Wollaston Lake Lodge, a premier fishing destination in Northern Saskatchewan, relies on a custom FileMaker system to manage reservations, guests, and operations. But with their lodge located more than 650 miles from their Saskatoon-based office and internet access at the lodge often unreliable, syncing data between the two locations posed a serious challenge.
In the off-season, only the office uses the system. But once the summer season begins, staff at the lodge must also enter and update data. The internet connection at the lodge is slow, and FileMaker Pro access to the remote server was poor. Faster service was available, but it would be significantly more expensive and require year-long contracts. StarLink internet was considered, but there were serious concerns about latency and connection stability for FileMaker Server.
Over the years, the company had worked with several FileMaker developers but became frustrated with slow response times and inconsistent support. Seeking a better partner, IT Manager Rocky Marcinkiw found Portage Bay Solutions through the Claris Partner portal and reached out.
After evaluating their setup and requirements, we determined that the most effective solution was to implement 360Works MirrorSync—enabling reliable, bi-directional syncing between both servers.
What is MirrorSync?
MirrorSync is an add-on utility for FileMaker Pro databases that allows data to be synced between FileMaker Servers, a FileMaker Server and an offline client, or a FileMaker Server and other data sources, including SQL databases, Salesforce, WordPress, and Amazon DynamoDB. It also offers load balancing and server failover options. You can learn more about the setup process from our tutorial.
Behind the Scenes: Our Technical Approach
To make the sync seamless, we:
- Ensured all relevant tables included MirrorSync-compatible primary and timestamp fields
Built custom layouts and used naming conventions to streamline setup - Chose a MirrorSync-managed serial strategy, which allowed syncing without visible key conflicts, minimizing schema changes
- Configured the office server as the “hub” given its more reliable connection
This architecture allows both locations to work independently, with MirrorSync handling updates and conflict resolution quietly in the background. Even during times of poor internet, data remains safe and eventually syncs without manual intervention.
Implementation Challenges and Solutions
Wollaston’s FileMaker system was originally built with number-based serial primary keys. Converting the entire solution to UUIDs would have required significant structural changes, which weren’t feasible given the system’s complexity. Instead, we leveraged MirrorSync’s ability to manage serial-based keys across multiple servers. This decision allowed us to preserve the client’s existing workflows without disrupting key-dependent scripts, relationships, or layouts.
We also encountered challenges with multi-file architecture. One of the client’s databases included external file references, which caused permission issues during setup. To streamline the system and avoid these errors, we consolidated the external tables into the primary file—a cleaner and more sustainable approach.
Another obstacle was related to system time zones. While both FileMaker servers were physically located in the same office during installation, they reported inconsistent timestamps due to quirks in macOS time zone handling. We addressed this by introducing calculated timestamp fields that referenced the current host time, ensuring MirrorSync could evaluate sync conditions accurately across both environments.
Rolling Out and Maintaining the System
Once syncing was up and running, we configured automatic syncs to run every five minutes. This frequency minimized data latency while remaining light enough to accommodate the lodge’s limited connectivity. We also made use of MirrorSync’s versioning feature, which allowed us to push updates and structural changes from the hub server to the lodge without requiring manual downloads—a critical feature during the active season.
MirrorSync proved reliable even in the face of temporary internet outages or record locking conflicts. The system gracefully handled retry attempts, avoided data loss, and presented helpful warnings when manual review was needed. After the initial setup, no ongoing technical maintenance was required.
Outcome
With MirrorSync in place, Wollaston Lake Lodge now operates with a fully synced FileMaker system across both its remote lodge and main office. Staff can work confidently in both locations, knowing their data will remain consistent and up-to-date. By replacing a fragile manual process with automated syncing, we gave the client a reliable solution for its seasonal operations.
If you’re facing a similar challenge syncing FileMaker across remote or offline locations, contact us to learn how we can help.