Hello Ken,
Here are a few very specific points why I am glad I did not install
TopSpin 4.2.0 on a spectrometer workstation.
The data syncing operation is truly frustrating. I don't know why the
data has to "sync" at all. If you point to a data parent folder, why
doesn't is automatically "see" all of the datasets contained in that
folder? For all TopSpin versions from 1.3 to 4.1.4, once you point the
data browser to the "data" parent folder, you automatically see all of
the dataset subfolders contained therein.
But versions 4.2.0 and 4.3.0 require that you "sync" the data.
On my office desktop computer I have datasets dating back to when I
first started here. I left the "sync" function running overnight in
TopSpin 4.2, and when I came the next morning it still hadn't "found"
all of the datasets. TopSpin 4.3 seems to have found all the data.
But again, I don't know why it had to "sync" in the first place.
I attach two pages from the TopSpin 4.3.0 release notes. I have
highlighted the five "Bug Fixes" that I found to be particularly noteworthy.
Items SKB-401 and TOPS-5728 both point to "fixes" in the data browser,
which I think both contribute to the improved performance of the
"syncing" function in 4.3 versus 4.2.
• TOPS-5697: The spectrometer network configuration under Linux now uses
NetworkManager's new keyfile format, replacing the deprecated ifcfg format.
This item was a concern for me since all but one of our spectrometer
workstations runs under Linux. I had no issues going from v4.1.4 to
v4.3.0, but it is worth keeping in mind in case we migrate to a new OS
at some future date.
But the specific bug that would have been devastating for us was in IconNMR:
• ICON-169: Setting the experiment start time with the keyboard in the
automation window is _now possible again_.
We have several users who measure reaction kinetics using NMR
spectroscopy. That we no longer need to take a spectrometer out of
"automation" in order for those users to record their kinetics data has
been enormous benefit to our overall operation. Users simply come in
and queue up their experiments, setting the start times for each
experiment - several bunched together at the start, and then spread
farther apart as the reaction continues. If there is enough time
between experiments, IconNMR automatically moves to other
sample(s)/experiment(s) until it is time record another data point in
the kinetics experiment.
If we had upgraded to TopSpin 4.2.0, users would no longer have been
able to set the experiment start times in IconNMR, which would have been
a terrible step backwards.
For the spectrometer we have running TopSpin 4.3.0 now, we have found
that the best practice is to stop IconNMR and close TopSpin about once
per week. Then we start TopSpin and IconNMR again, and resume the
IconNMR queue from where we left off. If we don't do that, it seems
that after a few weeks of continuous operation, IconNMR "/forgets"/ what
hardware is installed, and no experiments can run successfully.
Cheers,
Bob.
On 2023-10-30 12:31 p.m., Todd Rappe via groups.io wrote:
>
>
>
> I haven't upgraded any of our spectrometer PCs past 4.1.4, yet, but on
> the datastations and my own PC, I've noticed that the syncing behavior
> of the data browser seems really slow and cumbersome compared to older
> versions.
> _____________________________________
> Todd Rappe
> Minnesota NMR Center <nmr.umn.edu https://nmr.umn.edu
> 612-625-9147 (office)
> 651-321-TODD (rings office and mobile)
> 612-624-8892 (magnet lab)
>
>
>
>
--
Dr. Bob Berno
Manager, NMR Facility
McMaster University, ABB-156
1280 Main St. West
Hamilton, ON L8S 4M1
T: 905-525-9140 x24158 or x24686
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Received on Mon Oct 30 2023 - 11:01:41 MST