Windows 95, InterBase server IP address, and "unavailable database".

Abstract: Windows 95, InterBase server IP address, and "unavailable database".

Using the server's IP address in the connection string gives "unavailable database" error.

When connecting to an InterBase sever from a client running on Windows 95, the connection is fine if the connect string is of the form

  servername:drive:pathdatabase.gdb

However, if the connect string is of the form

  serverIPaddress:drive:pathdatabase.gdb

the error "unavailable database" is returned. Why?

This is simply a limitation of Winsock1, which comes with Windows 95. The GetHostByName function in Winsock1 will not work when passed an IP address. If you wish to use a server's IP address in your connect string instead of the host name, you will need to install Winsock2 .