---------- Original Message -----------
From: daniele_dll <d.albano@...>
To: firebird-support@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:13:33 +0200
Subject: [firebird-support] Database on Shared Folder - Cannot attach to password database error

> Hi to all,
>
> i'm trying to get working an application that uses firebird as data
> backend. This application, instead to use a single firebird instance
> on a machine to share databases it, use an instance of firebird per
> machine (installed as super server) with the database located on a
> shared folder.
>
> A week ago, the developer of this application installed to a my
> customer this software in a network and on a machine it doesn't work
> correctly.
>
> With 1.5 it says "cannot attach to password database" with his
> application and isql too ... this is the output:
> SQL> CONNECT k:\contab\ken_contab.fdb user SYSDBA password masterkey;
> Statement failed, SQLCODE = -902
>
> cannot attach to password database
>
> Using firebird 2.0 or 2.1 i get another error, something like I/O
> Error over file !ken!\contab\ken_contab.fdb.
>
> The database file reside on k:\contab\ken_contab.fdb and the shared
> folder name is ken on a computer called PC1.
>
> Copying all the stuff on a local folder all works perfectly: no errors!
>
> I know that this application do a strange stuff to use the database,
> but he says that he ever installed the application and he never got
> problems. The network stuff of the machine works perfectly because
> there are a lot of shared folders used by other softwares and used for
> datas.
>
> I've looked around, but i haven't found a valid solution for my problem!
>
> note: it's not a permission problem, i think at least, beacuse i
> enabled all on the shared folder and it continue to don't work
>
> Thanks to all for the help, this is my first time with firebird and,
> even i used other database servers, i can't resolve alone this strange
> problem (i combat against it from, at least, 10:00 (GMT+1))

------- End of Original Message -------

Please see http://www.firebirdfaq.org/faq46/

The option it refers to, I believe, is the following (off by default) in firebird.conf:

# Remove protection against opening databases on NFS mounted volumes
#
# ***WARNING*** ***WARNING*** ***WARNING*** ***WARNING***
#
# This option removes an important safety feature of Firebird and can
# cause irrecoverable database corruption. Do not use this option unless
# you understand the risks and are prepared to accept the loss of the
# contents of your database.
# Unless this configuration option is changed from 0 to 1, Firebird can
# open a database only if the database is stored on a drive physically
# attached to the local computer - the computer running that copy of
# Firebird. Requests for connections to databases stored on NFS mounted
# drives are redirected to a Firebird server running on the computer that
# "owns" the disk.
# This restriction prevents two different copies of Firebird from opening
# the same database without coordinating their activities. Uncoordinated
# access by multiple copies of Firebird will corrupt a database. On a local
# system, the system-level file locking prevents uncoordinated access to
# the database file.
# NFS does not provide a reliable way to detect multiple users of a file on
# an NFS mounted disk. If a second copy of Firebird connects to a database on
# an NFS mounted disk, it will corrupt the database.
# Under some circumstances, running a Firebird server on the computer that
# owns NFS mounted volumes is inconvenient or impossible. Applications that
# use the "embedded" variant of Firebird and never share access to a database
# can use this option to permit direct access to databases on NFS mounted
# volumes.
# DO NOT ENABLE THIS OPTION UNLESS YOU REALLY KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING.
#
# Type: boolean
#
#RemoteFileOpenAbility = 0

-Philip