Administrator’s Guide

Chapter 5
Administering FileMaker Server
You can view information about guests and control database files
hosted by one or more servers from a different computer than the one
running FileMaker Server. This process is called remote
administration.
With FileMaker Server running in the Mac OS, you can also control
the hosted files and guests using the same computer that’s running
FileMaker Server. This process is called local administration.
Administering FileMaker Server remotely
The remote administration capability in FileMaker Server is
provided through three FileMaker Pro 5 databases. These databases
are created in the server computer’s temporary directory when you
enable remote administration in the Administration Properties
(Windows) or Preferences (Mac OS) dialog box, or when you start
FileMaker Server (if remote administration is already enabled).
The databases are created in a subdirectory named Remote
Administration, which appears as an active folder when you view the
Folders tab of the Remote Administration window. Likewise, the
remote administration databases appear when you view the Files tab in
the Remote Administration window. However, the remote
administration databases do not appear in the Hosts dialog box when
you use FileMaker Pro 5 to view hosted files on your server computer.
The names of the remote administration databases contain the name
of the FileMaker Server computer. The computer name is truncated
if it exceeds 31 characters when combined with the name of a remote
administration database. This name defaults to the computer’s
system name, but you can change the name displayed in the Hosts
dialog box using the Administration Properties (Windows) or
Preferences (Mac OS) dialog box.
For example, if your FileMaker Server computer is named Database
Server, you see the following filenames:
1 Database Server_Admin
1 Database Server_Usage
1 Database Server_Data
If you disable remote administration in FileMaker Server or you stop
or quit FileMaker Server, the remote administration databases are
removed from the server computer. If remote administration is
enabled in the Administration Properties (Windows) or Preferences
(Mac OS) dialog box when you restart FileMaker Server, the remote
administration files are recreated.
Important FileMaker, Inc. does not recommend running FileMaker
Pro to view the remote administration databases on the server
computer. Always administer a Windows-based server from a
remote computer and use local administration when working directly
on a Mac OS-based server.
When you administer FileMaker Server remotely, your
administration capabilities are limited depending on whether or not
the Server Administration plug-in for FileMaker Pro is installed on
the remote computer.