http://fmforums.com/forum/showforum.php?fid/45/General discussion about FM ServernoneWed, 10 Mar 2010 14:15:06 GMTWed, 10 Mar 2010 14:15:06 GMThttp://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rssFusionBB 3.0 FINAL (www.fusionbb.com)http://fmforums.com/forum/showtopic.php?tid/213757http://fmforums.com/forum/showtopic.php?tid/213757Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:11:23 GMThttp://fmforums.com/forum/showtopic.php?tid/213743http://fmforums.com/forum/showtopic.php?tid/213743
I am looking to work around a problem that I am having with FMS/IIS and Apache. Now I know that one is not supposed to run anything else alongside FMS, but the problem is IIS it would seem.
In my case, I have Apache hosting a few small websites on port 80. IIS also wants port 80. So I would like to achieve either of the following:

1. Either have FMS be able to use Apache for the IWP function (most ideal arrangement as I'm not keen on IIS really anyway) on port 80, or

2. Work out how I can use another port number under IIS for FMS. Problem with this though is that I am hosting several domains and websites and issue is that IIS doesnt do this well, if at all.

Now I know this covers several technologies that arent too relevant to this forum (ie IIS and Apache), but if I could get FMS/IWP to work under Apache I would be a happy man.

Anybody got anything that might help?

Cheers in advance.
Greg



]]>Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:41:18 GMThttp://fmforums.com/forum/showtopic.php?tid/213732http://fmforums.com/forum/showtopic.php?tid/213732
Steven ]]>Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:47:41 GMThttp://fmforums.com/forum/showtopic.php?tid/213724http://fmforums.com/forum/showtopic.php?tid/213724OS Level Scripting and Account Privileges: A New FileMaker Server® 11 Feature

By:

Wim Decorte and Steven H. Blackwell



FileMaker Server and FileMaker Server Advanced both allow for the running of OS level scripts such as VB Scripts, Windows batch files, Shell scripts and AppleScripts. FileMaker Pro developers must manage privileges that such scripts require to execute properly in these instances. Because they are triggered by FileMaker Server they run in the Local System bubble on Windows and the fmserver bubble on Macintosh. Frequently these accounts do not have privileges that the OS level script needs to perform the action a developer might assign it. A frequently encountered example is copying files from the FileMaker Server machine to some other location on the network.

While there have been workarounds to address this issue, often times they are complex and convoluted. In the just released FileMaker® Server 11 Advanced, FileMaker, Inc. added the ability to specify alternate Accounts (and therefore alternate privileges) for OS level scripts. This however raises several new questions. We want to offer some suggestions for best use of this new feature.

1. What is an OS level script?

Both Windows and Mac support various types of OS level scripts; these are typically plain text files containing a few lines of executable code saved with a specific extension so that the Operating System knows how process them.

They can range from simple commands contained in Windows batch files (with either the .BAT or .CMD extension) and Shell scripts on Mac (with the .sh extension) to very complex code in VBscript and PowerShell scripts on Windows and AppleScripts on Mac.

Note that FileMaker Server supports these kinds of OS-level script to be executed from a FileMaker Server schedule:
- batch / command files on Windows
- VBscripts on Windows
- Shell scripts on Mac
- AppleScripts on Mac


2. What is a system level account and why is it needed?

By default FileMaker Server runs under the “Local System” account on Windows and under the fmserver account on Mac. This is done so that security can be kept tight and controlled and to avoid having to use custom accounts that need to be documented and potentially need to be maintained (frequent password changes, account expiration,…).

Using the Local System account (Windows) and the fmserver account (Mac) is the safest possible deployment. It also allows for the FileMaker Server executable to be run with no user actively logged into the server machine, thus enhancing security and performance.

3. What privileges does an alternate Account need to have vis a vis FileMaker Server itself?

Depending on the task that you are automating with the OS-level script, you may require your script to create, copy or move files from different areas on the FileMaker Server machine or from across the network.

On Windows the “Local System” account can reach all files and folders on its own machine but not on the network. On Mac, the fmserver account has even more strict privileges in that it will not be able to create or copy files in folders that it has not been explicitly given rights to, even on the FileMaker server itself.

Rather than changing the account that the FileMaker Server service runs under on Windows or giving the fmserver account or the fmsadmin group access to folders and files outside the normal FileMaker Server folder structure, using FileMaker Server 11 you can now specify explicit credentials to use for FileMaker Server schedules that run OS-level scripts (either by themselves or as part of a script sequence).

4. What are some examples of actions these OS level scripts can now perform more easily than was the case in the past?

The most common command actions in OS-level scripts are pulling files from across the network to the FileMaker Server machine for nightly import routines. Or the reverse, scheduled exports from FileMaker Server that need to be pushed to a network share.

