[FX.php List] Economical Mac Server setup

[Bob Patin]

I can go that one farther!

When I started hosting databases in 1998, I got an iMac for $300 from  
eBay; I put FileMaker 5 Unlimited on it, and used it along with 2  
others for a RAIC (redundant array of inexpensive computers) for using  
FileMaker with CDML. For those of you who never dealt with CDML, you  
had to use FileMaker Unlimited, which was essentially an unlimited- 
user version of FileMaker Pro client, to talk to the web server.

So anyway, I had 3 FM Unlimited machines for each of my 4 RAICs; I'm  
down to one RAIC now and only a half-dozen CDML sites, for clients who  
refuse to upgrade; that original iMac has been running 24/7 for almost  
12 years now. I told these CDML clients that I wouldn't be upgrading  
hardware, and won't be, so that old iMac still sits in my server room  
doing its thing.

One of the original CDML clients upgraded his site this year to XSLT,  
and swears that his original site, running on CDML through FileMaker 5  
Unlimited and OS 9 (if you can believe it), is faster than his new  
site running with PHP.

So that machine is a testament to old long-outdated hardware still  
running great and keeping up with state-of-the-art server hardware.

Bob Patin
Longterm Solutions LLC
bob at longtermsolutions.com
615-333-6858
http://www.longtermsolutions.com
Twitter: bobpatin
iChat/AIM: bobpatin
FileMaker 9 Certified Developer
Member of FileMaker Business Alliance & TechNet
--------------------------
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On Feb 11, 2009, at 9:52 AM, Roger Moffat wrote:

> I've got 22 databases that total about 1.8 million records,  
> including one database of over 800,000 records all running on an  
> eMac that has a 700 MHz G4 chip in it - it's working splendidly for  
> me here http://data.wmgs.org/
>
> and then click any of the Search buttons - the first one goes to the  
> largest database. Yes, they're simple databases of only a few fields  
> and nothing very complicated, but the eMac has served well for  
> nearly 2 years now. And it replaced a PowerMac 7500 that ran  
> FileMaker Pro 6 Unlimited for about 7 years prior to that (FileMaker  
> 4 before that I think it was).
>
> The eMac does the database part of the 2 machine setup, and my Mac  
> Pro 2 x quad core 2.8 GHz does the Apache part of it. The LAN is 100  
> MBit between the machines.
>
> Old Mac hardware never dies - it just goes into my basement to  
> become a FileMaker Server machine :-)

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