Networking Athenaeum Pro 3

Note that since this was originally written, FileMaker Pro Server has now been upgraded to version 5. With new file formats, the client networking option has changed to either require FileMaker Pro 5 software for each client computer or a combination of FileMaker Pro 5 software and web browsers for client computers. However, most of the theory applies. Contact SumWare Consulting before purchasing Athenaeum to clarify your software requirements.

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We frequently receive requests for information about networking Athenaeum in mixed networks and whether to use FileMaker Pro Server or "peer-to-peer" networking. This document attempts to clarify this complex document.

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Athenaeum Pro is easy to network in basic situations, although your network will require a little planning and maybe some extra (additional cost) software.

Athenaeum Pro can be networked using Windows or Macintosh computers, or a combination of these. These computers should have network cards that use Ethernet networking or faster. The most common network method is "10baseT" though "100baseT" is quickly superceding this.

Computers using 10baseT are each directly connected to a "Hub".

Note that a number of schools use Apple's "LocalTalk" networking with some of their Apple computers. This is very cheap networking designed to allow printer sharing. However, when used for file serving or database serving, it provides unsatisfactory performance in moderate or high use situations.

When networking, you will need to decide on a "Peer-to-Peer" arrangement or a "Client-Server" set up. You may also decide to access the catalogue using an internet browser such as Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator, which has a different set of requirements.

Peer-to-Peer

Peer-to-peer is a term that means computers will share information with each other without using any special "serving" software and hardware, and all of the computers are available to all users all of the time.

The benefits are that it is usually low cost and easy to set up. You install Athenaeum on a nominated computer and turn on "Multi-User" so that computer will "Host" the Athenaeum files over the network. You then install the client software on the other computers so that they may connect.

The number of computers that can be connected depends on how the computers will be connecting (i.e. with the "Slim" or normal browser). You can easily connect more than 15 computers simultaneously and theoretically up to around 30 simultaneously, but a number of important considerations come into effect.

In a peer-to-peer network, performance of all computers on the network can drop off much more quickly than a "Client-Server" network. For example, if 5 connected computers all search the catalogue or issue books at the same time, performance will drop very much more than if those 5 computers were connected to a "Client-Server" computer running FileMaker Pro Server.

Also, if one of the computers in a peer-to-peer network crashes or locks up, then there is a high chance that some or all of the other connected computers will freeze.

Finally, to back up Athenaeum in a peer-to-peer network, all computers must disconnect from the Athenaeum first (an inconvenience, at times).

Setting up Peer-to-Peer

To set up a Peer-to-Peer network, do the following:

• Install the Athenaeum software on one computer (this can be running Windows or can be a Macintosh)
• Check your network protocols
• "Flick the Switch"
• Install either the "Browser" or "Slim Browser" software on the other computers

The diagram below shows that the computers on the network can be configured to perform a variety of tasks. However, there is only 1 host.

The host and the "Browsers" can be configured to issue and return as well as perform admin (these features can be restricted, if necessary).

Install Athenaeum

Install Athenaeum software on the main computer in the normal manner. This computer should have a backup device such as a Zip Drive connected to it (floppy disks are unacceptable as a backup media).

This computer should be the fastest computer available. If you can, ensure that this computer also has more RAM than standard. At the time of writing, 32 megabytes of RAM is considered standard, and 64 Megabytes is common. If this computer is Windows NT computer, then we recommend 128 megabytes of RAM.

Check the network Protocol

Go to the edit menu at the top of the screen and choose "Preferences".

Choose a network protocol for the Athenaeum computers to use. If you have a mixed network of Windows computers and Macintosh, then you must choose either "IPX" or "TCP/IP".

TCP/IP provides the best performance, but requires that your computers all have an "IP" address, either specified manually or allocated by a server (usually DHCP). Note that the host must have a fixed IP address or an address that can be resolved by a Domain Name Server (DNS).

If you have Apple computers, then AppleTalk provides the most flexible option but the performance will not match TCP/IP.

Whatever you choose, the other networked computers will need to have the same setting.

Note: On Windows, you must use Microsoft's IPX and TCP/IP protocols in your network properties folder. You may not use Novell's.

You will should quit Athenaeum and restart for the new settings to come into effect.

Flick the Switch

Go to the Options Menu on this computer and then click the "Admin" button. At the administration screen, set the Multi-user switch to "on". You should see a squiggly cursor while networking is enabled. If you don't, flick the switch off and then on again.

Install Network clients

On the other computers on the network, install the either the "Browser" or the "Slim Browser" software.

The "Browser" software can be configured to allow the network computer to perform all admin tasks as well as issuing and returning. These computers can be secured if you choose.

The "Slim Browser" can only search the catalogue. This opens a sub-set of the Athenaeum files and consequently is faster to start.

