Index: client.scm
==================================================================
--- client.scm
+++ client.scm
@@ -46,17 +46,23 @@
 (define (client:connect iface port)
   (case (server:get-transport)
     ((rpc)  (rpc:client-connect  iface port))
     ((http) (http:client-connect iface port))
     ((zmq)  (zmq:client-connect  iface port))
-    (else   (rpc:client-connect  iface port))))
+    (else
+     (debug:print 0 *default-log-port* "ERROR: transport " (remote-transport *runremote*) " not supported (5)")
+     (exit))))
 
 (define (client:setup  run-id #!key (remaining-tries 10) (failed-connects 0))
   (case (server:get-transport)
-    ((rpc) (rpc-transport:client-setup run-id remaining-tries: remaining-tries failed-connects: failed-connects)) ;;(client:setup-rpc run-id))
+    ((rpc) (let ((res (client:setup-rpc run-id remaining-tries: remaining-tries)))
+             (remote-conndat-set! *runremote* res)
+             res))
     ((http)(client:setup-http run-id remaining-tries: remaining-tries failed-connects: failed-connects))
-    (else  (rpc-transport:client-setup run-id remaining-tries: remaining-tries failed-connects: failed-connects)))) ;; (client:setup-rpc run-id))))
+    (else
+     (debug:print 0 *default-log-port* "ERROR: transport " (remote-transport *runremote*) " not supported (6)")
+     (exit)))) ;; (client:setup-rpc run-id))))
 
 ;; (define (client:login-no-auto-setup server-info run-id)
 ;;   (case (server:get-transport)
 ;;     ((rpc)  (rpc:login-no-auto-client-setup server-info run-id))
 ;;     ((http) (rmt:login-no-auto-client-setup server-info run-id))
@@ -152,10 +158,30 @@
 ;;
 ;; client:setup
 ;;
 ;; lookup_server, need to remove *runremote* stuff
 ;;
+
+(define (client:setup-rpc run-id #!key (remaining-tries 10) (failed-connects 0))
+  (debug:print-info 2 *default-log-port* "client:setup-rpc remaining-tries=" remaining-tries)
+  (let* ((server-dat (tasks:get-server (db:delay-if-busy (tasks:open-db)) run-id))
+         (num-available (tasks:num-in-available-state (db:delay-if-busy (tasks:open-db)) run-id)))
+    (cond
+     ((<= remaining-tries 0)
+      (debug:print-error 0 *default-log-port* "failed to start or connect to server for run-id " run-id)
+      (exit 1))
+     (server-dat
+      (debug:print-info 4 *default-log-port* "client:setup-rpc server-dat=" server-dat ", remaining-tries=" remaining-tries)
+
+      (rpc-transport:client-setup run-id server-dat remaining-tries: remaining-tries))
+     (else
+      (if (< num-available 2)
+          (server:try-running run-id))
+      (thread-sleep! (+ 2 (random (- 20 remaining-tries)))) ;; give server a little time to start up, randomize a little to avoid start storms.
+      (client:setup run-id remaining-tries: (- remaining-tries 1))))))
+
+
 (define (client:setup-http run-id #!key (remaining-tries 10) (failed-connects 0))
   (debug:print-info 2 *default-log-port* "client:setup remaining-tries=" remaining-tries)
   (let* ((tdbdat (tasks:open-db)))
     (if (<= remaining-tries 0)
 	(begin
@@ -165,22 +191,12 @@
 	  (debug:print-info 4 *default-log-port* "client:setup server-dat=" server-dat ", remaining-tries=" remaining-tries)
 	  (if server-dat
 	      (let* ((iface     (tasks:hostinfo-get-interface server-dat))
 		     (hostname  (tasks:hostinfo-get-hostname  server-dat))
 		     (port      (tasks:hostinfo-get-port      server-dat))
-		     (start-res (case *transport-type*
-				  ((http)(http-transport:client-connect iface port))
-				  ;;((nmsg)(nmsg-transport:client-connect hostname port))
-                                  ))
-		     (ping-res  (case *transport-type* 
-				  ((http)(rmt:login-no-auto-client-setup start-res))
-				  ;; ((nmsg)(let ((logininfo (rmt:login-no-auto-client-setup start-res run-id)))
- 				  ;;          (if logininfo
- 				  ;;              (car (vector-ref logininfo 1))
- 				  ;;              #f)))
-                                  
-                                  )))
+		     (start-res (http-transport:client-connect iface port))
+		     (ping-res  (rmt:login-no-auto-client-setup start-res)))
 		(if (and start-res
 			 ping-res)
 		    (begin
 		      (remote-conndat-set! *runremote* start-res) ;; (hash-table-set! *runremote* run-id start-res)
 		      (debug:print-info 2 *default-log-port* "connected to " (http-transport:server-dat-make-url start-res))
@@ -209,11 +225,11 @@
 		  (if (< num-available 2)
 		      (server:try-running run-id))
 		  (thread-sleep! (+ 5 (random (- 20 remaining-tries))))  ;; give server a little time to start up, randomize a little to avoid start storms.
 		  (client:setup run-id remaining-tries: (- remaining-tries 1)))))))))
 
-;; keep this as a function to ease future 
+;; keep this as a function to ease future ;; this is unused, not porting for rpc -BB
 (define (client:start run-id server-info)
   (http-transport:client-connect (tasks:hostinfo-get-interface server-info)
 				 (tasks:hostinfo-get-port server-info)))
 
 ;; ;; client:signal-handler

Index: common.scm
==================================================================
--- common.scm
+++ common.scm
@@ -18,10 +18,12 @@
 (import (prefix base64 base64:))
 
 (declare (unit common))
 
 (include "common_records.scm")
+(include "thunk-utils.scm")
+
 
 ;; (require-library margs)
 ;; (include "margs.scm")
 
 ;; (define old-exit exit)
@@ -60,13 +62,24 @@
     (if (not cxt)
         (set! cxt (let ((x (make-cxt)))(hash-table-set! *contexts* toppath x) x)))
     (let ((cxt-mutex (cxt-mutex cxt)))
       (mutex-unlock! *context-mutex*)
       (mutex-lock! cxt-mutex)
-      (let ((res (proc cxt)))
-        (mutex-unlock! cxt-mutex)
-        res))))
+      ;; here we guard proc with exception handler so
+      ;; no matter how proc succeeds or fails,
+      ;; the cxt-mutex will be unlocked afterward.
+      (let* ((EXCEPTION-SYMBOL (gensym)) ;; use a generated symbol
+             (guarded-proc               ;; to avoid collision
+              (lambda args
+                (let* ((res (condition-case
+                             (apply proc args)
+                             [x () (cons EXCEPTION-SYMBOL x)])))
+                 (mutex-unlock! cxt-mutex)
+                 (if (and (pair? res) (eq? (car res) EXCEPTION))
+                     (abort (cdr res))
+                     res)))))
+        (guarded-proc cxt)))))
         
 (define *db-keys* #f)
 
 (define *configinfo*   #f)   ;; raw results from setup, includes toppath and table from megatest.config
 (define *runconfigdat* #f)   ;; run configs data
@@ -102,11 +115,22 @@
 (define *db-access-mutex*     (make-mutex))
 (define *db-cache-path*       #f)
 
 ;; SERVER
 (define *my-client-signature* #f)
-(define *transport-type*    'http)             ;; override with [server] transport http|rpc|nmsg
+(define *transport-type*  #f)             ;; override with [server] transport http|rpc|nmsg
+
+(define *DEFAULT-TRANSPORT* "http")
+(define (common:set-transport-type)
+  (set! *transport-type*
+        (string->symbol
+         (or
+          (args:get-arg "-transport")
+          (configf:lookup *configdat* "server" "transport")
+          *DEFAULT-TRANSPORT*)))
+  *transport-type*)
+  
 (define *runremote*         #f)                ;; if set up for server communication this will hold <host port>
 (define *max-cache-size*    0)
 (define *logged-in-clients* (make-hash-table))
 (define *server-id*         #f)
 (define *server-info*       #f)
@@ -600,10 +624,11 @@
 		  (loop)))
 	    (if (common:low-noise-print 30)
 		(debug:print-info 0 *default-log-port* "Exiting watchdog timer, *time-to-exit* = " *time-to-exit*)))))))
 
 (define (std-exit-procedure)
+  
   (let ((no-hurry  (if *time-to-exit* ;; hurry up
 		       #f
 		       (begin
 			 (set! *time-to-exit* #t)
 			 #t))))
@@ -628,10 +653,19 @@
 				  (thread-sleep! 5) ;; give the clean up few seconds to do it's stuff
 				  (thread-sleep! 2))
 			      (debug:print 4 *default-log-port* " ... done")
 			      )
 			    "clean exit")))
+
+      ;; let's try to clean up open sockets
+      (if *runremote*
+          (case (remote-transport *runremote*)
+            ((http) #t)
+            ((rpc)  (rpc:close-all-connections!))
+            (else
+             (debug:print-info 0 *default-log-port* "Transport "(remote-transport *runremote*)" not supported"))))
+
       (thread-start! th1)
       (thread-start! th2)
       (thread-join! th1))))
 
 (define (std-signal-handler signum)

Index: configf.scm
==================================================================
--- configf.scm
+++ configf.scm
@@ -83,21 +83,22 @@
 		     (poststr (list-ref matchdat 4))
 		     (result  #f)
 		     (start-time (current-seconds))
 		     (cmdsym  (string->symbol cmdtype))
 		     (fullcmd (case cmdsym
-				((scheme)(conc "(lambda (ht)" cmd ")"))
-				((system)(conc "(lambda (ht)(system \"" cmd "\"))"))
-				((shell) (conc "(lambda (ht)(shell \""  cmd "\"))"))
-				((getenv)(conc "(lambda (ht)(get-environment-variable \"" cmd "\"))"))
-				((get)   
+				((scheme scm) (conc "(lambda (ht)" cmd ")"))
+				((system)     (conc "(lambda (ht)(system \"" cmd "\"))"))
+				((shell sh)   (conc "(lambda (ht)(shell \""  cmd "\"))"))
+				((realpath rp)(conc "(lambda (ht)(common:nice-path \"" cmd "\"))"))
+				((getenv)     (conc "(lambda (ht)(get-environment-variable \"" cmd "\"))"))
+				((get g)   
 				 (let* ((parts (string-split cmd))
 					(sect  (car parts))
 					(var   (cadr parts)))
 				   (conc "(lambda (ht)(config-lookup ht \"" sect "\" \"" var "\"))")))
-				((runconfigs-get) (conc "(lambda (ht)(runconfigs-get ht \"" cmd "\"))"))
-				((rget)           (conc "(lambda (ht)(runconfigs-get ht \"" cmd "\"))"))
+				((runconfigs-get rget) (conc "(lambda (ht)(runconfigs-get ht \"" cmd "\"))"))
+				;; ((rget)           (conc "(lambda (ht)(runconfigs-get ht \"" cmd "\"))"))
 				(else "(lambda (ht)(print \"ERROR\") \"ERROR\")"))))
 		;; (print "fullcmd=" fullcmd)
 		(handle-exceptions
 		 exn
 		 (begin

Index: db.scm
==================================================================
--- db.scm
+++ db.scm
@@ -739,11 +739,11 @@
 
 ;; Add db direct
 ;;
 (define (db:dispatch-query access-mode rmt-cmd db-cmd . params)
   (if (eq? access-mode 'cached)
-      (print "not doing cached calls right now"))
+      (debug:print 2 *default-log-port* "not doing cached calls right now"))
 ;;      (apply db:call-with-cached-db db-cmd params)
       (apply rmt-cmd params))
 ;;)
 
 ;; return the target db handle so it can be used
@@ -3055,23 +3055,26 @@
        (set! row-ids (cons rid row-ids)))
      runsqry)
     (sqlite3:finalize! runsqry)
     row-ids))
 
