Database Reference
In-Depth Information
If you're running a Mac server, check the file's privileges and ownership to make sure they
match the sample file that's already on your server. For more information on these permis-
sions see the FileMaker Server 13 Help file (Hosting Databases→Uploading Database
Files→Uploading database file manually.)
NOTE
FileMaker Server 13 supports FileMaker Pro 12, FileMaker Go 12, FileMaker Pro 13, and
FileMaker Go 13 clients. However, FileMaker Pro 12 and FileMaker Go 12 clients will not be able
to use FileMaker Pro 13 features (like popovers and slide controls).
Understanding Backups
FileMaker Server is smart about the way it handles database backups. It can manage backups
without users even noticing that it's happening because it backs up all the parts of the data-
base that nobody is using (all the unlocked records). When that's done, it briefly pauses the
databases so it can save those locked records.
Additionally, FileMaker Server makes a full copy of all your databases the first time it backs
them up. Then if they haven't changed, it makes a
hard link
to the database instead. Hard
links are a little like file aliases, in that you can get access to a file without knowing its loca-
tion if you can find the file's alias. But unlike an alias, which is just a pointer to the real file,
hard links really are the file itself. This distinction is important for two reasons:
▪
Backups are faster and more space efficient
. Instead of copying a database that hasn't
changed, FileMaker Server can just make a hard link to the file. Your databases probably
change most of the time, so it won't be the databases that benefit most from this effi-
ciency. But if you're using managed containers to store data externally (
Insert→Picture
),
those files probably change infrequently, and so most of their backups can be hard linked
and not copied. But if you have databases that don't change often, they'll usually be hard
linked and not copied.
▪
Backup files must be copied before you can use them
. Because each hard link really is
the original file itself, if you change any hard-link backup, you're changing every version
of the backup also. That means you have lost the ability to restore any other backup ex-
cept the one you just modified—because now they're all the same. You should always
export externally stored container data before using it anyway (
always
use the
Edit→“Export field contents” command).
But if you have to grab a database backup—for example, you're restoring it after a server
crash—
don't
move the file from the backup folder. Copy and paste the file to its new loc-
ation instead. That gives you a copy of the file, which you can safely edit without chan-
