Not sure where to put these questions.  They are mostly about hardware.  

I know nothing about computer hardware.

 

I want to add a half dozen iPads to my cabinet shop floor that will run Filemaker Go  that is served from a shared web host.

We will be running task management lists and accessing PDF drawings etc.

 

This will all be done on Wi-fi.  All of the iPads will within 100 feet of the router.

There are a lot of large machines within the shop if that makes any difference for reception.

 

1)  What level of iPad do I need to buy for this?  Is there any benefit to buying more expensive boxes than less expensive boxes?

Is the operating speed going to be similar from one iPad to another?

 

2)  If I deploy six iPads will I be seeing any degradation in download speed from the shared server?

 

3)  Could this degradation (if any) be improved with faster internet connection?  

 

4)  Would this situation be a good candidate for getting our own server instead of sharing one that is based in Los Angeles  (we are in Seattle)

1) There is a difference - mostly due to amount of ram. The newer the more ram >> better.

 

2) This really depends on your internal router.  The newest apple router should handle this ok.  Also a dedicated server machine would be optimal.  If environment is managed - server can handle this amount of traffic no problem

 

3) No - faster router (if running server locally) - if your within your internet signal (i.e. your using wifi not 3g or LTE) then its all internal - in fact you do not need internet at all to run this (at least in theory - never actually tested that) - just a good router running intranet (not internet)

 

4) AB - SO - LUTELY.  Huge difference in performance.  You will also need licensing for 6 iPads being connected to the server at one time.  (only one at a time with base server).

 

Testing is VERY important before you invest deeply.  Try running it hosted externally - is it even functional (this can be quite slow)? Try running the application on client and share it (not optimal but it will demonstrate the kind of connectivity you will get if running it locally.  

 

Some other things to consider:

>>Make sure that the solution you are running is optimized for iPad/Go.  Someone who is knowing what they are doing should at least advise/review solution if not develop it for you.

>>There are a number of development models other than server/client "mirroring". The separation model can be valuable. Further if either formats do not work - try a syncing solution (file is saved locally on the iPad and sends/retrieves data from the server as it needs). Much more stable and performance is "snappy" but "needing to sync" all the time can be hard to manage << this is the solution model I utilize as stability and performance are key for me and my clients.

 

Let me know if I can help in any other way

GL

Warm regards,

Marcus Swift M.Sc. R.Psych
Lead Programmer
Humane Development

(780) 849-2171

[email protected]

www.humanedevelopment.com

Why Be Generic?

12-Mar-15

Thanks a lot Nuos!  That's a very helpful answer.

Nuos,

 

More remedial questions:

 

I saw on the internet that the new IpadAir2  has double the ram of preceding iPads.

This is a good thing, right?

 

How significant is storage?  If everything lives on the server I could get by with the smallest storage capacity?

Ram = good

CPU also helps with large calculations, sorts etc. As for size. I tend to go for 32 gb units. Quick look at my Solutions with upwards of 1 million records, shows that size range between 35 and 55 MB. PDFs are an issue though. I have one solution that went from 30+ gigabytes to 30 odd megabyte simply by offsetting the thousand or so PDFs in the file.