fmp4.1v3 & Netware server performance

[cdenby]

My configuration is : wmp4.1v3 on windows 95 clients with Novell client3.3sp2 on a NW5.1 server.

Sometimes files on the server volumes are pretty much unusable unless copied to the hard drive of the local machine. This is a performance issue not seen on any other of dozens of applications run in this environment. What could be going on?

[Kurt Knippel]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Anatoli:

I am afraid, that NetWare does not fit FileMaker at all. You Need Windows NT workstation or server running FM server and then clients. That will be very fast on 100Mb Ethernet and PII-III-IV > 200MHz.

---

Of course, you do not install FMServer on Netware! I would never have suggested that. However it will work fine with a Netware network, so long as TCP/IP is enabled.

Filemaker Server will run on WinNT/2000, MacOS/OS X or Linux. So you have a pretty broad choice on which OS you would like to support.

I have had very bad experience running a DB server on the ONLY WinNT server in the network, as this becomes the primary domain controller as well. Running it on its own machine, with another acting as the PDC is the best solution.

quote:

---

Now your files are probably just on NW server and you are opening them through Network. If that is your case, you are using the worst scenario for FM. Remote Files. That cannot work on any network and any HW.

---

This can and does work, however as has been witnessed, it is usually pretty SLOW, especially if multiple users are sharing the files.

[cdenby]

Your replies seem to revolve around shared files. These are single user files. Seems silly that I would have trouble with these files while working at night in a high school (no other users) on a 100Mbit switch same segment of a powerful server with fast SCSI hard drives.

I know the issues with sharing files over NW - when we have to do it, we open it permanently on a win95 machine (local c: drive) and bite the bullet for performance. However - this problem is single, unrelated, unshared files.

Can't find the solution.

[Kurt Knippel]

You have the solution. The disk access across the network is simply unacceptable. Copy the files to a local drive or invest in a Filemaker Server.

Filemaker is arguably more disk intensive than other database systems and in this case it is not adequate for your use.

I regularly use Filemaker files that are stored on remote volumes and everything seems fine, although it is no where near the performance that I get from FMServer based files.

[Kurt Knippel]

Filemaker does lots of reading and writing to the disk, it is possible that either the network or the server disks are either too slow or too overloaded by traffic to provide Filemaker with the performance it needs.

Is this a single user or do multiple users connect to the databases? If multiple users, you might want to consider getting Filemaker Server, setting it up and have it run the databases off of its own harddrive.

[Anatoli]

RE: If multiple users, you might want to consider getting Filemaker Server, setting it up and have it run the databases off of its own harddrive.

I am afraid, that NetWare does not fit FileMaker at all. You Need Windows NT workstation or server running FM server and then clients. That will be very fast on 100Mb Ethernet and PII-III-IV > 200MHz.

Now your files are probably just on NW server and you are opening them through Network. If that is your case, you are using the worst scenario for FM. Remote Files. That cannot work on any network and any HW.