[FP5] How to duplicate large DB system

[cinolas]

Greetings,

I developed a large database system (40 databases) for my employer. They are now opening offices in the USA and they want to keep the 2 database systems separate so they asked me to duplicate the solution.

Those 2 database systems will be served on the same LAN by 2 different servers. Obviously it is very important that the US and Canadian database systems don't get mixed up.

My first though to avoid confusion was to rename the files but then I realized I would have to re-specify the several hundreds relationships not to mention all the Open database script steps and calls to external scripts and such.... hours and hours of work.

I am afraid that, if I don't rename the files, the databases will connect to each other across systems and corrupt everything...

What is the best way to efficiently duplicate a system so that it can be served on the same LAN by 2 different servers without any confusion and hopefully without having to re-specify the relationships/Open/External Scripts etc ?

Thank you very much for your help

FileMaker Version: 5

Platform: Windows XP

[Ender]

To rename files (preserving relationships), you can use the Developer Tool that comes with FileMaker Developer. You can also use it to create run time versions, and (my favorite) use a script debugger. This version costs a lot more, but it's a good investment.

Even if your clients are running FM5, you can still use FM6 Developer. Just don't use the script steps that FM5 doesn't know about.

You may find there are some files that can be shared by both systems. You should really consider doing this if possible as it may save a lot of time in duplicating changes. I guess it depends on the reasons for separate servers.