Administrator’s Guide (Windows)

A-2 FileMaker Pro Server Administrator’s Guide
Performance and usage tips
If you find that FileMaker Pro Server is sluggish when performing
certain operations, try the following:
1 Run FileMaker Pro Server on a dedicated computer.
1 Use as fast a computer as possible. The faster the computer, the better
FileMaker Pro Server performs.
1 Avoid using FileMaker Pro Server on the same computer that is
operating as a Windows NT file server. Performance will be
significantly decreased for both services.
1 Use FileMaker Pro remotely to work with database files hosted by
FileMaker Pro Server.
1 Increase the cache size in the FileMaker Pro Server control panel (see
“Changing the amount of memory used” on page 2-3 for details).
1 Reduce the number of guests able to access FileMaker Pro Server.
(See “Setting the maximum number of guests” on page 2-2.)
1 Reduce the maximum number of files that can be hosted by
FileMaker Pro Server. (See “Setting the maximum number of files”
on page 2-3.)
1 Verify that no other processor-intensive programs or applications that
create a high level of network traffic (for example, screen savers,
Internet Information Server, or SQL Server) are being used on the
host computer. Consider using either the Logon screen saver or the
Blank Screen screen saver that is available with Windows NT.
1 Sorting, replacing data, viewing and printing summary report
layouts, and other calculation-intensive operations performed on
many database records affect the performance of FileMaker Pro
Server and connected guests. Try to perform these types of operations
on a smaller found set of only the records you’re interested in. (See
the FileMaker Pro User’s Guide for more information about using
found sets.) It is best to schedule these operations to be performed
during low usage periods.
1 Put database files you want FileMaker Pro Server to host in the same
folder as FileMaker Pro Server (and subfolders one level down), to
take advantage of the application’s ability to open these files
automatically on start-up and remote administration.
1 Do not share FileMaker Pro files using Windows NT file sharing.
Guests should access hosted FileMaker Pro files using the Hosts
button from FileMaker Pro.