Helen,

H> I suppose you have eliminated the possibility that the affected
H> users are trying to do a localhost connection from a RDT
H> client...what happens if they replace 'localhost' with the
H> server's node name or IP address?

doesn't change a thing. What I get when I use the server:alias form
is a server error. The request gets through to the server which then
can't find the file. I have traced what happens with Process Monitor
and it suddenly occurred to me that it was using the installed
(empty) copy of aliases.conf because my edits were thrown away by
Windows' File System Virtualization (I am on Vista here). I was
seeing a copy of aliases.conf, and the server a different one. But
then why simply using the aliasname did work? It seems that when
using XNET the client translates the alias name to a file name
autonomously, or that the server accesses the aliases file using the
client's permissions (thus seeing the virtualized copy). Process
Monitor seems to confirm the latter.

So the problem on my machine is solved. Should have thought about it
earlier. But now my task is harder, not easier, because the affected
machines are XP and Server 2003 (no FSV there), so I thought I
replicated the problem while in fact I didn't. Should look
elwewhere...

Ciao
--
Nando Dessena
======================================================
I support Firebird, I am a Firebird Foundation member!
Join today at http://www.firebirdsql.org/ff/foundation
======================================================