A couple of comments
>A group in the area has ebase on FM 4 (one license) running on a windows
>local network with 5 workstations. They're getting more licenses donated
>from FM and will put ebase on the "file server" on the network - no
>applications run on this computer but it stores files for all users on the
>network.
I presume you know that the new copies of FileMaker will undoubtedly
be version 5 - are they counting on replacing the existing copy with
an upgrade?
>Assuming they're not using FM Server but have the network setup described
>above and a license for every station (~ 5), what are some other factors
>that could help make ebase more stable on their network? The amount of RAM?
>If so, how much? Other factors?
That's an unusual configuration, and has some potential problems,
since each user will be trying to access the files independently as
"remote host", that is, hosting files not on the same disk as the
application. Much cleaner and vastly quicker to use one copy of
FileMaker to open the entire set of files on the server, and all the
other users open through the FileMaker's file sharing (the "host"
button on the navigation dialog box).
>They have talked about getting FM Server b/c it would be more stable. The
>cost is prohibitive. FM told them they can't get server donated
>until/unless they buy a copy of FM Server. Has anyone ever received FM
>Server as a donation? Did you already own it? How many copies would one
>need?
You would need only one copy of Server, on the file server. The users
would still need a copy of FileMaker on each machine. I would
encourage them to think about jumping to Server. A network of 5
regular users is pretty taxing for a copy of FileMaker to serve. The
effort and lost work involved in a couple of crashes, restore from
backup and lost data, etc., would repay in staff time any upfront
cost of server. The other cost with server is the dedicated machine,
but apparently they are already thinking in those terms.
>--------
--
Dave Shaw Northwest Classics, Inc
tel: 206-954-7526 fax: 206-625-1338
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