Moving the Cardbox Server
This page describes what to do if you need to move the Cardbox Server from one server to another.
1. Install the Cardbox Server
Download and install the Cardbox Server on the new server. You do not need to worry about licence codes because the latest version of the Cardbox Server no longer needs a licence.
2. Locate your database files
You will need to move your database files from the old server to the new one. Where the files are located depends on where you decided to put them, and if you aren't sure then you should open the Cardbox Server control in Control Panel on your old server, in order to see how things have been set up.
The Files page of the Cardbox Server control lists the databases the Cardbox Server is sharing, with the filename of each.
The Server page of the Cardbox Server control gives the name of the "Automatic Directory": the Cardbox Server always shares all files in that directory.
If you can't open the Cardbox Server control in Control Panel, look in the old server's server.ini file (in the same directory as the Cardbox Server program files) at the sections labelled [Named Files] and [Hidden Files]. For the automatic directory, look for the section labelled [Automatic Directory].
It is probably easiest to copy all files and subdirectories from the relevant locations, but, for your information, each Cardbox database has:
- A .fil file, containing the data.
- A .fmt file, containing the formats.
- If any macros are associated with the database, a directory of type .fil.cbx containing the macros.
- It is also possible for macros to be associated with a group of database, in which case they will be stored in .cbx files in the same directory as the database file.
- Spelling dictionaries have a .tlx filetype but otherwise behave like macros.
3. Get everyone out of Cardbox
This is because you are about to move from one server to another and you do not want anybody to make changes to a database on the old server after it has been moved to the new one.
At this point, shut down the old Cardbox Server, both to make sure that nobody connects to it by accident and to make it safe to copy the files.
4. Copy all the files to the new server
Where you put them on the new server is up to you, but if you are able to put them into identical locations then that is a good thing because it will save you effort in configuration.
5. Configure and start the new server
The official way to do this is to use the Cardbox Server controls in Control Panel on the old server and the new server, but it is often best to cheat. Find the server.ini file in the directory in which the Cardbox Server program was located on the old server, and copy it to the directory in which the Cardbox Server program is located on the new server. Then open the Cardbox Server control in Control Panel on the new server and go through all the pages to make sure that the settings are exactly what you want.
Adjusting the clients
How much work you need to do on the client side depends on how things have been set up.
If the new server has the same IP address as the old, there is nothing to be done.
If the new server has a different IP address but the same domain name (and you have updated your DNS to point that domain name) then there is nothing to be done unless some of your users have been accessing the old server via its IP address.
If something needs to be done...
Opening directly
If your users open Cardbox databases afresh each time, with the command File > Open > Server, then they (or you) will need to remove your old server from the server list and add the new one to the list.
Opening through a workspace
Most users don't open Cardbox databases consciously: they open their Cardbox workspace, and this automatically opens the databases. This will be alarming the first time a user opens Cardbox after you have moved servers, because all the automatic file opening will fail (since it includes the old server name or IP address).
There is nothing to worry about. Just open the database directly, using File > Open > Server, and when the user closes the workspace, Cardbox will remember the new database location instead of the old.