The database server and the client transfer information between each other through the computers network communication protocol. The connection between the server and the client is defined with a network name. The server listens to the network using certain protocols and server names or port numbers. Clients must use a matching connect string when connecting to the server.
At the server side, the network name is defined as a network listening name that identifies the server in the network. When a database server process is started, it publishes at least one network listening name. The server starts to listen to the network using the given network listening name. The network listening name is defined with the Com.Listen configuration parameter.
At the client side, the network name is defined as an ODBC or JDBC connect string that the client process uses to specify which server it connects to. To establish a connection from a client to a server, the client has to know the network listening name of the server and in some cases, also the location of the server in the network.
ODBC clients
For ODBC connections, a default connect string can be defined with the client-side Com.Connect configuration parameter. The connect string can also be supplied, for example, at connection time or when configuring data sources with an ODBC driver manager. The network name consists of a communication protocol, a possible set of options, and a server name, which can be, depending on the protocol, a name or a port number, for example, tcpip 1315 or nmpipe solid1.
▪Because the network listening name and the connect string must match, the generic term network name is used for referring to either one as it is the string that defines the connection between the server and the client.
▪ With the ODBC API, the network name can also be called servername (following the ServerName argument in the SQLConnect() function).
JDBC clients
For JDBC connections, you need to use a JDBC connection string (JDBC url) that specifies the hostname of the computer where solidDB® server is running and the port number at which the solidDB® server is listening for connections.
Using solidDB with OpenSSL
solidDB® supports using TLS connections to encrypt client/server communication. This requires that OpenSSL is installed on both client and server systems. If OpenSSL is available solidDB® server will listen SSL connections on the TCP port or ports defined in solid.ini file Com-section using a protocol name ‘tls’.
Note that solidDB® server cannot listen for both TCP/IP and SSL connections on the same TCP port.