The Server Installation is the typical installation choice for network administrators and developers that want R:BASE installed upon a centralized location within a local area network. It is beneficial to use this method when there are a great number of users which will be launching the R:BASE software. Another benefit is that when applying R:BASE updates, there is only one installation to be updated, rather than updating every workstation individually.
Using this method, you will insert the R:BASE CD-ROM into the server's CD-ROM drive and run the installer. Or, if the installer was made available through a download, you would run the "Setup.exe" while physically sitting at the server. Or, you can run the "Setup.exe" on a workstation and change the "Destination Folder" to a shared network directory during the Setup process, but this option prevents the proper installation of the R:BASE ODBC driver. If you have a R:BASE application which uses the R:BASE ODBC driver, you must run the installer while at the server.
When running the installer, the "Components" screen will display a "Server Installation" option that must be selected. For any workstation where R:BASE development will be actively performed, the R:BASE program should be installed on the local computer. This will allow access to the help manuals and documentation.
After the installation is complete, users must be supplied with the necessary network access rights. The users will require read permissions to launch the R:BASE program. If you intend to store the database files in the same directory as the R:BASE program, then read and write permissions are required. For more information about these access rights, refer to the documentation for your network. Both mapped drive letters and universal naming conventions (UNC) are supported for the network shared directory.
Server Installation Considerations
•Default Settings - Each workstation that has their desktop set up appropriately with the shortcut properties will launch from the server correctly. However, all of the default user settings for R:BASE, which are loaded during the installation process, are now only located on the server's registry. This will leave the workstation's R:BASE development interface with no stored settings forcing you or the user to set up the screens for the main Database Explorer, the Form, Report and Label Designers, the R:BASE Editor, R:Style, the R> Prompt console, the Data Browser, and the Data Dictionary. In most cases a server installation means that end users will be running a custom application and will not need to access the development interface. If this is not the case, and you require that users have the ability to develop in R:BASE with a server installation, and would like the series of R:BASE default settings, a registry dump is available within the R:BASE program folder.
•(CVAL('NAME')) Function - Having the R:BASE configuration file stored in a single location means that all users will be recognized with the same name when using the (CVAL('NAME')) Function. An alternative is to use the Functions (CVAL('NETUSER')), which captures the logged in network user name, and/or (CVAL('COMPUTER')), which captures the actual computer name.
•Product Updates - After the server installation is implemented, you must remember that your method of applying R:BASE program updates has changed. When running an R:BASE update, be sure to use the "Server Update" button, which will drop all the program and DLL files into the specified directory.
•Launching the R:BASE Compiled Help (.CHM) - For those who are running the R:BASE "development" environment from a network installation and will launch the compiled help files (.CHM) from the network drive, the help files will not display properly. The usual message displayed is a "Action canceled" screen. This is the result of a Microsoft Security update that prevents users from running compiled Help files (.CHM) on network drives, as it may pose a threat. R:BASE Technologies, Inc. has no control over how the compiled help files are displayed, as this is an operating system update. Users may otherwise store and launch the R:BASE Help files on the local hard drives of the computers. This would be beneficial to any R:BASE user with the program installed on the network, and to any custom application where they to run their own compiled help.
See Also Customizing the End User's Computer
