Home > FileMaker In The Cloud > Video Demos > Speed Comparisons - Sorting Records

Speed Comparisons - Sorting Records

The chart below displays the speed comparisons when sorting 29,925 records within one of our hosted insurance databases -2 separate sorts were tested:

• A number field from the table the layout in use is based on
• A text field from a related table

The video is a recording of these tests with necessary time jumps.

All tests used the same MacBook Air and a benchmark test was run on a local server on our LAN. The 3 WAN tests all connected to the same cloud based FileMaker Server 13. The WAN connection methods were:

• FileMaker running locally connected to the Internet via a standard ADSL connection (8Mbs/0.8Mbs)
• FileMaker running locally connected to the Internet via a fibre connection (70Mb/20Mbs)
• FileMaker running within Citrix XenApp on one of our cloud servers via the slower standard ADSL connection (8Mbs/0.8Mbs)

In this particular test the Citrix XenApp cloud speed was marginally faster than the local network test, which may be down to the local server using a traditional hard disk whereas the cloud servers are running on SSD drives. However, it is worth remembering that the local network speed was 100Mbs whereas the Citrix XenApp was being accessed via a standard ADSL broadband connection.

The traditional hosting tests highlight how important bandwidth is if running FileMaker databases in the cloud. Although database design can be optimised to help minimise some of the lower speeds of Internet connections, complex systems or large data sets will ultimately impact on speed and therefore productivity.

Analysing the current table number sort, which do not appear to be too bad on the chart below, it is worth remembering that the Citrix and local network options translate into between 5 and 7 seconds to complete the sort, whereas running FileMaker locally on the computer over the fibre and ADSL connections took 16 and 54 seconds respectively. The chart speaks for itself when sorting by a related field!

(Video length 5:30 minutes)

(If you view our videos in full screen mode, please right click to select 'HD' to improve the quality)