This chapter covers the basic SOLID Server administrative tasks. It tells you how to:
- install SOLID Server
- start SOLID Server
- create a new database
- connect to the server using SOLID Remote Control or SOLID SQL Editor
- shut down SOLID Server using SOLID Remote Control or from the server computer console
If you have not yet installed SOLID Server, follow these quick-start instructions, or refer to the Read Me First notice delivered with the product diskettes for a detailed description of the installation.
To Install Your SOLID Server
- Insert the SOLID Server diskette into your computer.
- Run the program setup from the diskette.
- Follow the instructions in the setup program.
For installation instructions for Novell Netware, UNIX, VAX/VMS and Open VMS operating systems, refer to the Read Me First notice.
Installing Solid Drivers
Some environments include SOLID Server drivers (ODBC, UNIFACE) on a separate diskette. To install the drivers:
- To install the ODBC Driver, run the program setup from the ODBC Driver diskette.
- For instructions on installing other drivers read the readme.txt file on the driver diskette.
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When SOLID Server is started, it checks if a database already exists in the SOLID directory, that is, the directory where you installed SOLID executables. If a database file is found, SOLID Server will automatically open that database. If not, which is the case when you start the server for the first time, a new database will be created.
On UNIX operating systems , you start the server by entering the command solid at the command prompt. When you start the server for the first time, enter the command solid -f at the command prompt to force the server to run in the foreground.
On Novell Netware, you start the server by entering the command load solid.nlm at the command prompt.
On Open VMS, you start the server by entering the command run solid at the command prompt
Dialog 1. Username and password entry. |
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To Create a New Database
- Enter the database administrator's username and password in the appropriate text boxes. The password will be displayed as asterisks.
- Press the OK button.
The username and password are case insensitive. The username must have at least two characters; the password at least three. You can use lower case letters from a to z, upper case letters from A to Z and the underscore character _, and numbers from 0 to 9.
NOTE. You must remember your username and password to be able to connect to SOLID Server. There are no default usernames; the username you enter when creating the database is the only username available for connecting to the new database.
Dialog 2. Creating a new database. |
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After the database has been created, SOLID Server starts listening to the network for client connection requests. In the Windows environment, you will see a SOLID Server icon, but in most environments SOLID Server will run invisibly in the background as a daemon process.
NOTE. Create immediately a backup of your database to be able to use the log files to perform a roll-forward recovery.
In OS/2, UNIX, Novell Netware, VAX/VMS and Open VMS operating systems, if you do not have an existing database, the following message appears:
Database does not exist. Do you want to create a new database (y/n)?
Answer y(es), and SOLID Server will prompt for the database administrator's username and password. When they have been accepted, a new database will be created.
NOTE. If in the Windows environment you double-click the icon of a running SOLID Server, nothing will happen. SOLID Server is a background process that only reacts to messages from clients through the communication interface.
After starting your SOLID Server, you can test the configuration by connecting to the server. You can connect to the server from your workstation by using either SOLID Remote Control or SOLID SQL Editor.
NOTE. You need to have the privileges of SYS_ADMIN_ROLE or SYS_CONSOLE_ROLE to be able to connect to a server using SOLID Remote Control.
Connecting with SOLID Remote Control
To Start SOLID Remote Control
SOLID Remote |
After a while, you will see the server STATUS page opening. A connection to the server has been established. |
Close the window or choose Exit form the File menu.
Refer to on-line help for detailed instructions on using SOLID Remote Control.
On OS/2, UNIX, VAX/VMS, Open VMS and Novell Netware platforms you use the SOLID Remote Control (Teletype) program to test the configuration. See the chapter Using SOLID Database Tools for detailed information.
Connecting with SOLID SQL Editor
To Start SOLID SQL Editor
To Execute a Predefined Query
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Executing a predefined datadictionary query
- Select a predefined data dictionary query from the list box on the toolbar, and press the button located directly left of the list box.
The results of the query will be shown in the lower part of the window.To Load and Execute an SQL script
Refer to on-line help for detailed instructions on SOLID SQL Editor.
Viewing the SOLID Server Message Log
SOLID Server writes all error and info messages to a text file. This message log file is named solmsg.out and it is located in the SOLID directory. You can view this file using any text editor or file viewer. The error messages and their explanations are listed in Appendix A SOLID Server Error Messages of this document and in electronic format as the SOLID Server Error Messages Help.
- using the SOLID Remote Control program
- using the SOLID Remote Control (Teletype) program
- clicking the server icon and selecting Close from the menu appearing in the Windows environment
All the shutdown mechanisms will start the same routine, which writes all buffered data to the database file, frees cache memory and finally terminates the server program. Shutting down a server may take a while since the server must write all buffered data from main memory to the disk.
To Shut Down the Server Using SOLID Remote Control
- Connect to the server you want to close.
- Go to the USERS page.
- Press the Drop All... button.
- Answer Yes the question Do you want to disconnect all users? This will throw out all users expect you from the database.
- Go to the STATUS page.
- Press the Shut down... button.
- To the question Do you want to shut down the server?, answer Yes.
NOTE. You need to drop all users to enable the shutdown process.
To Shut Down the Server from the Server Computer in the Windows Operating System
- Click the Server icon and select Close from the menu that appears.
- If there are users connected to the server, choose OK in the appearing dialog box to continue the shutdown process. If there are no users connected to the server, the shutdown process is started immediately and a shutdown message is displayed.
On OS/2, UNIX, VAX/VMS, Open VMS and Novell Netware use the SOLID Remote Control (Teletype) program to shut down the server. See the chapter Using SOLID Database Tools for detailed information.
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