on all the various computers that you wish to use and then use cloud syncing to keep them all up-to-date with the latest content. You can also backup and restore your content without cloud service. Both options are outlined in the "Can I move my database to another machine?" FAQ question.
Click to expand...

That removes the scary sounding "tied to your computer" bit, but still addresses the core issue of "don't DO that!"

(Again, feel free to use all, some, or none of that. I'm sure that help from a random, unknown third party is exactly what you want here :) That's just my $0.02, and my inner editor jumping out to be "helpful")

rob said:
Here's the best way to put it that I can come up with...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyaLZHiJJnE
Click to expand...

:D
 
Last edited:
Out of curiosity, what are you using to uniquely identify a computer? MAC Address of one or more network cards in a computer is easy, but are you also using a CPU ID Number, Computer Name, Network Name, or some other list of identifiers. I'd like to know what changes force a re-registration of the computer and possible sync up to the cloud service.

Thanks.
 
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