new to server - help!!!

[mleiser]

Okay. I'm totally lost. I've been using fm for years. I have 6.0 running on all my machines. Now I bought the Server and installed it on its own machine and don't know where to go from here. I have machines running 98 and some 2000 and two on XP. I have a Novell server that we all log into and that's where I store all my FM files. I was told that if I install the Server on its own machine it'll make things faster. I don't know how to see it from my other machines, I don't know how to move files to it, can't get remote admin to work. So far with Novell we see the drive on the server as either F, G or H so I can access files by going to H:... What do I do with this Server machine. HELP!!!

Mike

[Fitch]

It's all here:

http://www.filemaker.com/downloads/pdf/fms_best_practices.pdf

But I'll mention one thing right off the bat, since you mention that you can "access files":

Do NOT share the files using Windows file sharing! FileMaker Server has its own sharing built in.

[mleiser]

Thanks for the quick reply. I'll check it out when I get to my office tomorrow.

Mike

[janedoe]

hi,

that best practises guide will give you a lot of optimisation techniques, and not so much the basics, the server manual is best for that.

but... you should put the fm files in the fm svr folder and make sure files are multi-user. then the users can go to file, open remote in their copies of fm pro, and they should see your svr name plus the files that are open on it. just like you used to with pro.

also, make sure you stop the fm svr service any time you are copying to/from the svr folder.

cheers,

jd.

[mleiser]

I don't want to sound unappreciative but the document didn't answer any of my questions. I need some basics on getting this started, connected, seeing and moving files, etc. See my original note. Any help out there?

Mike

[mleiser]

Thanks for the comeback. But how do I see that machine? How do I copy my files from my Novell server (called disk F;, G;, H;) to the new machine I set up as the FM server? I'm into computers and very much into FM (I used it since version 1), but this is new to me and confusing. For example, I'm on my CPU. I can copy back and forth from my C: drive to the "F:" drive which is on the Novell server. It's just like another disk. I don't know how to reference the new machine. I connected it to my network but now what? If I go to hosts I don't see it. Sorry for being a pest but once I get it I can get things working better here. Thanks.

Mike

[laker_42]

Mike,

You need to copy the databases from your Novell server to the server that you installed FM Server on. You need to place the databases into the FMServer folder inorder for the server to see them. You could reference the new machine by mapping a drive to it? I am not familiar with Novell Networks, we use NT network here. It sounds like you should involve your system admin to help you get the databases to the new server.

To see the server from your client machines, go to open remote. Click on specify hosts and type in either the name of the server that you installed FMServer on or the IP address of the server. Click ok and the databases that the server is hosting should show up in the box. Click on one of the databases and it should open up for you.

The FMServer manual is on the installation cd. It covers a lot of the basics in there. Check it out for more info. Hopefully this helped you out.

John

[Vaughan]

And once you have the databases on the FMS machine, delete (or zip) every other copy of the files on your network.

Users opening these rogue copies of the files as multi-user will case havoc, as other guests could connect into the rogues by mistake and then complain about records missing etc from your FMS files.

[DNA]

Hi Guys,

We've been doing it wrong the whole time!!! We have been opening the files on a network drive.

Now I ubderstand about opening the files through open remote etc. But can this be automated eg script. "to be foolproof"

[laker_42]

DNA,

You can create an opener file that will open the files on the server and then close itself. There are several threads on opener files. Do a search on them and you should be able to find enough info.

John

[mleiser]

Let's forget Novell for a moment. Let's say the following. Suppose I have three computers. One is a win2000 machine running applications, the second xp and the third a win2000 machine in which I installed fm server and nothing else. I connect all three machines thru a hub. Okay. Now how do I see the FM server machine from the other two machines? Forget Novell, just the basics. If I get an answer to this I may be able to move on. Thanks.

Mike

[laker_42]

To see the FM server through FMP:

laker_42 said:

To see the server from your client machines, open FMP, go to open remote. Click on specify hosts and type in either the name of the server that you installed FMServer on or the IP address of the server. Click ok and the databases that the server is hosting should show up in the box. Click on one of the databases and it should open up for you.

To see the physical drive of the server:

Map a drive to servernamec$

You will now have access to the c drive of the server. This is assuming that you have admin rights to the server. If you don't this share will not work.

John

[mleiser]

When I go to open remote it shows me each of the files that are currently open. There's no option to Specify Hosts. I'm running fm 6.0.

[Kurt Knippel]

Do not worry about the Specify Hosts button, if you see the databases when you goto Open Remote...

[mleiser]

What? All I see are the databases on my other server, not the FM server. Just like before I installed FM Server. I haven't moved them over yet because I'm still trying to figure that out. Nevertheless, in the hosts listing it doesnt have any reference to the Fm server.

mike

[Anatoli]

Set db to multiuser -- hidden, only the first as visible.

Move all databases to FM server folder on one folder down.

Restart FM server.

That is all.

[laker_42]

I am not quite sure what you are looking for. We have described what you need to do to get databases to be hosted on a FM server and how to see them from the client side. What we haven't told you is how to copy files to the server in a Novell environment but not everyone here is working in a Novell environment. It doesn't sound like you are having issues with FM. It sounds like you are having issues with your network and how to work with it. Once you get that worked out and are able to copy the databases to the server itselt, then it would become a FM issue.