Firebird Database Update (to version 2.1.3)

Impact:
If you are using a "Standard" or "Single User" edition, all necessary software updates will be performed when you update your software to the current version - no additional steps are required. If you are using an "Enterprise" or "Network" edition and you are connected to a database server, there are two components to update: the client software installed on your PC, and the Firebird Database software installed on your server. Note that the new client software can still connect to an the older Firebird v1.5.5 database server; however, it is designed to work best with the newer version of Firebird v2.1.3. Using the newest client with an older server may result in degraded performance causing some operations to be slower than usual. For best performance, upgrade Firebird on your server after updating your client software. Also note that an older client version cannot connect to a newer server version.

To summarize:

• The newer client software will continue to work with an older server, but you may experience some slow performance.
• The older client software cannot connect to a newer server.
• For best performance, update your client software and then update your server software.

The table below contains the recommended Firebird version based on the client software version:

You can find your client software version by opening the menu item Help --> About.

The current versions of the client software also include an option to look up the Firebird Server version in the Database Connection window using the menu option Tools --> Database Connection. Alternatively, you may look up the version in the file properties of any of the .exe files in the Firebird bin directory to determine the server version.

Update Instructions:

After updating your client software, you may update Firebird on the server as follows:

1. For safety, you should always make a current backup of the database prior to any update using the menu item File --> Backup. Be sure that you are connected to the database that you want to backup, and be sure to store the backup file in a safe place.
2. Next, make sure all users have disconnected from the database. They should have the software closed and leave it closed until the Firebird server update has been completed.
3. On your server, open the Services applet in the Administrative Tools section of the Windows Control panel, and stop both Firebird Services listed there.
4. Locate your Firebird directory (typically C:\Program Files\Firebird), and make a copy of the aliases.conf file. This file contains the location of the raw data files to help you locate then later in the event of any problems with the Firebird upgrade. Store this copy in a safe location outside of the installation directory.
5. Download and install the KZFirebirdServer.exe package for Firebird v2.1.3 on your server. For the usual case, you should use the default values and the installation should complete in less than a minute. If the old database process is still in use, you may get a message that a file is in use. Make sure no one is connected to the database and choose "Retry" or "Abort". Do not choose "Ignore". If necessary, you may need to end the fb_inet_server task or restart the server to break all existing connections in order to complete the installation.
6. After the installation finishes, you may want to Refresh the list of Services in the services applet, and you should now find one Firebird Service running instead of the two Firebird services which were previously running.
7. At this point, you may open the client software to connect to the database. After opening the client software, go to the menu item Tools --> Database Connection, and click the button to "Check Firebird Version". Confirm that the version is 2.1.3.
8. You are now finished, and you may clean up the backup files made in Step 1 and Step 4, and update your system documentation as needed.