allow remote access to fb server

[Arnold Wiegert]

I have a FB server (32bit) on a PC (carbid) on my Win LAN  and want to access the sample employee.db using FlameRobin 0.9.10, but it refuses to connect

IBPP::SQLException

Context Database::Connect

Message: isc_attach_database failed

SQL Message : -902

Unsuccessful execution... precludes....

Engine Code : 335544721

Engine Message: Unable to complete network request to 'host 'carbid'

Failed to establish a connection

From the "Database Registration Info" screen

the database path:  \\carbid\C\Program Files (x86)\Firebird\Firebird_5_0\examples\empbuild\EMPLOYEE.FDB

with the usual default user & password.

Same issue if I enclose the DB path in double quotes because of the space.

TIA

[Dimitry Sibiryakov]

Arnold Wiegert wrote 07.03.2024 1:22:
> I have a FB server (32bit) on a PC (carbid) on my Win LAN  and want to
> access the sample employee.db using FlameRobin 0.9.10, but it refuses to connect

At first try to use plain TCP/IP instead of named pipes.
Then check that Firebird is run and listen at TCP port 3050 using netstat.
Finally check that a firewall or antivirus doesn't block this port using
tcping or telnet.

--
WBR, SD.

[Mark Rotteveel]

The \\..\.. URL is a WNET URL, which is no longer valid in Firebird 5.0,
see the release notes:
https://www.firebirdsql.org/file/documentation/release_notes/html/en/5_0/rlsnotes50.html#rnfb50-compat-wnet

Use inet://carbid/employee or the legacy URL carbid:employee

(there is a default alias defined for the employee example database, so
you don't need to use the full path)

Mark
--
Mark Rotteveel

[Arnold Wiegert]

Thank you both, but as I am trying to use FlameRobin, I have no control over the connection process or the URL, at least as far as I know.

Though I will have to take that into account for my own app, which used to work several years back using a 2.5 server.

FWIW, I have checked the server pC and Firebird is up and running and listening on port 3050 when I check with Nirsoft's cports, but when I run netstat on the server, I don't see Firebird listed.

As well, I am wondering if I need to edit anything in any of the server's configuration files, such as: firebird.conf, ....

Arnold

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[Dimitry Sibiryakov]

Arnold Wiegert wrote 07.03.2024 19:41:
> as I am trying to use FlameRobin, I have no control over the connection process
> or the URL, at least as far as I know.

Yes, FlameRobin is quite stiff in it. It blindly compose connection string in
form <server name>:<database path>.
Because of this usage of TCP is kinda hardcoded and your database path is
completely wrong.
Read Firebird Quick Start Guide about legacy connection strings:
https://firebirdsql.org/file/documentation/html/en/firebirddocs/qsg5/firebird-5-quickstartguide.html

--
WBR, SD.

[Piergiorgio Valli]

Hi 

 for test if the port is open you can simply use a telnet example "telnet 192.168.1.10 3050", if you see a black screen firewall is ok.

Pier

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[Arnold Wiegert]

Thank you for this information.

Unfortunately it seems the port is not open an even though I tried to open that port on both PCs, I have had no luck as yet.

I have also enabled firewall logging on the server PC (Win 10) and can see that the packets to port 3050 were listed, and I assume that this means they were dropped.

I have also tried to open the port on the client PC (Win11) but have had no luck with that either.

Will keep trying, later ...

Arnold

[Mark Rotteveel]

On 07/03/2024 23:26, Arnold Wiegert wrote:
> Thank you for this information.
> Unfortunately it seems the port is not open an even though I tried to
> open that port on both PCs, I have had no luck as yet.
>
> I have also enabled firewall logging on the server PC (Win 10) and can
> see that the packets to port 3050 were listed, and I assume that this
> means they were dropped.
> I have also tried to open the port on the client PC (Win11) but have had
> no luck with that either.
>
> Will keep trying, later ...

The only other thing I can think of is that you entered the wrong
database path (that you entered a UNC path as the file path), but as far
as I'm aware, that should produce a different error (though I haven't
tried to reproduce, so I might be wrong).

The database path you entered must be an alias, or an absolute path on
the local file system of the server, *not* the network path as seen from
the client to the server.

So make sure that in the server registration info the hostname is set to
carbid, and that the database path is set to one of the following:

- employee
(i.e. the database alias as configured in databases.conf of the server)
- C:\Program Files

(x86)\Firebird\Firebird_5_0\examples\empbuild\EMPLOYEE.FDB

(i.e. the absolute path as seen from the server)

and *not* \\carbid\C\Program Files

(x86)\Firebird\Firebird_5_0\examples\empbuild\EMPLOYEE.FDB

Also make sure that carbid actually resolves to a hostname (e.g. try to
ping it from the commandline of the client).

Mark
--
Mark Rotteveel

[Arnold Wiegert]

Thank you, Mark

That finally did it, I think - I will still have to test from my own app, but I got hooked up to the employee db both with the PC name as well as the LAN IP address, but, I had to move the DB to a different location, one where a plain user would have read/write access.

By trying to connect to the db when it is located in either of the "C:\Program Files" or "C:\Program Files (x86)" directories gives me an 

SQLMessage -904 

Unsuccessful execution caused by an unavailable resource" message, with the 

Engine code  335544375, "unavailable database"

FWIW, this has given me confidence not only that I better understand the requirements for a connection to a remote server, but also that I can use FlameRobin to help me troubleshoot and resolve issues.

Still, although I very much appreciate the efforts of both the Firebird & FlameRobin teams of developers, I very much wish the error message were a bit more informative for newbs like myself. 

Arnold

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[Dimitry Sibiryakov]

Arnold Wiegert wrote 08.03.2024 17:41:
> FWIW, this has given me confidence not only that I better understand the
> requirements for a connection to a remote server, but also that I can use
> FlameRobin to help me troubleshoot and resolve issues.

For troubleshooting isql is better than FlameRobin.

--
WBR, SD.

[Arnold Wiegert]

Thank you; I'll have to investigate using isql.

Unfortunately, even though I started out with command line utilities, I have grown used to depend on GUI apps where, hopefully the options available make it easier to not have to remember all of the possible switches and arguments :-)

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