Planning a network

[Bikeman17]

Hi geeks,

I plan to network two remote (not in the same office) iMacs using FileMaker 6. How to make it successfully? Please advise.

[Steve T.]

Hi, um... Bikeman! How to do it depends on several factors, but you can probably get away with just deciding which one of your 2 iMacs will be the "host" and which will be the "client"... if 1 has a static IP address, that's probably the better choice.

In such a situation, just open your db in FileMaker and select the option to share it. The client computer should then be able to launch its own copy of FM, choose FILE > OPEN > HOSTS and type in the IP address (or domain name) of the host machine. If all goes well, you will be presented with a list of db's that are shared and available on the host.

If you do not have a static IP address for the host, you can use the dynamic IP it has at the moment. If you are using a router that re-assigns local IP addresses, you'll probably have to use your router's PORT FORWARDING option (if it has it) to forward :5003 accordingly.

As you see, a lot depends on your situation and network but I think most options are described somewhere in the posts.

Good luck!

--ST

[Fitch]

The performance of a remote FileMaker 6 peer-to-peer setup is not likely to be tolerable for everyday use.

[xochi]

I'd seriously consider upgrading to FM 8.

1. FM6 has a terribly weak password security arrangement, so if you just publish your database on a public IP address, you are asking for trouble.

2. WAN performance is much improved in 8 vs. 6.

3. If the upgrade to 8 is too much trouble, then I'd suggest some serious firewalling (e.g. let only one host in via it's IP address) or else set up a VPN (though VPN will decrease your performance a little).