The principle purpose of FileMaker Server 9 and FileMaker Server 9 Advanced is to host database files for access by a variety of client applications, including the FileMaker Pro client application, modern Web browsers (such as Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 7, FireFox, and Safari), XML-savvy applications, dotNet-savvy applications using the fmDotNet classes, and ODBC/JDBC clients. Effective deployment and administration of either version of FileMaker Server 9 requires you to open a number of TCP ports on the various machines that comprise the FileMaker Server 9 environment.
According to most authoritative Internet sources, TCP uses the concept of port numbers to identify sending and receiving application end-points on each side of a TCP connection. FileMaker Pro and FileMaker Server, along with the Web Publishing Engine, as well as Apache on Macintosh OS X and IIS on Windows, all employ specific port numbers for communication. For FileMaker Server to work correctly, you must set the ports correctly on the correct machines.
Bearing in mind there are a variety of deployment options for FileMaker Server using one, two, or three separate machines, all such deployments have at least one machine known as the master server. Any other machines in the deployment are referred to as worker servers. Port 5003 -- familiar to many FileMaker developers -- is the port remote FileMaker Pro clients and the Web Publishing Core use to communicate with the database server. You must open that port on the master machine and also on the firewall and forward it to the master machine for LAN connectivity.
New to FileMaker Sever 9 is the Uniform Administration Console, a Java application you can use to configure and administer the server. It uses ports 16000 and 16001. Port 16000 must be open on all machines in the deployment configuration; port 16001 must be open on the master machine.
If you're using ODBC or JDBC connectivity, you must open port 2399 on the master server. You might use such connectivity to connect a reporting tool to FileMaker Server Advanced to read data in FileMaker Pro files.
The familiar port 80 is the default HTTP port for the Apache and IIS Web Servers. You use this port for access by Instant Web Publishing and various types of Custom Web Publishing. If you use secure connections (HTTPS), you must open the default port 443. You must open these ports on the machine functioning as the Web Server; it can be the master machine or a worker machine, depending on the specific deployment scenario in use.
The Web Server connects to the Web Publishing Core using port 16016 (the Apache Jakarta Protocol Tomcat). You must open it on all Web Publishing machines in the deployment configuration.
In addition to all these ports, FileMaker, Inc. has designated a number of others that are required to be available on certain local machines for communication on that particular machine. They don't, however, have to be open for inter-machine communication.
On the master server, ports 50003 and 50006, the FileMaker Server Admin port and Helper port respectively, must be available. On all deployment machines in the configuration, port 16004, the Admin Control port, must be available.
Finally, on all Web Publishing Engine machines in the deployment configuration, the following ports must be available:
16006 CWPE HTTP port
16008 WPC Control port
16010 CWPE Control port
16012 WPC Logging port
16014 WPC HTTP port
In this tip, I've explained what a port is, described how FileMaker Server 9 and FileMaker Server 9 Advanced use ports, and identified which ports must be open or made available on which machine in the deployment configuration. For further information, please consult the documentation that ships with the FileMaker Server 9 products.