5. Where can I learn more about OS level scripts in FileMaker® Server 11 and FileMaker Server 11 Advanced?

FileMaker Server schedules that use OS-level scripts are covered extensively in VTC’s FileMaker Server video training tutorial [http://www.vtc.com]. Any questions you may have can always be posted to the FileMaker Server section of fmforums.com or the excellent RealTech mailing list.

]]>Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:51:46 GMThttp://fmforums.com/forum/showtopic.php?tid/213683http://fmforums.com/forum/showtopic.php?tid/213683
Question. We are tilting to getting a MacPro also due to security reasons. Whats better? A MacPro or an equivalent Windoze machine? Perhaps a Server 2003/2008?

We would like a cost effectve solution with raw speed.

Any tipps what would be best? Thanks ]]>Sun, 07 Mar 2010 12:36:25 GMThttp://fmforums.com/forum/showtopic.php?tid/213682http://fmforums.com/forum/showtopic.php?tid/213682
I have a general design question.

Im creating an ordering system where on one order a client can have many work-experiments (simple portal).

Now. In this particular case, an order will have VERY MANY work-experiments in it, in this case the maximum number of work-experiments in one Order will be 3000. (Yes, !!)

My solution has a routine, which will create such a "large order" automatically. It uses various tables for basic info to create an order of this size for the client, prefilled with his 3000 work-experiments.

This routine, goes to the table of work-experiments and creates a record, then duplicates it and modifies it slightly, duplicates it again etc. Its actually very effective and very fast. In a single user FM Advanced (version 8.5) situation, for an Order with 4500 items it only needs 90 seconds to create the whole thing, which is very acceptable for the generation of an order of this size.
Happy with that.

Million Dollar Question: How might this behave in a server environment? We want to deploy the solution in a small organisation with FM Server. If my script runs, i.e. one person makes an order, is that likely to "Block" the other users from using/looking at the other Orders?
ie, if in the portal table one Client is happily duplicating records for 2 minutes, does that block other users from acessing the portal entries of other orders they may be looking at?

Finally, Im new to FM 10. What is Server side scripting and is there an advantage here of maybe using client side or Server side scripting in a situation like this?

Evidently, of person A is doing something relatively intensive in the DB I dont want users B and C blocked...

Or am I fearing for nothing here?
Thanks for any inputs on the design of the idea, and no before you ask; unfortunately I cannot reduce the number or work-experiments on an order...

all my best and thanks for any thoughts.
]]>Sun, 07 Mar 2010 11:48:41 GMThttp://fmforums.com/forum/showtopic.php?tid/213654http://fmforums.com/forum/showtopic.php?tid/213654
I have FileMaker Server 9 running (under Max OS X Server 10.5.5), sharing a database via FM and ODBC.

On a Windows PC, I have the Sequelink ODBC 5.5 driver installed, and my system DSN is configured and works fine.

The driver seems to take a really long time to run almost any query.

This query:
SELECT * FROM Shipment WHERE REFERENCE1='18281'

returns only 1 record, but my hard drive's grinding away and my client application is hung for a good 30-45 seconds before the data appears in it...

Is there any way I can structure my query to improve the speed...? Where is the performance bottleneck?

]]>Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:39:49 GMThttp://fmforums.com/forum/showtopic.php?tid/213610http://fmforums.com/forum/showtopic.php?tid/213610
I have a file which is located on a server computer that users open, the file in return opens a file which is shared between the users using FM Server10, the sole propose of the first file is to allow me to make shortcuts on the users computers. When the users open this file there’s a warning that appears saying that hosting this file will reduce performance etc. I don't won’t this warning to appear I want it to open automatically as the file closes after 2 seconds anyway.

See the attachment JPG of warning

Any help will be very much appreciated!

Amram Chayim Eirinberg
]]>Tue, 02 Mar 2010 15:48:35 GMThttp://fmforums.com/forum/showtopic.php?tid/213528http://fmforums.com/forum/showtopic.php?tid/213528
The company I work for are updating their server, desktops and software. We have purchased a new server and FileMaker Server 10, the OS on the server is Windows Server 2003 64-bit version.

As I was going through the set up of FileMaker Server it said that it must be installed on a dedicated database server and not on an email, print or network server. Our server will be used for these purposes but the GB and Ram is more than capable of dealing with these tasks. Is FileMaker alright to run on the main server?

Thanks
Becky ]]>Wed, 24 Feb 2010 11:44:24 GMThttp://fmforums.com/forum/showtopic.php?tid/213463http://fmforums.com/forum/showtopic.php?tid/213463
The server is running unix and the workstations are running vista and xp, mostly vista.

How do I enable the other work stations to access my solution. I can I, and/or do I have to install FM PRO10A on the server??

I don't think its compatible. can I set up my workstation as the host?

What to do?? where can I find literature ]]>Thu, 18 Feb 2010 17:58:47 GMT