+;; finds latest matching all patts for given run-id
+;;
 (define (db:test-get-paths-matching-keynames-target-new dbstruct run-id keynames target res testpatt statepatt statuspatt runname)
   (let* ((testqry (tests:match->sqlqry testpatt))
-	 (tstsqry (conc "SELECT rundir FROM tests WHERE " testqry " AND state LIKE '" statepatt "' AND status LIKE '" statuspatt "' ORDER BY event_time ASC;")))
+	 (tstsqry (conc "SELECT rundir FROM tests WHERE run_id=? AND " testqry " AND state LIKE '" statepatt "' AND status LIKE '" statuspatt "' ORDER BY event_time ASC;")))
     (db:with-db
      dbstruct
      run-id
      #f
      (lambda (db)
        (sqlite3:for-each-row 
 	(lambda (p)
 	  (set! res (cons p res)))
 	db
-	tstsqry)
+	tstsqry
+	run-id)
        res))))
 
 (define (db:test-toplevel-num-items dbstruct run-id testname)
   (db:with-db
    dbstruct

Index: docs/manual/megatest_manual.html
==================================================================
--- docs/manual/megatest_manual.html
+++ docs/manual/megatest_manual.html
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 <!DOCTYPE html>
 <html lang="en">
 <head>
 <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
-<meta name="generator" content="AsciiDoc 8.6.7">
+<meta name="generator" content="AsciiDoc 8.6.9">
 <title>The Megatest Users Manual</title>
 <style type="text/css">
 /* Shared CSS for AsciiDoc xhtml11 and html5 backends */
 
 /* Default font. */
@@ -84,14 +84,20 @@
   margin-top: 0;
 }
 ul > li     { color: #aaa; }
 ul > li > * { color: black; }
 
-pre {
+.monospaced, code, pre {
+  font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;
+  font-size: inherit;
+  color: navy;
   padding: 0;
   margin: 0;
 }
+pre {
+  white-space: pre-wrap;
+}
 
 #author {
   color: #527bbd;
   font-weight: bold;
   font-size: 1.1em;
@@ -216,11 +222,11 @@
   border-left: 3px solid #dddddd;
   padding-left: 0.5em;
 }
 
 div.imageblock div.content { padding-left: 0; }
-span.image img { border-style: none; }
+span.image img { border-style: none; vertical-align: text-bottom; }
 a.image:visited { color: white; }
 
 dl {
   margin-top: 0.8em;
   margin-bottom: 0.8em;
@@ -412,16 +418,10 @@
 /*
  * xhtml11 specific
  *
  * */
 
-tt {
-  font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;
-  font-size: inherit;
-  color: navy;
-}
-
 div.tableblock {
   margin-top: 1.0em;
   margin-bottom: 1.5em;
 }
 div.tableblock > table {
@@ -451,16 +451,10 @@
 /*
  * html5 specific
  *
  * */
 
-.monospaced {
-  font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;
-  font-size: inherit;
-  color: navy;
-}
-
 table.tableblock {
   margin-top: 1.0em;
   margin-bottom: 1.5em;
 }
 thead, p.tableblock.header {
@@ -536,10 +530,12 @@
 }
 
 @media print {
   body.manpage div#toc { display: none; }
 }
+
+
 @media screen {
   body {
     max-width: 50em; /* approximately 80 characters wide */
     margin-left: 16em;
   }
@@ -1325,11 +1321,78 @@
 </div>
 <div class="sect1">
 <h2 id="_reference">Reference</h2>
 <div class="sectionbody">
 <div class="sect2">
-<h3 id="_megatest_config_file_settings">Megatest Config File Settings</h3>
+<h3 id="_config_file_helpers">Config File Helpers</h3>
+<div class="paragraph"><p>Various helpers for more advanced config files.</p></div>
+<table class="tableblock frame-topbot grid-all"
+style="
+width:80%;
+">
+<caption class="title">Table 2. Helpers</caption>
+<col style="width:14%;">
+<col style="width:28%;">
+<col style="width:28%;">
+<col style="width:28%;">
+<thead>
+<tr>
+<th class="tableblock halign-center valign-top" >Helper                      </th>
+<th class="tableblock halign-left valign-top" > Purpose                       </th>
+<th class="tableblock halign-left valign-top" > Valid values            </th>
+<th class="tableblock halign-left valign-top" > Comments</th>
+</tr>
+</thead>
+<tbody>
+<tr>
+<td class="tableblock halign-center valign-top" ><p class="tableblock">#{scheme (scheme code&#8230;)}</p></td>
+<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top" ><p class="tableblock monospaced">Execute arbitrary scheme code</p></td>
+<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top" ><p class="tableblock monospaced">Any valid scheme</p></td>
+<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top" ><p class="tableblock monospaced">Value returned from the call is converted to a string and processed as part of the config file</p></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tableblock halign-center valign-top" ><p class="tableblock">#{system command}</p></td>
+<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top" ><p class="tableblock monospaced">Execute program, inserts exit code</p></td>
+<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top" ><p class="tableblock monospaced">Any valid Unix command</p></td>
+<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top" ><p class="tableblock monospaced">Discards the output from the program</p></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tableblock halign-center valign-top" ><p class="tableblock">#{shell  command} or #{sh &#8230;}</p></td>
+<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top" ><p class="tableblock monospaced">Execute program, inserts result from stdout</p></td>
+<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top" ><p class="tableblock monospaced">Any valid Unix command</p></td>
+<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top" ><p class="tableblock monospaced">Value returned from the call is converted to a string and processed as part of the config file</p></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tableblock halign-center valign-top" ><p class="tableblock">#{realpath path} or #{rp &#8230;}</p></td>
+<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top" ><p class="tableblock monospaced">Replace with normalized path</p></td>
+<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top" ><p class="tableblock monospaced">Must be a valid path</p></td>
+<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top" ><p class="tableblock monospaced"></p></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tableblock halign-center valign-top" ><p class="tableblock">#{getenv VAR} or #{gv VAR}</p></td>
+<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top" ><p class="tableblock monospaced">Replace with content of env variable</p></td>
+<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top" ><p class="tableblock monospaced">Must be a valid var</p></td>
+<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top" ><p class="tableblock monospaced"></p></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tableblock halign-center valign-top" ><p class="tableblock">#{get s v} or #{g s v}</p></td>
+<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top" ><p class="tableblock monospaced">Replace with variable v from section s</p></td>
+<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top" ><p class="tableblock monospaced">Variable must be defined before use</p></td>
+<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top" ><p class="tableblock monospaced"></p></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tableblock halign-center valign-top" ><p class="tableblock">#{rget v}</p></td>
+<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top" ><p class="tableblock monospaced">Replace with variable v from target or default of runconfigs file</p></td>
+<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top" ><p class="tableblock monospaced"></p></td>
+<td class="tableblock halign-left valign-top" ><p class="tableblock monospaced"></p></td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+</div>
+<div class="sect2">
+<h3 id="_config_file_settings">Config File Settings</h3>
+<div class="paragraph"><p>Settings in megatest.config</p></div>
 <div class="sect3">
 <h4 id="_disk_space_checks">Disk Space Checks</h4>
 <div class="paragraph"><p>Some parameters you can put in the [setup] section of megatest.config:</p></div>
 <div class="listingblock">
 <div class="content monospaced">
@@ -1448,11 +1511,11 @@
 <h3 id="_database_settings">Database settings</h3>
 <table class="tableblock frame-topbot grid-all"
 style="
 width:70%;
 ">
-<caption class="title">Table 2. Database config settings in [setup] section of megatest.config</caption>
+<caption class="title">Table 3. Database config settings in [setup] section of megatest.config</caption>
 <col style="width:14%;">
 <col style="width:28%;">
 <col style="width:28%;">
 <col style="width:28%;">
 <thead>
@@ -1824,11 +1887,11 @@
 COMPLETED/ xterm -e bash -s --</pre>
 </div></div>
 <div class="admonitionblock">
 <table><tr>
 <td class="icon">
-<img src="/nfs/pdx/disks/ice.disk.002/icfadm/pkgs/asciidoc/8.6.7/images/icons/note.png" alt="Note">
+<img src="/usr/images/icons/note.png" alt="Note">
 </td>
 <td class="content">There is a trailing space after the --</td>
 </tr></table>
 </div>
 </div>
@@ -1917,11 +1980,11 @@
 <div class="paragraph"><p>These routines can be called from the megatest repl.</p></div>
 <table class="tableblock frame-topbot grid-all"
 style="
 width:70%;
 ">
-<caption class="title">Table 3. API Keys Related Calls</caption>
+<caption class="title">Table 4. API Keys Related Calls</caption>
 <col style="width:14%;">
 <col style="width:28%;">
 <col style="width:28%;">
 <col style="width:28%;">
 <thead>
@@ -1969,10 +2032,11 @@
 </div>
 <div id="footnotes"><hr></div>
 <div id="footer">
 <div id="footer-text">
 Version 1.0<br>
-Last updated 2016-10-19 10:23:07 PDT
+Last updated
+ 2016-11-27 13:47:38 MST
 </div>
 </div>
 </body>
 </html>

Index: docs/manual/reference.txt
==================================================================
--- docs/manual/reference.txt
+++ docs/manual/reference.txt
@@ -1,11 +1,31 @@
 
 Reference
 ---------
 
-Megatest Config File Settings
-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+Config File Helpers
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Various helpers for more advanced config files.
+
+.Helpers
+[width="80%",cols="^,2m,2m,2m",frame="topbot",options="header"]
+|======================
+|Helper                      | Purpose                       | Valid values            | Comments
+| #{scheme (scheme code...)} | Execute arbitrary scheme code | Any valid scheme        | Value returned from the call is converted to a string and processed as part of the config file
+| #{system command}          | Execute program, inserts exit code  | Any valid Unix command  | Discards the output from the program
+| #{shell  command} or #{sh ...}  | Execute program, inserts result from stdout | Any valid Unix command | Value returned from the call is converted to a string and processed as part of the config file
+| #{realpath path} or #{rp ...}   | Replace with normalized path | Must be a valid path |
+| #{getenv VAR} or #{gv VAR}      | Replace with content of env variable | Must be a valid var |
+| #{get s v} or #{g s v}     | Replace with variable v from section s | Variable must be defined before use |
+| #{rget v}                  | Replace with variable v from target or default of runconfigs file | |
+|======================
+
+Config File Settings
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Settings in megatest.config
 
 Disk Space Checks
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 
 Some parameters you can put in the [setup] section of megatest.config:

Index: docs/manual/server.png
==================================================================
--- docs/manual/server.png
+++ docs/manual/server.png
cannot compute difference between binary files

Index: http-transport.scm
==================================================================
--- http-transport.scm
+++ http-transport.scm
@@ -84,11 +84,11 @@
 				  ((equal? (uri-path (request-uri (current-request)))
 					   '(/ "api"))
 				   (send-response body:    (api:process-request *dbstruct-db* $) ;; the $ is the request vars proc
 						  headers: '((content-type text/plain)))
 				   (mutex-lock! *heartbeat-mutex*)
-				   (set! *db-last-access* (current-seconds))
+				   (set! *db-lastaccess* (current-seconds))
 				   (mutex-unlock! *heartbeat-mutex*))
 				  ((equal? (uri-path (request-uri (current-request))) 
 					   '(/ ""))
 				   (send-response body: (http-transport:main-page)))
 				  ((equal? (uri-path (request-uri (current-request))) 
@@ -335,11 +335,11 @@
 ;;
 (define (http-transport:client-connect iface port)
   (let* ((api-url      (conc "http://" iface ":" port "/api"))
 	 (api-uri      (uri-reference (conc "http://" iface ":" port "/api")))
 	 (api-req      (make-request method: 'POST uri: api-uri))
-	 (server-dat   (vector iface port api-uri api-url api-req (current-seconds))))
+	 (server-dat   (vector iface port api-uri api-url api-req (current-seconds) 'http)))
     server-dat))
 
