Hi FM Forums, first post here... be gentle

I'm using FM Server 8 on a XP Pro box and serving a data base (.fm7) from it. I need to get FM Server to close the database at a predetermined time and then open it again after an hour.

Would I have to write 2x scripts for this (one to close the DB and one to open it again) and use the task schedular in FM Server to run them after one another or is there another way of doing this?

I'm clueless as how to go about writing these scripts if that is the only way to do it. So any examples (or links to) will be much appreciated.

What is the purpose of closing the databases for an hour? For backups, you should use the built-in scheduled backups, then copy those backup sets for your archives.

I need to close the database to replace it with a file of the same name.

This is our test box, I need to replace the database it's using with a copy of the database from the live box.

So the sequence needs to be:

[color:green]Close DB on FM Server -> Replace DB with one of same name -> [color:green]Open DB for publishing on FM Server.

The replacing of the file is done by remote by a data storage company. I just need to make sure the file is closed so they can work with it.

I know it's a weird setup but my boss wants it this way. so...

Did you figure out how to do this? I'm looking into an automated backup of the database files using SyncBack to backup directly to an ftp site. I'm thinking that to have the backup be as clean and as useful as possible the databases should be closed when the SyncBack backup is scheduled. I saw something related to using windows scheduled tasks to accomplish this but I'm just not entirely sure that the commands "FMServer STOP" and "FMServer START" are going to accomplish what I want. Any help is appreciated.

Enders solution is the best way to do this.

P.S. The boss isn't always right. Sometimes you just have to tell them this is the way it needs to be done.

Did you ever find a solution to this?

According to the Filemaker Server Admin, you can have the system run a "script" to close and open files. That is where I am headed.

My situation is similar. but I want to run this close script so that I know the files are closed when I do a reboot. This should be done during the weekends.

I need to close the database to replace it with a file of the same name. This is our test box, I need to replace the database it's using with a copy of the database from the live box.

FM Server 9 allows files to be closed, deleted, uploaded and opened (with permissions correctly set) using the remote administration tool from a remote computer.

No need for scripts any more. :clap:

What about having the FM server shutdown so a nice windows reboot can happen?

The DB here is quite large (5gig or so) and from what I've seen the physical server can't be rebooted or some of the FM databases will become corrupted.

FM Server 9 allows files to be closed, deleted, uploaded and opened (with permissions correctly set) using the remote administration tool from a remote computer.

No need for scripts any more.

You can do this remotely on Version 8 as well. I can't tell if he's trying to do this automatically or manually though. I thought it was automatic.

What about having the FM server shutdown so a nice windows reboot can happen?

The DB here is quite large (5gig or so) and from what I've seen the physical server can't be rebooted or some of the FM databases will become corrupted.

My idea was to write a server-script that would close all the databases, then reboot the server. When the Server Reboots the database should open again.

I would schedule this at like 2AM

What about having the FM server shutdown so a nice windows reboot can happen?

The DB here is quite large (5gig or so) and from what I've seen the physical server can't be rebooted or some of the FM databases will become corrupted.

by the way you are right, Even though I asked my co-workers to close the databases, someone did leave it open, and some of the databases got corrupted ARG. fortunately FM was able to repair them.

You can do this remotely on Version 8 as well.

No, the FMS 8 admin tool only allows the databases to be closed and opened. The ability to upload, remove and set permissions was introduced with FMS 9.0.

No, the FMS 8 admin tool only allows the databases to be closed and opened. The ability to upload, remove and set permissions was introduced with FMS 9.0.

Oh gotcha. thanks for clarification.

When the Server Reboots the database should open again.

This is [color:red]not a good idea or a best practice. The files should never be set to restart automatically. If there has been an inelegant shutdown, you need to examine the files for possible damage before continuing to use them.

Steven

This is [color:red]not a good idea or a best practice. The files should never be set to restart automatically. If there has been an inelegant shutdown, you need to examine the files for possible damage before continuing to use them.

Steven

Yes I agree. We're back to the original question...

How do you automatically/schedule the server to close the files?

"How do you automatically/schedule the server to close the files? "

What was the original problem?