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Crystal Reports, ODBC & Access >> Crystal Reports General Issues >> CR 8, DBA and a new server!
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Message started by Rbuchanan on 06/27/05 at 09:43:16

Title: CR 8, DBA and a new server!
Post by Rbuchanan on 06/27/05 at 09:43:16

My company recently upgraded to a new SBS 2003 server and transferred everything from Novell. I had more or less given up hope of getting CR 8 to run again until I saw all your comments on making it work.

I'm stumped on how to get it all in gear again. I can follow the MWACCOUNTING White Paper and setup a client interface as a system DSN on my workstation, and the test button says it succeffully connects, but when I try to use the DSN in CR it tells me it's only the Standard edition and I need to upgrade to the Pro edition to connect. We have never had anything other than the copy I installed?!?!

Also, if I go to my server and try to install an Engine Interface, it tells me I have "Insufficient rights to get or set information." I find that somewhat hard to believe as I am logging in as the Administrator and I've even given specific Full Control rights to the administrator in the data directory. Any ideas???

Thanks in advance!

Title: Re: CR 8, DBA and a new server!
Post by aricon on 06/27/05 at 12:43:26

So, you installed CR on the server AND on the client?

Title: Re: CR 8, DBA and a new server!
Post by Rbuchanan on 06/27/05 at 13:08:54

Nope, just the client, but as I recall from the first install (some 4-5 years ago!) we had to setup a "Engine Interface" on the server side of things (It was a Novell 5.1 Server) and then we setup a client interface on teh workstation. Am I trying to do too much?!

Frustrating that I can drill into the Pervasive Control Center and see the data tables in the database, but that I can't seem to get the darn CR to see them as well!

I'd be pulling my hair out if I had any left!!

Title: Re: CR 8, DBA and a new server!
Post by aricon on 06/28/05 at 04:12:19

CR should be installed on the server and then you install a client on the workstation.

Title: Re: CR 8, DBA and a new server!
Post by Rbuchanan on 06/28/05 at 04:20:52

Lorne-

This is the way we had it installed before. Since we were on Novell, CR couldn't be installed on the server as it wasn't and NLM. And thus we installed CR to the workstation and everything ran fine.

Now we're on SBS 2K3 and I don' tthink loading CR to the server would do any good at the workstation. Without loading the software ont eh WS I woon't be able to run it from there.

Like I said, the Pervasive client says it attaches to the database and I can go into the Control Center on either the Server or the workstation and see the files and the data tables, but CR refuses to see the same files.

Sorry if you feel like you're talking to a brick, but I'm just knowledgable enough with CR to be really dangerous!

Title: Re: CR 8, DBA and a new server!
Post by Rbuchanan on 06/28/05 at 12:06:25

Lorne-

I found a thread on the ODBC forum and it talked about the error message I was getting from trying to setup the Pervasive Engine Interface. Sure enough, when I went downt o the server itself to do it instead of through remote desktop, I was able to setup the engine interface without an error message!

Yeah! Only that didn't help the comment from Crystal that I need to upgrade to the Pro version!! Bummer!

Title: Re: CR 8, DBA and a new server!
Post by jhepola on 06/29/05 at 12:25:06

Have you tried connecting via the Data Dictionary File (FIELD.DDF) instead of through ODBC? (In "Data Explorer" / folder "Database Files" / "Find Database File" / Click "Add" / navigate to your "DBAMFG" folder)

I would think that w/Crystal standard installed on the workstation, Pervasive Engine installed on the Server, and Pervasive Client installed on the Workstation, you would be able to connect this way.

John Hepola
Techno Resources, Inc.

Title: Re: CR 8, DBA and a new server!
Post by aricon on 06/29/05 at 15:43:31

John,

One drawback to that method is that the data access speed tends to be QUITE slow.

Title: Re: CR 8, DBA and a new server!
Post by kevind on 06/30/05 at 04:35:41

Rob,
Which Pervasive product and version are you running on your server?

Is it the Workgroup engine, or the full blown Server Engine?

