Windows Reconfiguration and Startup
The Environments tool allows you to configure and start VAST development environments based on settings in the Client installation.
However, if you have moved installed files out of the standard locations, changed an installation from standalone to team, or started or stopped EMSRV, you may need to manually configure your VAST installation before you can start a VAST development environment.
The VAST Client can be installed for team development or for standalone use. If you have installed as team and wish to change to standalone or vice versa, instructions on how to do this follow. This section also covers how the Client specifies the location of the library in case the library (e.g., mgr1400.dat) has moved.
Reconfiguring an Environment
The key files in determining the configuration of a development environment are the VAST image start-up configuration file (ini file) and the library (dat file). You can create and organize new development environments using the Environments tool.
The same steps are required whether you wish to change the configuration for a single image/environment or for the entire client installation. See
File Locations for information about where to find the
ini file with the desired scope.
Standalone Configuration
For standalone configuration , both Client and Manager must reside on the same machine. Under standard standalone, only one development image at a time can access the library. If you are working independently from other Smalltalk developers, this may be the right configuration for you to use.
Standard Standalone is the default Client installation setting. Access to the library is done through File I/O.
To change from a team Client to a standard standalone Client the library must be accessible to the client, And you need to change your network configuration in the VAST image start-up configuration file (abt.ini or ibmst.ini) to refer to the library.
1. Specifically, you will need to modify the [EmLibraryInterface] parameter ServerAddress, and you may need to modify DefaultName.
o The ServerAddress must be empty.
o The DefaultName must match the location of the library on the local machine.
For example:
DefaultName= C:\ProgramData\Instantiations\VASTPlatform\Managers\mgr1400.dat
ServerAddress=
2. You must locate the library so that your account has read/write privileges.
Team Configuration
If you want your standalone configuration to allow more than one image to connect to the library, or you want to switch to a team environment, you will need to use EMSRV.
You need to change your network configuration in the VAST image start-up configuration file (abt.ini or ibmst.ini).
1. Specifically, you will need to modify the [EmLibraryInterface] parameters ServerAddress and DefaultName to match your network configuration.
o The ServerAddress must specify the machine running EMSRV, which provides access to the Smalltalk code library. If EMSRV is running on the same machine as the client, the ServerAddress can be localhost.
o The DefaultName must match the location of the library (.dat file) on the machine identified by ServerAddress.
The system administrator for the server where the Manager is installed should provide you with these [EmLibraryInterface] parameters for a team environment.
2. If you are your own system administrator for the server where the Manager is installed, you will need to ensure the library is available via EMSRV.
The following briefly describes how to configure EMSRV, the daemon which the VAST Platform Manager component uses to manage concurrent access to library and import files.
To start the EMSRV process, you do not have to be root but you do need to have permission to create and update files in EMSRV’s logging directory as well as permission to modify the mgr1400.dat file itself. One approach to doing this is to explicitly specify a logging directory in which your user id is allowed to create and modify files.
Here is an example of starting EMSRV such that client requests are logged in C:\vast\emsrv-log (C:\vast MUST exist before you start EMSRV).
emsrv –u myAccount –p myPassword –W C:\vast -lfC:\vast\emsrv-log
For more options on starting EMSRV, type emsrv -h at a command prompt.
Note:
Before you shut down your system or uninstall VAST Platform, you should stop the EMSRV process by issuing the command:
emadmin stop
You can find complete instructions for configuring and using EMSRV
here:
Last modified date: 03/14/2025