ODBC with FM server

[daniel z]

Hi

I have FM server 5.5 and FM Pro 6 clients.

I'll be importing data from an Access database every week via ODBC.

I thought it would be best to keep the Access db on the same computer as the FM server in order to make the import as fast as possible and not to have to go across a network, but the problem with that is I then need to install FM Pro on that machine as well, right ? And one shouldnt install FM Pro and FM Server on the same machine, right ? Or can they both be installed on the same machine but just not RUN at the same time ?

Or am I going about things in the wrong way - should I store the Access database on a different machine ?

Apologies if this is an obvious question.

Dan

[Wim Decorte]

If you're not going to run both at the same time then you're safe. But how will you make sure both don't run at the same time?

If you upgrade to FM7/8 then you can do your ODBC requests directly to FileMaker Server without needing to use FM Pro.

[daniel z]

Thanks -

Its quite expensive to upgrade from 6 and I'm not sure if the benefits outweigh the costs and effort involved.

But you're right, it looks like I will have to do the imports across a network.

What actually happens if FM Pro and Server are running at the same time on the same machine ?!

[Wim Decorte]

Given FM's weird file reference mechanics you can't be sure if FM Pro is accessing the files through FMS or directly from the hard disk. If it tries to access a file from the hard disk at the same time as FMS, you *will* get corruption. Either in your data or in the file structure.

[ShawnR]

If you set the FMP on the same computer as the server, MAKE SURE FMP is accessing the files via the Server (use open remote) and not the disk directly. I have done this for 5+ years, with ZERO problems...

Shawn