Using multiple databases

[suttonbg]

I described in another post how I've decided to use IMA over VPN for controlled sharing of my photos with known groups of friends, relatives and colleagues. (When I want to expose my photos to the world, I'll probably choose something from flikr, 500px or Behance, for instance.)

Planning this out, I realise that I probably will need at least two databases concurrently: one that is based intimately on iMatch, used for collaborating with my partner and immediate family in editing and curating images and another that comprises the finished images, probably jpegs, for wider groups to view, download etc. This would be more persistent, updated occasionally as new image groups are added.

If these are to be available concurrently, I assume I will need to be running two instances of IMA.

Up till now, I have bought iMatch and IMA as a coupled set, but can I purchase IMA independently of iMatch?

I also assume that any two instances of IMA will have to run on independent hardware, either physically or virtually. Is this correct?

I already own the standard 2-user version of IMA and it looks as though a second instance would have to be the PRO version to get enough accounts and user groups. This raises the question of whether you might consider another version, intermediate between standard and pro. I base this on the discovery I made at my university some years ago. For 30,000+ students, for some of the major professional databases, the licence was for only a very limited number of concurrent users, and conflicts were very rare. I think that will be my case, with 2 concurrent users being adequate, but more options to control access being desirable.

I've done some experimentation and have been pleasantly surprised at how easy it has been to get IMA up and running, and available over vpn. I think the major problem will be planning the optimal combination of accounts x user groups, but I'm actually looking forward to getting to grips with this.

Regards,

Bruce

[Mario]

will have to run on independent hardware, either physically or virtually. Is this correct?

Yes. IMWS is not designed to handle multiple instances on the same machine.

Up till now, I have bought iMatch and IMA as a coupled set, but can I purchase IMA independently of iMatch?

Bundles for IMA and IMatch are not available for many years. IMA is sold as a regular license, in HOME, PRO and TEAM versions.

This raises the question of whether you might consider another version, intermediate between standard and pro.

Nope, sorry. Maintaining 3 versions of the IMA product are already enough.I'm just one person.

I've done some experimentation and have been pleasantly surprised at how easy it has been to get IMA up and running, and available over vpn.

Good to hear.
IMA was designed to be simple to use, because the target audience is often people which have never used IMatch or a DAM. This was also considered when designing the Web Viewer, which has a reduced feature set to reduce onboarding efforts. It is also very "stable", to avoid re-training of users.