Hi,

We have a FMServer 5.5 running on the same computer as the Windows 2003 server. The databases are accessed by 4 people within the office and need to have it accessible for remote users (5 users in Latin America). This is a non profit organization so our budget is very limited. The question is: do we need to set up a VPN, or there is a way for the remote users to open the databases via "open remote" by typing the IP address of the FMServer? (the office has a DSL connection and the remote users too)

Thanks very much in advance!

Hi

Yes it is possibly to connect to your server via open remote.

You need to open port 5003 in your firewall, and you need to forward port 5003 to your server machine.

You must be aware of:

- using open remote is not secure, as the data is transmitted over the internet non encrypted. VPN is more secure.

- Working with filemaker v. 5 - 6 solutions over the internet can be servere slow if you have many calculations, graphics etc. In version 7 most calculations happens on the server, and not through the network. This increases speed dramatically, when you optimize your solutions for fm7.

- eventhough you mentioned that your budget is limited, I would just mention that it can be worth choosing a Citrix solution if you have users working from several locations.

If you choose the open remote solution, I would consider registrate a domain or maybe just a subdomain. (www.fmserver.yourdomain.org) Let that subdomain point to your servers IP address. By using this method, you can make som "opener fm files" and if you change IP address on the server, you only need to change that in the MX records.

Hope this makes any sense.

;-) Claus

Hi Claus,

All clear now. Thank you very much for the tips!

(I thought I had replied to this already ... )