Hey I'm posting in a little used corner of FM Forums. Cool.

So I've got a db design client that has 9 licenses of FM 8/8.5, all on Apples, in two offices in the Southwest USA, about 60 miles apart. The highest broadband they're able to get is cable in one office, DSL in the other.

I'm trying to figure out what would give them the fastest performance on their database and what the costs would be.

All 9 users need to use the full version of Filemaker (no IWP). Currently the db is hosted on a 3rd party server out of Chicago, all acces via TCP/IP. Some on ethernet, others wireless.

There's a lot of data getting crunched and they're impatient, the the system is unbearably slow sometimes.

Is there a way to speed that TCP/IP connection up? Are these guys prime candidates for data separation? Any design tips (keep unstored calcs in tabs if feasible, avoid Lookups, etc)?

Then there's FMS. Neither office has an actual server right now. Is that ridiculous? What inexpensive Apple options would they have for hardware?

Having FMS would be great for the one office, but that wouldn't improve performance at the other office, right? And in which office to install it in, the one with DSL or cable?

Is only FMS9 for sale and would they need to upgrade all the clients to 9? How much are maintenance hours on a server in the course of a year?

I'm sure some of these are pretty noob questions but I don't know much about networks. I wouldn't do the Server install by the way, I've got a colleague who does networks, but I want to get the lay of the land before approaching her.

Thanks,

DJ

"I'm trying to figure out what would give them the fastest performance on their database and what the costs would be."

Firstly, efficient design for both data and interface. Get rid of graphics on the layouts, etc.

The ultimate would be a Citrix-like solution, so that only screen, keyboard and mouse is transferred over the network.

A CWP or IWP solution shouldn't be ruled out completely, it might meet a good percentage of the needs of the users. It's relatively cheap and fast.

FM Server is available separately. I'd suggest you put it where the most users are, and let the others access it through the internet.

The optimum solution will tae some time and effort to determine, and will involve testing and experimentation.

David, what is the upload and download speeds of the available Cable & DSL connections? This is the most important factor.