FM Server 11 Advanced Admin Console not working right

[Cable]

Anyone else having a problem with the FileMaker server console? I discovered this morning that I can open it, but get an error message.

Interestingly, from the Server Overview, if I go to the Server menu, "Start Database Server" is a valid option. When I select it, nothing happens other than it graying out. My files are hosted just fine, scheduled server scripts are running, and all the FileMaker Processes are running, I just can't get admin access to the server.

I checked Java and it hadn't been updated so I updated it. I know in the past Java updates have caused problems, but those times the Admin console wouldn't start at all instead of starting with overview only like this time.

I've tried restarting the server and that had no effect. I also re-downloaded the admin console launcher. Very odd.

[Wim Decorte]

No need to restart the server to troubleshoot admin console issues. First thing to try is to see if the command line version gives you expected results (like list of the hosted files, list of the connected clients, list of the schedules,...)

If it doesn't you can use the "fmsadmin restart adminserver" command which will restart only the part of FMS that takes care of the admin console. This will leave the database engine and the connected clients alone.

[Cable]

Thank you for the response.

I don't know how to use the "command line version" but it seems this is a pretty severe problem. So far FM tech support has spent two hours with me working on it to no avail. Even a reinstall didn't work.

Interestingly, I downloaded the trial version of server to try to isolate the problem. I installed it on my Windows 7 laptop and it worked just fine. I installed it on another Windows Server 2008 machine and got the same problem. I installed it on a Windows Server 2003 machine and it also works just fine. So, it appears something is up with Server 2008. Puzzling.

[Cable]

Ok, we have the situation resolved.

The issue is an odd one that apparently the higher up FileMaker system engineers are aware of and working on. The problem occasionally crops up on Windows Server 2008 machines with multiple NIC cards. For unknown reasons, there will be a communication problem with the FileMaker admin console. The way around it is to disable all the NIC cards, start the admin console, and then turn the cards back on. As long as admin console is left open it will continue to function properly.

[Wim Decorte]

Thanks for looping back and providing us with the answer! Very much appreciated.

As to the command line interface: it's extremely useful and it packs some power that is not available from the console. So check it out in the FMS help file and if you have any questions about it, post back.