>
> > if you configured an MSSQL server to use a different (non-standard)
> port,
> > would it repsond anyway?
> > Alan
>
> Thanks for responding Alan, but I don't know the answer to your
> question. I'm looking for a way for my users to point and click their
> way to the right database connection, so they won't have to know how
> to correctly format the connection string. Would it be practical to
> write a program that would attempt to log on to a Firebird server on
> each computer on my network. When the log on failed with a no answer,
> I could conclude there was no server on that computer. Maybe if it
> failed and said that the user/password was unknown, I could add it to
> a list of available servers. Then, the user could choose that server
> and log on if they had the right user/password.
>
> Maybe someone has already done this or maybe it won't work. Thanks
> for any help.
>
> -Jack

the reason I asked was becuase even if you could do the "same thing" with FB
as MSSQL... FB can be configured to use different ports than 3050 and
therefore may not reliably be visible on this port.
If your setup only EVER places FB servers on 3050 and no other service
occupies this port, then all you need do is test port 3050 for an answer and
you have a list of available FB servers. If you then use aliases, then the
list will be reliable no matter where on the server the database file
actually resides.
Alan