Interbase Installation Question

[123rest]

Hi All, I've recently installed Interbase 7.1 on Windows Server 2003. I have 5 XP machines connected to it, each with a interbase client. I'm using a Delphi 6 Enterprise
application. The only way I can get the application to run on the clients, is if I start running the delphi application on the server. Does anyone have any suggestions, to get around this problem.

 

[svanels]

That is strange, can you give more details what you have done?

Are you using "normal" components like Tdatabases, tqueries, ttables and datamodules?

Did it work in the past?

Did you make a server application in delphi, that acts like a middle layer to the Interbase server?

Can you connect to the interbase server, using sql from the xp machines (intebase utility)?

Can you manupilate the data using Delphi's SQL-explorer?

Did you upscaled a desktop utility (access or paradox) to Interbase? Unfortunately desktop databases and Client-Server systems are not the same kind of animal.

Regards




Steven van Els
SAvanEls@cq-link.sr

 

[123rest]

Thanks Steven for your response, yes I upscaled from Paradox to Interbase, and I'm still using the BDE table components. Should I change the type of components, that I am using ?

 

[svanels]

There is nothing wrong with the components, but paradox and interbase use them in adifferent way.

With paradox you had a shared network directory where the data resided. Maybe your application was also on a shared directory. It is a file based operation.
You can compare it with two people trying to open a shared ms word file. User 1 locks the file, and user 2 can only open in read-only mode.

Desktop databases create an additional temporary lock file, which contains information which user is busy with the data. If the connection is suddenly lost, without the user shutting down properly, the lock is not cleared, difficulting things in a multi user environment.

The interbase server on the other hand, is the only application that accesses the data. All other applications (clients) including your application submits their requests to the interbase server, which processes them.

I think that you installed the Interbase Server on the Windows Server, the Interbase client is installed automatically, and your application. If your application is in a shared directory, you can "start" it from another XP computer.

This interbase client must be installed on every computer that talks to the Interbase Server

If you are using the BDE components, the BDE must be installed on every computer where your application runs also.

If you don't want to use the BDE, you can use the Interbase Components in Delphi. They use the Interbase API (installed by the Interbase Client), but your application can only talk with an Interbase Server.

With the BDE you can switch from database system, without modifying your application, because it deals with the API of the database. In theory you can have the same data in Interbase, SQL-server, Oracle, MySQL etc. The switch is as simple as modifying the driver in the Alias (BDE Administrator).

On the other hand, you need to be aware of the differences in Database Servers.

You upscaled from paradox to interbase, make use of queries, tables are not that efficient with Client-Server systems, especially if the tables are big, you will have too much network traffic. Of course with a 5 license system you will barely notice it, but with 20+ concurrent users poking similtaneously in a big table, it can be a problem.

Hope this background info helped you out.







Steven van Els
SAvanEls@cq-link.sr