# Solved: hamstrung by server name...



## rhynes (Aug 14, 2006)

have an old interbase 4 app that's currently running on an extremely old NT server. The plan is trying to get running on server 2003... yep, the server seems to be running fine, can connect to the database and what not with no problem using the DB tools... 

Yes, there is an odbc connection using an old version of firebird from the workstation and it utilizes the borland database engine in the background... 

The problem lies with the client software itself - it seems to be hard coded to look for the server name of server-3.51 (illegal characters for 2003) and I can't find where it is for the life of me - it's probably coded into the executable itself and i'm no programmer.


Any ideas? It can be installed on a workstation if i can find a way around the illegal characters issue... that would solve it right there... 

I've thought about virtualization but this app is their life blood, can't take too many chances with it... 

Thanks.


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## avisitor (Jul 13, 2008)

Do you have any idea how it's doing the lookup. If it's using DNS, you can probably work around that.


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## rhynes (Aug 14, 2006)

It's definitely hardcoded in the client software


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## avisitor (Jul 13, 2008)

Ok, so the name is hard coded, I get that. How is it trying to resolve the name? Is the IP also hard coded?


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## rhynes (Aug 14, 2006)

That i didn't think about... i'm going to try to virtualize the nt server today


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## srhoades (May 15, 2003)

Being that it was written in the days of NT (before DNS) it is probably looking for it by NETBIOS name. Let's see if we can fool it. On one of the client machines make an entry in the LMHOSTS file with the hard coded name pointing to the IP of the Windows 2003 server.


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## rhynes (Aug 14, 2006)

the programmer that wrote this 15 years ago said the client software is hard coded to look for the name of server-3.51 and he's not touching it... 

I'm in the process of virtualizing the server to run on 2003 - will demote the NT when I bring it online...


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## srhoades (May 15, 2003)

A computer check's the hosts files before it checks DNS and WINS, if you make the entry I think you can fool it. A lot easier than virtualizing an NT server.


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## rhynes (Aug 14, 2006)

Sorry srhoades, I thought i had answered that question but I didn't... hard coding the server name was the first thing that crossed my mind, didn't work... 

Something going wrong on the virtualization as well... using acronis to restore the image and it's taking way too long... just checked, and it's 6 hours in on a 22 gig image and only 32% complete. one of these jobs where i can't win.


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## srhoades (May 15, 2003)

Just to double check you made the entry in the LMHOSTS not he HOSTS file correct?


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## rhynes (Aug 14, 2006)

Been a heck of a battle with corruption in the old server but it's finally virtualized and running like a charm... database connects and is going to be much faster...


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