Simple question bout connecting computers.

[Loki]

Is there a way to have one computer without filemaker 5 Pro. CALL up another computer with fm and stay linked all day? There's a video store who have an old unix database setup that's used to link 2 stores together for rentals and stuff. The guy dosen't want to hafta have both comps dialup on the internet because the location is in a town that only has one local number internet access provider, and they run a very unstable service. Ya can't log on at times (password server is down), busy signals etc...

BTW, the computers both run win 98 and currently have no networking abilities other than what win 98 might provide.

Thanx for any help.

[aeleth]

Consider for a moment, that Filemaker Pro database files are readable on PC and Mac with no conversion. This means, switching to a Mac server would be a relatively simple matter of installing FMP Server and copying over the database files. You can even use an ancient Mac and still get excellent performance. Why would I suggest doing this??

Check this out:

The latest version of Appletalk Remote Access Personal Server (ARA/PS) is able to host a PPP dialup session. An old Mac and a modem are all you need to setup your own private internet service!

http://til.info.apple.com/techinfo.nsf/artnum/n24165

Install ARA/PS and configure a login/password with unlimited connection time. Then setup your client to dial up the Mac server with no timeout limit. (The client can be Mac or PC..!)

Then, you simply set Filemaker Pro to connect to the hosted database via TCP/IP. The signal will be routed through the PPP connection, through the ARA/PS server, to the host!

With further tweaking, you can script the dialup to occur only during business hours, or, add a second line to the ARA/PS server to accept your dialup, and administrate the server (control the keyboard/mouse) through Timbuktu Pro by remote!

It is also possible, with the addition of a server on the client end to "broadcast" the TCP/IP packets on your LAN, to allow any number of users to "work through" the telephone PPP connection with Filemaker Pro.

The possibilities are endless.

Feel free to contact me if you would like more info.

[Loki]

Great advice, thanx a ton. I'll look into it and give you a hoot if I have any problems.