Help w/ FMP Server article

[cpendleton]

After a couple tries I almost have the FMP server startup working properly. the problem is that when I open the server config panel it says that the server is not running “start server”; however, if I open a remote client and click on hosts, the files are up and running. Any ideas? I’m glad it’s working but the config app may confuse some.
Thanks,
Charlie-

[Cabbage]

If you restart the computer and just stay at the login window can you connect to the databases?

[Kent Roller]

I had a discussions with several techs at FileMaker about this, and they said it will be fixed in the next FMP Server version for OSX.

There’s no more hacking that you can do (that I’m aware of) to your startup script in order to make the Server Config interface jive with the server daemon. The server daemon doesn’t tell the Config panel that fmpserver is running.

I’m not an FMP apologist. I think the issue is totally unacceptable, and it causes a lot of problems at our installations because you can’t close the hosted files without …

a) stopping fmpserver in a terminal
b) closing the files from a workstation with Remote Administration
c) writting -NO in the hostconfig file and then restart the server

Managers can’t be asked to do any of those tasks on a regular basis, so we gave up on the startup script and loaded the Config Panel into the Login items and just make sure that managers know how to click the Start Server button should the server ever be restarted.

Like OSX itself, it’s just not ready for production use.

If it’s any consolation, FMPS5.5 for Windows doesn’t even have a Config panel for manually starting and stopping the server.

[Cabbage]

[quote:5968ba586e]Like OSX itself, it’s just not ready for production use. [/quote:5968ba586e]
Ha! That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard in a while. Maybe you just don’t know what you’re doing 😯

I’ve been using it in a production environment since May 2002. I never touched OS X before that and was comfortable within a week.

As for FileMaker have you tried beta 7?

[Kent Roller]

Perhaps I don’t know what I’m doing, Cabbagehead. Then again, the latest FMP developement contract I just signed is for $1,000,000.00 over a ten year period. That’s 100g a year, in case you were wondering.

Instead of being a geek by insulting people and not listening to the original question, you should consider the real issue and respond accordingly. Who knows, you might get hired to work on a really big project.

I notice a lot of people on this board try to sound like they know everything, but they never answer questions directly or give proven, specific advice. Everything’s an experiment that’s oh so funny. “Try this.” “Futz with that.” “Mess around for a while.” Maybe computing is a funny game to you, but it’s big money to me and my customers.

Boast all you want to about your production OSXS installation. How large is it? Are there more than 200 connected clients? Do you have fiber backbones between switches? What’s your WAN topology between remote locations? Are your apps, websites, and email servers mission critical that can’t be down for more than a few minutes at the most? What is your redeployment window if you have to get a replacment Xserve online?

Maybe I don’t know what I’m doing, but then again, neither does Apple. I recently sat down, face to face, with a top Apple engineer who couldn’t answer this simple question: How do you configure a (DNS) HOSTS file in OSX similar to selecting a HOSTS text file from the TCP/IP CDEV in OS9 or editing the HOSTS file in Win95-XP. And why does Apple aggresively suppress distribution of DNS Helper and DiNoSaur written by one of their own engineers? OSXS is not a production product and they know it, which is why their standard answer to everything is “Wait for Panther”, which is what they were saying about Jaquar two years ago. Oh, and read my post about WGM crashing and tell me that OSX is a production product.

But back to the point. Do you, or do you not, know how to make the FMP5.5S config panel show that the databases are running, and thus can be stopped, when the databases are launched at startup with a startup script? I’ll pay you $1,000.00 for the answer with accurate and typo free instructions. It has to be done in FMP5.5S because that’s what my clients own and are not willing to “try” a beta version. This is a much better value to me than spending $5,0000 on nebulous “training” from Apple or $3000.00 for FM premium tech support just to have the privilege of being told I have to “wait” for the next version.

[aaronfreimark]

The problem is that the startup item is running fmserver as root, but the Config app is looking for it running as the current user.

Solution: if the current user is “admin” change the startup item so it begins with:

sudo admin /Applications/…<path to fmserver app>

Why: sudo isn’t only for root, in this case it tells root to run the program as admin.

[Ross]

Couldn’t resit

“Boast all you want to about your production OSXS installation. How large is it? Are there more than 200 connected clients? Do you have fiber backbones between switches? What’s your WAN topology between remote locations? Are your apps, websites, and email servers mission critical that can’t be down for more than a few minutes at the most? What is your redeployment window if you have to get a replacment Xserve online? ”

I have a number of clients with way over 200 connected clients. Of course most have fiber backbones between switches. A couple large school districts with this setup (these are not mission critical, but they are never down). I even have one that has 27 Xserves managing 41 schools thought the district, tons of windows and mac clients. Many cooperate clients with mission critical servers. Bottom line is your servers (any servers, MS, Linux, BSD, etc) are as good as the administrator running them.

All I know is when a new virus or security leak comes out and the MS servers are down, mine are still running.

As for your particualr issue this seems to be an issue with Filemaker, not OSX.
This may help:
http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20031215140504888

[Ross]

Also have to comment on some of your other comments.

Just because they have the title “Apple Engineer” don’t think these guys are high up support for Apple. I have met many that should not have that title, many haven’t even past the ACTC test yet. Or are not even certified (not that this matters but it helps)

These boards are not your one stop spot for finding all your solutions. I’m sure all your questions and others could be answered but do you think everyone has to time to explain everything in detail. Its very hard to try and talk someone through fixing a server problem when you know nothing about the environment, nothing about the persons skill set, nothing about the setup, etc.

[Author]

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