This blog post describes the upgrade process that helps you get the most from Claris® FileMaker Server® 19.5.1 on the newly supported Ubuntu 20.04. Although FileMaker Server 19.5.1 runs on both Ubuntu 18.04 and 20.04, some features are available only when running on Ubuntu 20.04. FileMaker Server 19.5.1 is the last version that supports Ubuntu 18.04.

One notable feature that is available only on Ubuntu 20.04 is NGINX support, which will be used as the HTTP web server by default instead of Apache.

To upgrade FileMaker Server and Ubuntu:

  1. Uninstall FileMaker Server
  2. Upgrade to Ubuntu 20.04
  3. Download FileMaker Server 19.5.1 for Ubuntu 20.04
  4. Install FileMaker Server 19.5.1
  5. Switch between web servers (optional)

Step 1. Uninstall FileMaker Server

To uninstall FileMaker Server:

  1. Disconnect clients:fmsadmin disconnect client
  2. Close all databases:fmsadmin close
  3. Uninstall FileMaker Server:sudo apt remove filemaker-server

Step 2. Upgrade to Ubuntu 20.04

Use the instructions in How to upgrade from Ubuntu 18.04 LTS to 20.04 LTS. You can use either the command line or the user interface.

Another option for upgrading is shown below. These command line instructions will update your system upgrade tools as well as perform the upgrade.

sudo apt update                                # update application repositories
sudo apt upgrade                               # upgrade installed packages
sudo apt install ubuntu-release-upgrader-core  # install the upgrader
sudo do-release-upgrade                        # upgrade the OS

The update process will occasionally ask questions, so you’ll need to monitor the upgrade.

After the upgrade is complete, use the following command to verify that the Ubuntu version is 20.04:

lsb_release -a

The output from above should look similar to the following:

Distributor ID: Ubuntu

Description: Ubuntu 20.04.4 LTS

Release: 20.04

Codename: focal


Step 3. Download FileMaker Server 19.5.1 for Ubuntu 20.04

FileMaker Server 19.5.1 has two installer packages for Ubuntu: one for Ubuntu 18.04 and another for Ubuntu 20.04. Download the Ubuntu 20.04 installer from the electronic software distribution (ESD) page provided by your purchase and license agreement.

Important: Make sure to use the correct FileMaker Server 19.5.1 installer package for your OS version. If you use the 18.04 package to install FileMaker Server on Ubuntu 20.04 or the 20.04 package to install FileMaker Server on Ubuntu 18.04, the installation fails.


Step 4. Install FileMaker Server 19.5.1

After you’ve downloaded the correct package, use the following command to install FileMaker Server:

sudo apt install <FMS_Package>

FileMaker Server should now be installed and accessible at the same URL as you’ve used with your previous version.

Note: If you are running FileMaker Server within a Docker container, the upgrade process may be easier if you simply use Ubuntu 20.04 as your base image and install FileMaker Server 19.5.1 into the container. See Running FileMaker Server in a Docker container for more details.


Step 5. Switch between web servers (optional)

With FileMaker Server 19.5.1 on Ubuntu 20.04, you will be able to choose between NGINX and Apache Httpd web servers.

To switch to Apache, simply create an empty file called UseHttpd in the NGINX configuration directory:

  1. Change the directory to the NGINX configuration directory:cd /opt/FileMaker/FileMaker Server/Nginxserver
  2. Create the UseHttpd file:sudo touch UseHttpd
  3. Stop FileMaker Server processes:sudo service fmshelper stop
  4. Restart FileMaker Server processes:sudo service fmshelper start
  5. Verify that Apache is running. The following command should list at least one Apache process:ps -A | grep apache

To switch back to NGINX, simply remove the UseHttpd file and restart services:

  1. Remove the UseHttpd file:sudo rm /opt/FileMaker/FileMaker Server/Nginxserver/UseHttpd
  2. Stop the FileMaker Server processes:sudo service fmshelper stop
  3. Restart FileMaker Server processes:sudo service fmshelper start
  4. Verify that NGINX is running. There should be at least one NGINX process.ps -A | grep nginx

The document directory is different for each web server:

Web ServerDocument Directory
Apache/opt/FileMaker/FileMaker Server/HTTPServer/htdocs
NGINX/opt/FileMaker/FileMaker Server/NginxServer/htdocs