Start the network clients

Start the network clients by double clicking their icons. You should see a message "Attempting to Open Athenaeum as Client" while the client software searches for Athenaeum over the network.

If Athenaeum is found, it will automatically open the program and no further configuration is required.

If Athenaeum is not found, you will see a red screen, the computer beeps.

Click the More button to show some options.

Click the Open Prefs button, and set the same network protocols as the computer that is running Athenaeum as a "host". Quit and restart the client software.

Athenaeum should open now.

Client-Server

The client-server arrangement consists of a dedicated computer, running special server software to host Athenaeum. This computer can be running Windows NT (not 95 or 98) or be a Power Macintosh (or even an iMac). You cannot use this computer to browse the catalogue nor issue items.

The benefits of a client server arrangement are:

• Reliability

  If one of the connected network computers crash, then the server and the other connected computers are unlikely to crash

• Performance

  Network operations perform at a higher speed, especially when the number of connected computers increase

• More network clients

  Up to 100 computers can simultaneously connect to the server, double the theoretical maximum of a peer-to-peer network (and three to four times the practical maximum)

• Automated backup

  The server computer can backup your library data automatically, even while clients are connected (they will be paused during the process). This is probably the biggest advantage of the Client-Server arrangement, because backups are so important.

The Server Requirements

You may use either a Windows NT computer or a Power Macintosh for this purpose with the following configuration:

• Windows NT Server or Windows NT Workstation (Server is better optimised for network performance)
  • FileMaker Pro Server software for Windows NT
  • At least a Pentium processor, preferably a Pentium II
  • At least 65 Megabytes of RAM, preferably 128 Megabytes
  • A "SCSI" disk is preferable to an IDE hard disk
  • A backup device such as a tape backup unit; Jazz or Zip disk
  • Power Macintosh with an IBM PowerPC 601, 604, 604e or 750 processor (an iMac can be used as an economical option)
  • FileMaker Pro Server for Power Macintosh
  • MacOS 7.6.1 or higher (prefer 8.5 or 8.6)
  • 32 Megabytes of RAM, prefer 96 megabytes
  • A backup device such as a Tape Backup unit or Zip disk.

Notes about the server

• It does not matter whether you choose Windows NT or Power Macintosh as the server, as each of these will "host" to Windows and Macintosh clients.
• You may not use Windows 95 or 98 as the server.
• A "quality" older PC with good components is preferable to a new "cheap" PC with the latest processor. For example, an IBM brand Pentium 166 with 64 megabytes of RAM and an "ultra-fast and wide" SCSI and 100baseT network card will probably match the performance of a "no-name" computer with a 450 Megahertz Pentium II and an IDE drive. This is because the performance of the server is determined less by the processor (that is, the Pentium chip) than by the computer's ability to move information between the hard disk, the RAM of the computer and the network.
• iMacs can be quite effective as a server, despite the fact they use "IDE" drives (which are not able to process as many simultaneous tasks as "SCSI" drives).
• Many schools running Athenaeum have good success running very old Power Macintoshes (such as the Power Macintosh 8100), with lots of RAM and big hard disks. These can be purchased very cheaply indeed.
• A Macintosh based server is much easier to configure and maintain than a Windows NT based server.
• Issuing computers should be the most powerful (because most calculations are done by this computer). So a slow Server and fast issue computer is better than a fast server and a slow issue computer.

Setup - Windows NT

• Install FileMaker Pro Server on the Windows NT computer and copy the Athenaeum files into the FileMaker Pro Server folder.
• Configure the FileMaker Pro Server Service, allocating it 20 megabytes of RAM, if possible.
• Do not "share" the folders containing FileMaker Pro Server and Athenaeum.
• Create a .cmd or .bat file to instruct FileMaker Pro Server to open the *.swc files.
• Create a .cmd file to create backups. Schedule these commands using the AT service.

Setup - Power Macintosh (or iMac)

• Install FileMaker Pro Server on the Power Macintosh computer and copy the Athenaeum files into the FileMaker Pro Server folder. Put an alias of the FileMaker Pro Server application in the Startup items folder (inside the System folder).
• Configure the FileMaker Pro Server Service, allocating it as much RAM as possible, but leaving a few megabytes free for the operating system and other tasks.
• Do not "share" the folders containing FileMaker Pro Server and Athenaeum.
• Using FileMaker Pro Server's internal Schedules, create schedules to backup the data at regular intervals.
• Install an AppleScript that activates the FileMaker Pro Server application every few minutes and put that application in the startup items folder. SumWare Consulting can supply this for you.

Note that the Macintosh version of FileMaker Pro Server can host using AppleTalk, MacIPX and TCP/IP at the same time. Therefore, it does not matter which protocol your network clients use.

Note: if you are using any other FileMaker Pro based solutions for your schools' administration or reporting, for example, then you can also copy these to the server and share them across the network and gain automatic backup.