by Kirk Bowman of MightyData
FileMaker Server is the primary tool for monitoring and enhancing the performance of FileMaker solutions. FileMaker Server 12 provides new features to increase the ability of the database administrator or developer to create the best experience for the users. In the second bonus session of the 12 Days of FileMaker 12, I explore six aspects of performance with the new server.
- Faster WAN Performance – FileMaker Server 12 can perform finds up to 40% faster, display large value lists quicker, and evaluate filtered portals on the server instead of the workstation. The enhancements improve the performance of FileMaker over a wide-area network.
- More Stable Architecture – The server architecture has six separate processes to isolate the impact of one process on another. Five of these processes can be started, stopped, and restarted from the command line for more control over the server.
- More Efficient Backups – Backup schedules only backup the databases that have changed, using hard links for databases that have not changed. The new Progressive Backup goes further by backing up on the data that has changed. Both reduce the time necessary to backup a database.
- 64-bit Application – On a 64-bit operating system, FileMaker Server 12 can use up to one terabyte of RAM for the server cache. This is important because RAM is faster than the hard disk. The database, web publishing, ODBC and progressive backup processes are each 64-bit.
- Progressive Media Download – With the new Remote Container feature, the server can create thumbnails of large images and stream PDF and video files directly to FileMaker Pro asynchronously.
- Faster Web Publishing – The new 64-bit Web Publishing Engine can handle more simultaneous custom web publishing requests, faster than the previous server. Also, session management is faster due to a new caching algorithm.
Even with these new features, performance is a complex interaction of hardware, software (OS), and database design. FileMaker Server 12 includes a new graph view for server statistics and more flexibility in the Log Viewer to help identify weak spots in the performance equation.
Server statistic graph view
To go deep into performance with FileMaker Server 12, watch the recording of the webinar below including over fifteen minutes of question and answer.
