How to install Firebird 5 silently

[costin77]

Hi,
can you please tell me how to install the firebird 5 silently (and setting the SYSDBA's password)?
I couldn't find anything about this on https://firebirdsql.org/.

Thank you,
Costin

[costin77]

I've used this in a 'inno setup' file:
Filename: "{app}\Firebird-5.0.0.1306-0-windows-x64.exe"; Parameters: "/SP /VERYSILENT /NORESTART /LOG /NOCANCEL /SAVEINF=accesinf.txt /FORCE "; StatusMsg: "Installing FireBird Server" ;Components: Firebird\FirebirdServer ; Flags: runhidden waituntilterminated

Which is installing Firebird 5, but I don't know the sysdba's password.

[mrotteveel]

Automating Firebird installation is documented in https://github.com/FirebirdSQL/firebird/blob/v5.0-release/builds/install/arch-specific/win32/installation_scripted.txt

[costin77]

Thank you for your quick response. Now I am able to set properly the sysdba's password.
Please tell me which are the right steps to create a new database own by a new user (different thab sysdba) on a new server:
From reading the docs I found that i need to be connect a database to create a new user (but in the case of a new server there are no databases at the beginning).
So from isql I tried these:

1. create database 'd:\test.fdb' page_size 8192 user 'sysdba' password 'masterkey';
2. create user 'as' password '12345678';
3. connect 'd:\test.fdb' user 'as' password '12345678';
4. isql -e -i d:\my_defition.isql -b -o creare.log -u AS -p 1048576

Thank you,
Costin

[aafemt]

From reading the docs I found that i need to be connect a database to create a new user (but in the case of a new server there are no databases at the beginning).

It has at least two databases: security.db and employee.fdb. Both are accessible in embedded mode using SYSDBA without password. For a new user to be able to create databases it must be granted rights to do so: https://firebirdsql.org/file/documentation/chunk/en/refdocs/fblangref50/fblangref50-security-granting.html#fblangref50-security-grant-db-ddl-exmpl

[mrotteveel]

Note that security.db can only be connected to with embedded or XNET, not with a TCP/IP connection.

[costin77]

isql.exe it is not in the default folder, I put it in a folder on c: drive (c:\firebird5).
I am trying to connect to security5.fdb from isql like this:
connect security5.fdb user 'sysdba';
and I am getting 'your user name and password' are not defined'.
If I am adding the password:
connect security5.fdb user 'sysdba' password 'masterkey';
I am getting 'the system cannot find the file specified'.
It is working only if I am putting the complete path to 'security' DB:
connect 'c:\program files\firebird\firebird_5_0\security5.fdb' user 'sysdba' password 'masterkey';

[mrotteveel]

Use security.db, that is the alias for the security database. Resolution of pathless filenames depends on the value of DatabaseAccess and other things, and should not be relied on.

However, keep in mind embedded connections to the security database will not work if the server is running, and is configured with the default ServerMode (SuperServer/ThreadedDedicated). You may want to consider using employee (or employee.fdb) instead, which are both aliases for the example database included in the installation.

As an aside, since Firebird 3, usernames are really identifiers (and can be case-sensitive, etc., just like table and column names), and using single quotes around them is formally wrong. IIRC, CONNECT and CREATE DATABASE in ISQL still allow it for backwards compatibility, but it's better to kick that habit.

[mrotteveel]

Also, not using ISQL in the installation directory means it uses a different fbclient.dll than the one from the server, and thus it can't use embedded (as it cannot load plugins\engine13.dll), and falls back to XNET or TCP/IP, which means it must also have a password.

[costin77]

I copied both isql.exe and fbclient.dll from firebird5 to my 'c:\firebird5' folder.
Also my server is running and is configured with the default 'servermode'.
I think the right approach are these steps:

1. create my firebird database with 'sysdba' (which it will be empty at this moment)
2. add my 'firebird super user', for example AS22
3. connect to my database created at step 1 with user AS22
4. effectively create my firebird database using isql.exe and my 'bd.sql' file.

[mrotteveel]

Your step 1 is not necessary if you use employee or employee.fdb as a database to connect to run step 2; I assume your step 2 includes granting the CREATE DATABASE privilege.

[mrotteveel]

Then in step 3, you can create the database using user AS2, which is then the owner of the database (which is what you asked for previously).

[costin77]

Thank you all.