This file focuses on topics specific to openSUSE / SLE packages. For
generic Firebird introduction, read Firebird 3 Quickstart and Release
Notes documents (both provided in firebird-doc package).
1. Upgrade from version 2.5
---------------------------
Firebird 3 brings some incompatible changes which make fully automated
upgrade of existing 2.5 setups impossible.
First, new database file format (On-disk structure, ODS) is used. To
migrate existing databases, backup them with gbak before the upgrade and
restore after the upgrade.
Second, new authentication scheme is used by default so that old
security databases (with users and passwords) cannot be migrated. You
can either create a new security database from scratch as described in
http://www.firebirdsql.org/file/documentation/release_notes/html/en/3_0/rnfb30-compat-initsec.html
or migrate the old one (without passwords) as described in
http://www.firebirdsql.org/file/documentation/release_notes/html/en/3_0/rnfb30-compat-upgrade-secdb.html
Both sections are also available in firebird-doc package in file
/usr/share/doc/packages/firebird/ReleaseNotes.pdf
Chapter 12 "Compatibility Issues" of release notes also lists other
possible incompatibilities and is worth reading for anyone upgrading
from Firebird 2.5 to 3.0 for the first time.
2. Packaging
------------
Package firebird contains only common files needed both for client and
server installations. The rest is divided into subpackages:
firebird-server - server functionality
libfbclient2 - client library (both remote and embedded)
libib_util - utility functions for UDF
firebird-utils - management utilities
firebird-doc - documentation
libfbclient-devel - devel files for libfbclient2
libib_util-devel - devel files for libib_util
firebird-examples - example database and API examples
Two of Firebird utilities - isql and gstat - have names colliding with
tools from other packages. They have been renamed to isql-fb and
gstat-fb respectively.
Unlike in pre-3.0 versions, Firebird 3 provides one executable which can
handle all three threading modes (Classic, SuperClassic and SuperServer)
depending on ServerMode directive in firebird.conf. The client library
libfbclient2 can now be used both to connect to remote servers and to
access local database files in embedded mode.
By default, the server listens on TCP port 3050 to both IPv4 and IPv6
connections. This can be configured using RemoteBindAddress,
RemoteServicePort and IPv6V6Only directives.
3. Configuration
----------------
Unlike in Firebird 2.5, no default sysdba password is set by default.
Before using Firebird 3.0, one needs to initialize the security database
as described in
http://www.firebirdsql.org/file/documentation/release_notes/html/en/3_0/rnfb30-compat-initsec.html
(or section "Initializing the Security Database" of release notes
provided in /usr/share/doc/packages/firebird/ReleaseNotes.pdf (package
firebird-doc).
Config files are in /etc/firebird. Default config files are mostly the
same as upstream defaults, the only difference is default value of
DatabaseAccess directive. As upstream default "Full" can be considered
a security flaw, SUSE packages use "Restrict /srv/firebird". To use
a database in different location, either modify the DatabaseAccess
directive or define an alias for it in aliases.conf.
4. Starting the server
----------------------
Set the ServerMode directive in firebird.conf to your preferred
operating mode. Then start the server:
- SuperServer or SuperClassic:
* once: /etc/init.d/firebird start
* always: insserv firebird
- Classic:
* in /etc/xinetd.d/firebird, change value of "disable" to "yes"
* check if xinetd is running and reload its configuration or start it