> I was able to set up a DSN and get connected to a Firebird database and
> execute queries, however I wanted to change to a connection string. I
> am using . . .
>
> Driver=Firebird/InterBase(r) driver;Uid=SYSDBA;Pwd=masterkey;
> Dbname="\\dc1atl\GageInSite\gianyib.gdb";

The connection string is not a UNC path, so if you are not intending
on using NetBEUI then that is not the right format.

http://www.firebirdfaq.org/faq260/

Also, don't use .gdb extensions on Windows. System Restore will think
it is a protected file and kill your performance. Rename it to fdb (or
any other non protected extension).

>
> I've tried some variations (including using Database instead of Dbname
> and using servername), but I keep getting an "Unavailable Database"
> error. Googling it has not turned up anything that works. This is
> Firebird 1.5 and I'm using the 2.0 client. I'm running on XP and
> connecting to the FB database on a Win2003 server.
>

Firebird needs to be installed on the server. You need to put the
database in a folder that is NOT accessible via a share. A database
file is not an excel file to be shipped out to workstations.

Your applications talk to the DBMS, which acts as a proxy between your
application and the database file. Your workstations have no business
in seeing the database file.

Open aliases.conf in the Firebird folder on the server using notepad,
and add a line

gianyib = c:\databases\whatever\gianyib.fdb

This path should be from the perspective of the server, and must be on
a drive local to the server. Its purpose is to abstract from your
workstations the exact path of the database, allowing you to move the
fdb at a later date without needing to update anything on the
workstations.

Save and close notepad.

Ensure that your windows firewall allows connection via port 3050 from
your workstations to your server.

Your Firebird connection string (or DBName in your ODBC connection
string) would be

dc1atl:gianyib

This tells Firebird you want to connect to the server dc1atl using
TCP/IP, and once it has connected to that server, it tells the server
you are interested in the database represented by alias gianyib.

Adam