1. Download Firebird for Windows
Firebird is an open source FREEWARE program that can run on Windows, Linux
and Unix. Please visit
http://www.firebirdsql.org
for general info about Firebird. It is recommended that you use the latest
production version of Firebird.
2. Install Firebird
Generally, the host machine is
a server machine in your Local Area Network. For example, you may install
Firebird on computer "MyHost".
During the installation, the installation program will ask you whether you
want the database sever to run as a Windows service or Windows application. In
general, you should make it run as a Windows service.
3. Copy "udfoc.dll" in computer MyClient1 to directory "udf" of the program
directory of Firebird which is installed in computer MyHost.
And "udfoc.dll"
comes with Open Contacts, it is located in directory "udf" of the program
directory of
Open Contacts. In the host computer MyHost, you should place "udfoc.dll" in
directory "udf" of Firebird program directory.
4. Make sure that any firewall program
or antivirus program on the host machine allow
Firebird to listen to client requests.
Assuming the server machine is "MyHost".
1. Create a secured directory (for example "D:\SecuredData\OC") not
accessible across the network but the Firebird database server only.
2. Move database file "Default.gdb" from MyClient1 to "D:\SecuredData\OC".
Thus, no client computer should be able to access the database file
directly through networking file sharing, but through Firebird database
server only.
3. Create a working directory (for example "D:\WorkData\OCData") shareable by some
users across the network according your local security policy, and move file
"main.ini", directory "templates" and directory "files" to the
working directory
from MyClient1. Please make the files directory
writable by these users. The working directory may be accessed through
something like "\\myhost\SharedOCWorking"
which points to D:\WorkData\OCData.
4. Modify main.ini to make the database settings point to the server
machine as described below.
The INI file contains pointers to to the address book database, as
shown in the example below.
[General]
User=SYSDBA
Password=masterkey
Protocol=firebird-2.0
Database=myhost:d:\secureddata\ocdata\default.GDB
DemoDatabase=myhost:d:\secureddata\ocdata\demo.gdb
The user name/password pair is used for authentication to the Firebird
databases "default.GDB" and "demo.gdb". Both files are located in "d:\secureddata\ocdata\"
of the host machine "myhost". Thus, Open Contacts knows it should connect to
server "myhost" and talk to the Firebird database server there. Then the
database will process the database file in the host machine's D drive and
authenticate the user name/password pair.
Though file "main.ini" sits as a shareable file on computer "MyHost",
the settings are used by Open Contacts running on computer "MyClient1".
Thus the settings need to tell Open Contacts the host name "myhost".
5. Test. Create a program shortcut on computer "MyClient1" with the
Target directory pointing to the program directory of Open Contacts, and
the Start-in directory pointing to the working directory located in "\\myhost\SharedOCWorking"
. Run Open Contacts via the shortcut.