Scry 5

I have just downloaded and extracted the Scry5.zip file, and have three files, can you briefly explain what they do?

The first file Scry5Server.zip is another file containing all of the files required to install the Scry 5 database engine on a network server.
The Scry5.DBM file is the installer for the ScryDBM application, which is used after the Scry 5 server has been installed, to actually instruct the Scry server to create a new database file (scry5.fdb). The Scry5Client.exe is the application setup for the client.

Is the first thing I need to do is to install the Scry 5 server?

Yes, Scry 5 uses the Firebird SQL database server for all it's database work, so the first thing that needs to happen, is for the Scry5Server.zip file to be extracted, and then the setup application to be run on a server, which will actually install the Firebird server service (or application if you prefer).

I have installed Firebird on the server, what do I do next?

The next thing to do is to install ScryDBM. This can either be installed on the same server, or another Windows based machine. ScryDBM will be the application that actually creates the scry5.fdb file that the Firebird server will use to store all of it's data.

Does the scry5.fdb file need to be on a file share which all of the clients can see?

No. The only application that will communicate directly to the scry5.fdb file, is the actual Firebird service. Both the Scry 5 clients and the ScryDBM application, talk to the Firebird service via IP.

Where should the scry5.fdb file be stored?

The scry5.fdb file can be stored anywhere locally to the server running Firebird, that is, if the server has a C and a D drive, it can go in any location on either one of these local drives. To make life easier, however, we would suggest creating a separate directory such as either “c:\data\scry5” or “d:\data\scry5”.

How would I tell ScryDBM to create a scry5.fdb file in the location “d:\data\scry5\” then?

If you are running ScryDBM on the server that is running Firebird, you would enter it's IP address in the host field (or 127.0.0.1) and enter “d:\data\scry5\” in the database location field (the directory must already exist). If you are not running ScryDBM on the server that is running Firebird, you would enter the IP address of the server, and the database location would remain the same.
When you click the “Create” button, a scry5.fdb file should appear in the d:\data\scry5 directory on the server.

How do I connect the first client to the new database?

The administrator of Scry should be the first person to run Scry as they will automatically be given privileges that normal users will not be given. When the client is first run, they will be faced with a wizard where they will need to specify the server IP address and the database location. These settings will be the same as the ones that were entered when running ScryDBM.

Can the client files be placed on a file share so that we don't have to run the client install on each workstation?

Yes. If you copy all of the files that were installed in “c:\program files\scry5”, to a shared location on a file server, each client could run the Scry5.exe from there. We recommend that users of laptops run the Scry client installer, as they may not be in the office when they connect to the database, and thus will require their own scry.exe file.

I have copied all of the Scry files to a network file share, but when we run the scry.exe, it says it can't connect to the server?

The Scry 5 client requires the gds32.dll file in order to communicate with the Firebird server. On older installers, this was installed into the “c:\windows\system32” folder instead of the chosen Scry 5 location, thus when the files were copied to the network share, the gds32.dll file would not have been copied. Simply copy the gds32.dll file to the same location as the other Scry 5 client files on the network file server.

The evaluation version of Scry only allows a maximum of 5 users. Can we evaluate with more?

The standard evaluation system that is built into Scry, does only allow a maximum of 5 users. However, we appreciate that some people may need to evaluate with more. If this is the case, just e-mail us, and we will produce a one off key, allowing full operation for a limited time.

How do I add users into Scry?

You don't have to! Scry automatically adds users as they "connect" to the chosen Scry database, greatly speeding up the time taken to deploy Scry.

How much does Scry cost?

Scry version 5.x costs from only $99 per site (not per user) license. Purchase Scry Now

Where can I download Scry?

Scry can be downloaded from our website - Download the Latest Version of Scry

How can I buy Scry Online?

Buy Scry online here

Which port do I have to open up on my firewall in order to allow Scry
to connect to the Firebird database?

Port 3050