User manual

Chapter 6
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Protecting databases 137
1 Plan for redundancy. If the power goes off, a universal power supply (UPS) should sustain power for at
least 15 minutes, enabling you to safely close all files. If the power can’t be restored in a timely fashion,
consider using a generator to supply power to servers. Also consider power sources for routers and
firewalls. Will communication be a problem if your internet access is interrupted for 48 hours or longer?
1 Consider how you will continue to provide services if an intruder takes down your database server and
that server can’t be restored to its previous condition.
1 Evaluate additional scenarios that could occur, and create a plan to respond to each one.
Also, network administrators should assess risks to data systems and business-critical functions. For
example, consider:
1 Theft of data or theft of proprietary intellectual property.
1 Disruption, theft, or damage to network infrastructure such as servers, networks, data storage, or data
backup storage. Damage can be caused by password crackers or by other types of malicious sabotage and
destruction. Most incidents originate from within the organization.
1 Disruption or damage to the organization infrastructure such as building fires, environmental or
biological hazards, floods, and so on.
1 Disruption or damage to the public infrastructure, including electrical power, telecommunications (voice
and data), transportation grids (roadways, buses, trains) caused by environmental conditions, or severe
weather such as tornadoes or floods.
FileMaker Pro provides two mechanisms for handling databases that might be damaged: consistency checks and
file recovery. Consistency checks occur automatically, if needed, when the file is opened. You can also choose
to verify the consistency of a file that you suspect is damaged. You can also have FileMaker
Pro attempt to
recover a damaged file. For more information about checking consistency and recovering files, see Help.
Important In the event of a server failure, such as an unexpected loss of power, hard drive failure, or
software failure, use the backup files. Any system failure causing FileMaker
Server to shut down
inappropriately can result in corrupted files if cached data was not written to disk and the files were not
closed properly. Even if the files re-open and go through a consistency check or recovery (initiated by either
FileMaker
Pro or you), corruption might be buried in the file. File recovery cannot guarantee that problems
have been fixed.
Installing, running, and upgrading antivirus software
Because most computers have internet access, they are vulnerable to viruses being transmitted through email
attachments. Make sure all employees run antivirus checking software regularly, and that they are aware of
typical virus warning signs. Employees should scan all files before copying or downloading them to their
computer, and they should never open unsolicited attachments, even if they’re from someone they know.
While antivirus software is essential in protecting your systems and data, some caution should be observed
in how they are used on computers that host FileMaker
Pro databases.
Antivirus programs sometimes lock bytes within a file when they scan for viruses. These locks can cause
the operating system to return an error when FileMaker
Pro or FileMaker Server try to write data to the file,
which sometimes causes the file to be flagged as damaged and closed.