Are you aware of whether it is possible for users at remote sites to be working on a local copy of the database? The critical matter is that this local copy is connected to a remote master which checks each remote site every 30 seconds and replicates any changes to the other sites.

I wonder whether anyone has been able to achieve this, and whether it helps performance of Filemaker within a remote site. I want to do so, as our remote sites are connected only by modem and I would like to have the data as up-to-date and integrated.

The problem with any system like this is the "replicates any changed" part. Person A edits the record while Person B deletes it. Which action is made to the "master" database?

Work around the problem by sharing the one database and get people to only this coup. Speed it up by minimising layouts etc. Other people have had success using Timbuktu and other similar products.

Remote accessing databases is always a performance problem: I've had people complain when their database moved from their local hard disk to a server, connected through 10MB Ethernet!