 ;; run http-transport:keep-running in a parallel thread to monitor that the db is being 
 ;; used and to shutdown after sometime if it is not.
 ;;
@@ -398,12 +398,12 @@
 			(thread-sleep! 0.5) ;; give some margin for queries to complete before switching from file based access to server based access
 			(set! *dbstruct-db*  (db:setup)) ;;  run-id))
 			(set! server-going #t)
 			(tasks:server-set-state! (db:delay-if-busy tdbdat) server-id "running")
 			(server:write-dotserver *toppath* (conc iface ":" port))
-			(delete-file* (conc *toppath* "/.starting-server")))
-		      (begin ;; gotta exit nicely
+                        (server:dotserver-starting-remove))
+                      (begin ;; gotta exit nicely
 			(tasks:server-set-state! (db:delay-if-busy tdbdat) server-id "collision")
 			(http-transport:server-shutdown server-id port))))))
 
       ;; when things go wrong we don't want to be doing the various queries too often
       ;; so we strive to run this stuff only every four seconds or so.
@@ -520,14 +520,11 @@
 ;; all routes though here end in exit ...
 ;;
 ;; start_server? 
 ;;
 (define (http-transport:launch run-id)
-  (with-output-to-file
-      (conc *toppath* "/.starting-server")
-    (lambda ()
-      (print (current-process-id) " on " (get-host-name))))
+  (server:dotserver-starting)
   (let* ((tdbdat (tasks:open-db)))
     (set! *run-id*   run-id)
     (if (args:get-arg "-daemonize")
 	(begin
 	  (daemon:ize)
@@ -540,23 +537,24 @@
 	(begin
 	  (debug:print 0 *default-log-port* "INFO: Server for run-id " run-id " already running")
 	  (exit 0))
 	(begin ;; ok, no server detected, clean out any lingering records
 	   (tasks:server-force-clean-running-records-for-run-id  (db:delay-if-busy tdbdat) run-id "notresponding")))
-    (let loop ((server-id (tasks:server-lock-slot (db:delay-if-busy tdbdat) run-id))
+    (let loop ((server-id (tasks:server-lock-slot (db:delay-if-busy tdbdat) run-id 'http))
 	       (remtries  4))
       (if (not server-id)
 	  (if (> remtries 0)
 	      (begin
 		(thread-sleep! 2)
-		(loop (tasks:server-lock-slot (db:delay-if-busy tdbdat) run-id)
+		(loop (tasks:server-lock-slot (db:delay-if-busy tdbdat) run-id 'http)
 		      (- remtries 1)))
 	      (begin
 		;; since we didn't get the server lock we are going to clean up and bail out
 		(debug:print-info 2 *default-log-port* "INFO: server pid=" (current-process-id) ", hostname=" (get-host-name) " not starting due to other candidates ahead in start queue")
 		(tasks:server-delete-records-for-this-pid (db:delay-if-busy tdbdat) " http-transport:launch")
-		(delete-file* (conc *toppath* "/.starting-server"))
+                
+                (server:dotserver-starting-remove)
 		))
 	  (let* ((th2 (make-thread (lambda ()
 				     (debug:print-info 0 *default-log-port* "Server run thread started")
 				     (http-transport:run 
 				      (if (args:get-arg "-server")
@@ -638,11 +636,11 @@
 	       "<tr><td>Average non-cached time</td>   <td>" (if (eq? *number-non-write-queries* 0)
 								 "n/a (no queries)"
 								 (/ *total-non-write-delay* 
 								    *number-non-write-queries*))
 	       " ms</td></tr>"
-	       "<tr><td>Last access</td><td>"              (seconds->time-string *db-last-access*) "</td></tr>"
+	       "<tr><td>Last access</td><td>"              (seconds->time-string *last-db-access*) "</td></tr>"
 	       "</table>")))
     (mutex-unlock! *heartbeat-mutex*)
     res))
 
 (define (http-transport:runs linkpath)

Index: launch.scm
==================================================================
--- launch.scm
+++ launch.scm
@@ -816,10 +816,11 @@
 	      (set! *configstatus* 'partial))
 	    (begin
 	      (debug:print-error 0 *default-log-port* "No " mtconfig " file found. Giving up.")
 	      (exit 2))))))
     ;; additional house keeping
+    (common:set-transport-type)
     (let* ((linktree (or (getenv "MT_LINKTREE")
 			 (if *configdat* (configf:lookup *configdat* "setup" "linktree") #f))))
       (if linktree
 	  (begin
 	    (if (not (file-exists? linktree))

Index: megatest.scm
==================================================================
--- megatest.scm
+++ megatest.scm
@@ -118,11 +118,11 @@
                             fields category,variable,value,comment
 
 Queries
   -list-runs patt         : list runs matching pattern \"patt\", % is the wildcard
   -show-keys              : show the keys used in this megatest setup
-  -test-files targpatt    : get the most recent test path/file matching targpatt e.g. %/%... 
+  -test-files targpatt    : get the most recent test path/file matching targpatt e.g. %/% or '*.log'
                             returns list sorted by age ascending, see examples below
   -test-paths             : get the test paths matching target, runname, item and test
                             patterns.
   -list-disks             : list the disks available for storing runs
   -list-targets           : list the targets in runconfigs.config
@@ -327,10 +327,11 @@
 		 args:arg-hash
 		 0))
 
 ;; Add args that use remargs here
 ;;
+
 (if (and (not (null? remargs))
 	 (not (or
 	       (args:get-arg "-runstep")
 	       (args:get-arg "-envcap")
 	       (args:get-arg "-envdelta")
@@ -699,13 +700,11 @@
     ;; Server? Start up here.
     ;;
     (let ((tl        (launch:setup))
 	;; (run-id    (and (args:get-arg "-run-id")
 	;; 		  (string->number (args:get-arg "-run-id"))))
-          (transport-type (string->symbol (or (args:get-arg "-transport") "http"))))
-      ;; (if run-id
-      ;;   (begin
+          (transport-type *transport-type*  ))
       (server:launch 0 transport-type)
       (set! *didsomething* #t)))
 ;;     ;; (debug:print-error 0 *default-log-port* "server requires run-id be specified with -run-id")))
 ;; 
 ;;     ;; Not a server? This section will decide how to communicate
@@ -1985,11 +1984,10 @@
 
 ;;======================================================================
 ;; Exit and clean up
 ;;======================================================================
 
-(if *runremote* (close-all-connections!)) ;; for http-client
 
 (if (not *didsomething*)
     (debug:print 0 *default-log-port* help))
 
 (set! *time-to-exit* #t)

Index: rmt.scm
==================================================================
--- rmt.scm
+++ rmt.scm
@@ -6,17 +6,18 @@
 ;; 
 ;;  This program is distributed WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the
 ;;  implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
 ;;  PURPOSE.
 ;;======================================================================
-
+;;
 (use format typed-records) ;; RADT => purpose of json format??
 
 (declare (unit rmt))
 (declare (uses api))
 (declare (uses tdb))
 (declare (uses http-transport))
+(declare (uses rpc-transport))
 ;;(declare (uses nmsg-transport))
 (include "common_records.scm")
 
 ;;
 ;; THESE ARE ALL CALLED ON THE CLIENT SIDE!!!
@@ -133,11 +134,16 @@
      ((and (not (cdr (remote-hh-dat *runremote*)))        ;; are we on a homehost?
            (not (remote-conndat *runremote*)))            ;; and no connection
       (debug:print-info 12 *default-log-port* "rmt:send-receive, case  6  hh-dat: " (remote-hh-dat *runremote*) " conndat: " (remote-conndat *runremote*))
       (mutex-unlock! *rmt-mutex*)
       (tasks:start-and-wait-for-server (tasks:open-db) 0 15)
-      (remote-conndat-set! *runremote* (rmt:get-connection-info 0)) ;; calls client:setup which calls client:setup-http
+      (let* ((cinfo (rmt:get-connection-info 0))
+             (transport (if cinfo
+                            (vector-ref cinfo 6)
+                            (server:get-transport)))) ;; TODO: replace with tasks:server-dat-accessor-?? for transport
+        (remote-conndat-set! *runremote* cinfo) ;; calls client:setup which calls client:setup-http
+        (remote-transport-set! *runremote* transport))
       (rmt:send-receive cmd rid params attemptnum: attemptnum))
      ;; all set up if get this far, dispatch the query
      ((cdr (remote-hh-dat *runremote*)) ;; we are on homehost
       (mutex-unlock! *rmt-mutex*)
       (debug:print-info 12 *default-log-port* "rmt:send-receive, case  7")
@@ -150,20 +156,24 @@
 	     (dat      (case (remote-transport *runremote*)
 			 ((http) (condition-case ;; handling here has caused a lot of problems. However it is needed to deal with attemtped communication to servers that have gone away
                                   (http-transport:client-api-send-receive 0 conninfo cmd params)
                                   ((commfail)(vector #f "communications fail"))
                                   ((exn)(vector #f "other fail" (print-call-chain)))))
+                         ((rpc) (condition-case ;; handling here has caused a lot of problems. However it is needed to deal with attemtped communication to servers that have gone away
+                                  (rpc-transport:client-api-send-receive 0 conninfo cmd params)
+                                  ((commfail)(vector #f "communications fail"))
+                                  ((exn)(vector #f "other fail" (print-call-chain)))))
 			 (else
-			  (debug:print 0 *default-log-port* "ERROR: transport " (remote-transport *runremote*) " not supported")
+			  (debug:print 0 *default-log-port* "ERROR: transport " (remote-transport *runremote*) " not supported (1)")
 			  (exit))))
 	     (success  (if (vector? dat) (vector-ref dat 0) #f))
 	     (res      (if (vector? dat) (vector-ref dat 1) #f)))
 	(if (vector? conninfo)(http-transport:server-dat-update-last-access conninfo)) ;; refresh access time
         (debug:print-info 12 *default-log-port* "rmt:send-receive, case  9. conninfo=" conninfo " dat=" dat)
 	(if success
 	    (case (remote-transport *runremote*)
-	      ((http) res)
+	      ((http rpc) res)
 	      (else
 	       (debug:print 0 *default-log-port* "ERROR: transport " (remote-transport *runremote*) " is unknown")
 	       (exit 1)))
 	    (begin
 	      (debug:print 0 *default-log-port* "WARNING: communication failed. Trying again, try num: " attemptnum)
@@ -263,14 +273,22 @@
                 (mutex-unlock! *db-multi-sync-mutex*)))))
     res))
 
 (define (rmt:send-receive-no-auto-client-setup connection-info cmd run-id params)
   (let* ((run-id   (if run-id run-id 0))
+         (transport (or (remote-transport *runremote*) (server:get-transport)))
 	 (res  	   (handle-exceptions
 		    exn
 		    #f
-		    (http-transport:client-api-send-receive run-id connection-info cmd params))))
+                    (case transport
+                      ((http) (http-transport:client-api-send-receive run-id connection-info cmd params))
+                      ((rpc) (rpc-transport:client-api-send-receive run-id connection-info cmd params))
+                      (else
+			  (debug:print 0 *default-log-port* "ERROR: transport " (remote-transport *runremote*) " not supported (2)")
+			  (exit))
+
+                    ))))
     (if (and res (vector-ref res 0))
 	(vector-ref res 1) ;;; YES!! THIS IS CORRECT!! CHANGE IT HERE, THEN CHANGE rmt:send-receive ALSO!!!
 	#f)))
 
 ;; ;; Wrap json library for strings (why the ports crap in the first place?)
@@ -310,11 +328,16 @@
 ;; This login does no retries under the hood - it acts a bit like a ping.
 ;; Deprecated for nmsg-transport.
 ;;
 (define (rmt:login-no-auto-client-setup connection-info)
   (case *transport-type* ;; run-id of 0 is just a placeholder
-    ((http)(rmt:send-receive-no-auto-client-setup connection-info 'login 0 (list *toppath* megatest-version *my-client-signature*)))
+    ((http rpc)(rmt:send-receive-no-auto-client-setup connection-info 'login 0 (list *toppath* megatest-version *my-client-signature*)))
+    (else
+     (debug:print 0 *default-log-port* "ERROR: transport " (remote-transport *runremote*) " not supported (3)")
+     (exit))
+
+    
     ;;((nmsg)(nmsg-transport:client-api-send-receive run-id connection-info 'login (list *toppath* megatest-version run-id *my-client-signature*)))
     ))
 
 ;; hand off a call to one of the db:queries statements
 ;; added run-id to make looking up the correct db possible 

Index: rpc-transport.scm
==================================================================
--- rpc-transport.scm
+++ rpc-transport.scm
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 
-;; Copyright 2006-2012, Matthew Welland.
+;; Copyright 2006-2016, Matthew Welland.
 ;; 
 ;;  This program is made available under the GNU GPL version 2.0 or
 ;;  greater. See the accompanying file COPYING for details.
 ;; 
 ;;  This program is distributed WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the
@@ -21,208 +21,621 @@
 (declare (uses tests))
 (declare (uses tasks)) ;; tasks are where stuff is maintained about what is running.
 
