How To Install and Configure the Multi-Tier Edition ODBC Drivers for Oracle (Windows)

Server Components

Installation (Request Broker and Database Agent)

  1. Our Enterprise Edition (Multi-Tier) server components installers for Windows are distributed as .msi files. You need to download one Enterprise Edition Request Broker installer (ntbrzzzz.msi for all 32-bit processor architectures, wabrzzzz.msi for x86_64, or wibrzzzz.msi for IA_64) and at least one Agent installer (same architecture) for the specific target data source(s). Double-click on the downloaded request broker .MSI file to start the installation.
  2. The Request Broker installers will specifically prompt for the location of a local license file.

    Note: Agent installers do not, as their licensing is handled through the Broker.
  3. Click the "Browse" button to locate a license file on your Windows machine.
  4. Check the "I don't want to install a license file" box if you do not have one.
  5. Once Completed, run the Database agent installation by clicking on the downloaded .MSI file.
  6. The Request Broker can be started and stopped by locating the OpenLink Request Broker service in the Services panel, or by using the toolbar service shortcut provided after installation.
  7. Installation is complete, proceed to making a test connection with your Client Component installation. If you haven't installed this component, please follow one of the following
Non-Advanced Users should proceed to the Client Components installation and configuration guides
  1. Open the "ODBC Data Sources" Application.

    64-bit drivers should be configured with the 64-bit Application.

    32-bit drivers should be configured with the 32-bit Application.

  2. Select the System DSN tab, then click Add.

    Select the OpenLink "Lite" Driver for Oracle Data Sources from the list of available drivers. Select the Unicode version of the driver if and only if you are working with multi-byte character sets, as unnecessary translations can significantly affect ODBC performance.

    Click Finish.

  3. The first dialog prompts for a Data Source Name and optional description.

    Click Next.

  4. The second dialog prompts for the required Hostname, Port Number, and Service Name of the target Oracle Database. If the "Connect now to verify all settings are correct" check box is ticked, the optional username and password will be used to make a test connection to the database for that verification.
    • Hostname - Hostname or IP address of the machine on which the Oracle Database Server is running
    • Port - Port Number at which the Oracle Database server is running (1521 by default)
    • Service - Service name of the target Oracle instance
    • Protocol - The network protocol to be used for connection (TCP by default)
    • Advanced - Enables additional Oracle Instant Client connection parameters to be passed, if required
    • XA Info - This parameter takes another ODBC Data Source Name to achieve Distributed Transaction Processing. More info.
    • Login ID - The Oracle DBMS user name to use for the connection
    • Password - The password for the specified Oracle DBMS user

    Click Next to continue.

  5. The third dialog takes a combination of database specific and optional parameters:
    • OCIPrefetchRows - Sets the number of rows to be prefetched. More
    • OCIPrefetchMemory - Sets the memory allocated for rows to be pre-fetched. The application then fetches as many rows as will fit into that much memory. More
    • Custom Catalogue Views - Dictates whether custom OpenLink views are used to return metadata for certain ODBC catalog functions: SQLForeignKeys(), SQLPrimaryKeys(), SQLProcedureColumns(), SQLProcedures(), and SQLSpecialColumns(). These custom views provide more metadata than is normally provided by the standard Oracle data dictionary views. More
    • Count stored procedure parameters in SQL Procedures - This parameter is specific to the Oracle data source. It affects the output from SQLProcedures() when "Custom Catalog Views" is enabled. More
    • User's own tables first in SQLTables - This option is specific to OpenLink's Oracle drivers. It prompts the SQLTables() ODBC API call to display the connected user's tables first in table lists. The default ordering is alphabetical.
    • Show remarks - Affects output from the SQLColumns() ODBC API call. Use this option in conjunction with Oracle queries. When enabled, the REMARKS column of a SQLColumns() result set includes the comments from the COMMENTS column of the Oracle ALL_COL_COMMENTS data dictionary view. When disabled, the REMARKS column is empty. Disabling Show Remarks improves performance.
    • Empty string isn't NULL behavior - This parameter forces the driver to differentiate between an Empty string and a NULL, which Oracle does not do by default.
    • Show synonyms in catalog functions - This parameter return Oracle Table Synonyms in Catalog calls like SQLTables().

    Click Next to continue.

  6. The fourth dialogue enables you to set parameters specific to Transparent Application Failover:
    • Enable TAF - Instructs the driver to attempt multiple failover connections to alternative DBMS nodes per the Oracle TAF specification. More
    • Maximum Retries - The maximum number of times that the driver will retry the connection.
    • Retry Interval (secs) - The number of seconds that the driver will wait between connection attempts.

