Hi everyone, I'm new to these forums as a poster, but have enjoyed all the helpful discussion I've found here so far! I'm hoping for some advice on the following situation, with cost and performance considerations.

 

I run a small company (5 employees) that will be using a database solution I developed. We need the solution to be all of the following:

- available on FM Go on iOS devices

- available offline

- fast performance

 

I am trying to explore the pros and cons of the following setups:

 

Setup #1: Host the database with an online hosting company. I haven't yet found one that includes the MirrorSync service or something similar, so while the price is right, this solution seems to omit offline access, and since we'd be accessing the DB over 3G, would suffer from slow speeds.

 

Setup #2: Rent dedicated servers or Amazon EC2 space. My understanding is that in this scenario I would need to purchase FM server for the business to own, and then deploy it myself, correct? Sounds promising, but the outlay of cash for FM server plus Mirrorsync licenses is a bit daunting.

 

Setup #3: Buy a dedicated server computer (ie. Mac mini server), and install FM Server and MirrorSync locally. I like the control I'd have in this situation, but dislike the lack of technical support, the cost, and the risk of server downtime due to local hardware or connectivity issues.

 

I'm open to other setups as well, and really appreciate any guidance! Thanks all.

We use #3 and are exploring a few options for access externally/off the grid...

 

3.1 - We are not using FM Go - most of the clients are Windows shops, and can use Android in the field, so...

3.2 - Web access to the systems. We only wanted a very limited subset of the systems available outside the office, so this will be the primary external access methodology. Then...

3.3 - Offline use. For this we are insisting on iPad at the moment, and are writing a app that will download the required information via the web interface (XML) - this includes the mod ids of records. Luckily, most of the data is not highly volatile - when the upload after being off the grid occurs, records with conflicting mod ids will be flagged and held for human assessment.

 

HTH

 

Webko

Note that we do support MirrorSync on any of our FileMaker-type accounts.  You need to provide your license, but we do not charge anything additional to use it on our services.

 

http://www.pointinspace.com/

 

- John

Hosting with a hosting company is probably you most economical solution.  And with the purchase of MirrorSync, gives you the offline option you are looking for.

 

As for fast performance, well, that's really up to you.  Read up on good coding practices with FM...and test, test, test.

 

Also, remember to secure your file.  The hosting company will take care of securing the server for you...but you still need to make sure your file is secured.  And not open to prying eyes ( see Stephen Blackwell's lastest blog post on some common "mistakes" with hosted files....here ).

Great, thanks for the advice everyone. I'll definitely read up on securing hosted files!