 (include "common_records.scm")
 (include "db_records.scm")
+
+(define *heartbeat-mutex* (make-mutex))
+(define *server-loop-heart-beat* (current-seconds))
+
 
 ;; procstr is the name of the procedure to be called as a string
-(define (rpc-transport:autoremote procstr params)
-  (handle-exceptions
-   exn
-   (begin
-     (debug:print 1 *default-log-port* "Remote failed for " proc " " params)
-     (apply (eval (string->symbol procstr)) params))
-   ;; (if *runremote*
-   ;;    (apply (eval (string->symbol (conc "remote:" procstr))) params)
-   (apply (eval (string->symbol procstr)) params)))
+(define (rpc-transport:autoremote procstr params)  ;; may be unused, I think api-exec deprecates this one.
+  (let* ((procsym (if (symbol? procstr)
+                     procstr
+                     (string->symbol (->string procstr))))
+        (res
+         (begin
+           (apply (eval procsym) params))))
+    res))
+
+
+;; rpc receiver
+(define (rpc-transport:api-exec cmd params)
+  (let* ( (resdat  (api:execute-requests *dbstruct-db* (vector cmd params))) ;; #( flag result )
+          (flag    (vector-ref resdat 0))
+          (res     (vector-ref resdat 1)))
+
+    (mutex-lock! *heartbeat-mutex*)
+
+    (set! *last-db-access* (current-seconds)) ;; bump *last-db-access*; this will renew keep-running thread's lease on life for another (server:get-timeout) seconds
+    ;;(BB> "in api-exec; last-db-access updated to "*last-db-access*)
+    (mutex-unlock! *heartbeat-mutex*)
+
+    res))
+
+
+;; retry an operation (depends on srfi-18)
+;; ==================
+;; idea here is to avoid spending time on coding retrying something.  Trying to be generic here.
+;;
+;; Exception handling:
+;; -------------------
+;; if evaluating the thunk results in exception, it will be retried.
+;; on last try, if final-failure-returns-actual is true, the exception will be re-thrown to caller.
+;;
+;; look at options below #!key to see how to configure behavior
+;;
+;;
+(define (retry-thunk
+         the-thunk
+         #!key ;;;; options below
+         (accept-result?   (lambda (x) x)) ;; retry if predicate applied to thunk's result is false 
+         (retries                       4) ;; how many tries
+         (failure-value                #f) ;; return this on final failure, unless following option is enabled:
+         (final-failure-returns-actual #f) ;; on failure, on the last try, just return the result, not failure-value
+
+         (retry-delay                 0.1) ;; delay between tries
+         (back-off-factor               1) ;; multiply retry-delay by this factor on retry
+         (random-delay                0.1) ;; add a random portion of this value to wait
+
+         (chatty                       #f) ;; print status as we go, for debugging.
+         )
+  
+  (when chatty (print) (print "Entered retry-thunk") (print "-=-=-=-=-=-"))
+  (let* ((guarded-thunk ;; we are guarding the thunk against exceptions.  We will record whether result of evaluation is an exception or a regular result.
+          (lambda ()
+           (let* ((EXCEPTION (gensym)) ;; using gensym to avoid potential collision
+                  (res
+                   (condition-case
+                    (the-thunk) ;; this is what we are guarding the execution of
+                    [x () (cons EXCEPTION x)]
+                    )))
+             (cond
+              ((and (pair? res) (eq? (car res) EXCEPTION))
+               (if chatty
+                   (print " - the-thunk threw exception >"(cdr res)"<"))
+               (cons 'exception (cdr res)))
+               (else
+                (if chatty
+                    (print " - the-thunk returned result >"res"<"))
+                (cons 'regular-result res)))))))
+    
+    (let loop ((guarded-res (guarded-thunk))
+               (retries-left retries)
+               (fail-wait retry-delay))
+      (if chatty (print "   =========="))
+      (let* ((wait-time (+ fail-wait (+ (* fail-wait back-off-factor)
+                                        (* random-delay
+                                           (/ (random 1024) 1024) ))))
+             (res-type (car guarded-res))
+             (res-value (cdr guarded-res)))
+        (cond
+         ((and (eq? res-type 'regular-result) (accept-result? res-value))
+                   (if chatty (print " + return result that satisfied accept-result? >"res-value"<"))
+                   res-value)
+
+         ((> retries-left 0)
+          (if chatty (print " - sleep "wait-time))
+          (thread-sleep! wait-time)
+          (if chatty (print " + retry ["retries-left" tries left]"))
+          (loop (guarded-thunk)
+                (sub1 retries-left)
+                wait-time))
+         
+         ((eq? res-type 'regular-result)
+          (if final-failure-returns-actual
+              (begin
+                (if chatty (print " + last try failed- return the result >"res-value"<"))
+                res-value)
+              (begin
+                (if chatty (print " + last try failed- return canned failure value >"failure-value"<"))
+              failure-value)))
+         
+         (else ;; no retries left; result was not accepted and res-type can only be 'exception
+          (if final-failure-returns-actual 
+              (begin
+                (if chatty (print " + last try failed with exception- re-throw it >"res-value"<"))
+                (abort res-value)); re-raise the exception. TODO: find a way for call-history to show as though from entry to this function
+              (begin
+                (if chatty (print " + last try failed with exception- return canned failure value >"failure-value"<"))
+                failure-value))))))))
+
+
+(define (rpc-transport:server-shutdown server-id rpc:listener ) ;;#!key (from-on-exit #f))
+  ;;(on-exit (lambda () #t)) ;; turn off on-exit stuff
+  ;;(tcp-close rpc:listener) ;; gotta exit nicely
+  ;;(tasks:server-set-state! (db:delay-if-busy (tasks:open-db)) server-id "stopped")
+
+
+  ;; TODO: (low) the following is extraordinaritly slow.  Maybe we don't even need portlogger for rpc anyway??  the exception-based failover when ports are taken is fast!
+  ;;(portlogger:open-run-close portlogger:set-port (rpc:default-server-port) "released")
+  
+  (set! *time-to-exit* #t)
+  ;;(if *dbstruct-db* (db:sync-touched *dbstruct-db* *run-id* force-sync: #t))
+  
+  (server:remove-dotserver-file *toppath* "anyhost:anyport" force: #t)
+  (tasks:server-delete-record (db:delay-if-busy (tasks:open-db)) server-id " rpc-transport:keep-running complete")
+  
+  (rpc:close-all-connections!)
+  ;;(BB> "Before (exit) (from-on-exit="from-on-exit")")
+  ;;(unless from-on-exit (exit))  ;; sometimes we hang (around) here with 100% cpu.
+  ;;(BB> "After")
+  ;; strace reveals endless:
+  ;; getrusage(RUSAGE_SELF, {ru_utime={413, 917868}, ru_stime={0, 60003}, ...}) = 0
+  ;; getrusage(RUSAGE_SELF, {ru_utime={414, 9874}, ru_stime={0, 60003}, ...}) = 0
+  ;; getrusage(RUSAGE_SELF, {ru_utime={414, 13874}, ru_stime={0, 60003}, ...}) = 0
+  ;; getrusage(RUSAGE_SELF, {ru_utime={414, 105880}, ru_stime={0, 60003}, ...}) = 0
+  ;; getrusage(RUSAGE_SELF, {ru_utime={414, 109880}, ru_stime={0, 60003}, ...}) = 0
+  ;; getrusage(RUSAGE_SELF, {ru_utime={414, 201886}, ru_stime={0, 60003}, ...}) = 0
+  ;; getrusage(RUSAGE_SELF, {ru_utime={414, 205886}, ru_stime={0, 60003}, ...}) = 0
+  ;; getrusage(RUSAGE_SELF, {ru_utime={414, 297892}, ru_stime={0, 60003}, ...}) = 0
+  ;; getrusage(RUSAGE_SELF, {ru_utime={414, 301892}, ru_stime={0, 60003}, ...}) = 0
+  ;; getrusage(RUSAGE_SELF, {ru_utime={414, 393898}, ru_stime={0, 60003}, ...}) = 0
+  ;; getrusage(RUSAGE_SELF, {ru_utime={414, 397898}, ru_stime={0, 60003}, ...}) = 0
+  ;; make a post to chicken-users w/ http://paste.call-cc.org/paste?id=60a4b66a29ccf7d11359ea866db642c970735978
+
+
+  ;; (if from-on-exit
+  ;;     ;; avoid above condition!  End current process externally  since 1 in 20 (exit)'s result in hung, 100% cpu zombies. (see above)
+  
+  (system (conc  "kill -9  "(current-process-id)))
+  )
+
 
