Very Computer

I have three main criteria : Users, Files and Processing.
In my mind, these three criteria form a triangle.
I can only switch to FM if the three sides of the triangle are in place
***simultaneously***.

Side 1 :   15-20 users simultaneously, creating, searching, viewing,
modifying records using complex layouts.

Side 2 :    Big files :70000 clients, 20000 products, 300000 payments in the
Current base
               Bigger files : 140000 clients, 40000 products, 1500000
payments in the Archive base
                N.B. Users very rarely need to access the archive base. It
is managed by processes, scripts.

Side 3 :    User triggered processes, mailmerging, importing and exporting
files, creating reports ..

I have contacted local Filemaker people here in France asking them to point
me towards companies using Filemaker in these conditions.
Up to today we have not found an similar configuration over here,  i.e.
15-20 Users + Big Files + Heavy Processing *** simultaneously ***.

We have found companies that have big files, heavy processing but only one
or two users running scripts against the files.
We have found companies that have 30 Users, but medium sized files and
limited processing ... etc.

From my point of view, these are two sided triangles :) and so I am turning
to the group in the quest for my three sided triangle :
Can anyone point me to companies that are using FM in conditions similar to
(or worse than) those I described above ?

TIA

Seamus

Filemaker is outstanding I recommend it.  If you were telling us that
thousands of users would be hitting the server then I would say to
look elsewhere, but what you have outlined seems to work.

-Squeed

Quote:> > Hi,
> > I'm seriously considering switching our rather heavy database
application
> > over to FM Server.
> > But I am a "Proof-of-the-pudding "kind of person and I cannot recommend
a
> > switch based on assumptions such as "I don't see why it shouldn't work".
> > "Filemaker Inc says this or that ...",
> > I am convinced that people have already been to where I want to go and I
> > want to find them and hear what they have to say.

> > I have three main criteria : Users, Files and Processing.
> > In my mind, these three criteria form a triangle.
> > I can only switch to FM if the three sides of the triangle are in place
> > ***simultaneously***.

> > Side 1 :   15-20 users simultaneously, creating, searching, viewing,
> > modifying records using complex layouts.

> > Side 2 :    Big files :70000 clients, 20000 products, 300000 payments in
the
> > Current base
> >                Bigger files : 140000 clients, 40000 products, 1500000
> > payments in the Archive base
> >                 N.B. Users very rarely need to access the archive base.
It
> > is managed by processes, scripts.

> > Side 3 :    User triggered processes, mailmerging, importing and
exporting
> > files, creating reports ..

> > I have contacted local Filemaker people here in France asking them to
point
> > me towards companies using Filemaker in these conditions.
> > Up to today we have not found an similar configuration over here,  i.e.
> > 15-20 Users + Big Files + Heavy Processing *** simultaneously ***.

> > We have found companies that have big files, heavy processing but only
one
> > or two users running scripts against the files.
> > We have found companies that have 30 Users, but medium sized files and
> > limited processing ... etc.

> > From my point of view, these are two sided triangles :) and so I am
turning
> > to the group in the quest for my three sided triangle :
> > Can anyone point me to companies that are using FM in conditions similar
to
> > (or worse than) those I described above ?

> > TIA

> > Seamus

One area of concern is 'complex layouts'. If 'complex' means a lot of
graphical elements, particularly elements that are not generated in
Filemaker, Filemaker Server might slow down trying to push out those blobs.

--
John Weinshel
Datagrace
Vashon Island, WA
(206) 463-1634
Associate Member, Filemaker Solutions Alliance

Quote:> Hi,
> I'm seriously considering switching our rather heavy database application
> over to FM Server.
> But I am a "Proof-of-the-pudding "kind of person and I cannot recommend a
> switch based on assumptions such as "I don't see why it shouldn't work".
> "Filemaker Inc says this or that ...",
> I am convinced that people have already been to where I want to go and I
> want to find them and hear what they have to say.

> I have three main criteria : Users, Files and Processing.
> In my mind, these three criteria form a triangle.
> I can only switch to FM if the three sides of the triangle are in place
> ***simultaneously***.

> Side 1 :   15-20 users simultaneously, creating, searching, viewing,
> modifying records using complex layouts.

> Side 2 :    Big files :70000 clients, 20000 products, 300000 payments in
the
> Current base
>                Bigger files : 140000 clients, 40000 products, 1500000
> payments in the Archive base
>                 N.B. Users very rarely need to access the archive base. It
> is managed by processes, scripts.

> Side 3 :    User triggered processes, mailmerging, importing and exporting
> files, creating reports ..

> I have contacted local Filemaker people here in France asking them to
point
> me towards companies using Filemaker in these conditions.
> Up to today we have not found an similar configuration over here,  i.e.
> 15-20 Users + Big Files + Heavy Processing *** simultaneously ***.

> We have found companies that have big files, heavy processing but only one
> or two users running scripts against the files.
> We have found companies that have 30 Users, but medium sized files and
> limited processing ... etc.

> From my point of view, these are two sided triangles :) and so I am
turning
> to the group in the quest for my three sided triangle :
> Can anyone point me to companies that are using FM in conditions similar
to
> (or worse than) those I described above ?

> TIA

> Seamus

I forgot to mention that 2 of the databases that are hosted are very
server side script intensive.  Meaning that I am running 50 scripts
per day on one database.  These scripts do everything from back up the
data to sending out e-mails to users regarding the status of certian
records etc ...

Also, I don't know if you are planning on developing this yourself or
looking for a developer, if you need assistance in that area, please
let me know as well.

-Squeed

82 files (tables)
60 clients
1 Web server machine (Unlimited with probably 20 logins per day, not too
many queries)

The system runs the entire company with the exception of the General
Ledger.

That includes: Orders (30,000), Payables (70,000), Customers/Vendors
(4000), Estimates (20,000), then the big ones: Estimate line items
(200,000), Job Pricing Line Items (150,000), etc etc

I never could have built this system in the beginning. After 3 years my
learning curve started getting pretty flat. I've been building the
system for about 5 years and stuff I did in the beginning was much
stupider, but FileMaker is very forgiving, flexible, and updatable
without pain.

For what it's worth, I maintain a large Filemaker database, with about
70 tables, The main tables range in size from a few thousand to about
two million records. Total size of all the files is a bit under 3
gigabytes. There's lots of complex layouts with multiple portals,
scripted buttons, etc. Everything runs on FM clients, not web
browsers. During the day it serves between 12-15 internal users. Three
of these users are doing very heavy data processing all day long,
including lots of imports, printing, and scripted updates. The rest
are doing more intermittent work, lookups, printing reports, and
manual data entry. From my experience with this system, the biggest
performance limitations are the client workstations, followed by the
network speed. The FM server (450 MHz PII) pretty much twiddles its
thumbs all day.

The biggest frustration is how long it takes to open a gigabyte-sized
table.