You only need this if several of you work together. If you use NanoTracker on a single computer, everything is already fine and this page is not for you.
Pick the line that matches your situation: we will show you only the steps you need.
Seven steps. The first four on the NAS, the last three in NanoTracker.
Open the NAS in your browser, as if it were a website. The address is the NAS number
followed by :5000 - for example
http://192.168.1.101:5000 - and log in with the NAS
administrator account.
Four ways, easiest first:
The address is four numbers separated by dots, like 192.168.1.101.
Try :5001 instead of :5000, writing https
rather than http - some NAS units only accept that:
https://192.168.1.101:5001
Open Package Center, search for MariaDB 10 and press Install.
Brands only change the names. On QNAP the Package Center is called the App Center; on other brands it is the App Store or App Management. Any NAS that can install MariaDB will do: we describe the Synology clicks because it is the most widespread, but the steps are the same everywhere.
During installation it asks you to choose a password. This is the database administrator password, and it is not the one you use to log into the NAS: it is something new, you choose it.
Write it down on paper. You need it at step 7 and the NAS will never show it to you again. Lose it and you start over.
Once it has finished, open MariaDB 10 in Package Center and press Open.
This is the step where nearly everyone gets stuck. In the window that appears, tick «Enable TCP/IP connection» and press Apply. Without that tick the NAS answers nobody, and it looks like nothing works.
Next to the tick box there is a number: that is the database port,
usually 3306. Note it down.
They are two different ports with nothing to do with each other. 5000 is
only for you, to open the NAS in a browser. 3306 is the one
NanoTracker will use to talk to the database. It is the second one you need.
If you see 3307 next to the tick box instead of 3306, that is fine: write
that one down. It happens when an older MariaDB is also installed on the NAS.
Go back to NanoTracker. At the bottom of the left-hand menu there is the Settings gear: open it and scroll to the Database box. Press the + next to «Connection» and choose «Create a new shared database».
Press «Search for MariaDB on the network». If your NAS shows up, click it: from there the app does the rest.
Not finding it? Open «I would rather type the address myself», type the NAS address, leave the port empty and press Check. If it stays red, see if something does not work below.
It asks for the password from step 3, then a name and a password for the new database. Press Create and connect.
Done. The other computers in the studio do not need any of this: on this computer open Settings → Database → Copy Credentials, send those details to your colleagues, and they follow the third route on this page — the one about connecting.
Pick a Windows PC that stays switched on while the others work. Six steps.
On that computer go to mariadb.org/download and download MariaDB for Windows.
Leave the version it offers you (that is the recommended one). Then choose Windows as the operating system and MSI Package as the file type. The architecture is x86_64, which is what every computer of the last fifteen years uses.
Download it and double-click: the file ends in .msi.
Run it and continue until it asks you for a password.
Type a password and confirm it. Write it down: you will need it at the end.
On the same page, tick the box «Enable access from remote machines for 'root' user». It is a long line of text, but it is the one that lets the other computers connect. Without it, nothing works.
Continue, leaving everything as it is, and finish the installation.
On that computer open the Start menu, type cmd, open the
Command Prompt and type ipconfig. You want the
IPv4 Address line: a number like 192.168.1.50. Note it
down.
Windows blocks incoming connections. On that PC open Windows Defender Firewall → Advanced settings → Inbound Rules → New Rule → Port → TCP → 3306 → Allow. It is the equivalent of the NAS tick box: without it, the others cannot reach it.
In NanoTracker open the Settings gear at the bottom of the left-hand menu and scroll to the Database box. Press the +, choose «Create a new shared database» and press «Search for MariaDB on the network».
It then asks for the password from step 3 and a name for the new database. Press Create and connect.
If the search does not find the computer, open «I would rather type the address myself» and type the number from step 5.
Done. Send the details to the other computers with Settings → Database → Copy Credentials: all they need is the third route on this page.
Three steps, two minutes.
Ask whoever created it to send you the details. On their computer they are in Settings → Database → Copy Credentials: one button copies everything at once, so nobody has to type anything out and nobody gets it wrong.
Five things: the address (like 192.168.1.101), the port (like 3306), the database name, the user name and the password.
The Copy Credentials button puts them all on the clipboard together: they just paste them into a message.
On your computer open the Settings gear at the bottom of the left-hand menu, scroll to the Database box, press the + and choose «Connect to an existing shared database».
Fill the fields with what you were sent, press Test Connection and then Save Connection.
Done. From now on you see the same catalogue as your colleagues: the disks they have already catalogued show up for you too, even if you have never plugged those disks into this computer.
«No answer» when you press Check. Look at these, in this order:
«Answers but refuses this computer». The database is there and the port is right, but it will not accept connections from outside. On many NAS units the administrator can only log in from the NAS itself. Ask whoever runs your network, or create it on the NAS with phpMyAdmin using these three lines (change only the password):
CREATE DATABASE nano_tracker CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;CREATE USER 'nano_tracker'@'%' IDENTIFIED BY 'your-password';GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON nano_tracker.* TO 'nano_tracker'@'%';Then come back here and follow the third route, the one about connecting.
Do I lose what I have already catalogued? No. The catalogue stays on your computer and the app copies it across to the shared one: nobody starts from scratch.
Does the NAS have to stay on? Only while you work. If it does not answer, NanoTracker falls back to the catalogue on your computer and never blocks you.
Is it safe? The database stays inside your own network. Do not forward that port on your router — there is no need.