How To Install and Configure the Multi-Tier Edition ODBC Drivers for PostgreSQL (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.
  2. Configure 64-bit drivers using the 64-bit application. Configure 32-bit drivers using the 32-bit application.
  3. Select the System DSN tab, then click Add.
  4. Select the OpenLink "Lite" Driver for PostgreSQL Data Sources from the list of available drivers. Choose the Unicode version of the driver if you are working with multi-byte character sets to avoid unnecessary translations that can impact ODBC performance.
  5. Click Finish.
  6. The first dialog prompts for a Data Source Name and an optional description. Click Next.
  7. The second dialog prompts for information that identifies the PostgreSQL database server and the listening port. It also provides a checkbox to verify basic connection parameters before setting advanced and optional settings.
    1. Host name: The hostname or IP address of the server where PostgreSQL runs.
    2. Port: The TCP port on which PostgreSQL listens.
    3. Database: The PostgreSQL database.
    4. No Transactions: Enable this option to automatically commit all transactions, which helps prevent memory errors for large transactions. For example, when exporting 10,000 records from Microsoft Access.
    5. Connect now to verify that all settings are correct: The connection will be attempted once you click Continue.
    6. Login ID: A PostgreSQL username.
    7. Password: A valid PostgreSQL database password.
  8. Click Next.
  9. The third dialog allows you to set PostgreSQL-specific parameters.
    • Enable HSODBC (Oracle Heterogeneous Services) fix: Check this box if you plan to query PostgreSQL through Oracle HSODBC.
  10. Click Next.
  11. The fourth dialog combines database-specific and optional parameters.
    • Database: The Microsoft SQL Server database.
    • Character set: The client application's character set (8-bit only; the Unicode driver always returns UCS-2 on Windows).
    • Language: The language in which you want error messages to be returned. It must be supported by the target server.
    • Packet Size: Specifies the number of bytes per network packet transferred from the database server to the client. Adjusting this value can improve performance. Use 0 for the default packet size specified in the Microsoft SQL Server configuration, -1 to compute the maximum allowable packet size, or an integer from 1 to 10 as a multiple of 512 bytes (e.g., Packet Size of 6 sets the packet size to 6 * 512 = 3072 bytes).
    • Prepare Method: This option is specific to the TDS-based driver for Sybase & Microsoft SQL Server SQL Servers. It determines whether stored procedures are created on the server for SQLPrepare calls.
    • No Quoted Identifiers: Indicates that the underlying driver does not support quoted identifiers, which is required for Jet engine-based products like MS Access.
    • Use ANSI nulls, padding, and warnings: This option affects TDS agent & Lite Driver connections to Microsoft SQL Server databases. It does not affect Sybase connectivity.
    • Map Serializable to Snapshot isolation level: Enable Snapshot transaction isolation level in the driver.
  12. Click Next to continue.
  13. The fifth dialog allows you to set optional ODBC connection parameters.
    • Read-only connection: Specifies whether the connection is read-only. Uncheck this option to perform INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE operations.
    • Defer fetching of long data: Defers fetching of LONG (BINARY, BLOB, etc.) fields in wildcard queries, improving performance when the query does 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: Specifies the number of records to be delivered from the driver to the client application in a single batch (values 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 to be automatically executed against the database upon connection.
    • Dynamic Cursor Sensitivity: Enables or disables the row version cache used with dynamic cursors.
    • Enable logging to the log file: Check this option and provide the full path to a file to log diagnostic information.
  14. Click Next to continue.
  15. The sixth 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.
    • Disable Autocommit: Changes the commit behavior of the OpenLink driver.
    • Disable rowset size limit: Disables a limitation enforced by the cursor library to prevent excessive memory usage with large result sets.
    • Multiple Active Statements Emulation: Enables the use of Multiple Active Statements in an ODBC application even if the underlying database does not support it.
    • SQL_DBMS Name: Manually overrides the SQLGetInfo(SQL_DBMS_NAME) response returned by the driver.
  16. Click Next to continue.

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.