At 01:35 PM 27/07/2005 +0000, you wrote:

>Hi All,
>
>How do you specify a port with the TIB_Connection object? I have a
>client that's running Interbase and Firebird on the same machine. I
>understand that I've got to access Firebird through a port other than
>3050. I've changed the firebird.conf and set RemoteServiceName =
>fds_db. I then changed the Services file and added fds_db 3051/tcp.
>
>According to the Firebird's documentation, the connection string needs
>to be something like server_name/port_number:alias_name. I don't see
>a connetion string property for the TIB_Connection component. I've
>tried the Path property (like 3051:alias) and the server property
>(server_name/3051) but this doesn't seem to work.
>
>How is this done?

Use the properties Server, Path and Protocol.

Server: server_name/3051
Path: either the absolute path on the server, or the alias name
Protocol: cpTCP_IP

If you did all of these right, IBO will compose the connection string
correctly. As a reality check, nil out anything that's currently displayed
in the DatabaseName property and then click the Connected property to
true. DatabaseName should then get auto-filled with the string:

server_name/3051:alias_name

If this is the case and it still won't work then I'd guess that you are
trying to use the InterBase version of the client library, which doesn't
know about the port syntax. For your Firebird apps you'll have to ensure
that the client machine loads fbclient.dll.

Or (depending on how the problem appears in the log) port 3051 might be
firewalled.

Does the client machine have an entry for fds_db 3051/tcp?
Are you sure that the InterBase installation, or some other app on the
server, is not using port 3051 for something? For example, if their
InterBase database is the back-end for an old interclient/interserver
system, that uses 3051 as the default port. You don't have to use 3051,
you can try anything that's available.

There are umpteen ways a connection request can fail. When things don't
work, try to describe HOW they don't work. Error codes? error
messages? system hangs? keyboard explodes? Also check the firebird log
before posting a connection problem description. It will often be quite
revealing.

In client/server technical circles it's helpful to refer to machines and
applications that are connecting to the server as "clients", while the
people who pay for your time and expertise are "customers" or "sites". It
avoids confusing problem descriptions.

Helen