At 04:34 PM 2/05/2006, you wrote:

>Hi All,
>
>I am attempting to use a remote Firebird database for a Delphi application
>that uses their standard Interbase Database components (the one that is not
>highly recommended, I forget the name). I am having problems setting up this
>remote connection for my application using the .ini file. I am working on a
>Windows XP box.
>
>I have the FB Server and FB Guard running on the Remote PC, that I have
>mapped as follows: \\pc340xp\CasalaV32\, to drive letter R:

No good. Repeat-repeat-repeat, you can't connect to a database
through a mapping.

>The ini file is as follows:
>
>[Current]
>Database=Localhost:\\pc340xp\!CasalaV32!\Database\SERVDB.gdb
>Language=Australian English
>ProcessSet=La Trobe
>ExportPath=Localhost:\\pc340xp\!CasalaV32!
>ImportPath=Localhost:\\pc340xp\!CasalaV32!
>[Defaults]
>AnalysisType=0
>PercentCorrect=50
>MinimumNumber=2
>PrintClientNames=0
>ShowHelpHints=0
>Language=Australian English
>ProcessSet=La Trobe
>
>The exclamation mark is based on an article on 'remote database' serach from
>: http://www.ibexpert.info/documentation/search.html
>
>Is there a way to connect to this remote database ?

Yes, use either TCP/IP (recommended) or WNET (not so great, but at
least it's supported.)

Both require the node name of the host machine in the network, that
is, the host name that corresponds to the IP address of that machine.

And you *cannot* connect to the local loopback server ("localhost")
on another machine. (It's not called localhost for nothing!)

> (Are aliases the way to go ? )

Well, yes, but aliases provide an alias for the physical path on a
real partition on the physical server. Can't emphasise this enough.

>And how do I set them up ?

Easy, make entries in the file aliases.conf. Instructions are in the
release notes. However, contrary to what the release notes suggest,
aliasing doesn't work on WNET.

>I read about an ODBC Firebird Driver from Easysoft which is worth $99, but I
>don't think we would like to use that just yet.

Your problem has nothing to do with which driver you use. It is a
question of how *any* client accesses the server. I haven't a clue
what those exclamation points are about but they're not relevant at all.

Suppose you have the Firebird server running on a host named "myhost"
and the database is located on that machine in
c:\CasalaV32\myDB.fdb. Then, your connection strings are as follows:

for TCP/IP: myhost:c:\CasalaV32\myDB.fdb
For WNET: \\myhost\c:\CasalaV32\myDB.fdb

In aliases.conf, you could have

latrobe = c:\CasalaV32\myDB.fdb

Then, for TCP/IP, you can substitute the alias into the connection path:
myhost:latrobe

For WNET (if it worked) it would be \\myhost\latrobe. It's supposed
to be getting fixed for Fb 2.0, though the jury is still out as to
whether it is worth the effort. WNET is regarded by many to be quite
forgettable.

./heLen