Filemaker Pro and wireless networking

[K Camp]

Hello,

I currently support an offsite production twice a year that uses File Maker Pro Server 8.5 to host a database that contains information needed to support the production. The normal setup is eight laptops (seven clients and one server). I have never had an issue in the past with this setup. The clients are able to access the database and create and update records without any issues.

This time around my client is requesting a wireless solution. Do you have any experience with using Filemaker Pro 8 using a wireless connection? Is this something that is feasible? The environment is very tense at these events and I would hate to have to deal with a bunch of issues related to using wireless.

One laptop is using File Maker Pro 8 Advance and the other seven are using Filemaker 8.5 client.

Please advise.

Thanks in advance.

[MacUSA]

K Camp,

Speed and security are the top concerns.

Your speeds on a wired network are going to be much quicker. Most ethernet cards today are 10/100/1000 Mbit/sec.

Wireless has three standards.

802.11b is 11 Mbit/sec

802.11g is 54 Mbit/sec

802.11n varies between manufacturers

One other thing that should be noted about wireless is that the weaker the signal you have (be it becaouse of distance or walls, etc) the slower overall rate of transfer you'll achieve.

FileMaker moves a lot of data back and forth. Expect a noticeable different between wired and wireless.

Wireless security becomes more of an issue each day. It's quite easy and obtainable to capture and decode wireless data. Be extremely careful of the sensitive data within your layouts.

I hope this helps!

Happy New Year!

Dan

MacUSA.net