Script to change SIMS database

[clowe]

Hope somebody may have an idea to help my 2 schools, this is scenario:

 

1. We have infant school and a junior school that are 2 separate schools.

2. I have 1 SIMS server that has 2 databases on it (infants) & (Juniors)

obviously each school connect to their required database as both schools can communicate to the server.

3. Business manager moves between both schools and has a computer at each site. If she is at the Juniors and needs to access the infants SIMS she remote desktops into her PC at the Infants.

 

Does anybody know of a vbs script or similar I can use where she can click the vbs script and it will change the database or the connect.ini file she connects to.

 

i.e on desktop 2 vbs scripts - one called infants and one called juniors so she can choose which SIMS database to use. And ideally the same scenario for FMS.

[Michael]

If you map the S:\ drive via GPP, you can set item level-targeting which'll do what you require.

 

Create two S:\ drives in GPP

 

\\ADMINSVR1.school.pri and \\ADMINSVR2.school.pri etc...

 

Click the Common tab and enable item-level targeting. Probably the easiest method is to base the targeting on the static IP or reserved IP you use for admin workstations.

 

Edit: Seeing as you're using one SIMS instance and two databases, you'd be better off doing it by file match (top of my head), again possible via item level-targeting.

Edited December 19, 2014 by Michael

[3s-gtech]

We currently do this between an old database and our current one. All you need are two connect.ini files. We also have two S: drive locations, one for each DB. Then we have a batch file which has a shortcut that shows with a SIMS icon. The batch file just says:

 

net use S: /d
net use S: \\servername\simsfolder
C:\Program Files\SIMS\SIMS .net\Pulsar.exe
net use S: /d
net use S: \\servername\othersimsfolder

 

This fires SIMS up connected to the second DB by changing the S: drive. When you close SIMS, it switches back to the first S: drive. You could also do it so that the script just switches the S: drives and nothing more.

 

You'll need separate connect.ini files which reference the relevant DB in each S: drive

 

[sIMSConnection]
ServerName=servername\sims
DatabaseName=SIMSdb2

 

and in the other

 

[sIMSConnection]
ServerName=servername\sims
DatabaseName=SIMSdb2

 

and your local connect.ini just needs to say:

 

[sIMSConnection]
Redirect=S:\SIMS

 

We do the same for FMS.

Edited December 19, 2014 by 3s-gtech

[rpwillis]

You can put multiple connection details into one connect.ini file. They will then have a drop down list to select from on the Sims logon screen.

 

Modify the connect.ini file on the business manager's machine so that it doesn't redirect to s:, but is something like

 

[sIMSConnection]

ServerName=sharedserver\instance

DatabaseName=InfantsDBName

ServerType=SIMSSQL

DatabaseMode=OnLine

 

[sIMSDatabases]

FriendlyName0=Infants

Server0=sharedserver\instance

DatabaseName0=InfantsDBName

DatabaseMode0=Online

 

FriendlyName1=Junior

Server1=sharedserver\instance

DatabaseName1=JuniorDBName

DatabaseMode1=Online

 

This will only change the database connection. If they need to access a different s: drive it won't change that.

 

Discussed previously in http://www.edugeek.net/forums/mis-systems/45766-sims-net-multiple-connect-ini-files.html.

[winng]

I have five SIMS instances to manage across different schools and in order to facilitate certain people accessing any database from any location, I provide a connect.ini in the format above described by @rpwillis

[splattthecat]

Just a quick word of warning. The multi database select connect.ini is great if you don't use FMS (specifically the Personnel / FMS links) but staffing commitments in FMS can get in a real mess if you are not very careful when using this approach.

[matt40k]

Thought FDS sorted that?