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FileMaker Server is a great product: it offers the best performance for hosting FileMaker files, can host files for multiple platforms, can access multiple external sources and has built-in backup capability and scheduled script execution. However, like most other software, it can sometimes be unstable or crash or just not work right. It’s about that time our clients call us to figure out the problem. There are basic things to check and there are some tips that may help it continue to perform well once it’s back to normal.
Update to the Latest Version
As of this writing, the current version of FileMaker Server is 11.0v3. The Administrator Console will let you know if your version of Server has an update available or you could go to FileMaker Inc’s Support page and check for yourself. This latest update is an important fix and I’ve heard from various sources that it fixes some odd crashing or slowness problems they’d been experiencing. If you have a test environment, it’s always a good idea to apply new updates there first and test a copy of your production files to make sure the update doesn’t break something that’s working.
No Anti-Virus
If your server has Anti-Virus turned on, make sure that the folder containing the shared files (this can be customized but typically it’s \Program Files\FileMaker\FileMaker Server\Data\Databases on Windows and /Library/FileMaker Server/Data/Databases/ on OSX) is specified NOT to be scanned. If you feel you must scan FileMaker files, then have the AV software scan the backup folders at a time when backups are not being written and users are not accessing the server.
Check Hardware
Sometimes the problem is not with the software at all but rather a system problem or hardware malfunction. Using standard troubleshooting procedures, follow the problem and eliminate the possible causes.
FMI’s Checklist
FileMaker Inc has a couple of good documents in their Knowledgebase that may help. One is the Server Install Checklist and there’s the general Installation Checklist. Don’t forget to check the links at the bottom of these articles for related issues that may be helpful. These links are for installation problems but there are other checklists for different problems as well. Just do a keyword search on “checklist”.
Turn Automatic System Updates Off
By default, most operating systems want to have automatic system updates turned on. These are great for workstations but can wreak havoc on servers because many updates require the system be restarted. You may prefer turn updates off altogether or at the very least, schedule them to run at a certain time of week when you can manually control their operation and whether they restart the server. It’s good practice to close your hosted FileMaker files before a system restart. Depending on the nature of how your servers are deployed, you may also want to turn off FM Server’s ability to automatically open the files when the server starts up and do that manually instead.
Don’t Ever Update Java
Java is used as the platform to deploy the Server Admin Console. Each version of FileMaker Server requires a different version of the Java Runtime Engine. Given recent events around Java’s update 24 rendering the Admin Console deaf, my recommendation is to NOT update Java; leave it at the version that Server requires. This is especially advisable on OSX since rolling back to a previous release is not possible.
FMI Whitepaper on Server Configuration
Another excellent resource, although not recently updated, is the Server Configuration Guide. This explains each configuration setting in the Admin Console and also has advice on maintaining a working server to make sure it’s not having problems – or if it is, then get alerts before it gets too bad.
If you have another source of information you rely on for fixing or maintaining your FileMaker Server, let us know so we can share it.
5 Comments
Nice collection of Best Practices.
However I would say NEVER touch the first level backups with anti-virus or other similar tools.
Do not disturb or even open the first level backups. They are your principal insurance.
Steven H. Blackwell
Thanks Steven,
Just to clarify, the first level backups you are referring to are the backups that FileMaker Server creates as opposed to backups of those files that may be written to an external volume or gathered by an enterprise backup solution, correct?
I certainly agree although for the purposes of the article, I recognize that some IT departments may insist the backups be scanned. In that case, the scanning should only be done when the backups are not being written to, and, for performance purposes, not when users are accessing the hosted files.
Thank you for this clarification.
First level backups are those done by FileMaker Server itself, yes. I would not ever subject those to any type scanning or other tools. Let the scans, etc. occur on second and subsequent copies of the system.
The only program that should ever touch those first level backups is FileMaker Server itself.
If Filemaker Server is that unreliable and can’t live with Anti Virus scanning, then it shouldn’t be used at all.
Good article ! Thanks for sharing.
@Clifford: We are speaking about live and accessed database files here. It’s not about email attachment and office documents…
So instead, I would say:
If an operating system is that unreliable and can’t live without permanent anti-virus scanning, then it shouldn’t be used at all.