FirebirdSQL logo

Before installation

Tip

If you’re installing Firebird on a system where Firebird has never been installed, you can skip this section.

It is almost always advisable to uninstall any previous Firebird installations completely (after you’ve read the next paragraph!) and also hunt the Windows system dirs for old copies of gds32.dll and fbclient.dll.If you’re using Linux, the uninstall scripts should have removed any copies and/or symlinks in /usr/lib[64], but it won’t hurt to look if anything named libfbclient.* or libgds.* is still lying around.

Furthermore, you should be aware that Firebird 5 can open Firebird 4 databases, and even upgrade them, from ODS 13.0 to ODS 13.1, but won’t open databases that were created by Firebird 3 or older.So, before taking down your existing setup, you should back up all your databases in order that you can restore them later under Firebird 5.

Upgrading the security database from Firebird 3 and higher
  1. Backup your security3.fdb or security4.fdb

    gbak -user sysdba -b {path}security4.fdb security4.fbk
    # or using the security.db alias
    gbak -user sysdba -b security.db securitydb.fbk
    # or using XNET (Windows only)
    gbak -user sysdba -pas masterkey -b xnet://security.db securitydb.fbk
    Note

    You can only perform a local (embedded or XNET) backup of the security database;embedded mode requires filesystem access rights to the database file;XNET (Windows only) requires username and password.

  2. (only after backing up all your databases) Install Firebird 5 (see later sections)

  3. Note down the permissions, ownership and filesystem access rights of security5.fdb

  4. Rename the existing security5.fdb for safekeeping

  5. Restore the backup of the first step as the security database

    gbak -user sysdba -c security4.fbk {path}security5.fdb
    # or using the security.db alias
    gbak -user sysdba -c securitydb.fbk security.db

    Contrary to the backup scenario, using XNET is not an option to restore the security database (as this would require the security database to exist, and it would lock the file).

  6. Change filesystem access rights/permissions to match the original security5.fdb

For a Firebird 4 security database, it is also possible to copy the security4.fdb to security5.fdb and use gfix -upgrade to upgrade from ODS 13.0 to ODS 13.1, but we recommend using the backup and restore route (if only so you have a backup as a fallback).

Upgrading the security database from Firebird 2.5 and earlier

Back up your old security database security2.fdb.Firebird 5 comes with a SQL script security_database.sql (located in misc/upgrade/v3.0) that will recreate users in the Firebird 5 security database, preserving all information except SYSDBA's and except any passwords.For more information, see doc/README.security_database.txt in your Firebird 5 installation directory, or Compatibility Issues :: Upgrading a v.2.x Security Database in the Firebird 3.0 Release Notes.

Installation drives

The Firebird server — and any databases you create or connect to — must reside on a hard drive that is physically connected to the host machine.You cannot locate components of the server, or any database, on a mapped drive, a filesystem share or a network filesystem.(Well, you can, but you shouldn’t, and this technique isn’t covered here.)

Note

You can open a read-only database from a read-only medium like a DVD, but you cannot run Firebird server from one.

Installation script or program

Although it is possible to install Firebird by a filesystem copying method — such as untarring a snapshot build or decompressing a .zip archive — it is strongly recommended that you use the distributed release kit (.exe for Windows, .tar.gz for Linux), especially if this is the first time you install Firebird.The Windows installation executable, and the install.sh script in the official .tar.gz for various POSIX platforms all perform some essential setup tasks.Provided you follow the installation instructions correctly, there should be nothing for you to do upon completion but log in and go!

Server modes

Some installers ask you to choose between Classic, SuperClassic and SuperServer mode.What are they?

  • Classic mode (aka MultiProcess) involves a single listening process that spawns off an additional process for each client connection.Using a locking mechanism, it allows shared connections to database files.

  • SuperClassic (ThreadedShared) is a single server process.Client connections are handled by separate threads, each having their own database page cache.Other processes (e.g. embedded servers) may open the same database simultaneously (hence the Shared).

  • Superserver (ThreadedDedicated) is also a single server process with threads handling client connections.There is a single, common database page cache.The server requires exclusive access to each database file it opens (hence the Dedicated).

Each mode is fully stable and there is no reason to categorically prefer one to the other.Of course, you may have your own specific considerations.When in doubt, just follow the installer default for now.Changing the server mode later can be done via the configuration file firebird.conf and requires a restart but not reinstallation.The server mode can even be configured per database (consult the Firebird 3.0 Release Notes for details).