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Install Linux Database Server Manager

by Intuit• Updated 5 months ago

Learn how to install the QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise Database Manager on a Linux file server.

The QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise Linux Database Server Manager lets you host and store QuickBooks files on a Linux file server. We’ll help you install it on your server. 

Note: QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise 23.0 doesn’t support the Linux database manager. Find out more about the system requirements for QuickBooks Desktop 2023.

This article covers the following topics:

Here’s some important info to be aware of before you install the on your Linux Server.

The Linux Database Server Manager has of the following components:

  • Database server files – Gives QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise users access to read from and write to the QuickBooks company files located on the Linux server.
  • Qbmonitord daemon – Scans the directories in the qbmonitord.conf file to make sure they each have a qbdir.dat file. 
  • Qbmonitord configuration file (qbmonitord.conf) – Lists the directories read by the qbmonitord daemon. 
  • Qbdir.dat file – QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise creates a network definition (ND) file for each QuickBooks company file using the qbdir.dat file.
  • ND file – used by the QuickBooks Windows client to store the name and address of the QuickBooks host computer.

Here are the hardware and software requirements for the Linux database manager.

Hardware and SoftwareMinimumRecommended
Processor1.2 GHz Intel Pentium 32 GHz Intel Pentium 4
RAM1 GBAs much as possible
Disk Space2.5 GB2.5 GB plus additional space for QuickBooks company files
File Sharing SoftwareSamba 2.2.12Samba 2.2.12

Linux Database Server Manager is supported on the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the following distributions:

QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise versionLinux Distribution (Operating System - Server)
21.0 and 22.0• Fedora 32
• OpenSuse Leap 15.2
• Red Hat Enterprise 8 (RHEL 8)
20.0• Fedora 29
• OpenSuse Leap 15.0
• Red Hat Enterprise 7 (RHEL 7)
  • Case-Sensitive File Names – Linux's file system is case-sensitive. Make sure your QuickBooks company file names are unique.
  • Sharing and User Permissions – Set up shared directories that store QuickBooks company files as Samba shares. Samba share users must have full access (read/write/execute) to shared directories.
  • Host Name Resolution – Windows clients need to know the host name or IP address of the Linux server. Make sure you set up Samba with the Domain Name Server. If you don't have DNS or WINS, you can list the Linux server in the Windows HOSTS file.

QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise works best with settings adjusted in your firewall/antivirus software. If you have performance issues, contact your software vendor for help. Make sure the right ports are open on both the Linux Server and Windows Client.

  • QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise 20.0, 21.0, and 22.0: Ports 8019 or 55343 through 55347

Note: If you are unable to access company files, check that Port 10172 is open on both the Linux server and the Windows client.

Check out Configure Firewall and Internet security settings for QuickBooks Desktop for more info.

Install the Linux Database Server Manager

Note: If you have OpenSuse on your Linux server, you also need the fam-server package 2.7.0.29 turned on.

  1. Download the Linux Database Server Manager RPM package.
  2. Become the root user:
    • Open a terminal window.
    • Enter sudo password root and press Enter.
    • Enter your user password.
  3. Verify the integrity of the package with the GPG public key:
    • Download the public key onto your Linux server.
    • Open a terminal window.
    • Enter rpm --import qbdbm-pubkey.asc and press Enter to add the public key to the keyring (a database of trusted keys on your Linux server).
    • Enter rpm -K packagename and press Enter (packagename is the name of the Linux Database Server Manager RPM package you downloaded).
    • If the command returns gpg ok continue to step 4. Otherwise, delete the downloaded packages and repeat steps 1 thru 3.
  4. In a terminal window, enter rpm -ivh packagename and press Enter  (packagename is the name of the Linux Database Server Manager RPM package).
  5. Create a directory to store your QuickBooks company files. 
  6. Copy your QuickBooks company files to the directory you created.

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Configure the Linux Database Server Manager

Follow these steps as the root user to setup the Linux database manager:

You’ll need to list the shared directories in the qbmonitord.conf file to give users access to your company files. We’ll show you how.

  1. Open a terminal window.
  2. Edit the /opt/qb/util/qbmonitord.conf file.
  3. Enter the full path of each directory on a separate line.
    For example:
    • /QBData
    • /QBcompanyfiles
  4. Restart the qbmonitord or qbdbfilemon service.

