Network Setup Overview

When you install Vehicle Manager client software on your computer, an embedded database is installed by default to allow you to try out the software without further configuration.  However, when you're ready to share the software on a network with multiple users, you need to install a shared database on a server.  Any Windows computer may act as the "server", as long as it is accessible from all of the computers which need to access the shared database.  You also want to make sure the computer is able to run without interruption to avoid any potential for database corruption which might occur if the computer is restarted while users are connecting to and using the database.

To set up Vehicle Manager for use on a network by multiple users, there are three basic steps:

  1. Install the client software on the computers which will run Vehicle Manager.
  2. Install the database server software on a shared Windows server.
  3. Connect the client computers to the database server.

1. Install the client software:

The client software is the program that users interact with to enter and update vehicle records.  If you have used the trial version of Vehicle Manager, then you have already installed at least one copy of this software.  This software is available for download at http://www.kzsoftware.com/products/vehicle_maintenance/demo.htm  Note that in order to connect to a shared database server, you must install the Vehicle Manager client software which includes "network support".  All editions of Vehicle Manager run in single user stand-alone mode by default.  The edition(s) which include multiple user network support can also connect to a central database server.

2. Install the database server software:

The database server software is very easy to install in the default configuration.  To install in the default configuration, follow these simple steps:

  1. Log on to your server and download the setup program from http://www.kzsoftware.com/products/vehicle_maintenance/databaseserver/download.htm
  2. Run the setup program that you downloaded in step 1, and accept all defaults.

This program will install a Firebird Database Server and a new Vehicle Manager database.

3. Connect the client computers to the shared database:

After installing the database server, you may connect your client computer(s) to the shared database server by following these steps:

Open Vehicle Manager on one of the client computers which it is installed on.

  1. Select the menu option Tools --> Database Connection (Note: if you don't see this option, you need to install a client with multiple user network support from http://www.kzsoftware.com/products/vehicle_maintenance/demo.htm)
  2. Enter the name of the database server in the connection dialog box (if you don't know the name of the server, log on to the server and right-click "My Computer", choose "Properties", and then select the "Computer Name" tab.)  Note that you only need to enter the name of the database server - you do not need to enter a file path when connecting to a remote database server.  The file path is only required when connecting to a local database file.
  3. Click Ok
  4. Close and then reopen Vehicle Manager.  You're now connected to the shared database server.

Note: If you cannot connect to the database server, a firewall may be blocking the connection.  Configure your firewall to allow TCP connections on Port 3050.  For the Windows XP firewall, go to Control Panel --> Firewall --> Exceptions --> Add Port.

Advanced:

If you are a server administrator and would like to change the default location where the Vehicle Manager database is stored, you may do so by following the instructions below.  Vehicle Manager is designed to run with the standard options "out of the box", and in most cases there is no reason to change the defaults; however, these instructions are provided for server administrators who would like to change the default installation.

  1. First stop the Firebird database service by going to the Control Panel and opening the Firebird applet.
  2. Next copy the database file from C:\KZSoftware\VehicleData.vdb to the new location where you would like it to be stored.  Note: the new location must be located on a hard drive that is physically connected to the host machine.  It cannot be located on a mapped drive, a file system share, or a network file system.
  3. Next, open the file C:\Program Files\firebird\aliases.config in notepad and change this line: VehicleManager=C:\KZSoftware\VEHICLEDATA.VDB to reflect the new path to the database file.
  4. Finally, restart the Firebird database server using the control panel applet from Step 1.