Requirements for FME Workspaces

FME Workbench is used to author and publish the workspaces used by FME Server. FME Workbench is not part of FME Server; rather, it is a part of the FME Desktop product. If you do not have access to FME Desktop, you cannot publish workspaces to FME Server, although you can still perform and test the installation.

The version of FME Workbench you use must match the FME Server version you have installed. This requirement ensures that the workspaces you author will run when published to FME Server. If you are running a FME Server version that is older that your FME Workbench, it is possible to upgrade the FME Engines used by FME Server to match your FME Workbench version. These are best kept to minor release updates and changes.

For example, FME Desktop 2018.0.2 can publish to FME Server 2018.0.1 with 2018.0.2 Engines. However, FME Desktop 2018.1 should NOT publish to FME Server with 2018.0 Engines. Also FME Server 2018.0 does NOT support FME Server 2018.1 Engines.

Web Connections allow FME Workbench to connect to FME Server using the HTTP protocol. It requires the Web Application Server port to be open to communication between the FME Workbench computer and the FME Server computer.

Grid Shift Files

If you plan to run workspaces that transform data between datums NAD27 and NAD83, you can use datum shift files for Canada or the US. For information on Grid Shift Files, see the Datums in FME Documentation.

Third-Party Applications for FME

FME Workspaces often rely on third party applications for connecting to data sources. Examples include an Oracle client for connecting to an Oracle database and an Esri ArcGIS installation for connecting to Esri Geodatabases. For more information about Esri ArcGIS and FME Server, see the Using FME Server with Esri ArcGIS Software article. If you must install a third-party application for your FME Desktop installation, repeat that installation on your FME Server computer.

FME Workspaces using Python

FME Workspaces that contain python that use python interpreters different then the default interpreter that comes with FME must consider the FME Server environment and ensure the python interpreters are available and configured properly.

If any python modules have been added to the FME Desktop environment, the same modules will need to be uploaded to FME Server. Review the Uploading the Python Module section located on this page Using Python with FME Server in the FME Server Administrator's Guide for more information.

Web Service Connections

FME Workspaces can contain Web Services Connections. When you first publish a workspace to FME Server the web connection will be authenticated and ready to be used. Test the connection on FME Server to be certain it is working. Also, be aware of the any workspaces that contain web connections as they may require re-authorization/authentication from time to time.

After a workspace has been published, and the web connection uploaded as part of the workspace publish, the web connection will appear in the Web UI under Connections>Web Connections. The credentials for any web connection can be updated (authorized) through the Web UI on the Web Connections page.

Database Connections

FME Workspaces often connect to databases and if they are using a database connections in in the workspace, FME Workbench will publish these to FME Server. If the database connection is using database credentials, then there should be no other action. However, if your database connection is using Windows Authentication, then it is key to understand that the user the workspaces will run under will be based on the FME Server Engine service Log on As settings in the Windows Services Dialog.