Debug logging

[oliverm]

Is there anyway that I can turn on Debug logging in FM Server 9 or 10 so that I can find out more about what's happening when an FM client is pulling out data?

We have an FM CMS which is running slowly, and despite months of work, we have ended up doing the Filemaker debugging ourselves as the vendor doesnt appear to be interested. I'm keen to know more about what data is being sent to the client, and whether any errors may be occuring, when the FM clients go to a particular screen in the CMS app.

I've turned on all the logging options I can see in the FMS Admin app, but that doesnt tell me much at all. I'm after something more...verbose.

Any ideas?

Olly

[IdealData]

If it is one particular layout giving grief then it is most likely you have some calculation or summary fields that are making FM work quite hard. The worst culprits are UNSTORED calculations.

Test it by removing suspicious fields.

[oliverm]

we dont have access to the actual code or anything, we are just end users. However we need to get evidence about the issue to send to the vendor to finally get them interested.

It does appear to be just in Filemaker that this issue occurs, hence our interest in analysing that.

[Colin Keefe]

... we have ended up doing the Filemaker debugging ourselves as the vendor doesnt appear to be interested...

If they truly aren't interested (e.g. you're more than happy to pay them, but they're just not responsive) and you have the master passwords, I'd suggest getting involved with another vendor. There are plenty of folks here - and hence probably in your region - who would be happy to pick up a new client.

I'm with IdealData - if it's layout specific, it's likely tied to unstored calcs, especially calcs with multiple dependencies. There are ways to address this kind of performance problem, especially in 10, that working with a consultant makes possible.

But as a first avenue, I'd try to determine WHY the original vendor isn't responsive, and try to change that situation if possible. If you don't have a Full Access account, you'll need to talk to them anyway - it may be that a straightforward conversation along the lines of, "Please help, but if you can't help, please provide a Full Access account or refer us to another vendor" will either motivate them to be more proactive or facilitate you migrating elsewhere.

[oliverm]

They wont help because they believe the problem is at this end, despite us showing them graphs, stats, any amount of information, and despite the speed issue only showing itself in FM.

Anyway, back to the point in hand, is there a way to turn on more verbose logging on FMS/FMPro ?

Olly

[Colin Keefe]

Are you offering to pay them to help, or are you trying to prove it's their problem? Did they set up your server, or did you, or some third party? Are they responsible for maintaining and patching the server, or are you?

If the vendor just sold you a solution, and was not responsible for deploying it, then they're probably pushing back because there are tons of configuration variables that contribute to performance problems, and are beyond their control.

If you want to push back on the performance of the solution itself, you should be observing the database in operation and identify what layouts are slow, etc, per IdealData's suggestion. Documenting exactly what performance problems you're having is a much better indicator of what next steps to take than flipping a log switch on.

That said, you can turn on Perfmon counters and observe FMS' interaction with the server environment and see if that offers any clues.