How To Install and Configure the Multi-Tier Edition ODBC Drivers for Informix (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. Informix 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)

    • Open the file c:\Program Files\OpenLink Software\UDA\bin\oplrqb.ini with a suitable text editor, such as Wordpad.

    • Locate and edit the [Environment xxxxx] section (where xxxxx matches your target database), and ensure that any relevant environment variables pertaining to your system and target database are correct.

      NOTE: You may need to consult with your database administrator to verify these. The following example depicts an environment section for Informix --

      [Environment INFORMIX2000]
INFORMIXSERVER        = your_informix_server
INFORMIXDIR           = C:\Program Files\IBM\Informix\Client-SDK
DELIMIDENT            = Y      ; Allow quoted identifiers
OPL_INF_MULTISESS     = Y      ; Allow multiple sessions
OPL_SPACEPADCHAR      = Y      ; Pad CHAR fields with spaces
CURSOR_SENSITIVITY    = LOW    ; Set to HIGH after loading oplrvc.sql
;FET_BUF_SIZE          = 65535  ; Size of the fetch buffer
;FORCE_ONLINE_DATABASE = 1      ; Force mode to (0) SE or (1) ONLINE
;CLIENT_LOCALE         = EN_US.UTF8  ; Uncomment and adjust when Client and Server locale settings differ
Path                  = C:\Program Files\IBM\Informix\Client-SDK\bin  ; Find shared libraries

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.