Hosted Files = Slow, Single user = Fast?!?

[Dax Galera]

Hello,

I am running FM Pro 6 with FM 5.5 on Win2K3. Here's my delimma:

When I run a set of db files in single user mode (fmserver close d:...) they are extremely quick

As soon as I have the FM server host them, it takes forever to open these files. It goes from .1-.3 secs load time to 30-50 secs.

The initial load file is a calendar that uses a script to pull data (such as upcoming jobs and bids and bills) from the other db files in that directory. It has a dialog box that says 'Replacing...' at the top and 'Updating Records remaining to update: 7" until it finally hits 1.

This does not occur at all when FMserver closes these files; the calendar opens right up.

Any Ideas which procedures take that much longer when hosted as opposed to not?

Thanks

[Kurt Knippel]

In theory: local access to your harddrive is SUPERFAST...while access across even the fastest networks is perhaps 100x SLOWER. This is because local access is as fast as your local hardware allows, while access across the network is capped at the real speed of the network...which maxes at 100mb.

Realistically there are other factors, such as what else is happening on the server (such as filesharing, domain controlling, web serving, etc) as well as what the hardware on the server is like.

Start by making sure that the DB server (running Filemaker Server v5.5 with all the latest patches) is ONLY running the FMS...no filesharing, no Domain Controlling, no web, no other software. Then make sure you have the proper hardware installed...a fast, reliable harddrive and a fast network card. Also make sure you do not have too much RAM, 256MB is more than enough...FMS is disk based not RAM based. Adding more RAM will just require that the computer manage the RAM, resulting is less performance, not more.

So assuming that everything is OK with the hardware, then look at the databases...does it NEED to do this replace every time you startup? Can it be done once per day, say at 12:01am? If so setup a batch process to do this right on the server (i.e. shutdown FMS, launch FMPro, open databases, run process, close FMP, launch FMS, open databases). Or perhaps the process only needs to be done when the user accesses the calendar for the first time?