dylan Posted February 21, 2001 Share Posted February 21, 2001 I have two Powerbooks (Pismo and G4) which need simultaneous access to six reasonably hefty FMP databases. As well as FMP, the books will continuously run productivity applications (Office, Xpress, Dreamweaver, Photoshop etc). I have a 7100/66/48Mb running MacOS 8.5 that I could set up as a dedicated FMP Server. Is it up to the job or do we need more powerful hardware? Should I be running FMP Server or can I get away with the standard edition? Would it help to downgrade the OS -- if so, to what? Would I be better to simply share between the Powerbooks? (this could create a problem when the machine running the database is out of the building). If the 7100 is up to the job, could I save on extra hardware by running a software router on it (we Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiveOak Posted February 21, 2001 Share Posted February 21, 2001 Either FM or FM Server will work in a two computer environment. FM Server has the advantage of being multi-threaded. One user won't be able to hang the other while running a script, etc. I would run either 8.5.1 or 8.6 on the 7100/66. OS 8.5 had a few bugs. I would try it out with a normal copy of FM on the 7100. It's sooo hard to tell the performance you will see without knowing details about the database files and their usage. If you only have two licenses, try it with the 7100 as the host and one powerbook. Sharing between the powerbooks would probably be faster, but more dangerous. If the host powerbook crashes (it is running a BUNCH of other stuff!), there goes the guest too. A lot of people run soft routers. I personally like the LinkSys ethernet to ethernet routers (one port or four port). Starting at about $100, they don't crash, don't get shut down, don't get disk corruption, don't get slow due to other apps, etc. I wouldn't push your luck for another $50 above router software. -bd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dylan Posted February 21, 2001 Author Share Posted February 21, 2001 Thanks LiveOak. Based on your replies, I'm thinking we'll pony up for the server licence (about Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiveOak Posted February 21, 2001 Share Posted February 21, 2001 Oops, sorry, you said ISDN. The LinkSys router doesn't handle ISDN (its ethernet in, ethernet out). It interfaces between a network and a cable modem or DSL modem. In your case, you need an ISDN router. The ISDN router (like a Netopia) should provide DHCP to provide a firewall and allow multiple users to share an ISDN connection. The ISDN router is phone line in, ethernet out. Routers (in your case) connect you with the internet, they are not involved in file sharing between Macs. Your setup will include an ethernet hub which will connect to the airport, ISDN router, and the 7100. Some ISDN routers have a 4 port hub built in. -bd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dylan Posted February 21, 2001 Author Share Posted February 21, 2001 Quote: > Some ISDN routers have a 4 port hub built in Hmm ... thought it sounded too good to be true. These ISDN routers/4 port hubs are reasonably pricey, yes? More expensive that a cheap hub and IPNetRouter (sadly I can't see crossover will ever take care of the Airport Base Station, ISDN modem and 7100). I guess I'm saying, if there's no performance hit I'd run a software router, but if a hardware router is only a few $$$ more expensive and/or waaay faster than software (considering the 7100's other workload) then hardware's the way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiveOak Posted February 23, 2001 Share Posted February 23, 2001 New, ISDN routers are more expensive than ethernet to ethernet routers. I would take a look on ebay and see what a Netopia ISDN router is going for. -bd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newbies mclbruce Posted March 24, 2001 Newbies Share Posted March 24, 2001 Hello there, I'm new to this forum but have set up internet access to several small and medium size offices. I'm unclear on one detail in this thread. Dylan, you mention that one choice you have is using a software router. Yet you are considering an ISDN router. Software routers, like the hardware LinkSys router mentioned by LiveOak, are usually used in an Ethernet to Ethernet situation. A software router would not replace an ISDN router by any means. My question for you is does your Internet provider give you an ISDN "modem" as part of their service, or do you have to buy one? I would be surprised if the ISDN provider did not provide a modem. If you can plug a computer into your ISDN connection via Ethernet, then you can use a LinkSys or other hardware router. If you need a special serial card in your computer to do ISDN than the LinkSys won't do the job. On another subject, Airport on the network can be fun. I'd expect slower performance over the airwaves than with Ethernet in FM Pro. FM Pro is rather "chatty" and latency issues will probably slow it down with Airport more than, say, web browsing. In theory, whith the new Airport 1.3 software you could get by with a hub and use the Airport as an Internet Router. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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