Hi. I need some advice regarding the purchase of FMS.

I am currently using FM10 advanced to run a database that can be accessed online via IWP at my Hospital. I am a physician, not a developer. In FM Advanced I do use the developer tools. I am planning to expand access to the database, so I need to overcome the 5 user IWP limitation of FM Advanced. I am looking to upgrade to FMS, but I find the FM website quite confusing in terms of what the differences are. I am unsure what I get for the considerable price difference between FMS and FMSA. Does FMS have the same developer tools that FMA has or would I need FMSA? I have no immediate plans to use SQL or ODBC at the moment. I don't need others to connect to the server from FM clients. So basically if I'm looking to keep my developer tools and expand IWP to 100 users, is FMS the way to go vs. FMSA. Incidentally, I am in Canada, so the cost differential is even more. With tax I would be looking at CDN$1500 vs CDN$4500 so I would need a really good reason to go for Advanced.

I would appreciate some guidance.

Thanks.

IWP is only available in FMS ADVANCED. You need FMS Advanced.

FMS/FMSA do not offer developer tools, they are simply DB hosting systems.

Don't forget to make sure your hardware is up to specification too.

You may consider using a FileMaker Hosting company that would provide you IWP access.

Good advice from both Ideal and Ocean West.

You can contact the Argyle office in Toronto who serve as FMI sales reps in Canada. 800-887-1075. They can provide information on licensing. or, you can order from the on-line store. In either regard I recommend you spend the extra $25 US for the physical media for Server Advanced.

Do note the item about the hardware specifications.

Come back if you need more assistance.

Steven

Thanks for all the helpful info. That explains my confusion. I assumed FMS included IWP. My hardware is fairly uptodate with 2.4GHz intel Dual Core, 2Gb Ram and Mac OS 10.5.6.

Looks like I'll have to submit some proposals for a capital investment.

Much appreciated

Edited February 13, 200916 yr by Guest

My hardware is fairly uptodate with 2.4GHz intel Dual Core, 2Gb Ram and Mac OS 10.5.6.

Well there's Hertz, and ther's not exactly. And you're in the latter category.

This is not enough RAM for IWP, assuming you're using the all-in-one configuration. You need 4 GB RAM. Also 10.5.6 is not a certified OS for FileMaker Server 10. It might work, but it might not as well. You'd be better off with OS X Server 10.5.4.

IWP requires FileMaker Server 10 Advanced. If you are in a univeristy or other academic setting, you may qualify for special pricing.

Additionally, for best performance you probaby want 3 SAS drives in that machine. You do not need RAID, but the SAS drives are the recommended ones.

Steven