Peter,
Here are some tips about connecting from Windows clients. All of this information comes from the Operations Guide:

1. You can't use logical locations to connect to the database, i.e. you can't connect to shares. You must connect to a physical path on the server machine.

2. In some cases, you can connect to the server's IP address but it is not recommended. You need (a) a host name for the server and (b) an entry in each client machine's HOSTS file that links the server name with its IP address. If your network is running a DNS server, this should be the server name that DNS knows; otherwise, you can make up a name.

3. The correct connection string format for TCP/IP is
Servername:D:\path1\path2\MyDatabase.gdb

4. The correct connection string format for NETBEUI is
\\Servername:D:\path1\path2\MyDatabase.gdb

5. NETBEUI is supported on NT and Win95/98 clients but only NT supports NETBEUI as a server.

6. The connection may fail if a Microsoft Windows network is not the default network for the client machine. The client must also be logged into the network with a valid NT user name and password.

7. Check the client's network connection stack. If you are using TCP/IP (desirable, as NETBEUI is too noisy for effective database access) then push it up to the top of the stack. Get rid of IPX/SPX altogether if the client does not use it for anything.

At 06:12 PM 08-04-01 +0200, you wrote:

>Does this have to be done before the following is possible? Sadly, when I
>try, I get the following message:
>
>Unable to complete network request to host 'X'
>Failed to establish a connection
>Unknown WIN32 error 65

If 'X' is a share, and not a recognised physical host name in the network, then it is not a valid connection.

> >For NetBEUI to work direct to an application, I have just ended up using
> >
> >\\ENGINEERING\C:\DATA\EQUIPMENT.GDB
> >
> >Which is not quite what I expected, as I thought that the drive ( C: )
> >should be replaced with the Share Name of the drive. But this format
> >works NetBEUI on my system.

The Ops Guide quite distinctly states that you can't treat a share as a physical server.

> >I use IBObjects, and the IB_WISQL tool allows you to type in the above
> >line and connect.
>
>This also fails with the following message:
>
>ISC ERROR CODE: 335544721
>ISCR ERROR MESSAGE
>Unable to complete network request to host 'X'
>Failed to establish a connection
>Network access is denied

Same problem, different error message.

>X is the name of the remote computer as it appears in Network Neighborhood.
>Other communications, such as copying files etc, work OK.

Other communications as you describe are dedicated Windows applications. By contrast, the Windows IB client can connect to an IB server on any supported OS platform provided the client is properly set up to access it.

>I searched through my archives looking for Netbeui and hoped that thanks to
>Lester I had found the answer.

Lester's answer was correct for NETBEUI.

>Disappointing. The reference in the manual
>is minimal.

I think you may be looking in the wrong place. There is a complete chapter in the Operations Guide on Network Configuration; along with step-by-step instructions on how to run the diagnostics.

>IB 6.01, Win95, Delphi 5 + patch, IBX 4.52. Suggestions most welcome.
>
>I note that Dale eventually gave up on Netbeui and switched to TCP/IP. I'd
>like to avoid this.

NetBEUI is not the recommended protocol for database connectivity. To clarify the assumptions made about NetBEUI, it is a low-level protocol that is *supported* by Windows Networking, i.e. it operates at the DOS level and is not dependent on Windows.

Unless you have a special reason to need to use it (e.g. old networked apps that can't work with TCP/IP), you should avoid NETBEUI.

Cheers,
Helen

All for Open and Open for All
InterBase Developer Initiative · http://www.interbase2000.org
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