 ;; all routes though here end in exit ...
 ;;
 ;; start_server? 
 ;;
 (define (rpc-transport:launch run-id)
-  (let* ((tdbdat (tasks:open-db)))
-    (BB> "rpc-transport:launch fired for run-id="run-id)
-    (set! *run-id*   run-id)
-    (if (args:get-arg "-daemonize")
-        (daemon:ize))
-    (if (server:check-if-running run-id)
-        (begin
-          (debug:print 0 *default-log-port* "INFO: Server for run-id " run-id " already running")
-          (exit 0)))
-    (let loop ((server-id (tasks:server-lock-slot (db:delay-if-busy tdbdat) run-id))
-               (remtries  4))
-      (if (not server-id)
-          (if (> remtries 0)
-              (begin
-                (thread-sleep! 2)
-                (loop (tasks:server-lock-slot (db:delay-if-busy tdbdat) run-id)
-                      (- remtries 1)))
-              (begin
-                ;; since we didn't get the server lock we are going to clean up and bail out
-                (debug:print-info 2 *default-log-port* "INFO: server pid=" (current-process-id) ", hostname=" (get-host-name) " not starting due to other candidates ahead in start queue")
-                (tasks:server-delete-records-for-this-pid (db:delay-if-busy tdbdat) " rpc-transport:launch")))
-          (begin
-            (rpc-transport:run (if (args:get-arg "-server")(args:get-arg "-server") "-") run-id server-id)
-            (exit))))))
+  (set! *run-id*   run-id)
+
+  ;; ;; send to background if requested
+  ;; (when (args:get-arg "-daemonize")
+  ;;     (daemon:ize)
+  ;;     (when *alt-log-file* ;; we should re-connect to this port, I think daemon:ize disrupts it
+  ;;       (current-error-port *alt-log-file*)
+  ;;       (current-output-port *alt-log-file*)))
+
+  ;; double check we dont alrady have a running server for this run-id
+  (when (and (server:read-dotserver *toppath*)
+             (server:check-if-running run-id))
+    (debug:print 0 *default-log-port* "INFO: Server for run-id " run-id " already running")
+    (exit 0))
+
+  ;; did not find server running, let's clean up the table of dead servers
+  (tasks:server-force-clean-running-records-for-run-id  (db:delay-if-busy (tasks:open-db)) run-id "notresponding")  
+
+  (server:dotserver-starting)
+
+  
+
+
+  
+  ;; let's get a server-id for this server
+  ;;   if at first we do not suceed, try 3 more times.
+  (let ((server-id (retry-thunk
+                    (lambda () (tasks:server-lock-slot (db:delay-if-busy (tasks:open-db)) run-id 'rpc))
+                    chatty: #f
+                    final-failure-returns-actual: #t
+                    retries: 4)))
+    (when (not server-id) ;; dang we couldn't get a server-id.
+      ;; since we didn't get the server lock we are going to clean up and bail out
+
+
+      (debug:print-info 2 *default-log-port* "INFO: server pid=" (current-process-id) ", hostname=" (get-host-name) " not starting due to other candidates ahead in start queue")
+      (tasks:server-delete-records-for-this-pid (db:delay-if-busy (tasks:open-db)) " rpc-transport:launch")
+      (server:dotserver-starting-remove)
+      (exit 1))
+
+    ;; we got a server-id (and a corresponding entry in servers table in globally shared mdb)
+    ;; all systems go.  Proceed to setup rpc server.  
+    (rpc-transport:run
+     (if (args:get-arg "-server")
+         (args:get-arg "-server")
+         "-")
+     run-id
+     server-id)
+    (exit)))
+
+(define *rpc-listener-port* #f)
+(define *rpc-listener-port-bind-timestamp* #f)
+
+(define *on-exit-flag #f)
+
+(define (rpc-transport:server-dat-get-iface         vec)    (vector-ref  vec 0))
+(define (rpc-transport:server-dat-get-port          vec)    (vector-ref  vec 1))
+(define (rpc-transport:server-dat-get-last-access   vec)    (vector-ref  vec 5))
+(define (rpc-transport:server-dat-get-transport     vec)    (vector-ref  vec 6))
+(define (rpc-transport:server-dat-update-last-access vec)
+  (if (vector? vec)
+      (vector-set! vec 5 (current-seconds))
+      (begin
+	(print-call-chain (current-error-port))
+	(debug:print-error 0 *default-log-port* "call to rpc-transport:server-dat-update-last-access with non-vector!!"))))
+
+
+(define *api-exec-ht* (make-hash-table))
+(define *api-exec-mutex* (make-mutex))
+;; let's see if caching the rpc stub curbs thread-profusion on server side
+(define (rpc-transport:get-api-exec iface port)
+  (mutex-lock! *api-exec-mutex*)
+  (let* ((lu (hash-table-ref/default *api-exec-ht* (cons iface  port) #f)))
+    (if lu
+        (begin
+          (mutex-unlock! *api-exec-mutex*)
+          lu)
+        (let ((res (rpc:procedure 'api-exec iface port)))
+          (hash-table-set! *api-exec-ht* (cons iface port) res)
+          (mutex-unlock! *api-exec-mutex*)
+          res))))
+
+;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
+;; this client-side procedure makes rpc call to server and returns result
+;;
+(define (rpc-transport:client-api-send-receive run-id serverdat cmd params #!key (numretries 3))
+  ;;(BB> "entered rpc-transport:client-api-send-receive with run-id="run-id " serverdat="serverdat" cmd="cmd" params="params" numretries="numretries)
+  (if (not (vector? serverdat))
+      (begin
+        (BB> "WHAT?? for run-id="run-id", serverdat="serverdat)
+        (print-call-chain)
+        (rpc:close-all-connections!)
+        (exit 1)))
+  (let* ((iface (rpc-transport:server-dat-get-iface serverdat))
+         (port  (rpc-transport:server-dat-get-port serverdat))
+         (res #f)
+         (api-exec (rpc-transport:get-api-exec iface port))  ;; chached by host/port. may need to clear...
+         (send-receive (lambda ()
+                         (tcp-buffer-size 0)
+                         (set! res (retry-thunk
+                                    (lambda ()
+                                      (condition-case
+                                       ;;(vector #t (run-remote cmd params))
+                                       (vector 'success (api-exec cmd params))
+                                       [x (exn i/o net) (vector 'comms-fail (conc "communications fail ["(->string x)"]") x)]
+                                       [x () (vector 'other-fail "other fail ["(->string x)"]" x)]))
+                                    chatty: #f
+                                    accept-result?: (lambda(x)
+                                                      (and (vector? x) (vector-ref x 0)))
+                                    retries: 8
+                                    back-off-factor: 1.5
+                                    random-wait: 0.2
+                                    retry-delay: 0.1
+                                    final-failure-returns-actual: #t))
+                         ;;(BB> "HEY res="res)
+                         res
+                         ))
+         (th1 (make-thread send-receive "send-receive"))
+         (time-out-reached #f)
+         (time-out     (lambda ()
+			      (thread-sleep! 45)
+                              (set! time-out-reached #t)
+                              (thread-terminate! th1)
+                              
+			      #f))
+
+         (th2 (make-thread time-out     "time out")))
+	 (thread-start! th1)
+	 (thread-start! th2)
+	 (thread-join! th1)
+	 (thread-terminate! th2)
+         ;;(BB> "alt got res="res)
+	 (debug:print-info 11 *default-log-port* "got res=" res)
+	 (if (vector? res)
+             (case (vector-ref res 0)
+               ((success) (vector #t (vector-ref res 1)))
+               (
+                (comms-fail other-fail)
+                ;;(comms-fail) 
+                (debug:print 0 *default-log-port* "WARNING: comms failure for rpc request >>"res"<<")
+                ;;(debug:print 0 *default-log-port* " message: " ((condition-property-accessor 'exn 'message) exn))
+                (vector #f (vector-ref res 1)))
+               (else
+                (debug:print-error 0 *default-log-port* "error occured at server, info=" (vector-ref res 1))
+                (debug:print 0 *default-log-port* " client call chain:")
+                (print-call-chain (current-error-port))
+                (debug:print 0 *default-log-port* " server call chain:")
+                (pp (vector-ref res 1) (current-error-port))
+                (signal (vector-ref res 2))))
+             (signal (make-composite-condition
+                      (make-property-condition 
+             	       'timeout
+             	       'message "nmsg-transport:client-api-send-receive-raw timed out talking to server"))))))
+        
+
 
 (define (rpc-transport:run hostn run-id server-id)
   (debug:print 2 *default-log-port* "Attempting to start the rpc server ...")
    ;; (trace rpc:publish-procedure!)
 
-  (rpc:publish-procedure! 'server:login server:login)
-  (rpc:publish-procedure! 'testing (lambda () "Just testing"))
+  ;;======================================================================
+  ;;	  start of publish-procedure section
+  ;;======================================================================
+  (rpc:publish-procedure! 'server:login server:login) ;; this allows client to validate it is the same megatest instance as the server.  No security here, just making sure we're in the right room.
+  (rpc:publish-procedure!
+   'testing
+   (lambda ()
+     "Just testing"))
+
+  ;; procedure to receive arbitrary API request from client's rpc:send-receive/rpc-transport:client-api-send-receive 
+  (rpc:publish-procedure! 'rpc-transport:autoremote rpc-transport:autoremote)
+  ;; can use this to run most anything at the remote
+  (rpc:publish-procedure! 'api-exec rpc-transport:api-exec)
+  
+  
+  ;;======================================================================
+  ;;	  end of publish-procedure section
+  ;;======================================================================
+
 
