I have 10 FMP databases that are rarely used. Should I run them off of FMP server, or just run them as stand alone databases. Does having these running in FMP server use up any resources?

It's easy to automate backup on FM Server. When they are on the server, you can access them from any computer with a copy of FMP.

A couple of files won't slow FM Server down much. The only disadvantage is that FM Server can host a limited number of files (is it 250?) so your little-use files could be taking up resources that other more frequently used databases require. (You can always host them now and take them off later when it starts geting full.)

First of all, I'll assume that by "in FM server" you mean using the program FM Server, which is different from you normal version of FM. There is no FM Server 4.0. FM 4.0 (and 3.0) used FM Server 3.0, which is currently out of production. FM 4.0 will not work with FM Server 5.0 or 5.5. You might be able to find a copy of FM Server 3.0 on ebay or you could upgrade to FM 5.5 client and purchase FM Server 5.5.

FM Inc. recommends that you run FM Server on its own machine, not on a computer running other network services. If you are the only user, FM Server will probably be slower than a local copy due to the difference in speed of accessing a hard disk drive locally vs. over a network. A current version of FM Server is about $900.00, so it's probably not worth it for a single user with 10 seldom used files. The current version will host 125 files and 250 users.

-bd