Sorry to bug you guys again but

V5 Question
17

Ok, so they were identical, but the moment you make a change or add a ticket on one, then they are different. Right now you have 2 identical separate databases, but they are not synced in any way. So you choose one of them, and that is your “master” to move forward.

Ok so you are using SQL LocalDB and using the default database configuration. So, there will be 2 files called SambaPOS5.mdf and SambaPOS5_log.ldf in the root of your user profile. That will typically be C:\Users\YOURUSERNAME\. But you won’t need to do anything directly with those files, so just leave them where they are. You also won’t need them again once you upgrade to SQL Server.

Pretty much all v4 tutorials work fine for v5 if you can’t find a specific v5 one for your needs. Of course some screenshots might be different, and some processes might have better ways in v5, but generally nothing bad will happen.

That was because you were trying to use CE Toolbox tool to convert a (non-existent) CE database. You are using SQL LocalDB as we determined now, so you can skip that whole step about coverting the database from CE.

The good thing is that SQL LocalDB 2014 and SQL Server 2014 Express are actually the same database engine - the only difference is LocalDB is single user (single machine) and runs only when SambaPOS is open, whereas SQL Server runs as a windows service on your server or main system, and the other systems connect to the SQL server database via the network.

So, let me try to explain briefly your next steps and you also need to check or give me more info on some parts.

So when you installed SQL Server, you followed the tutorial. What did you set the SQL instance name to? Was it samba?

How about the sa password? And did you set it to mixed mode authentication like the tutorial said?

So with those details, here is what I suggest you do next:

  1. Make a backup of your database. Go to Settings > Database Backups > Backups. Click Backup Database. You don’t need to give a description. Your backup will be saved in the default path - you can click Display Backup Location to open that folder in windows explorer.

    Pasted image1008×695 50.9 KB

  2. Now you are going to connect to SQL Server from SambaPOS and create a new database there. Go to Settings > Local Settings > Database. Click Edit Connection.

    Pasted image1008×695 52 KB

    Then enter the following into dialog that appears:

Data Source: COMPUTERNAME\SQLInstanceName - so if you installed SQL Server using an instance name of samba, and your computer name is SERVER, you enter SERVER\samba. If you didn’t set an instance name, just enter the computer name SERVER.
User id: sa
Password: your password - the password you set during SQL Server setup for the sa user.
Database: SambaPOS5 - you can change this to whatever you like, I suggest this one but you it’s up to you.

  1. The connection string will be tested, and you will get a message either saying it is successful, or an error. If you get successful like below, click Apply. Then SambaPOS will return to the login screen and you will be able to login to the new database with the default PIN 1234.

    If you get an error, post it here and we can advise.
  2. Now go to Settings > Local Settings > Database Backups > Backups. If you see your recent backup in the list (check date/time), then select it and click Restore Database. If not, or if you get an error, you can also try Restore from Zip and locate the zip file of the backup you did earlier. If you get an error message about overwriting database or naming, you can ensure Allow overwriting database... on the Settings tab is checked, or if it is currently checked, uncheck it and try again (I sometimes find this setting doesn’t exactly follow what it says so either one or other should work). If you get an error at this stage, again post it here.
  3. If all goes correctly, your existing database has now been restored to the new SQL Server database. You will be taken back to the login screen, and you should login with your admin PIN. If you got this far, congratulations! Your database is now running off SQL Server.

So, if that all worked, your next steps are as follows. I find personally it’s best to get everything setup working on the main system first before looking to the others so I will suggest in that order:

  1. In Settings > Local Settings > General, make sure you select the terminal name of Server here. I don’t suggest leaving it blank.
  2. Get Message Server running as per the tutorial linked previously. Set it to run as windows service - note the port number given. Go to Settings > Local Settings > Message Server. Enter your computer name (e.g. SERVER) into the Message Server Name field, the Message Server Port you set and check Auto Start Message Server…
  3. Make sure you allow the necessary services though your firewall on the main / server machine. I recommend all the steps in the link I posted earlier, here it is again for easy reference. That guide also repeats about message server setup.
  4. Go to Settings > Terminals. Create terminals for all your other machines. Set the Report Printer and Transaction Printer as necessary for each terminal (may be same for all, I don’t know your full setup and we can deal with those other issues about printing later if you need help). leave other setings at default.
  5. NOW you should have your server / main machine all setup. GO to your first other system, launch SambaPOS. Go to Settings > Local Settings > Database, and enter the identical connection string settings as you did for your server / main machine. If all goes well, the test will be ok and you can click Apply. If not, post here for help. Otherwise, you then just login with your admin PIN, and congratulations your other terminal is now running of the same SQL server database as the main system!
  6. Now, you need to configure Message Server on your other machine. Follow steps in the link from step 3 - Go to Settings > Local Settings > Message Server and set the server machine name and message server port, set to auto start. You should be done with that. Once you close and reopen SambaPOS, you should see the green word Connected at the bottom of the screen - this confirms you are connected to the message server (note this connected has nothing to do with database connection).
  7. Finally, on the other machine, go to Settings > Local Settings > General. Select the respective Terminal Name for this terminal, that you created in step 4. Close and reopen SambaPOS and you should be done.
  8. Repeat steps 5-7 for any other machines.

I hope this made it all clearer and you got everything working! :slight_smile:

3 Likes