David, I invite you to check out the new 4D forum at https://discuss.4d.com/ It's a huge improvement over the old forum and this list. Plus a lot more people are active there.
But to your point Tom and Randy are both giving you solid advice. I will add that my experience with 4D server is the one place I recommend a Windows machine over Mac hands down. They are seriously faster. Just are. And much more bang for the buck. You don't need an expensive Windows Server license if it is only running 4D. Win 10 Pro will give you everything you need. It sounds like this is installed in an office and the Mac Mini is only running 4D (8 gigs of RAM is not very much). You didn't say which version of 4D which is important. Also whether you are using the web server which increases the RAM you want. 64 bit requires roughly twice as much RAM as 32 bit on the machines and within 4D. If your code has been updated and kept up all the calls to start new processes are probably using 0 as the default stack size - which let's 4D set the stack size and adjusts for the operating environment. If not it's using some number that was probably set before 64 bit was a thing and it's way too small. If you buy a new Mac you will get Catalina which means you WILL run 64 bit. Apple is announcing something next week. Speaking as someone who bought one of the new-cool touch bar MBPs in 2016 (and it's been a truly crappy machine) you don't want to be one of the first to get a Mac Mini with the new hardware for a business critical application like this. Plus, if you need to continue to run 32 bit Finally I see you have an SSD RAID. I'm curious about that. Typically I'll use a mirrored SSD for the primary drive and have some large mirrored hard disk to use for things like backups. I'm curious how you all decided to use that much of a RAID on a Mac Mini? On Fri, Sep 11, 2020 at 2:22 PM Tom Benedict via 4D_Tech < 4d_tech@lists.4d.com> wrote: > Hi David, > > I think the answer really depends on number of things: > > - How much growth you expect, in terms of concurrent users/processes and > data file size, over the next 3-5 years. > > - How is your application expected to change over then next 3 - 5 years. > > - What kind of IT support you have. > > - What does your application do? Is it all internal facing using 4D > Client? Does it have Web Clients? Does it connect to other internal and > external systems? > > If you have mostly MacOS IT support and experience, and you expect modest > growth in your user base and application in the future, and your app is > currently performing well, it’s an easy decision to get another Mac Mini > (maybe with more RAM). > > If you expect to double (or more) your users and data and expand your > applications capabilities, and your current system performance is mediocre, > and you have some Windows IT support, you could consider getting a Windows > server. > > I’m assuming your existing system has sufficient redundancy to meet the > requirements of your corporate Disaster Recovery Plan. > > And one more thing. If you buy a new MacOS machine today you will likely > have to run 64bit, which means your app needs to be 64bit compatible. If > it’s not already 64bit compatible, that may be considerable work, depending > on the nature of your app. > > HTH, > > Tom Benedict > > > > On Sep 11, 2020, at 13:08, David Loeppky via 4D_Tech < > 4d_tech@lists.4d.com> wrote: > > > > I'm ready to upgrade our 4D server machine and would welcome any insights > > and recommendations. > > > > Some details: > > - 40 Users (Mac and Windows) > > - 4GB data file > > - 120 tables > > - The current server is a 2011 Mac Mini with 8GB and raid 4XSSD HD > > > > Questions about the new server: > > - Windows or Mac? > > - Recommended features. > > > > Many thanks for the input. > > > > -- > > > > Regards, > > > > David Loeppky > > > > ********************************************************************** > 4D Internet Users Group (4D iNUG) > New Forum: https://discuss.4D.com > Archive: http://lists.4d.com/archives.html > Options: https://lists.4d.com/mailman/options/4d_tech > Unsub: mailto:4d_tech-unsubscr...@lists.4d.com > ********************************************************************** -- Kirk Brooks San Francisco, CA ====================== ********************************************************************** 4D Internet Users Group (4D iNUG) New Forum: https://discuss.4D.com Archive: http://lists.4d.com/archives.html Options: https://lists.4d.com/mailman/options/4d_tech Unsub: mailto:4d_tech-unsubscr...@lists.4d.com **********************************************************************
