Deploying Updates

[JManning]

Hello everyone.

 

I’m back with another silly question. I searched for a thread about this question, but didn't find one. It there is one already established, please point. Thanks.

 

Through a daily routine of importing three sources of information into the database, we update the database for the professors’ use. (The imports consist of CSV files and no, we cannot convert the source into database for the project.) Currently, we copy the database and the update files onto the desktop, run the import, then replace the old file with the updated one on the local host for the department.

 

We plan to deploy this database to the campus in general. We will have at our disposal a Mac server, running Leopard and FMP 9 Server. This server will be located in a central site across the campus from our building. Part of the requirement is, that the name of the file remains the same (meaning, we keep the original file name, i.e., the Fall semester of the database is always named StuTrackF07.fp7).

 

Additional information: I know very little about FileMaker Pro and even less of FMP Server.

 

Question, how do I deploy an updated version of the database each day? I can use sneaker net (put the updated database onto a thumb drive, walk over to the central area, stop the database, replace the old version with the new and then restart the database). While sneaker net would be good exercise, I don’t think I could get the office clerk to agree. smiley-wink

 

Suggestions accepted and consider yourself sitting in a virtual mountain of your favorite cake. smiley-smile

[Weetbicks]

you can control filemaker server 9 from any location using the administration console on the local network, and thru the internet if certain ports are open on the server machine (16000 I think).

 

Each night I guess you would either just run the import on the open database. Or if I understand correctly you keep copies of old databases & deploy a new updated database each day??? Would just be a case of running a backup schedule on server if you wanted to back up a copy, doing the import, and yer done. close the database & move it somewhere, and upload a new copy thru the admin console if you want.

 

That probably made no sense, but I suggest you read up on the documentation for filemaker server.

[Ender]

You might instead consider designing the database to hold multiple days worth of data. Each import would essentially create another instance, and those records would get marked with information about which set it belongs to.

 

You would then have snapshots of what the data was for each day. And this would always be available and online, in case anyone needs to refer to it (presumably there's some reason you're bothering to keep copies of each day's data).

 

You'd have to filter your relationships to look for a specific day (the current date, or a selected date).