FMS and power outage. Restarting up

[Paolo]

The server running FM Server shuts down due to a power outage.

1) When FM S is restarted, it performs consistency check. (right?? correct me if I'm wrong!!)

2) An alert message is placed in the server event log, right ?

3) Does the user accessing remotely the files via FMP see anything about the databases did't close properly ?

4) Is it possible to see if a file didn't close properly anytime in the past ?

5) Could someone explain me the server event log/last log/excess log behaviour ?

Thanks in advance for any help!

[stanley]

Paolo:

1. Yes, I believe it performs a consistency check. I back up & re-import all data into empty clones after a blackout to be safe - which has happened here in NYC twice this summer.

2. Well, you can see that it started back up again. I don't know if there is an alert per se, but there is some indication. I just can't remember what format it takes in the log.

3. The remote user doesn't get any info that I am aware of.

4. Only via the log.

5. Not sure what you mean by that. It's a fairly self-explanatory log.

-Stanley

[LiveOak]

The details here are sketchy, how did the blackout affect the country? How much was affected?

If you are running a FM Server, you really should have 1) a UPS and 2) UPS software to perform an orderly shutdown before the battery runs out.

The FM Forums run on a server with a UPS and external batteries for over 6 hours of operation in a power failure.

-bd

[Ugo DI LUCA]

Well, what happened in Italy was quite similar to the US East-Coast Blackout.

We'd never know what is behind all this stuff, but for sure it can create some damage.

Waiting for this to happen here in France in a while

Good question. Sorry for my ignorance. What's an UPS ?

[Anatoli]

Uninterruptible Power Supply

[Paolo]

I have an UPS. But when long blackouts occurr the batteries are not enought.

Our UPS was first bought for supply power to an AS400 and an NT Server.

I'm running FM-Server on Mac with OS 9.

Could someone give me advice on how to automatically shut down FM-S when the batteries go low?

The UPS is a Siel Wawe. It have serial ports on the back.

BTW: What happen if the server is put to Sleep while FM Server is running. Off course the clients lose connection. But does this also lead to file corruption or other troubles?

What I don't understand about FM log is how the log breaks into three files: Event Log, Last Event Log, Excess event log.

[stanley]

Sleep + FMServer = Trouble

I would imagine you might end up with some manner of file corruption if the server goes to sleep. I've never encountered it because turning off Sleep is, along with shutting down virtual memory and AppleTalk, one of the first tasks that should be done when prepping a machine to run FM Server.

I can't tell you what the ultimate purpose of the three separate log files might be. But there they are, and they're not going to change, so you've just got to get used to it.

Regarding your UPS, you would have to contact the manufacturer & see what kind of data you can get from those serial ports.

-Stanley

[Paolo]

I've asked about sleep because I was thinking aboout the possibility to use a powerbook as server. It doesn't need UPS because have the battery. And during long blackouts, when the battery goes low it go sleeping automatically.

Do you think it would be possible via applescript to quit filemaker automatically when the battery goes low before the powerbook goes to sleep?

Off course a PB is not the best choice for a server, it's made to be small not reliable...

BTW: why do you turn Appletalk off? Because of slowdown?

[stanley]

Paolo:

AppleTalk has to be shut off on the server because you want to prevent users from being able to side-step FileMaker Server & access the hosted files directly via AppleTalk. This creates a hideous corruption situation. Besides that, AppleTalk is extremely chatty and slows everything down.

There are a few things wrong with using a PowerBook. First, PowerBooks have fairly slow drive systems, and FM Server is all about drive access. Second, the battery doesn't really last that long. Third, people love to play with them, and you don't want anyone playing with the server.

I'm not sure if there is a way to script the PowerBook's battery-level detection system. However, it would certainly be possible to write a small application that would do that, and which would be AppleScriptable, which would do the job for you.

The grand advantage is, as you say, a PowerBook will automatically go to sleep. Hmm. That brings us back to the original question. And, although I've never tested it, I think sleep is a bad idea on the server.

-Stanley

[Paolo]

>>>AppleTalk has to be shut off on the server because you want to prevent users from being able to side-step FileMaker Server & access the hosted files directly via AppleTalk. This creates a hideous corruption situation. Besides that, AppleTalk is extremely chatty and slows everything down.

Only the administrator (me) have access to the server via appletalk.

I need appletalk to move incremental backups on a different machine and administer the server via remote desktop.

Thank you for your suggestions!