Title: Re: CR 8, DBA and a new server!
Post by Rbuchanan on 06/30/05 at 12:52:20

Kevin-

Like I said before, I have enough information to be dangerous!

I believe it is Pervasive 2000i SP3 (Ver 7.9?) and the actual server edition, not the workgroup. Reason for my belief is it's running on my MS SBS 2K3 server now and was loaded on ly Novell 5.1 server earlier this year.

I was poking around on the server and there is a BTRIEVE Maintenance utility that I sort of remember futzing with back a couple of years ago when we originally got CR. Could there be some sort of server tweak that needs to be done?? I think I remember shutting down and restarting Pervasive to make the change effective, but I can't remember if it was for CR or just because of BTRIEVE errors!

THanks for all the help, and I'm hoping to get CR working again soon!!!

Title: Re: CR 8, DBA and a new server!
Post by Rbuchanan on 06/30/05 at 12:54:22

John-

Data Explorer???

Title: Re: CR 8, DBA and a new server!
Post by kevind on 06/30/05 at 16:24:52

Rob,
For ODBC to work, you need to be sure that the Relational Engine is Running.

In the System Services, there are two engines associated with the pervasive 2000i Engine. One of them is the Transactional engine, the other is the Relational Engine.

Make sure the the Relational Engine is running. This is the one that processes the ODBC commands. Using ODBC allows use of the relational engine so that the real work gets done by the server and not crystal reports.

Also, be sure that you run the ODBCDDF.run program in DBA. This creates ODBC compatable DDF files in the
same folder as the data files. This is an off menu program that you run from System Manager,
RUN a DBA program (SM-A I think?!?)

When you create your Pevasive Engine interface on the Server, (and you should do this from the servers console), make sure that you point it to the DDF files in the DBA folder were the data files are.

Once that is created, then go to your workstation(s) and create a Pervasive Client Interface. Point it to the Engine interface created on the server.

Hope that helps.

Title: Re: CR 8, DBA and a new server!
Post by Rbuchanan on 07/01/05 at 04:17:44

John-

"Data Exploerer??? - By joe I think I got it! I was opening something in CR and saw what you were talking about, and Yes, I can connect to the data files that way!!! Yeah! I can make CR work again! ;D

Kevin-

I'm still working on the ODBC link as I'm fairly certain it will ultimately be faster, and that's the way we used to do it before the change.

I verified that the transactional and relational servers aer both running, but I'm still getting the "need to upgrade" message. So I'm going to try and start re-creating from scratch the server engine and the client interface with very dis-similar names from the originals!

Rob

Title: Re: CR 8, DBA and a new server!
Post by Rbuchanan on 07/01/05 at 04:53:57

Kevin-

Just FYI, I redid the engine interface setting everything up new and the test function connected succesfully, Redid the client interface and again tested successfully. then got the same "upgrade" error message in CR when I tried to use the data source.

Rob

Title: Re: CR 8, DBA and a new server!
Post by kevind on 07/01/05 at 05:20:44

Wow, that is strange!!

I use Crystal Standard Edition with a product that we ship to customers. The reports I built for that use ODBC for data access.

Could you email me a screen shot of the error message??

Title: Re: CR 8, DBA and a new server!
Post by jhepola on 07/05/05 at 09:13:31

Rob, I'm glad that connecting to the BTRIEVE engine through the Data Explorer got you going on Crystal again...it can be slower as, Lorne pointed out, if the files you are using are large...but speed is not always necessary depending on how often you run the report. ODBC is a nice option and it sounds like you need to get it working. If I hear of anything that might be helpful I'll check back in with you.

Take care..

John Hepola

Title: Re: CR 8, DBA and a new server!
Post by Rbuchanan on 07/07/05 at 07:58:40

John-

Thanks for helping, and I'll hope for some additional information if you find anything!

Kevin-

Sorry about the delay, but we're down for the holiday and the plant is closed for inventory this week, so I've not got very far in re-building CR. I'll try to get a screen shot next week.