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

Server Components

Installation (Request Broker and Database Agent)


There are no Server Components to Install

Non-Advanced Users should proceed to the Client Components installation and configuration guides
  1. To configure an ODBC DSN, run the OpenLink iODBC Administrator located in the /Applications/iODBC folder.
  2. Click the System DSN tab.
  3. Click the Add button. Then, select the OpenLink Oracle Lite Driver from the list of available drivers.
  4. Click Finish.
  5. The Data Source tab prompts for information that identifies the Oracle database server and listen port.
    • DSN: A brief and meaningful title for your Data Source Name
    • Description: An optional description for your Data Source Name
    • Oracle Directory: Provides the full path to your local Oracle or Oracle client installation
    • Connection String: Your Oracle connection URL. Takes the following form:
      //oracle_server_ip_address:oracle_listening_port/oracle_SID
      For example:
      //openhp2.OpenLinksw.com:1521/ORCL
  6. Click Continue.
  7. The Connection tab takes a combination of required and optional parameters to make a connection to the target database:
    • Username: A Oracle username
    • 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 99.
    • Hide Login Dialog: Suppresses the ODBC "Username" and "Password" login dialog boxes when interacting with your ODBC DSN from within an ODBC compliant application.
    • Read Only connection: Specifies whether the connection is "Read-only." Make sure the checkbox is unchecked to request a "Read/Write" connection.
    • OCIPrefetchRows: Sets the number of rows to be prefetched.
    • OCIPrefetchMemory: Sets the memory allocated for rows to be pre-fetched.
    • 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".
  8. Click Continue to view additional preferences that can be set for the connection.
  9. The third tab contains settings that are not required for a basic connection:
    • Initialization SQL: Lets you specify a file containing SQL statements that will be run automatically against the database upon connection.
    • Cursor Sensitivity: Enables or disables the row version cache used with dynamic cursors.
    • Max Rows Override: Allows you to define a limit on the maximum number of rows to be returned from a query. The default value of 0 means no limit.
    • Show Remarks: Affects output from the SQLColumns() ODBC API call.
    • Disable autocommit: Changes the default commit behavior of the OpenLink driver. The default mode is AutoCommit (box unchecked).
    • Disable rowset size limit: Removes OpenLink's default 100 rowset restriction.
    • 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.
    • Always include VIEWS in table list:
    • Always include all types in table list:
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
  10. Click the Finish button to save your new Data Source Name.

Client Components

Pre-Installation

  1. There are no DBMS requirements associated with the Enterprise Edition (Multi-Tier) Generic Client ODBC Drivers.
  2. The Enterprise Edition (Multi-Tier) Generic Client ODBC Drivers are distributed as Universal Binaries, automatically supporting all 32-bit and 64-bit clients, with both PowerPC- and Intel-based binaries.

Installation

  1. Download the OpenLink Generic ODBC Driver for macOS disk image (.dmg) file.
  2. Double-click the disk image file to open it.
  3. Run the installer .mpkg file located inside the disk image.

Configuration

  1. To configure an ODBC DSN, perform the following steps:
    • Run the OpenLink iODBC Administrator located in the /Applications/iODBC folder.
    • Click the Add button on the System DSN tab.
    • Select the OpenLink Generic ODBC Driver 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.
    • Provide a suitable DSN name and optional description for the Data Source.
    • Click the "Manual settings..." link in the Server field and specify the host name and port on which the OpenLink Request Broker listens. Click OK to exit the host and port dialog.
    • Click Continue to proceed.
  2. The Connection tab takes the minimum parameters required to make a connection to the target database:
    • Domain - The value must match a [Domain Alias], which is contained in the Server's Session Rules Book.
    • Name - May take several settings, depending on the Domain (e.g., database name, JDBC driver classname, Oracle SID, etc.).
    • Server - This field passes DBMS-specific connection parameters. Review Complete Settings and Usage for Connect Options
    • Review Complete Settings and Usage for Connect Options.
    • Click Continue to proceed.
  3. On the Connection tab, input the following:
    • Username - A valid database uid.
    • Password - A valid database password.
    • Click Continue.
  4. The Options 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.
    • 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 - This attribute specifies the number of records to be transported over the network in a single network hop. Values can range from 1 to 99.
    • Click Continue.
  5. Click on the 'Test Data Source button to make a connection to the database and verify Client-to-Broker connectivity.