   (let* ((db              #f)
-	 (hostname        (get-host-name))
-	 (ipaddrstr       (let ((ipstr (if (string=? "-" hostn)
+	 (hostname        (let ((res (get-host-name)))  res))
+         (server-start-time (current-seconds))
+         (server-timeout (server:get-timeout))
+	 (ipaddrstr       (let* ((ipstr (if (string=? "-" hostn)
 					   ;; (string-intersperse (map number->string (u8vector->list (hostname->ip hostname))) ".")
 					   (server:get-best-guess-address hostname)
-					   #f)))
-			    (if ipstr ipstr hostn))) ;; hostname))) 
-	 (start-port      (open-run-close tasks:server-get-next-port tasks:open-db))
+					   #f))
+                                 (res (if ipstr ipstr hostn)))
+                            res)) ;; hostname))) 
+	 (start-port      (let ((res (portlogger:open-run-close portlogger:find-port)))      ;; BB> TODO: remove portlogger!
+                            res))
 	 (link-tree-path  (configf:lookup *configdat* "setup" "linktree"))
-	 (rpc:listener    (rpc-transport:find-free-port-and-open (rpc:default-server-port)))
+
+         ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
+         ;; rpc:listener is the tcp-listen result from inside the find-free-port-and-open complex.
+         ;;   It is our handle on the listening tcp port
+         ;;   We will attach this to our rpc server with rpc:make-server in thread th1 .
+	 (rpc:listener    (rpc-transport:find-free-port-and-open start-port)) 
 	 (th1             (make-thread
 			   (lambda ()
-			     ((rpc:make-server rpc:listener) #t))
+                             ;;(BB> "BEFORE rpc:make-server")
+			     ((rpc:make-server rpc:listener) #t)
+                             ;;(BB> "BEFORE rpc:make-server")
+                             )
 			   "rpc:server"))
-			   ;; (cute (rpc:make-server rpc:listener) "rpc:server")
-			   ;; 'rpc:server))
-	 (hostname        (if (string=? "-" hostn)
+
+
+         (hostname        (if (string=? "-" hostn)
 			      (get-host-name) 
 			      hostn))
 	 (ipaddrstr       (if (string=? "-" hostn)
 			      (server:get-best-guess-address hostname) ;; (string-intersperse (map number->string (u8vector->list (hostname->ip hostname))) ".")
-			      #f))
-	 (portnum         (rpc:default-server-port))
-	 (host:port       (conc (if ipaddrstr ipaddrstr hostname) ":" portnum))
-	 (tdb             (tasks:open-db)))
+                              (string-intersperse 
+                               (map number->string
+                                    (u8vector->list
+                                      (hostname->ip hostn))) ".")
+                              ))
+	 (portnum         (let ((res (rpc:default-server-port)))  res))
+	 (host:port       (conc (if ipaddrstr ipaddrstr hostname) ":" portnum)))
+
+    (when (not (equal? ipaddrstr (server:get-best-guess-address (get-host-name))))
+        
+      (debug:print 0 *default-log-port* "Error: This host "(ip->string (hostname->ip (get-host-name)))" ("(get-host-name)") is not the homehost "ipaddrstr" ("(ip->hostname (string->ip ipaddrstr))"; Cannot proceed.")
+      (server:dotserver-starting-remove)
+      (tcp-close rpc:listener) ;; gotta exit nicely and free up that tcp port
+      (exit))
+    
+    (tasks:server-set-interface-port (db:delay-if-busy (tasks:open-db)) server-id ipaddrstr portnum)
+
+    ;;============================================================
+    ;;  activate thread th1 to attach opened tcp port to rpc server
+    ;;=============================================================
     (thread-start! th1)
     (set! db *dbstruct-db*)
-    (open-run-close tasks:server-set-interface-port 
-		    tasks:open-db 
-		    server-id 
-		    ipaddrstr portnum)
+
     (debug:print 0 *default-log-port* "Server started on " host:port)
-    
-    ;; (trace rpc:publish-procedure!)
-    ;; (rpc:publish-procedure! 'server:login server:login)
-    ;; (rpc:publish-procedure! 'testing (lambda () "Just testing"))
-
-    ;;======================================================================
-    ;;	  ;; end of publish-procedure section
-    ;;======================================================================
-    ;;
-    (on-exit (lambda ()
-	       (open-run-close tasks:server-set-state! tasks:open-db server-id "stopped")))
-
-    (set! *rpc:listener* rpc:listener)
-    (tasks:server-set-state! tdb server-id "running")
-    (set! *dbstruct-db*  (db:setup run-id))
-    ;; if none running or if > 20 seconds since 
-    ;; server last used then start shutdown
-    (let loop ((count 0))
-      (thread-sleep! 5) ;; no need to do this very often
-      (let ((numrunning -1)) ;; (db:get-count-tests-running db)))
-	(if (or (> numrunning 0)
-		(> (+ *db-last-access* 60)(current-seconds)))
-	    (begin
-	      (debug:print-info 0 *default-log-port* "Server continuing, tests running: " numrunning ", seconds since last db access: " (- (current-seconds) *db-last-access*))
-	      (loop (+ 1 count)))
-	    (begin
-	      (debug:print-info 0 *default-log-port* "Starting to shutdown the server side")
-	      (open-run-close tasks:server-delete-record tasks:open-db server-id " rpc-transport:try-start-server stop")
-	      (thread-sleep! 10)
-	      (debug:print-info 0 *default-log-port* "Max cached queries was " *max-cache-size*)
-	      (debug:print-info 0 *default-log-port* "Server shutdown complete. Exiting")
-	      ))))))
-
-(define (rpc-transport:find-free-port-and-open port)
+    ;;(BB> "before SELF-TEST")
+    (if (retry-thunk (lambda ()
+                       (rpc-transport:self-test run-id ipaddrstr portnum))
+                     final-failure-returns-actual: #t ;; TODO: remove this line
+                     )
+        (debug:print 0 *default-log-port* "INFO: rpc self test passed!")
+        (begin
+          (debug:print 0 *default-log-port* "Error: rpc listener did not pass self test.  Shutting down.  On: " host:port)
+          (tasks:server-set-state! (db:delay-if-busy (tasks:open-db)) server-id "dead")
+          (tcp-close rpc:listener) ;; gotta exit nicely and free up that tcp port
+          (rpc-transport:server-shutdown server-id rpc:listener)
+          (server:dotserver-starting-remove)
+          (exit)))
+
+
+
+
+    ;;(on-exit (lambda ()
+    ;;           (rpc-transport:server-shutdown server-id rpc:listener from-on-exit: #t)))
+    
+    ;; check again for running servers for this run-id in case one has snuck in since we checked last in rpc-transport:launch
+    (if (not (equal? server-id (tasks:server-am-i-the-server? (db:delay-if-busy (tasks:open-db)) run-id)));; try to ensure no double registering of servers
+        (begin ;; i am not the server, another server snuck in and beat this one to the punch
+          (tcp-close rpc:listener) ;; gotta exit nicely and free up that tcp port
+          (tasks:server-set-state! (db:delay-if-busy (tasks:open-db)) server-id "collision")
+          (server:dotserver-starting-remove))
+
+        (begin ;; i am the server
+          ;; setup the in-memory db
+          (set! *dbstruct-db*  (db:setup run-id))
+          (db:get-db *dbstruct-db* run-id)
+
+          ;; at this point, satisfied server has started
+          ;; let's make it official
+          (server:write-dotserver *toppath* (conc ipaddrstr ":" portnum))
+          (mutex-lock! *heartbeat-mutex*)
+          (set! *last-db-access* (current-seconds))
+          (mutex-unlock! *heartbeat-mutex*)
+          (set! *rpc:listener* rpc:listener) 
+          (tasks:server-set-state! (db:delay-if-busy (tasks:open-db)) server-id "running") ;; update our mdb servers entry
+
+          
+          
+          ;; this let loop will hold open this thread until we want the server to shut down.
+          ;;   if no requests received within the last 20 seconds :
+          ;;   database hasnt changed in ??
+          ;;
+
+
+          
+          ;; keep-running loop: polls last-db-access to see if we have timed out.  keep running if not. 
+          (let loop ((count          0)
+                     (bad-sync-count 0))
+            (BB> "keep running: count = "count)
+            ;; Use this opportunity to sync the inmemdb to db
+
+            (let ((start-time (current-milliseconds))
+                  (sync-time  #f)
+                  (rem-time   #f))
+
+              ;; following is now done in common:watchdog, commenting out.  sync-time will now be 0; can live with that.
+              ;; ;; inmemddb is a dbstruct
+              ;; (condition-case
+              ;;  (db:sync-touched *dbstruct-db* *run-id* force-sync: #t)
+              ;;  ((sync-failed)(cond
+              ;;                 ((> bad-sync-count 10) ;; time to give up
+              ;;                  (rpc-transport:server-shutdown server-id rpc:listener))
+              ;;                 (else ;; (> bad-sync-count 0)  ;; we've had a fail or two, delay and loop
+              ;;                  (thread-sleep! 5)
+              ;;                  (loop count (+ bad-sync-count 1)))))
+              ;;  ((exn)
+              ;;   (debug:print-error 0 *default-log-port* "error from sync code other than 'sync-failed. Attempting to gracefully shutdown the server ")
+              ;;   (rpc-transport:server-shutdown server-id rpc:listener)))
+              
+              (set! sync-time  (- (current-milliseconds) start-time))
+              (set! rem-time (quotient (- 4000 sync-time) 1000))
+              (debug:print 4 *default-log-port* "SYNC: time= " sync-time ", rem-time=" rem-time)
+              
+              (if (and (<= rem-time 4)
+                       (> rem-time 0))
+                  (thread-sleep! rem-time)
+                  (thread-sleep! 4))) ;; fallback for if the math is changed ...
+            
+            (if (< count 1) ;; 3x3 = 9 secs aprox
+                (loop (+ count 1) bad-sync-count))
+
+            ;; BB: don't see how this is possible with RPC
+            ;; ;; Check that iface and port have not changed (can happen if server port collides)
+            ;; (mutex-lock! *heartbeat-mutex*)
+            ;; (set! sdat *server-info*)
+            ;; (mutex-unlock! *heartbeat-mutex*)
+            
+            ;; (if (or (not (equal? sdat (list iface port)))
+            ;;         (not server-id))
+            ;;     (begin 
+            ;;       (debug:print-info 0 *default-log-port* "interface changed, refreshing iface and port info")
+            ;;       (set! iface (car sdat))
+            ;;       (set! port  (cadr sdat))))
+            
+            ;; Transfer *last-db-access* to last-access to use in checking that we are still alive
+            (mutex-lock! *heartbeat-mutex*)
+            (set! last-access *last-db-access*)
+            (mutex-unlock! *heartbeat-mutex*)
+            
+            ;; (debug:print 11 *default-log-port* "last-access=" last-access ", server-timeout=" server-timeout)
+            ;;
+            ;; no_traffic, no running tests, if server 0, no running servers
+            ;;
+            ;; (let ((wait-on-running (configf:lookup *configdat* "server" b"wait-on-running"))) ;; wait on running tasks (if not true then exit on time out)
+            ;;
+            (let* ((hrs-since-start  (/ (- (current-seconds) server-start-time) 3600))
+                   (adjusted-timeout (if (> hrs-since-start 1)
+                                         (- server-timeout (inexact->exact (round (* hrs-since-start 60))))  ;; subtract 60 seconds per hour
+                                         server-timeout)))
+              (if (common:low-noise-print 120 "server timeout")
+                  (debug:print-info 0 *default-log-port* "Adjusted server timeout: " adjusted-timeout))
+              (if (and *server-run*
+                       (> (+ last-access server-timeout)
+                          (current-seconds)))
+                  (begin
+                    (if (common:low-noise-print 120 "server continuing")
+                        (debug:print-info 0 *default-log-port* "Server continuing, seconds since last db access: " (- (current-seconds) last-access)))
+                    ;;
+                    ;; Consider implementing some smarts here to re-insert the record or kill self is
+                    ;; the db indicates so
+                    ;;
+                    (if (tasks:server-am-i-the-server? (db:delay-if-busy (tasks:open-db)) run-id)
+                        (tasks:server-set-state! (db:delay-if-busy (tasks:open-db)) server-id "running"))
+                    ;;
+                    (loop 0 bad-sync-count))
+                  (begin
+                    ;;(BB> "SERVER SHUTDOWN CALLED!  last-access="last-access" current-seconds="(current-seconds)" server-timeout="server-timeout)
+                    
+                    (rpc-transport:server-shutdown server-id rpc:listener)))))
+          ;; end new loop
+          ))))
+
+
+(define (rpc-transport:find-free-port-and-open port #!key )
   (handle-exceptions
    exn
-	  (begin
+   (begin
      (print "Failed to bind to port " (rpc:default-server-port) ", trying next port")
-     (rpc-transport:find-free-port-and-open (+ port 1)))
+     (rpc-transport:find-free-port-and-open (add1 port)))
    (rpc:default-server-port port)
+   (set! *rpc-listener-port* port) ;; a bit paranoid about rpc:default-server-port parameter not changing across threads (as params are wont to do).  keeping this global in my back pocket in case this causes problems
+   (set! *rpc-listener-port-bind-timestamp* (current-milliseconds)) ;; may want to test how long it has been since the last bind attempt happened...
    (tcp-read-timeout 240000)
-   (tcp-listen (rpc:default-server-port) 10000)))
-
+   (tcp-buffer-size 0) ;; gotta do this because http-transport undoes it.
+   (tcp-listen (rpc:default-server-port) 10000)
+   ))
+  
 (define (rpc-transport:ping run-id host port)
   (handle-exceptions
    exn
    (begin
-     (print "SERVER_NOT_FOUND")
+     (print "SERVER_NOT_FOUND exn="exn)
      (exit 1))
    (let ((login-res ((rpc:procedure 'server:login host port) *toppath*)))
-     (if (and (list? login-res)
-	      (car login-res))
+     (if login-res
 	 (begin
 	   (print "LOGIN_OK")
 	   (exit 0))
 	 (begin
 	   (print "LOGIN_FAILED")
 	   (exit 1))))))
 
