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Question: How do workstations
determine the server and database connection?
Answer: ExpressMaintenance and
ExpressRequest have always used an ini file to obtain SQL Server and
database information for connecting to the SQL Server.
Starting with version 6.2.1.1,
ExpressMaintenance uses a file by the name of ExpressMaintenance.ini.
The update attempts to create the ini file for you but is often unable
to do so because of security protection on servers. The ExpressMaintenance.ini file must reside in the folder with Maintenance.exe and must contain
the following:
[Connection Info]
SQLServer=ActualSQLServerName
SQLDatabase=ExpressMaintenance
The ini file is best edited using the
Notepad text editor.
Notice the space in “Connection Info”.
Also, make sure this file is in the
folder with Maintenance.exe.
Give users read permission to ExpressMaintenance.ini.
Remove the old Connection.ini file once you have
ExpressMaintenance.ini setup as it is no longer used in the recent
versions.
Test first at the server and make sure
everything works correctly. You can use the option under
Administration / Manage Connection to create and view the
ExpressMaintenance.ini file.
Next, make sure the workstation
shortcuts point to the same Maintenance.exe in the same folder where you
tested at the server.
The file can contain another line to
prevent or force the use of Windows login. For details on using or disabling the
Windows login - click here.
The same applies to ExpressRequest.
There must be an ExpressRequest.ini file with the same contents.
In the current version,
ExpressMaintenance & ExpressRequest only use the two ini files and no
other ini files are required. No ini files are used on the
workstations.
In some network environments, it might be
that the workstations require several seconds or even a minute to find
and connect to the SQL Server. By default, ExpressMaintenance only
allows 15 seconds to make the SQL Server connection. You can
increase the timeout allowance by adding the following line to the
ExpressMaintenance.ini file:
[Connection Info]
SQLServer=ActualSQLServerName
SQLDatabase=ExpressMaintenance
SQLTimeout=60
The example above increases the allowed
time to make the connection to 60 seconds.
If you are having trouble connecting from
a workstation, make sure the ExpressMaintenance.ini file is setup as
outlined above and the user has permission to read the file. Also,
increase the timeout setting to allow for slower network connections.
If the problem persist and you have
checked the items above, the problem is a permission issue with the
workstation logging into the SQL Server. You can test this from
the workstation. When a connection error occurs and you are
prompted to create a database, select Yes and you will be taken to the
Manage SQL Connection dialog.
In the Manage SQL Connection dialog
windows, test connecting to the SQL Server using SQL Authentication with
the login of 'etuser'. The program will automatically insert the
password. Then click the Test Connection button. If the
connection fails, the 'etuser' login is not properly setup on the SQL
Server. The workstation is failing to connect via Windows
authentication and failing to connect via SQL authentication.
For more information on testing the 'etuser'
account and creating the account in SQL, please see the tech bulletin on
Testing Connection via ODBC
or the tech bulletin on creating
the 'etuser' account. |
