Setting up Multiple Connections or Databases |
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This information pertains to networking multiple parks/databases to be opened on one computer, but this may also be helpful if networking is not used. This can be used to manage multiple parks from one location, or to simply handle different business entities in separate databases in order to keep reporting separate.
If you're using Campground Master for multiple businesses, with separate databases for each, you might want them all to reside on a central server (that would be the network "master"). While this isn't generally recommended (since each one would need to be connected to the server to work with the software), this is possible if your organization requires it. The more preferred setup is to have the master at each park, but then you may want one or more locations to be able to access the multiple parks form a single computer.
This can be set up for databases on the same local network or through the internet (see the "Networking through the Internet" section for the technical details of making remote connections).
There are some special steps required for this:
1. You need to enable multiple instances of Campground Master to run on one computer
2. You need to get a copy of each database physically on the computer (each computer needing multiple access)
3. You need to set up multiple shortcuts with parameters such that each instance loads a specific database and uses appropriate network settings
There are several things you'll need to have ready:
•A backup of the database from each park that you don't already have on this computer (it doesn't have to be completely current).
•The name of the database file for each, as it's being used on the master for that park (as shown in the caption bar of Campground Master). The names must absolutely be different for each park/database -- if for some reason you're currently using the same database name for 2 parks, that must be corrected before continuing.
•An administrator-level login for each park database.
•If this will be a client, you need the master's Workstation ID for each park, plus the Port number and IP address to use. If this will be the master, then you need to decide what workstation ID to use for it, and select a unique Port number for it (details below).
Enabling multiple program instances
Normally it will only allow one copy of Campground Master to run at a time, so you could only open one database at a time. However if it's important for you to open more than one at a time, then you need to enable multiple instances of Campground Master.
There are 2 different ways to set this option. If you're familiar with manually editing text files, then option #2 will be easy. Otherwise option #1 might be better for you:
1. Request a special SuperUser login from Campground Master support, and then check the "Allow Multiple Instances" option that will appear in Program Options / Database. (Version 11.1 and later only)
2. In the file "Campground Master.ini", put the following setting in the [Main] section:
AllowMultipleInstances=1
The Campground Master.ini file will be found either in "Public Documents\Campground Master" (in Windows Vista and later), or "Shared Documents\Campground Master" (in Windows XP), or in the C:\Windows\ folder (in older versions of Windows or in Campground Master versions prior to v4.2). This is a simple text file so you should edit it with Notepad to insert the line above. It can be added anywhere after the line containing [Main] and before the next section in brackets, so putting it right after the line showing [Main] is simplest.
Getting the multiple databases on the computer
To get the multiple databases on the computer, you will use the same procedure as Copying Campground Master to a New Computer -- in summary, for each one that's not already on this computer:
1. Make a backup of the database from the source computer
2. Create a New Database on this computer, giving it the correct Name for the database (e.g. matching the master database)
3. Restore the database from the backup.
It may try to connect to the network if this computer was already set up as a client for a different database -- don't worry about that if it fails, since it should fail due to the database being different right now anyway.
It doesn't matter which one is open at this point, after these are copied. If you closed Campground Master and re-opened it now, then it will probably re-open the last database created above. But that's simply a default that will no longer be used once you finish the instructions below.
Setting up multiple shortcuts
The default database file to open and the network parameters are normally set in the Network Setup Dialog, and saved in the Campground Master INI file. However, these parameters need to be different for each park you want to open and connect to, and there's only one INI file. Rather than having to select the file to open, and then go into Network Setup every time you change databases, these can be changed automatically by setting up desktop shortcut icons in Windows with the network parameters and database name in the Target field. This is done through Windows:
| 1. | Right-click on the Campground Master icon (on the Windows desktop), select Copy. |
| 2. | Right-click on an empty area of the desktop, select Paste. |
| 3. | Right-click on the new copy of the Campground Master icon, select Rename, and enter an appropriate name (e.g. the park or database it will be used for). |
| 4. | Right-click the icon again, select Properties, and on the Shortcut tab you'll have the Target field where you enter the command line parameters mentioned below and also add the database name. |
The available "command line parameters" are listed below. Note that these should start after the quoted executable file (CampgroundMaster.exe), e.g. after .exe" at the end of the existing text. There must be a space before the slash (/) for each parameter.
/Workstation= This is equivalent to "This Workstation's ID" in the network setup.
/WorkstationName= This is equivalent to the "Nickname" setting (optional).
/MasterIP= This is equivalent to the "Master IP address" setting.
/MasterID= This is equivalent to the "Master (server) workstation ID" setting.
/IPPort= This is equivalent to the "TCP/IP Port" setting.
If a setting will be the same for all connections, it does not need to be included, but we recommend including it anyway to avoid confusion later. The order of the network parameters doesn't matter, but the database name should appear after all of the other settings and may contain a complete folder path if necessary.
IMPORTANT -- Once you set these up and have multiple databases, you should never use a normal "Campground Master" icon with no parameters to start the program, since that would use an unknown default database and network settings. You could delete that icon (but it will be replaced when an upgrade is done), or better yet -- copy the parameters for one database to it just in case it's used, so it will at least open something with correct settings. Also consider moving it off to the side or something, separate from the database-specific icons.
Multiple-database shortcut example -- Client computer
Below are a couple examples if this computer will be a client computer (the CampgroundMaster.exe portion of the Target line is shown on a separate line, but of course it will all be in one line in the setting):
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Campground Master\CampgroundMaster.exe"
/Workstation=1 /WorkstationName=remote /MasterID=0 /MasterIP=192.169.34.55 /IPPort=6010 Marina.prk
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Campground Master\CampgroundMaster.exe"
/Workstation=2 /MasterIP=66.123.45.67 /MasterID=1 D:\Data\Hilltop.prk
Important: Note that there must be a space before the slash (/) for each parameter, but there should not be a space after the slash.
Multiple-database shortcut example -- Master computer
Lets say you need to set up the server to run Campground Master with 3 different databases, all as the master for that database. The steps would be the same as detailed above, with a few differences:
1. You must use a different Port for each database, since these will be incoming connections all at the same IP address.
2. Since this is the master, the IP address parameter is not needed.
3. If the Workstation ID will be the same for the master in all cases, you can set that in Network Setup and don't need it as a parameter here.
For instance if the databases are named "Park One", "Park Two" and "Park Three", all using the Master's ID configured in Network Setup, then the shortcut targets can look like this:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Campground Master\CampgroundMaster.exe" /IPPort=6010 Park One
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Campground Master\CampgroundMaster.exe" /IPPort=6011 Park Two
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Campground Master\CampgroundMaster.exe" /IPPort=6012 Park Three
(Note that quotes are not needed around the database names.)
Of course, you also need to configure the Network Settings or shortcut parameters on the respective client workstations to connect to the appropriate port for its database.
Additional Topics:
Networking Through the Internet
Firewall Configuration Information