    Click Next to continue.

  7. The fifth dialogue also enables you to set parameters specific to OCI Connection Pooling:
    • Enable OCI Connection Pooling - Check to create a separate connection pool for each Oracle instance to which you connect.
    • Minimum Pool Size - The minimum number of connections to be opened when the pool is created.
    • Maximum Pool Size - The maximum number of connections that can be opened in the pool.
    • Increment - The incremental number of connections to be opened when all the connections are busy and a call needs a connection.
    • Linger time - The amount of time to wait for a connection when all connections are busy and the maximum number of open connections has been reached.
    • Wait for free connection - The length of time the last connection in the pool should linger before the pool is destroyed.

    Click Next to continue.

  8. The sixth dialog enables you to set optional ODBC connection parameters:
    • Read-only connection - Specifies whether the connection is "Read-only." Must be unchecked to INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE records, and to run some Stored Procedures including some built-in functions.
    • Defer fetching of long data - Defers fetching of LONG (BINARY, BLOB, etc.) fields in wildcard queries. This provides significant performance increases when fields in the query do not include LONG data fields.
    • Disable interactive login - Suppresses the ODBC "Username" and "Password" login dialog boxes when interacting with your ODBC DSN from within an ODBC compliant application.
    • Row Buffer Size - This attribute specifies the number of records to be transported over the network in a single network hop. Values can range from 1 to 999.
    • Max rows Override - Allows you to set a limit for the maximum number of rows to be returned from a query. The default value of 0 means no limit.
    • Initial SQL - Lets you specify a file containing SQL statements that will be run automatically against the database upon connection.
    • Dynamic Cursor Sensitivity - Enables or disables the row version cache used with dynamic cursors. When dynamic cursor sensitivity is set high, the Cursor Library calculates checksums for each row in the current rowset and compares these with the checksums (if any) already stored in the row version cache for the same rows when fetched previously.
    • Enable logging to the log file - Check the checkbox and use the associated textbox to provide the full path to a file in which to log diagnostic information.

    Click Next to continue.

  9. The seventh dialog enables you to set additional parameters to enhance compatibility with applications:
    • Enable Microsoft Jet engine options - Facilitates translation of certain data types for the Microsoft Jet Engine. If you notice that money and other datatypes are mishandled with Microsoft or other applications, test with Jet fix enabled.
    • Disable Autocommit - Changes the commit behavior of the OpenLink driver. The default mode is AutoCommit (box unchecked).
    • Disable rowset size limit - Disables a limitation enforced by the cursor library. This limitation is enforced by default. It prevents the driver from claiming all available memory when a resultset (typically generated by an accidental query) is very large.
    • Multiple Active Statements Emulation - Enables use of Multiple Active statements in an ODBC application even if the underlying database does not allow this, by emulation within the driver.
    • SQL_DBMS Name - Manually overrides the SQLGetInfo(SQL_DBMS_NAME) response returned by the driver. This is required for products like Microsoft InfoPath for which the value should be "SQL Server".

    Click Next to Continue.

  10. The final dialog enables you to test your Data Source. Click the Test Data Source button. If successful, the configuration process is complete.
  1. Oracle requires a small amount of additional environmental configuration in the OpenLink Request Broker session rule book (c:\Program Files\OpenLink Software\UDA\bin\oplrqb.ini).
  2. Edit the file c:\Program Files\OpenLink Software\UDA\bin\oplrqb.ini with a suitable text editor such as Wordpad.
  3. Locate and edit the [Environment xxxxx] section where xxxxx matches your target database to ensure that any relevant environment variables pertaining to your system and target database are correct. You may need to consult with your database administrator to verify these.
  4. The following examples depict the environment sections for Oracle:

Oracle 9 (Full Client)

[Environment ORACLE9]
ORACLE_HOME        = D:\oracle\product\9.2.1\Db_1
;ORACLE_SID        = ORCL
;ORACLE_SERVER        = T
;TWO_TASK        = P:
;ODBC_CATALOGS        = Y                ; Uncomment after loading odbccat9.sql
;MULTIPLEX_LDA        = 5                ; Allow 5 OpenLink clients on a single lda
;OPL_USR_TBLS_FIRST=Y                ; Sort SQLTables starting with user tables

Oracle 10 (Full Client)

