FM server 10 under windows XP

[zab]

Hello

I'm not much of a server expert so I really need your advice here.

For the development stage of our filemaker solution, I used FM Servers 9 on a workstation running Windows XP sp2. Now the business is upgrading to a new server and I would very much like to Use FM Server 10. The new server will be running on Windows XP sp3. I can't find if it's ok or not.

We have less than 10 users.

Most of the users are using Windows XP sp2, some sp3. Most user will access the database with FM9

We hope to have the database available to our main office in another city. (everything in the server side is setup for it already)

I'd like to be able to work on the database remotely from home.

Do you think, under those circumstances, it's possible (and a good idea) to upgrade to FM Server 10 (I already got it as an upgrade so buying it or not is not the issue here) or do you think it's best to stay with FM Server 9.

I'd appreciate a fast answer because I'm meeting the server guy tomorrow.

Thank you

Isabelle

[IdealData]

Current specification for FMS 10 does not list XP as suitable - noticeably this was still valid for FMS 9, so I suspect XP has been dropped.

Are there particular features in FMS 10 you want to use? If not then you don't need it.

Fancy running VIsta? or wait for Windows 7 compatibility from FMI.

[Steven H. Blackwell]

Windows XP is [color:red] not a supported OS for FileMaker Server 10. use Windows Server 2003 SP 2 Standard Edition 32 bit or Windows Server 2008 SP 1 Standard Edtion 32 bit. You might also use Vista Business, but I would not. Vista is not a Server OS.

HTH

Steven

[zab]

I found this is the FM documentation, fmp10 cotrix guide.pdf :

"Only the following clients are supported by FileMaker, Inc. at this time. Other clients may work as expected but they have not been tested for use with FileMaker Pro and are not currently supported.

1Citrix ICA Client 9.1 for 32-bit Windows (Windows 2003, Windows 2008, and Windows XP)

1Citrix ICA Client 10.200.2650 for Windows Vista

1Citrix ICA Client 10.00.600 for Mac OS X"

Maybe that is what they are installing. This is not my decision to choose what server is installed. And yes there is many things I Iove in FM10. So if I can I'd like to use this one. I meet the IT guy i a few minutes. I'll keep you informed.

Thank you.

[Steven H. Blackwell]

These are the Citrix specs. They have nothing to do with the OS for FIleMaker Server.

Steven

[zab]

You're right it has nothing to do with this. I was just looking for something.

They simply installed Windows XP sp3 on a server to share the files between users in every cities. That's all. There is a lot of disk space and lot of memory in there. I tried to installed FM Server 10 but it didn't work ;-(

But FM server 9 was successfully installed and work well on every work station. I haven't tried the other cities yet.

This is kind of strange we can install FMS10 on any type of Mac OS and you need Vista or more on a pc. No one trust Vista where I work.

Thank you all for your help it's much appreciated.

Isabelle

[Wim Decorte]

FMS 10 can't be installed on just any OSX either. I believe it's 10.4.11 and 10.5.4 and up. So the same kind of restriction applies there.

Nothing really wrong with Vista either. It's a marketing flop, not an engineering flop. XP was so good and robust and Vista brought so few new things that it doesn't really pay off to upgrade. So if you want to stick with a business OS (as opposed to a server OS) for FMS 10 you'll have to go with Vista Business.

If you're staying with FMS9 keep in mind that if your solution uses FM10 features things might break when they are evaluated server-side (like some calcs are).

[zab]

Yes but who's working with a Mac OS earlier that 10.4 ? Not so many. In the other hand, almost everyone I know with working with a PC use XP. That's the reason of my surprise.

My boss don't want Vista so I don't have much choice.

I develop with FM 9 for the business. But at home, I play with FM 10 for my personal projects and for the fun of it. That's why I know I like it and appreciate some of its feature.

It's a bit stupid but just the way I can highlight a line in a table with FM10 was worth it. Everybody says it's sometimes hard to follow a line in a big table full of datas. And the script trigger. But anyway it's not for now.

Thank you.

[zab]

Hello again.

It turns out the XP on the server was very unstable so they finally decided to install windows 2008 server. I'll be able to install Fm server 10... if it's wise!

I read on FM website that Fm 10 clients needs Windows XP sp3 as a minimum. Most people at work have sp2 (because our Autocad software don't work well on sp3). Tonight, I tried to installed fm 10 on my computer with XP sp2 and it installed well and it seems to work ok. I have not used it on a regular basis.

Again, on the website they say that all improvements in FM10 (script trigger and everything else) won't work for FM 9 clients, Now, I'm not sure if it's a good idea to install version 10.

I need to know if some of you are working with FM10 on windows XP sp2 and if it is stable. In the case it's unstable, do you believe I should stick to FM9 considering most of the user are using that version. As the developper I'm much interested in the fm 10 version... I need objectivity here folks

Thank you very much for your inputs.

Isabelle

[clarka]

A few months ago, our office upgraded from FMS 9 to FMS 10 (6 workstations, also upgraded), not realizing that Windows XP is not a supported OS. The server runs Windows 2003, workstations are XP sp3.

Everything has been working well until recently--one of the workstations cannot access the server. Her computer can access the server for other programs, but it can no longer access the drive on the server where the database is hosted.

Any ideas on how to fix this? Should we downgrade back to FM9?

Upgrading our OS is not a viable option--we have too many medical appliations that aren't compatible with newer operating systems.

Thanks for your ideas!

Edited February 16, 2010 by Guest

[IdealData]

but it can no longer access the drive on the server where the database is hosted

Users MUST NOT open hosted databases directly - they must use the File > Open Remote method from FileMaker Pro.

If you permit users to access the database directly then you will destroy the database!

[Steven H. Blackwell]

Her computer can access the server for other programs, but it can no longer access the drive on the server where the database is hosted.

This description is a very clear indication that you [color:red]do not have FIleMaker Server correctly installed or managed. I'd recommend consulting the documentation or bring in someone who knows how to do this correctly.

Steven