Important: The qbmonitord daemon doesn't monitor subdirectories automatically. You’ll need to list subdirectories that contain company files in the qbmonitord.conf file. Be sure you list subdirectories that contain company files in the qbmonitord.conf file.

Windows computers can't see shared directories on your Linux server unless they're set up as Samba shares. For more information about configuring a Samba share, read the Samba documentation for your Linux distro.

To create a Samba share:

  1. Become the root user:
    • Open a terminal window.
    • Enter sudo password root and press Enter.
    • Enter your user password.
  2. Create a user group:
    • Enter groupadd -r groupname  and press Enter. Groupname is the name of the group you want to create (for example, qbusers).
    • Enter groupname: user1, user2, user3 to list the users of the group you created in step 2.
  3. Add users and passwords:
    • Enter useradd user to add each user from step 3 to the group you created in step 2.
    • For each user, enter smbpasswd -a user to activate the Samba user account and set a password.
  4. Set share permissions:
    • Enter chmod -R 775 /directory, to give the users read/write/execute permission to the shared directory.
    • Enter chgrp -R groupname /directory to change the group ownership for the shared directory.
  5. Go to /etc/samba and add the following lines to the smb.conf:
    • [share_name] - Replace share_name with the name you want to use for the share (this is the name that your Windows clients can see).
    • path = /directory - Replace directory with the full path of the directory you created on your Linux server to store the QuickBooks company files.
    • comment = samba share for company files
    • valid users = user1 user2 user3 - Replace user with the usernames you listed in step 2.
    • public = no
    • writable = yes
    • printable = no
    • create mask = 0765
  6. Enter service smb restart to restart the Samba daemon.

QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise users can access company files on the Linux server from their Windows client.

You need to restart the syslog daemon after installation to save messages in the qbmonitord.log file.

  1. Open a terminal window.
  2. Enter /etc/init.d/syslog restart, then press Enter.

The syslog daemon will log messages from the qbmonitord to the qbmonitord.log file.

Download the PDF version of the Linux Database Server Manager Installation and Configuration Guide for more info.

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Error Messages

All qbmonitord error log messages are output to the /var/log/qbmonitord.log file.

  • Enter tail -f /var/log/qbmonitord.log to see the last 10 lines of the qbmonitord.log file as well as each new line as they are added.
  • Enter tail -n 100 -f /var/log/qbmonitord.log to see more than the last 10 lines.

Linux Server Error Log Messages

Error MessageDescription
A parameter was specified with the qbmonitord commandThe qbmonitord daemon doesn't use parameters.
An unexpected error occurredA more detailed error message follows this error.
The interrupt handler cannot be initializedAn error occurred during the interrupt handler initialization.
No directories found in the config fileYour shared directories are missing from the qbmonitord.conf file. Edit the qbmonitord.conf file and list each directory on a separate line.
Unable to open FAM connectionMake sure FAM (via xinetd) and portmapper are running.
Config file could not be readThe qbmonitord.conf file wasn't found in the /opt/qbes7/util directory.
Error creating meta fileThe qbmonitord daemon wasn't able to create the qbdir.dat file in in your shared directory. Make sure the directory has the appropriate permissions.

Windows Client Error Messages

Error MessageDescription
An error occurred when QuickBooks tried to access the company file. Please try again. If the problem persists, contact Intuit Technical Support and provide the following error code. (-6000, -83).The database manager doesn’t have access to the company file. 
Make sure the company file is in a directory listed in the qbmonitord.conf file. Then restart the QuickBooks Desktop  Enterprise application on the Windows client.
An error occurred when QuickBooks tried to access the company file. Please try again. If the problem persists, contact Intuit Technical Support and provide the following error code. (-6000, -82).There's a problem with the user permission setup.
Make sure:
  • the user is a valid user listed in the smb.conf file and the /etc/group file 
  • the user has a valid Samba user ID and password.
You are trying to work with a company file that is located on another computer, but that computer needs additional installation and setup.The database server isn't running on the Linux server.
Make sure:
   • The database manager is running on the Linux server: (in a terminal window, enter: ps -ef | grep qbdbmgrn_31).
   • The Linux server can see the Windows clients.
   • The Windows clients can see the host name or IP address of the Linux server.

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