-(define (rpc-transport:client-setup run-id #!key (remtries 10))
-  (if *runremote*
-      (begin
-	(debug:print-error 0 *default-log-port* "Attempt to connect to server but already connected")
-	#f)
-      (let* ((host-info (hash-table-ref/default *runremote* run-id #f))) ;; (open-run-close db:get-var #f "SERVER"))
-	(if host-info
-	    (let ((iface    (car host-info))
-		  (port     (cadr host-info))
-		  (ping-res ((rpc:procedure 'server:login host port) *toppath*)))
-	      (if ping-res
-		  (let ((server-dat (list iface port #f #f #f)))
-		    (hash-table-set! *runremote* run-id server-dat)
-		    server-dat)
-		  (begin
-		    (server:try-running run-id)
-		    (thread-sleep! 2)
-		    (rpc-transport:client-setup run-id (- remtries 1)))))
- 	    (let* ((server-db-info (open-run-close tasks:get-server tasks:open-db run-id)))
- 	      (debug:print-info 0 *default-log-port* "client:setup server-dat=" server-dat ", remaining-tries=" remaining-tries)
-	      (if server-db-info
- 		  (let* ((iface     (tasks:hostinfo-get-interface server-db-info))
- 			 (port      (tasks:hostinfo-get-port      server-db-info))
-			 (server-dat (list iface port #f #f #f))
- 			 (ping-res  ((rpc:procedure 'server:login host port) *toppath*)))
- 		    (if start-res
- 			(begin
- 			  (hash-table-set! *runremote* run-id server-dat)
-			  server-dat)
-			(begin
-			  (server:try-running run-id)
-			  (thread-sleep! 2)
-			  (rpc-transport:client-setup run-id (- remtries 1)))))
-		  (begin
-		    (server:try-running run-id)
-		    (thread-sleep! 2)
-		    (rpc-transport:client-setup run-id (- remtries 1)))))))))
-;; 
-;; 	     (port     (if (and hostinfo (> (length hostdat) 1))(cadr hostdat) #f)))
-;; 	(if (and port
-;; 		 (string->number port))
-;; 	    (let ((portn (string->number port)))
-;; 	      (debug:print-info 2 *default-log-port* "Setting up to connect to host " host ":" port)
-;; 	      (handle-exceptions
-;; 	       exn
-;; 	       (begin
-;; 		 (debug:print-error 0 *default-log-port* "Failed to open a connection to the server at host: " host " port: " port)
-;; 		 (debug:print 0 *default-log-port* "   EXCEPTION: " ((condition-property-accessor 'exn 'message) exn))
-;; 		 ;; (open-run-close 
-;; 		 ;;  (lambda (db . param) 
-;; 		 ;;    (sqlite3:execute db "DELETE FROM metadat WHERE var='SERVER'"))
-;; 		 ;;  #f)
-;; 		 (set! *runremote* #f))
-;; 	       (if (and (not (args:get-arg "-server")) ;; no point in the server using the server using the server
-;; 			((rpc:procedure 'server:login host portn) *toppath*))
-;; 		   (begin
-;; 		     (debug:print-info 2 *default-log-port* "Logged in and connected to " host ":" port)
-;; 		     (set! *runremote* (vector host portn)))
-;; 		   (begin
-;; 		     (debug:print-info 2 *default-log-port* "Failed to login or connect to " host ":" port)
-;; 		     (set! *runremote* #f)))))
-;; 	    (debug:print-info 2 *default-log-port* "no server available")))))
-
+(define (rpc-transport:self-test run-id host port)
+  (if (not host)
+      (abort "host not set."))
+  (if (not port)
+      (abort "port not set."))
+  (tcp-buffer-size 0) ;; gotta do this because http-transport undoes it.
+  (let* ((testing-res ((rpc:procedure 'testing host port)))
+         (login-res ((rpc:procedure 'server:login host port) *toppath*))
+         (res (and login-res (equal? testing-res "Just testing"))))
+    
+    (if login-res
+        (begin
+          ;;(BB> "Self test PASS.  login-res="login-res" testing-res="testing-res" *toppath*="*toppath*)
+          #t)
+        (begin
+          (BB> "Self test fail.  login-res="login-res" testing-res="testing-res" *toppath*="*toppath*)
+           
+          #f))
+    res))
+
+(define (rpc-transport:client-setup run-id server-dat #!key (remaining-tries 10))
+  ;;(BB> "entered rpc-transport:client-setup with run-id="run-id" and server-dat="server-dat" and retries="remaining-tries)
+  (tcp-buffer-size 0)
+  (debug:print-info 0 *default-log-port* "rpc-transport:client-setup run-id="run-id" server-dat=" server-dat ", remaining-tries=" remaining-tries)
+  (let* ((iface     (tasks:hostinfo-get-interface server-dat))
+         (hostname  (tasks:hostinfo-get-hostname  server-dat))
+         (port      (tasks:hostinfo-get-port      server-dat))
+         (runremote-server-dat (vector iface port #f #f #f (current-seconds) 'rpc)) ;; http version := (vector iface port api-uri api-url api-req (current-seconds) 'http  )
+         (ping-res (retry-thunk (lambda ()  ;; make 3 attempts to ping.
+                                  ((rpc:procedure 'server:login iface port) *toppath*))
+                                chatty: #f
+                                retries: 3)))
+    ;; we got here from rmt:get-connection-info on the condition that *runremote* has no entry for run-id...
+    (if ping-res
+        (begin
+          (debug:print-info 0 *default-log-port* "rpc-transport:client-setup CONNECTION ESTABLISHED run-id="run-id" server-dat=" server-dat)
+          runremote-server-dat)
+        (begin ;; login failed but have a server record, clean out the record and try again
+          (debug:print-info 0 *default-log-port* "rpc-transport:client-setup UNABLE TO CONNECT run-id="run-id" server-dat=" server-dat)
+          (tasks:kill-server-run-id run-id)
+          (tasks:server-force-clean-run-record  (db:delay-if-busy (tasks:open-db)) run-id iface port
+                                                   " rpc-transport:client-setup (server-dat = #t)")
+          (if (> remaining-tries 2)
+              (thread-sleep! (+ 1 (random 5))) ;; spread out the starts a little
+              (thread-sleep! (+ 15 (random 20)))) ;; it isn't going well. give it plenty of time
+          (server:try-running run-id)
+          (thread-sleep! 5)   ;; give server a little time to start up
+          (client:setup run-id remaining-tries: (sub1 remaining-tries))))))

Index: server.scm
==================================================================
--- server.scm
+++ server.scm
@@ -46,20 +46,24 @@
 
 ;; all routes though here end in exit ...
 ;;
 ;; start_server
 ;;
-(define (server:launch run-id transport-type)
-  (BB> "server:launch fired for run-id="run-id" transport-type="transport-type)
-  (case transport-type
-    ((http)(http-transport:launch run-id))
-    ;;((nmsg)(nmsg-transport:launch run-id))
-    ((rpc)  (rpc-transport:launch run-id))
-    (else (debug:print-error 0 *default-log-port* "unknown server type " transport-type))))
-;;       (else   (debug:print-error 0 *default-log-port* "No known transport set, transport=" transport ", using rpc")
-;; 	      (rpc-transport:launch run-id)))))
-
+(define (server:launch run-id transport-type-raw)
+  (let ((transport-type
+         (cond
+          ((string? transport-type-raw) (string->symbol transport-type-raw))
+          (else transport-type-raw))))
+         
+    ;;(BB> "server:launch fired for run-id="run-id" transport-type="transport-type)
+
+    (case transport-type
+      ((http)(http-transport:launch run-id))
+      ;;((nmsg)(nmsg-transport:launch run-id))
+      ((rpc)  (rpc-transport:launch run-id))
+      (else (debug:print-error 0 *default-log-port* "unknown server type " transport-type)))))
+  
 ;;======================================================================
 ;; S E R V E R   U T I L I T I E S 
 ;;======================================================================
 
 ;; Get the transport
@@ -67,11 +71,11 @@
   (if *transport-type*
       *transport-type*
       (let ((ttype (string->symbol
 		    (or (args:get-arg "-transport")
 			(configf:lookup *configdat* "server" "transport")
-			"rpc"))))
+			*DEFAULT-TRANSPORT*))))
 	(set! *transport-type* ttype)
 	ttype)))
 	    
 ;; Generate a unique signature for this server
 (define (server:mk-signature)
@@ -112,13 +116,15 @@
 	 (homehost    (common:get-homehost)) ;; configf:lookup *configdat* "server" "homehost" ))
 	 (target-host (car homehost))
 	 (testsuite   (common:get-testsuite-name))
 	 (logfile     (conc *toppath* "/logs/server.log"))
 	 (cmdln (conc (common:get-megatest-exe)
-		      " -server " (or target-host "-") " -run-id " 0 (if (equal? (configf:lookup *configdat* "server" "daemonize") "yes")
-									      (conc " -daemonize -log " logfile)
-									      "")
+		      " -server " (or target-host "-") " -run-id " 0
+                      (if (equal? (configf:lookup *configdat* "server" "daemonize") "yes")
+                          (conc " -daemonize -log " logfile)
+                          "")
+                      " -transport " (server:get-transport)
 		      " -m testsuite:" testsuite)) ;; (conc " >> " logfile " 2>&1 &")))))
 	 (log-rotate  (make-thread common:rotate-logs  "server run, rotate logs thread")))
     ;; we want the remote server to start in *toppath* so push there
     (push-directory *toppath*)
     (debug:print 0 *default-log-port* "INFO: Trying to start server (" cmdln ") ...")
@@ -187,10 +193,22 @@
 	     dotfile
 	   (lambda ()
 	     (read-line)))
 	 #f))))
 
+
+(define (server:dotserver-starting)
+  (with-output-to-file
+      (conc *toppath* "/.starting-server")
+    (lambda ()
+      (print (current-process-id) " on " (get-host-name)))))
+
+(define (server:dotserver-starting-remove)
+  (delete-file* (conc *toppath* "/.starting-server")))
+  
+
+  
 ;; write a .server file in *toppath* with hostport
 ;; return #t on success, #f otherwise
 ;;
 (define (server:write-dotserver areapath hostport)
   (let ((lock-file   (conc areapath "/.server.lock"))
@@ -206,15 +224,15 @@
 	  (debug:print-info 0 *default-log-port* "server file " server-file " for " hostport " created")
 	  (common:simple-file-release-lock lock-file)
 	  res)
 	#f)))
 
-(define (server:remove-dotserver-file areapath hostport)
+(define (server:remove-dotserver-file areapath hostport #!key (force #f))
   (let ((dotserver   (server:read-dotserver areapath))
 	(server-file (conc areapath "/.server"))
 	(lock-file   (conc areapath "/.server.lock")))
-    (if (and dotserver (string-match (conc ".*:" hostport "$") dotserver)) ;; port matches, good enough info to decide to remove the file
+    (if (or force (and dotserver (string-match (conc ".*:" hostport "$") dotserver))) ;; port matches, good enough info to decide to remove the file
 	(if (common:simple-file-lock lock-file)
 	    (begin
 	      (handle-exceptions
 	       exn
 	       #f
@@ -226,11 +244,11 @@
 ;;
 (define (server:check-if-running areapath)
   (let* ((dotserver (server:read-dotserver areapath))) ;; tdbdat (tasks:open-db)))
     (if dotserver
 	(let* ((res (case *transport-type*
-		      ((http)(server:ping-server dotserver))
+		      ((http rpc)(server:ping-server dotserver))
 		      ;; ((nmsg)(nmsg-transport:ping (tasks:hostinfo-get-interface server)
 		      )))
 	  (if res
 	      dotserver
 	      #f))
@@ -265,11 +283,17 @@
 		(debug:print 0 *default-log-port*  "ERROR: bad host:port"))
 	    (if do-exit (exit 1))
 	    #f)
 	  (let* ((iface      (car host-port))
 		 (port       (cadr host-port))
-		 (server-dat (http-transport:client-connect iface port))
+		 (server-dat
+                  (case (remote-transport *runremote*)
+                    ((http) (http-transport:client-connect iface port))
+                    ((rpc) (rpc-transport:client-connect iface port))
+                    (else
+                     (debug:print 0 *default-log-port* "ERROR: transport " (remote-transport *runremote*) " not supported (4)")
+                     (exit))))
 		 (login-res  (rmt:login-no-auto-client-setup server-dat)))
 	    (if (and (list? login-res)
 		     (car login-res))
 		(begin
 		  (print "LOGIN_OK")

Index: tasks.scm
==================================================================
--- tasks.scm
+++ tasks.scm
@@ -170,21 +170,21 @@
 (define (tasks:hostinfo-get-pubport     vec)    (vector-ref  vec 3))
 (define (tasks:hostinfo-get-transport   vec)    (vector-ref  vec 4))
 (define (tasks:hostinfo-get-pid         vec)    (vector-ref  vec 5))
 (define (tasks:hostinfo-get-hostname    vec)    (vector-ref  vec 6))
 
-(define (tasks:server-lock-slot mdb run-id)
+(define (tasks:server-lock-slot mdb run-id transport-type)
   (tasks:server-clean-out-old-records-for-run-id mdb run-id " tasks:server-lock-slot")
   (if (< (tasks:num-in-available-state mdb run-id) 4)
       (begin 
-	(tasks:server-set-available mdb run-id)
+	(tasks:server-set-available mdb run-id transport-type)
 	(thread-sleep! (/ (random 1500) 1000)) ;; (thread-sleep! 2) ;; Try removing this. It may not be needed.
 	(tasks:server-am-i-the-server? mdb run-id))
       #f))
 	
 ;; register that this server may come online (first to register goes though with the process)
-(define (tasks:server-set-available mdb run-id)
+(define (tasks:server-set-available mdb run-id transport-type)
   (sqlite3:execute 
    mdb 
    "INSERT INTO servers (pid,hostname,port,pubport,start_time,      priority,state,mt_version,heartbeat,   interface,transport,run_id)
                    VALUES(?, ?,       ?,   ?, strftime('%s','now'), ?,       ?,    ?,-1,?,        ?,        ?);"
    (current-process-id)          ;; pid
@@ -194,11 +194,11 @@
    (random 1000)                 ;; priority (used a tiebreaker on get-available)
    "available"                   ;; state
    (common:version-signature)    ;; mt_version
    -1                            ;; interface
    ;; (conc (server:get-transport)) ;; transport
-   (conc *transport-type*)    ;; transport
+   (symbol->string transport-type)    ;; transport
    run-id
    ))
 
 (define (tasks:num-in-available-state mdb run-id)
   (let ((res 0))

Index: tests.scm
==================================================================
--- tests.scm
+++ tests.scm
@@ -920,24 +920,30 @@
 	  
