Which Filemkaer version to buy?

[Glenda]

Hi

I think it is about time I upgraded all my databases. I am currently running FMP4.3 and serving webpages with data as well as collecting data that clients entervia a webpage. I was given Filemaker 7 but found I could not create my own webpages and that no more then 5 people could enter data via the web page even if I used IWP (mind you I read this but did not test it out).

What should I migrate too? I want to create my own webpages and have multiple people at a time enter data via webpages. Or can IWP design be used successfully with careful planning?

Glenda

[Genx]

FileMaker Server 8 Advanced -- 7 Isn't easy to get anymore, nor is it worth it. You'll need FileMaker 8.5 to develop for it (8 isn't easy to get anymore either -- but you don't really want 8 anyway).

[Glenda]

Hi GenX

Are you saying that I would have to get server 8.5 and filemaker 8.5 as well?

Glenda

[Genx]

Theres no such thing as FileMaker Server 8.5, and if you want to make your own web pages, you'll have to use Server Advanced, not just server -- Though if you have Server Seven Advanced, you can use that instead.

[Reed]

IWP is much improved since the pre v7 days, and you can do a lot with it. The 5-user limit is concurrent sessions in the FMP version rather than the 10-user in the rolling 12 hour period in previous versions. I got away with using plain FMP IWP for a couple of years without much trouble, and I had >100 customers that would enter data in via a browser. In my case they didn't have to spend much time entering data and it was generally spaced out throughout the day (online instrument scheduling) I also had a short session timeout (1 minute).

These restrictions may not be acceptable in your case, so then you would need server advanced. That will give you 100 concurrent sessions and allow you to do custom web publishing with various methods such as XSLT, Lasso, PHP, ODBC/JDBC, Flash, etc. You won't be able to use your old CDML pages in any case, but server advanced does come with a CDML to XSLT converter.

[John May - Point In Space]

Note that if you do need to go the Server Advanced route, you can avoid purchasing the expensive software license and maintaining your server by going with a hosting provider like us:

http://www.pointinspace.com/

- John

[Glenda]

Thanks for that. Being at a University I get pretty good prices anyway. I have gone for the server 8 advanced and 8.5 advanced. It will be a steep learning curve coming from CDML and will be glad of the converter!

Believe it or not I have no experience with any of the other methods so have a lot of work to do.

[dbdom.com]

Hello!

dbdom.com can offer you a complete dedicated FileMaker Server 8 Advanced system hosted in our SAS 70 Type II Certified facilities -

You will get a dedicated platform capable of 125 databases including the Instant Web Publishing portal with complete remote control for $80/month - visit http://www.dbdom.com and click on FileMaker Server and Server Advanced -

All of the major FileMaker Developers host with dbdom.com - we are a FileMaker Associate Member and Lasso Professional Alliance corporate partner –

http://www.dbdom.com

[email protected]

[John May - Point In Space]

I'm curious - how do you provide this service when a FileMaker Server Advanced license runs $2500, plus $700 each upgrade? Just the initial license alone would take you 2 1/2 years to pay back at your $80/month rate.

- John

P.S. We have plenty of "major FileMaker Developers" hosting with us.

[Stuart Taylor]

When you pay for a 1 mb adsl connection, do you get or costantly use 1 mb?

Oh yer ... contention ration 20:1 hmmm

Who runs 125 databases?

Just a thought...

[John May - Point In Space]

But they're calling this a dedicated server - meaning you get your own server machine to yourself, which would require its own FileMaker Server Advanced license.

So the question remains, how can they afford to offer said service for this price?

- John

[thespin]

100 concurrent sessions ? Does that mean that Filemaker could not be used for a retail site ? How many concurrent users does Apache support ?

Noob as to the deeper details ... thanks for your help ...

[Genx]

100 concurrent sessions ? Does that mean that FileMaker could not be used for a retail site ?

Well, that depends. If you are using Custom Web Publishing, then a session exists only during a request for data that takes roughly a second... So... if you can have 100 requests a second, you have 6000 requests a minute, 36000 requests an hour. Do you know of many retail sites (other than the big players like Amazon) that get this kind of traffic?

In relation to IWP, i really wouldn't look at that for the purpose of creating a retail site (but that's just my opinion).