I have been having problems that I at first thought were with the server itself, but now it appears are just with the Admin Console.

My configuration:

Macintosh 1.8GHz PowerPC G5

2.5 GB RAM

OS 10.4.11 (Tiger)

FMSA 9.0.3.325

Apache 1.3

PHP 5.2.4

It will be going along just fine but when I need to restart the computer for routine maintenance, more times than not I run into trouble. I go into the Admin Console and stop both the Database Server and the Web Publishing Engine. After both are shut down, I do the necessary maintenance and restart the computer. FMS is configured to start with the computer.

After it is fully up, I start the Admin Console. In the icons at the top it shows that the Database Server is not running and the Web Publishing Engine is running. The server status pane says all systems are normal and the indicator is green for Web Server, Web Publishing Engine, and Database Server.

When I attempt to view any section of the Admin Console I get this error message "The Database Server is not available. Admin Console functionality is limited to FileMaker Server Overview. To use other functionality, please start the database server again."

I can access the databases being hosted remotely through FMPA as well as with a web browser.

At times I have been able to correct this by rebooting the computer in safe mode and then again normally (possibly coincidentally). Today, multiple reboots do not affect the problem.

Most recently, when finding this condition I quit the admin console and in Terminal used the sudo launchctl start com.filemaker.fms command to start the database server. I then went back into the Admin Console but nothing was changed.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Theresa Hansen

University of Alaska Anchorage

Center for Human Development

If the remote computer you're running the admin tool on has Mac OS X 10.5 then you need to install the 9.0.3.326 patch/update on the server.

Actually, I was running the Admin Console on the same computer as the server. Your suggestion prompted me to access it from another computer, but the results are the same. It reports that the Database sever is not running, though the hosted databases are available.

I'd suggest then that one of the necessary ports are not open or are blocked by the firewall.

There are numerous reports of this type issue on the Macintosh OS. Do you close the Console after using it each timeor doyou leave it open?

Steven

The ports I have open are 5003, 50003, 50006, 16000, 16001.

I do frequently leave the Admin Console open for extended periods of time. If this has done damage to it is there a way to reinstall just the Admin Console?

No way to reinstall just the Console without a major overhaul. Better just to reinstall server itself.

However, I don't think that is necessary. Just don't leave the Console open and idle for extended periods.

Steven

It looks like I am going to have to reinstall Server again (3rd time in about 6 months). So the question becomes should I go ahead and upgrade that machine to Leopard while I am at it. Which is considered generally the most stable for FMSA 9 - Tiger or Leapard?

Once I have it reinstalled, I will do no further system updates, and only open Admin Console for quick checks. Hopefully that will make this install last a while longer.

Thanks for your assistance,

Theresa

Which is considered generally the most stable for FMSA 9 - Tiger or Leapard?

Of the various Macintosh OS option OS X Server 10.4.

Steven