 ;; MUST BE CALLED local!
 ;;
 (define (tests:test-get-paths-matching keynames target fnamepatt #!key (res '()))
   ;; BUG: Move the values derived from args to parameters and push to megatest.scm
-  (let* ((testpatt   (if (args:get-arg "-testpatt")(args:get-arg "-testpatt") "%"))
-	 (statepatt  (if (args:get-arg ":state")   (args:get-arg ":state")    "%"))
-	 (statuspatt (if (args:get-arg ":status")  (args:get-arg ":status")   "%"))
-	 (runname    (if (args:get-arg ":runname") (args:get-arg ":runname")  "%"))
+  (let* ((testpatt   (or (args:get-arg "-testpatt")(args:get-arg "-testpatt") "%"))
+	 (statepatt  (or (args:get-arg "-state")   (args:get-arg ":state")    "%"))
+	 (statuspatt (or (args:get-arg "-status")  (args:get-arg ":status")   "%"))
+	 (runname    (or (args:get-arg "-runname") (args:get-arg ":runname")  "%"))
 	 (paths-from-db (rmt:test-get-paths-matching-keynames-target-new keynames target res
 					testpatt
 					statepatt
 					statuspatt
 					runname)))
     (if fnamepatt
 	(apply append 
 	       (map (lambda (p)
 		      (if (directory-exists? p)
-			  (glob (conc p "/" fnamepatt))
+			  (let ((glob-query (conc p "/" fnamepatt)))
+			    (handle-exceptions
+				exn
+				(with-input-from-pipe
+				    (conc "echo " glob-query)
+				  read-lines)  ;; we aren't going to try too hard. If glob breaks it is likely because someone tried to do */*/*.log or similar
+			      (glob glob-query)))
 			  '()))
 		    paths-from-db))
 	paths-from-db)))
 
 			      

Index: tests/fullrun/megatest.config
==================================================================
--- tests/fullrun/megatest.config
+++ tests/fullrun/megatest.config
@@ -157,11 +157,12 @@
 
 # force use of server always
 # required yes
 
 # Use http instead of direct filesystem access
-transport http
+transport rpc
+# transport http
 # transport fs
 # transport nmsg
 
 synchronous 0
 

ADDED   thunk-utils.scm
Index: thunk-utils.scm
==================================================================
--- /dev/null
+++ thunk-utils.scm
@@ -0,0 +1,121 @@
+(use srfi-18)
+
+
+;; wrap a proc with a mutex so that two threads may not call proc simultaneously.
+;; will catch exceptions to ensure mutex is unlocked even if exception is thrown.
+;; will generate a unique mutex for proc unless one is specified with canned-mutex: option
+;;
+;; example 1: (define thread-safe-+ (make-synchronized-proc +))
+;; example 2: (define thread-safe-plus
+;;               (make-synchronized-proc
+;;                  (lambda (x y)
+;;                      (+ x y))))
+
+(define (make-synchronized-proc proc
+                                #!key (canned-mutex #f))
+  (let* ((guard-mutex (if canned-mutex canned-mutex (make-mutex)))
+         (guarded-proc ;; we are guarding the thunk against exceptions.  We will record whether result of evaluation is an exception or a regular result.
+          (lambda args
+            (mutex-lock! guard-mutex)
+            (let* ((EXCEPTION (gensym)) ;; using gensym to avoid potential collision with a proc that returns a pair having the first element be our flag.  gensym guarantees the symbol is unique.
+                   (res
+                    (condition-case
+                     (apply proc args) ;; this is what we are guarding the execution of
+                     [x () (cons EXCEPTION x)]
+                     )))
+              (mutex-unlock! guard-mutex)
+              (cond
+               ((and (pair? res) (eq? (car res) EXCEPTION))
+                (raise (cdr res)))
+               (else
+                res))))))
+    guarded-proc))
+
+
+;; retry an operation (depends on srfi-18)
+;; ==================
+;; idea here is to avoid spending time on coding retrying something.  Trying to be generic here.
+;;
+;; Exception handling:
+;; -------------------
+;; if evaluating the thunk results in exception, it will be retried.
+;; on last try, if final-failure-returns-actual is true, the exception will be re-thrown to caller.
+;;
+;; look at options below #!key to see how to configure behavior
+;;
+;;
+
+(define (retry-thunk
+         the-thunk
+         #!key ;;;; options below
+         (accept-result?   (lambda (x) x)) ;; retry if predicate applied to thunk's result is false 
+         (retries                       4) ;; how many tries
+         (failure-value                #f) ;; return this on final failure, unless following option is enabled:
+         (final-failure-returns-actual #f) ;; on failure, on the last try, just return the result, not failure-value
+
+         (retry-delay                 0.1) ;; delay between tries
+         (back-off-factor               1) ;; multiply retry-delay by this factor on retry
+         (random-delay                0.1) ;; add a random portion of this value to wait
+
+         (chatty                       #f) ;; print status as we go, for debugging.
+         )
+  
+  (when chatty (print) (print "Entered retry-thunk") (print "-=-=-=-=-=-"))
+  (let* ((guarded-thunk ;; we are guarding the thunk against exceptions.  We will record whether result of evaluation is an exception or a regular result.
+          (lambda ()
+           (let* ((EXCEPTION (gensym)) ;; using gensym to avoid potential collision
+                  (res
+                   (condition-case
+                    (the-thunk) ;; this is what we are guarding the execution of
+                    [x () (cons EXCEPTION x)]
+                    )))
+             (cond
+              ((and (pair? res) (eq? (car res) EXCEPTION))
+               (if chatty
+                   (print " - the-thunk threw exception >"(cdr res)"<"))
+               (cons 'exception (cdr res)))
+               (else
+                (if chatty
+                    (print " - the-thunk returned result >"res"<"))
+                (cons 'regular-result res)))))))
+    
+    (let loop ((guarded-res (guarded-thunk))
+               (retries-left retries)
+               (fail-wait retry-delay))
+      (if chatty (print "   =========="))
+      (let* ((wait-time (+ fail-wait (+ (* fail-wait back-off-factor)
+                                        (* random-delay
+                                           (/ (random 1024) 1024) ))))
+             (res-type (car guarded-res))
+             (res-value (cdr guarded-res)))
+        (cond
+         ((and (eq? res-type 'regular-result) (accept-result? res-value))
+                   (if chatty (print " + return result that satisfied accept-result? >"res-value"<"))
+                   res-value)
+
+         ((> retries-left 0)
+          (if chatty (print " - sleep "wait-time))
+          (thread-sleep! wait-time)
+          (if chatty (print " + retry ["retries-left" tries left]"))
+          (loop (guarded-thunk)
+                (sub1 retries-left)
+                wait-time))
+         
+         ((eq? res-type 'regular-result)
+          (if final-failure-returns-actual
+              (begin
+                (if chatty (print " + last try failed- return the result >"res-value"<"))
+                res-value)
+              (begin
+                (if chatty (print " + last try failed- return canned failure value >"failure-value"<"))
+              failure-value)))
+         
+         (else ;; no retries left; result was not accepted and res-type can only be 'exception
+          (if final-failure-returns-actual 
+              (begin
+                (if chatty (print " + last try failed with exception- re-throw it >"res-value"<"))
+                (abort res-value)); re-raise the exception. TODO: find a way for call-history to show as though from entry to this function
+              (begin
+                (if chatty (print " + last try failed with exception- return canned failure value >"failure-value"<"))
+                failure-value))))))))
+

Index: utils/installall.sh
==================================================================
--- utils/installall.sh
+++ utils/installall.sh
@@ -10,14 +10,13 @@
 #  This program is distributed WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the
 #  implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
 #  PURPOSE.
 
 echo You may need to do the following first:
-echo sudo apt-get install libreadline-dev
-echo sudo apt-get install libwebkitgtk-dev 
+echo sudo apt-get install libreadline-dev libsqlite3-dev libwebkitgtk-dev 
 echo sudo apt-get install libpangox-1.0-0 zlib1g-dev libfreetype6-dev cmake
-echo sudo apt-get install libssl-dev
+echo sudo apt-get install libssl-dev uuid-dev libglu1-mesa-dev
 echo sudo apt-get install libmotif3 -OR- set KTYPE=26g4
 echo
 echo Set OPTION to std, currently OPTION=$OPTION
 echo
 echo Additionally, if you want mysql-client, you will need to make sure
@@ -25,21 +24,37 @@
 echo
 echo You are using PREFIX=$PREFIX
 echo You are using proxy="$proxy"
 echo 
 echo "Set additional_libpath to help find gtk or other libraries, don't forget a leading :"
+
+if [[ "$OPTION"x == "x" ]];then
+  OPTION=std
+fi
 
 SYSTEM_TYPE=$(lsb_release -irs |tr ' ' '_' |tr '\n' '-')$(uname -i)-$OPTION
+
+# default chicken version variables. Override in case statement as appropriate
+CHICKEN_VERSION=4.10.0
+CHICKEN_BASEVER=4.10.0
 
 # Set up variables
 #
 case $SYSTEM_TYPE in
 Ubuntu-16.04-x86_64-std)
 	KTYPE=32
 	CDVER=5.10
 	IUPVER=3.17
 	IMVER=3.11
+	;;
+Ubuntu-16.04-x86_64-new)
+	KTYPE=32
+	CDVER=5.10
+	IUPVER=3.17
+	IMVER=3.11
+	CHICKEN_VERSION=4.10.0
+	CHICKEN_BASEVER=4.10.0
 	;;
 Ubuntu-16.04-i686-std)
 	KTYPE=32
 	CDVER=5.10
 	IUPVER=3.17
@@ -103,12 +118,10 @@
 
 # Put all the downloaded tar files in tgz
 mkdir -p tgz
 
 # http://code.call-cc.org/releases/4.8.0/chicken-4.8.0.5.tar.gz
-export CHICKEN_VERSION=4.11.0
-export CHICKEN_BASEVER=4.11.0
 chicken_targz=chicken-${CHICKEN_VERSION}.tar.gz
 if ! [[ -e tgz/$chicken_targz ]]; then 
     wget http://code.call-cc.org/releases/${CHICKEN_BASEVER}/${chicken_targz}
     mv $chicken_targz tgz
 fi 
@@ -177,11 +190,11 @@
 cd $BUILDHOME
 
 # Some eggs are quoted since they are reserved to Bash
 # for f in matchable readline apropos base64 regex-literals format "regex-case" "test" coops trace csv dot-locking posix-utils posix-extras directory-utils hostinfo tcp rpc csv-xml fmt json md5; do
 # $CHICKEN_INSTALL $PROX -keep-installed matchable readline apropos base64 regex-literals format "regex-case" "test" coops trace csv dot-locking posix-utils posix-extras directory-utils hostinfo tcp rpc csv-xml fmt json md5 awful http-client spiffy uri-common intarweb http-client spiffy-request-vars md5 message-digest http-client spiffy-directory-listing
-for egg in matchable readline apropos base64 regex-literals format "regex-case" "test" \
+for egg in matchable readline apropos dbi base64 regex-literals format "regex-case" "test" \
 	coops trace csv dot-locking posix-utils posix-extras directory-utils hostinfo \
 	tcp rpc csv-xml fmt json md5 awful http-client spiffy uri-common intarweb http-client \
 	spiffy-request-vars s md5 message-digest spiffy-directory-listing ssax sxml-serializer \
 	sxml-modifications logpro z3 call-with-environment-variables \
 	pathname-expand typed-records simple-exceptions numbers crypt parley srfi-42 \
@@ -302,12 +315,12 @@
 	cd histstore
 	$PREFIX/bin/csc histstore.scm -o hs 
 	cp -f hs $PREFIX/bin/hs 
 	cd ../mutils
 	$PREFIX/bin/chicken-install
-	cd ../dbi 
-	$PREFIX/bin/chicken-install
+	# cd ../dbi 
+	# $PREFIX/bin/chicken-install
 	cd ../margs
 	$PREFIX/bin/chicken-install
 fi
 cd $BUILDHOME