Server ReConnect

[Harry]

Hi Board!

 

I have Server 13 and a client that keeps dropping the connection over wifi. I can't put a cable there and run directly over ethernet. Well, I could, but It's not really an option.

 

Is there a way to get the client to reconnect when the connection is dropped?

 

Harry

[Lee Smith]

Automatic message

This topic has been moved from "Managing Scripts" to "FileMaker Server 13".

[Wim Decorte]

Hi Board!

 

I have Server 13 and a client that keeps dropping the connection over wifi. I can't put a cable there and run directly over ethernet. Well, I could, but It's not really an option.

 

Is there a way to get the client to reconnect when the connection is dropped?

 

Harry

 

Well... no.  If the connection drops, it's dead.

 

The fix is to increase the wifi reliability.  Nothing much to do with FM.  The one thing to keep in mind is that because of FM's network usage it is typically the canary in the coal mine.  It requires a constant and reliable connection to the FMS.  There is constant communication between the two even if the user is not doing anything.

[Rick Whitelaw]

It may be overkill, but in my apartment/home office I have 1 main Airport Extreme, plus 2 Airport Express plus another earlier Airport Extreme. The last 3 simply "extend the network". The place is 1250 square feet. However there isn't a square inch in the place that doesn't have wifi at less than -90 db noise level. That said, things can still mess up. Last summer I was a few hours away and couldn't access FMS. I had a friend who was not particularly tech savvy go to the office and make certain the server was on. It was. When I finally got back to the city I discovered the server had, for no reason, dropped its wifi connection. Easy to remedy on site. Not so easy remotely.

That was the only time this ever happened.

Another scenario that can occur is that a machine, not the server machine, might require a restart on occasion to once again achieve a stable state. Restarting computers occasionally is a pretty good idea as long as the machine is not serving up files. Then much more care is required.

Long winded post . . . I agree with Wim. Most failures to connect have nothing to do with FileMaker and everything to do with unstable networks.

[Steven H. Blackwell]

I would avoid having the server connect to the network wirelessly.  That's a prescription for a bad event.  A client can connect to the network wirelessly, and thence to the server.  But I would hardwire the server to a switch. And that is exactly how my own networks are configured.

 

Steven

[Rick Whitelaw]

Yes, Steven. Not avoidable in my case. Simple geography!

Rick.

[Harry]

Yea, it is a network issue. It's in a factory amongst a jungle of 3phase 415v power routes.

 

I was hoping there'd be some way to report on the connection status, then if that changes, run a connect to server script.

 

OK, looks like the weekend will be spent on a cherry picker coiled in cat6.

 

Thank you for making sure that isn't a waste of time!

 

Harry!!

[[email protected]]

I am having the same problem, ever since I updated to 10.10.2. I happens If I am connected wirelessly or if the server and client are both connected via ethernet. Any advice? I have reinstalled FMS twice.

[Rick Whitelaw]

I would avoid having the server connect to the network wirelessly.  That's a prescription for a bad event.  A client can connect to the network wirelessly, and thence to the server.  But I would hardwire the server to a switch. And that is exactly how my own networks are configured.

 

Steven

Reading your post again, are you suggesting the server machine be wired to a router directly? You mention a switch. What function would the switch perform? I'm curious because the server machine is, after all, stand alone and my client machines connect by wifi only. My main desktop machine is of course wired to the DSL router and the main Airport Extreme. But my server machine is in another room.

Thanks,

Rick.

[Wim Decorte]

I am having the same problem, ever since I updated to 10.10.2.

 

 

There's your answer... roll back to 10.10.1

[Steven H. Blackwell]

Reading your post again, are you suggesting the server machine be wired to a router directly? You mention a switch. What function would the switch perform? I'm curious because the server machine is, after all, stand alone and my client machines connect by wifi only. My main desktop machine is of course wired to the DSL router and the main Airport Extreme. But my server machine is in another room.

Thanks,

Rick.

 

OK, your Internet connection terminates at a device.  The switch is the intelligent and faster connection method for the network.  Other items on your network, including workstations, servers, and wireless base stations are also nodes on the network.

 

The way mine works is that I have two networks, one wired and the other wireless. All the servers and workstations connect to one another thru a switch as part of a wired network.  A couple of machines, including the laptop that gets emails, connect to the Internet wirelessly as well. These machines have two NIC addresses, one wired, the other wireless. The wireless base station connects to the Internet thru the service provider's interface device (erroneously called a modem).

 

I would not connect the FIleMaker Server machine to the network wirelessly.

 

Steven

[Harry]

Cable drawn and finally punched down today!