Subject Re: [firebird-support] General: connect firebird server from local network
Author Helen Borrie
Friday, April 22, 2016, 12:57:31 AM, InField.au wrote:

> I know my question is very naive, but I spent long time to search
> through internet and can’t get answer.

Why search the internet when you can get the information from the docs
that ship in the download kits? Look in the \docs subdirectory of
your installation for the Quick Start Guide. If you want the html
version of the docs on-line, they are all in Documentation area of the
Firebird website.

> 1. Firebird Server runs at PC-A (eg. IP: 192.168.0.10). And
> Database file is copied in this PC.

Yes; although if you are working with a new release of Firebird, the
database should be backed up with gbak -backup on the old server
version and that backup restored with gbak -create on the new.

> 2. DB-application will run at PC-B. Both are linked to same network.

> 3. Modified aliases.conf to configure Database file for Firebird Server.

Yes.
> Tested aliases.conf by running DB-application in PC-A, it can access Database file properly.

> 4. Copied fbclient.dll & firebird.conf into same folder as DB-application in PC-B.

fbclient.dll yes. Firebird.conf no.


> As my understand, my application should work like this:


> DB-Application @ PC-B
->> fbclient.dll
->> Pickup Firebird Server IP/Name from firebird.conf

No. Firebird.conf and aliases.conf are components of the server host,
not of the client. Fbclient.dll is a component of the client
application layer. It contains the parameters for the API functions
and does not read firebird.conf or aliases.conf itself.

A subsystem of the server, known as "y-valve", handles the connection
request and processes the attachment based on the parameters supplied
by the client application via fbclient.dll. Those parameters include
the host name or IP address of the server and either the path to the
database file AS SEEN BY BY THE HOST or, optionally (and better) the
alias configured for it in aliases.conf. See the Quick Start Guide
for the proper info about the connection string format for the network
protocol you want to use.

> My question is:

> How to configure firebird.conf (or another config file?) to let
> fbclinet.dll know where Firebird Server is?

You'll now realise that this is not what you do. Clients connect to
the server: the server does not reach out and connect to a client.
One Firebird server can manage multiple databases and hundreds of
clients from all kinds of environments.

The client application must be able to find the correct fbclient.dll
locally. On a Windows client, the library needs to be located either
in the same directory as the application's executables or in the
system path in a location that is visible to the application.

--HB