Connect to DB Server - Artanemus/SCM_TimeDrops GitHub Wiki

Connect to database server.

Connecting over IP

To connect to the SQL Server over IP, several important steps must be completed:

  1. Firewall Settings: Ensure the computer making the connection has the necessary SQL Server ports open. The computer hosting the database server must also allow inbound traffic on these ports.

  2. Router Port Forwarding: The hub/router must be configured with port forwarding rules to direct traffic to the computer running SQL Server.

  3. Enable IP Connections in SQL Server Express: By default, SQL Server Express (SQLEXPRESS) does not enable IP-based connections. Use the SQL Server Configuration Manager to enable TCP/IP support for the instance.

  4. Authentication Setup:

If using SQL logins (username/password), these must be configured in the database server.

If using Windows Domain authentication, the sqlcmd utility supports domain-based logins via the command line.

Setting up SQL Server access over IP can involve several moving parts. It’s often seen as part of the "black arts" of IT—don’t hesitate to ask someone in your club with IT experience for assistance.

FireDAC configuration file

This application uses the FirDAC component library to connect with the MS SQLEXPRESS database.

The FireDAC components uses a special initialization file named FDConnectionDef.ini.

When FireDAC connects it uses this file to initialize and formalize the connection. For security reasons this file is placed in the USERS appdata folder. If other users login to the same computer (under a different name) and are using SCM_TimeDrops, this file MUST exist in their appdata folder, else the connection cannot be made.

Tools - FireDAC Explorer

Press Ok to start the stand-alone FireDAC's Connection Explorer.

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To modify the SCM_TimeDrops FDConnectionDef.ini file,

  1. Once the app is running, press the 'Open ConnDef File' button and ...
  2. Enter into the filename editbox ... %AppData%\Artanemus\SCM (Or browse to the user's appdata folder. AppData is a hidden system file. Full path: %SYSTEMDRIVE%\Users%USERNAME%\AppData\Roaming \Artanemus\SCM)
  3. Select file FDConnectionDefs.ini
  4. Press Open.
  5. You will see the available connection definitions. Select MSSQL_SwimClubMeet.

Here you can modify, delete and create connection parameters. Save your changes and test the connection.