Black Box 4/BlackBox.cdr/lan/blts592.arj/DBASE411.TXT

Text File | 1991-03-28 | 8KB | 162 lines

TECHNICAL BULLETIN 3/25/91 jcr
dBASE IV 1.1

dBASE IV 1.1 has been tested as compatible with LANtastic 3.X. This
bulletin has been designed to help with the installation and setup
of this product.

Installing dBASE IV
The machine on which dBASE IV will be installed must be configured
as a network server, and will be referred to as the dBASE server.
At the dBASE server, insert the INSTALL disk in the floppy drive
and from the floppy prompt type INSTALL. Follow the prompts for a
full, multi-user installation.  The system will not ask for network
type, but please refer to the IBM PC LAN sections of the
documentation whenever a network related question arises.  The
install program will not update the autoexec.bat or config.sys
files when installing multi-user.  Ashton-Tate recommends the
following as a minimum for files and buffers in the config.sys
file: BUFFERS=15  FILES=40.  The following formula can be used to
calculate the appropriate number of files: FILES = ((Number of
Nodes * 20) + 20). The DOS SHARE program should be loaded on the
server.

Configuration
Each workstation's autoexec.bat file should include a path to the
dBASE server root drive.  When installed, dBASE creates two
directories (\DBASE and \DBNETCTL.300).  dBASE must have access to
both directories on the same drive specification. If the user links
to only to the \DBASE directory, he will receive a "Network Load
Failure" error, indicating that dBASE cannot find the \DBNETCTL.300
directory. Once installed, the following steps are necessary to
share dBASE across the network.

1. Log into the dBASE server and redirect a drive designation to
   the root directory. i.e.:
   net login \\server username password  {Where server is the name
   of the network server, and an account for username with password
   (if applicable) has been configured on the server}
   net use f: \\server\c-drive {Where c-drive is a resource which
   has been created on the dBASE server for the root directory. The
   physical link path may be something like c:\}
2. When configuring dBASE for the first time, each workstation
   should run the setup program called DBSETUP, which configures
   the CONFIG.DB file.  This file contains setup information for
   dBASE, such as Command and Printer locations. At the \dBASE
   directory prompt, run DBSETUP.
3. To setup printers, select Printers, Drivers, press Shift-F1 to
   select printers and Ctrl-End to save.  DBSETUP will ask for the
   location of the CONFIG.DB file, this can be setup on the local
   drive of each node.
4. Set all \DBASE files to read-only.
5. Once configured, the user may log into the server, share the
   server's root device and run dBASE from the redirected prompt.

Expanded and Extended Memory Support
dBASE IV can utilize any memory above the 640K limit (which follows
the LIM 4.0 requirements) for local disk caching.*  Any memory
driver used should be configured to exclude the RAMBASE of the
network adapter when applicable (Artisoft's 2Mbps adapter uses
RAMBASE). That RAMBASE selection is usually excluded through a
command line switch.  For example, using Quarterdeck's QEMM.SYS and
an Artisoft 2Mbps adapter with a RAMBASE selection of D000-D800,
the config.sys file may look something like:  DEVICE=QEMM.SYS RAM
X=D000-D800
* Please refer to the Getting Started Manual, Disk Caching with
DBCACHE, for more information.

File and Record Locking
dBASE IV v1.1 provides automatic file and record locking.  This
allows multiple users to simultaneously access and update different
parts of the same database file without requiring explicit file and
record locks.  Locking happens in dBASE at four levels: Automatic
file locking, Automatic record locking, Explicit file locking and
Explicit record locking.  Please refer to your documentation for
more information. Again, DOS SHARE must be loaded on the dBASE
server.

Opening Files
A file can be opened under dBASE IV in one of two modes - exclusive
or shared.  If a file is opened in exclusive mode, only one
requesting user can access the file at a time so there is no need
to lock the file or any record in the file.  If a file is opened in
shared mode, multiple users on the network can access the file so
files and records should be locked before updating.  The user can
change how the file is opened with the SET EXCLUSIVE command.  The
default for multi-user is SET EXCLUSIVE OFF, which allows the files
to be shared.  If the user reports difficulties with file sharing,
 check to see that SET EXCLUSIVE is OFF.

Printing
A user may print to both a local and a redirected device through
dBASE by using the SET PRINTER command.  This command can be used
to establish the actual link to a network printer.  There are
several ways a printer can be configured using dBASE. The following
are two methods:

Method 1:
Issue the NET USE command through LANtastic (or through the NET or
LANPUP programs) to establish the printer connection.  Tell dBASE
which redirected port to send output to.  ie:
Net use LPT1 \\server\@printer
   -Issued from the network DOS prompt; links the Server's @printer
    resource to LPT1
Set printer to LPT1
   -Issued from the dBASE dot prompt; tells dBASE which port to
    direct the output to

Method 2:
Do not issue a NET USE command from the network and allow dBASE to
control all network printer links through the SET commands. IE:
Set printer to \\server\@printer=port
   -Issued from the dBASE dot prompt; redirects the PORT (LPT1,
    LPT2 etc) to the server's @printer resource.
Set printer to LPT2
   -Issued from the dBASE dos prompt; in this case we can assume
    LPT2 is a local device and instruct dBASE to send the output to
    that local device.

If the user establishes a NET USE command prior to running dBASE,
that NET USE command establishes the link which overrides any SET
PRINTER command given.  Ie, if the user issues a NET USE LPT1
\\Server1\@printer and a SET PRINTER \\Server2\@printer=LPT1, the
output will be directed to Server1's @printer device.


Printing Problems
Earlier printing problems were reported when printing with dBASE IV
1.1 and LANtastic 3.0.  These problems did not occur in dBASE IV
1.0 or prior versions. If printing problems occur, please check the
versions of LANtastic and dBASE IV.  Ashton-Tate provides a
maintenance version (X507A) which resolves this problem in 1.1.
This version uses a DOS environment variable (set NOXON=ON) to
acknowledge and correct printing problems. If the version of
LANtastic is 3.0, please make sure your Artisoft products are
registered and contact our offices for an update to 3.03.

Security
dBASE IV provides a PROTECT command, which includes three types of
database protection; Log-in Security, File and field access
security, and data encryption. Once PROTECT is used, the security
system will always control access to database files.  If PROTECT is
used, a user profile must be created for each operator.  There are
eight user access levels, assigning a low number gives the user
greater access privileges and assigning a higher number limits the
user's access.  The access level is established for each user in
the user's profile.  Please refer to your documentation for more
information on PROTECT.

Summary
This document has been designed to help with the installation and
setup of dBASE IV 1.1 and to provide a guideline for trouble
shooting. If a problem arises which cannot be resolved through this
bulletin, please contact our technical support staff at (602) 293
6363. Additional support is also available through documentation
provided by Ashton-Tate.  Any questions or suggestions on this
bulletin may be mailed to our offices: Artisoft, Inc., 575 East
River Road, Tucson, AZ  85704  ATTN: Compatibility Department /
dBASE IV 1.1 Support.

Vendor Info
Ashton-Tate, 20101 Hamilton Avenue, Torrance, CA  90502-1319
[phone]