I have a small office of 5 users in NY and we would like to get 3 remote users from our DC office access to our filemaker database.

Does anyone have a good cheap solution for this remote access?

Here is the set up:

Host Computer Mac OS10 w/ Filemaker Server 7

LAN: 3 MAC OS10 users, 2 WIN XP Users

Remote Office we are trying to set up:

2 MAC OS Users, 1 XP USer.

Help we are not looking to break the bank just access the same filemaker database.

Well, Citrix is certainly not a cheap solution. You might just connect FM Pro 7 to FM Server 7 and see what the performance is like. FM Server 7 does a lot more processing on the server and decent access across the internet has been reported.

Your other option is three computers running Timbuktu from Netopia. It has both Mac and PC versions which interoperate. You'll still need reasonably recent computers to effectively run OS X, but it will still be cheaper than Citrix.

-bd

An FM7 client in DC could connect to the FM7 server in NY thru the internet. Just avoid using large graphics.

In addition to the standard 5003 for data access, port 5006 has to be open to administer FileMaker Server through a firewall.

FileMaker will also work if you are lucky enough to have a T1 line between offices

If you're using FM7, the performance may just be good enough to do it directly.

Other than that, don't go with Citrix. Look into Terminal Services first (Citrix is an add-on for TS). Find a good local TS consultant and talk it through...

Does Timbuktu now allow remote printing? (meaning you can print from your TB2 session to your own local printer).

pcAnywhere (Windows only) does it, but I'm not sure about TB2.

could the dc users connect via internet browser? How can that be set up?

We are working with 30 users on a citrix server.

If you have a Cable connection and 2 good servers (application + fm), it's the best solution you can imagine.

But after that, upgrading for 100's of users is as simple as for a single user.