need advice for upgrade to server

[drrehak]

so I am ready for an upgrade. I have FMS 9 on a 5 yr old Dell Vostro.

Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 3

System Manufacturer: Dell Inc.

System Model: Vostro 200

Processor: Intel® Pentium® Dual CPU E2140 @ 1.60GHz (2 CPUs)

Memory: 2038MB RAM

HD: Western Digital WD800JD 80GB 7200 RPM

yes, I am ready for an upgrade (please dont shoot me). The machine has been running 24/7 for 5 years!

my solution is 11 tables, largest of which is 70,000 records. I also run Supercontainer for scanned images. the scanned images are stored on the HD too. total # of users 6.

I have been very pleased with performance. Although recently, things are moving a little more slowly. I also figure its just time to upgrade for preventative measures.

I would like suggestions on hardware and software.

Would it be blasphemous to reinstall FMS9 on a newer machine? A quick scan of topic headings on various forums leads me to believe that many have issues with FMS 11 and 12. ?

Is RAID absolutely necessary?

Which OS? I read that some suggest avoiding Windows7?

I think I will forgo SSD for now. I will definitely get 15000rpm. also, I am thinking 16g memory is a no brainer.

thanks in advance for any recommendations/advice! I am a full-time dad, optometrist, and filemaker designer for my small business. It also seems like there is always a light bulb to change, a printer toner to change, and toy that needs batteries changed, etc. Not enough time in the day! So, instead of driving myself crazy with FMS/Server research thought I would get some suggestions from the pros here. thank you!

-Kevin

[Steven H. Blackwell]

Well, first, you are asking some good questions.

FileMaker Server 9 is officially EOL, and it is not longer supported. It may not run correctly on the newer OS that you'll find required to run new hardware.

So, if you wanted to stay with the .fp7 format, you'll need to get FileMaker Server 11. One easy way to do that is through a Volume License with a downgrade option. Contact FMI Sales for assistance. Otherwise, if using FileMaker Pro 12, you'll need FileMaker Server 12. There are a variety of loicense options.

So, your new machine should be a mid-range product, say from HP or Dell, running Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition. Get the 64 bit version so you can fully support 16 GB of RAM and Server 12 when you go there. Do not use Windows 7 or Windows 8 for the server OS.

RAID is not a requirement fro effective FileMaker Server deployment. However, I'd recommend that you get a machine with 3 physical drives in it. On C drive place the OS and the FMS executable. On D drive place the databases themselves. The E drive can be used for backups and additional storage. The 15K rpm is a very good option if you can find them. UW SCSI or the like.

Please come back with further questions if you have them.

Steven