[Environment ORACLE10]
ORACLE_HOME        = D:\oracle\product\10.1.0\Db_1
;ORACLE_SID        = ORCL
;ORACLE_SERVER        = T
;TWO_TASK        = P:
;ODBC_CATALOGS        = Y                ; Uncomment after loading odbccat9.sql
;MULTIPLEX_LDA        = 5                ; Allow 5 OpenLink clients on a single lda
;OPL_USR_TBLS_FIRST=Y                ; Sort SQLTables starting with user tables
;OCI_CONNPOOL_MIN = 0                 ; if not set defaults to 0 
;OCI_CONNPOOL_MAX = 0                ; if not set defaults to OCI_CONNPOOL_MIN 
;OCI_CONNPOOL_INCR = 1                 ; if not set defaults to 1 
;OCI_CONNPOOL_WAIT = TRUE        ; if not set defaults to TRUE

Oracle 10 (Instant Client)

[Environment ORACLE10]
ORACLE_HOME        = C:\Instant_client_10_2
;ORACLE_SID        = ORCL
;ORACLE_SERVER        = T
;TWO_TASK        = P:
;ODBC_CATALOGS        = Y                ; Uncomment after loading odbccat9.sql
;MULTIPLEX_LDA        = 5                ; Allow 5 OpenLink clients on a single lda
;OPL_USR_TBLS_FIRST=Y                ; Sort SQLTables starting with user tables
;OCI_CONNPOOL_MIN = 0                 ; if not set defaults to 0 
;OCI_CONNPOOL_MAX = 0                ; if not set defaults to OCI_CONNPOOL_MIN 
;OCI_CONNPOOL_INCR = 1                 ; if not set defaults to 1 
;OCI_CONNPOOL_WAIT = TRUE        ; if not set defaults to TRUE

Make sure to save the changes after editing the oplrqb.ini file.

Client Components

Pre-Installation

  1. You need to know whether the client application is 32-bit or 64-bit.
  2. The Enterprise Edition (Multi-Tier) Generic Client ODBC Drivers must match the bit format of the client application.

Installation

  1. Our Enterprise Edition (Multi-Tier) Generic ODBC client is distributed in a single Windows MSI file. Double click on the downloaded .msi to start the installation.

Configuration

  1. Launch the ODBC Administrator appropriate to the bitness (32-bit or 64-bit) of your client application and driver.
  2. Click the Add button that appears on the System DSN tab.
  3. Select the OpenLink Generic ODBC Driver from the list of available drivers.
  4. The first DSN configuration dialog takes these values:
    • Name: A suitable name for your Data Source
    • Description: An optional description for your Data Source
    • Server: The host name or IP address of the machine containing your OpenLink Request Broker and the Broker's listen port. A colon separates the two. For example: 192.158.12.234:5000
  5. Click Next.
  6. The second DSN configuration dialog takes these values:
    • Domain: The value must match a [Domain Alias], which is contained in the Server's Session Rules Book. This Alias typically represents the name and version of an OpenLink Agent. That agent version may differ from the DBMS version to which it connects. Note that advanced users may create custom domain names that follow their own desired conventions.
    • Database: Takes a database name or Oracle SID.
    • Options: This field passes parameters that enable users to connect to MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLServer, and Sybase databases anywhere on the network. It also passes parameters that enable users to connect to any DBMS that does not reside on the same machine as the OpenLink Request Broker and Agent. Review Complete Settings and Usage for Connect Options.
    • Secure Connection: If checked, the client sets up a secure connection to the Request Broker.
    • Connect now to verify that all settings are correct: Will attempt to connect to the database once you click Continue.
    • Login ID: A valid database UID.
    • Password: A valid database password.
    • XA Info: Refer to OpenLink's extensive Distributed Transaction Processing documentation for use of this field.
  7. Click Next.
  8. The third tab contains settings that are not required for a basic connection:
    • Read Only connection: Specifies whether the connection is "Read-only." Make sure the checkbox is unchecked to request a "Read/Write" connection.
    • Defer fetching of long data: Defers fetching of LONG (BINARY, BLOB, etc.) data unless explicitly requested in a query. This provides significant performance increases when fields in the query do not include LONG data fields.
    • Disable interactive login: Suppresses the ODBC "Username" and "Password" login dialog boxes when interacting with your ODBC DSN from within an ODBC-compliant application.
    • Multiple Active Statements Emulation: Enables the use of Multiple Active statements in an ODBC application even if the underlying database does not allow this, as it is emulated in the driver.
    • Row Buffer Size: Specifies the number of records to be transported over the network in a single network hop. Values can range from 1 to 99.
    • SQL_DBMS_NAME: Manually overrides the SQLGetInfo(SQL_DBMS_NAME) response returned by the driver. This is required for products like Microsoft InfoPath (for which the return value should be "SQL Server").
  9. Click Next.
  10. Click on the 'Test Data Source' button to make a connection to the database to verify connectivity. A successful connection to the database has been made.