The DB2 Call Level Interface (CLI) run-time environment and the DB2 CLI/ODBC driver are included with DB2 clients as optional components during install.
This support enables applications developed using ODBC and DB2 CLI APIs to work with any DB2 server. DB2 CLI application development support is provided by the DB2 Software Developer's Kit (DB2 SDK) which is packaged with your DB2 server.
Before DB2 CLI or ODBC applications can access DB2, the DB2 CLI packages must be bound on the server. Although this will occur automatically on the first connection if the user has the required authority to bind the packages, it is recommended that the administrator do this first with each version of the client on each platform that will access the server. See Binding Database Utilities for specific details.
The following general steps are required on the client system to give DB2 CLI and ODBC applications access to DB2 databases. These instructions assume that you have successfully connected to DB2 using a valid user ID and password. Depending on the platform many of these steps are automatic. For complete details, see the section that deals specifically with your platform.
Step 1. | Use the Client Configuration Assistant (CCA) to add the database (if you have separate client and server machines) so that its instances and databases can be made known to the Control Center, then add the instances and databases for that system. (Your local system is represented by Local icon.) If you do not have access to this program you can use the catalog command in the command line processor. |
Step 2. | On all platforms other than OS/2 the DB2 CLI/ODBC driver is an optional component during the DB2 client install. Be sure it is selected at that point. On OS/2 you must use the Install ODBC Driver icon to install both the DB2 CLI/ODBC driver and the ODBC driver manager. |
Step 3. | To access the DB2 database from ODBC:
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Step 4. | If necessary, you can set various CLI/ODBC Configuration Keywords to modify the behavior of DB2 CLI/ODBC and the applications using it.
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If you followed the above steps to install ODBC support, and added DB2 databases as ODBC data sources, your ODBC applications will now be able to access them.
After the platform specific instructions there are further details on the following topics:
![]() | The platform specific details on how to give DB2 CLI and ODBC applications access to DB2 are divided into the following categories: |
Before DB2 CLI and ODBC applications can successfully access a DB2 database from a Windows client, perform the following steps on the client system:
The DB2 database (and node if the database is remote) must be cataloged. To do so, use the CCA (or the command line processor). For more information refer to the on-line help in the CCA (or the CATALOG DATABASE and CATALOG NODE commands in the Command Reference). | |
Step 2. | Verify that the Microsoft ODBC Driver Manager and the DB2 CLI/ODBC driver are installed. On Windows 32-bit operating systems they are both installed with DB2 unless the ODBC component is manually unselected during the install. To verify that they both exist on the machine:
If either the Microsoft ODBC Driver Manager or the IBM DB2 CLI/ODBC driver is not installed, then rerun the DB2 install and select the ODBC component on Windows 32-bit operating systems. |
Step 3. | Register the DB2 database with the ODBC driver manager as a data source. On Windows 32-bit operating systems you can make the data source available to all users of the system (a system data source), or only the current user (a user data source). Use either of these methods to add the data source:
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Step 4. | Configure the DB2 CLI/ODBC driver using the CCA: (Optional)
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If you have installed ODBC access (as described above), you can now access DB2 data using ODBC applications. Start the ODBC application and go to the Open window. Select the ODBC databases file type. The DB2 databases that you added as ODBC data sources will be selectable from the list. Many ODBC applications will open the table as read-only unless a unique index exists.
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![]() | If you require additional information at this point you can refer to the following topics in Detailed Configuration Information: |
Before DB2 CLI and ODBC applications can successfully access a DB2 database from an OS/2 client, perform the following steps on the client system:
For more information see the on-line help in the CCA
The Data Sources window opens.
If the ODBC Driver Manager is not installed then follow the installation instructions that came with your ODBC application. If the IBM DB2 CLI/ODBC driver is not installed then double-click on the Install ODBC Driver icon in the DB2 folder to install the DB2 CLI/ODBC driver.
For information on manually editing this file (db2cli.ini), see Configuring db2cli.ini.
![]() | If you require additional information at this point you can refer to the following topics in Detailed Configuration Information: |
Before DB2 CLI and ODBC applications can successfully access a DB2 database from a UNIX client, perform the following steps on the client system:
For more information see Configuring Client-to-Server Communications Using the Command Line Processor or the CATALOG DATABASE and CATALOG NODE commands in the Command Reference.
Setting up odbcinst.ini
The settings in this file impact all of the ODBC drivers on the machine.
Use an ASCII editor to update this file. It must have a stanza (section) called [IBM DB2 ODBC DRIVER], with a line starting with "Driver" indicating the full path to the DB2 ODBC driver (db2.o). For example, if the home directory of your end user is /u/thisuser/ and the sqllib directory is installed there, then the correct entry would be:
[IBM DB2 ODBC DRIVER] Driver=/u/thisuser/sqllib/lib/db2.o
Setting up odbc.ini
The settings in this file are associated with a particular user on the machine; different users can have different odbc.ini files.
The .odbc.ini file must exist in the end user's home directory (note the dot at the start of the file name). Update this file, using an ASCII editor, to reflect the appropriate data source configuration information. To register a DB2 database as an ODBC data source there must be one stanza (section) for each DB2 database.
The .odbc.ini file must contain the following lines:
SAMPLE=IBM DB2 ODBC DRIVER
Indicates that there is a data source called SAMPLE that used the IBM DB2 ODBC DRIVER.
[SAMPLE] Driver=/u/thisuser/sqllib/lib/db2.o Description=Sample DB2 ODBC Database
Indicates that the SAMPLE database is part of the DB2 instance located in the directory /u/thisuser.
InstallDir=/u/thisuser/sqllib/odbclib
Indicates that /u/thisuser/sqllib/odbclib should be treated as the location where ODBC is installed.
For example, if the ODBC Driver Manager has been installed in /opt/odbc, the [ODBC] stanza would look like:
[ODBC] Trace=0 TraceFile=odbctrace.out InstallDir=/opt/odbc
See the sample file in the sqllib/odbclib subdirectory for an example. You can also see How to Configure ODBC.INI for more detailed information.
Once the .ini files are set up you can run your ODBC application and access DB2 databases. Refer to the documentation that comes with your ODBC application for additional help and information.
There are various keywords and values that can be used to modify the behavior of DB2 CLI/ODBC and the applications using it. The keywords are associated with the database alias name, and affect all DB2 CLI/ODBC applications that access the database.
For information on manually editing this file (db2cli.ini), see Configuring db2cli.ini. For information about the specific keywords see the CLI Guide and Reference.
![]() | If you require additional information at this point you can refer to the following topics in Detailed Configuration Information: |
The section Platform Specific Details for CLI/ODBC Access should provide you with all of the information you require. The following additional information is useful where DB2 tool support is not available, and for administrators who require more detailed information.
![]() | The following topics are covered in this section: |
The CLI/ODBC driver will autobind on the first connection to the database, provided the user has the appropriate privilege or authorization. The administrator may want to perform the first connect or explicitly bind the required files.
See Binding Database Utilities for more information.
DB2 CLI can be configured further by using either the CCA or the DB2 Client Setup administration tool, whichever is applicable for your platform, or by manually editing the db2cli.ini file.
This file contains various keywords and values that can be used to modify the behavior of DB2 CLI and the applications using it. The keywords are associated with the database alias name, and affect all DB2 CLI and ODBC applications that access the database.
By default, the location of the CLI/ODBC configuration keyword file is located in the sqllib directory on Intel platforms, and in the sqllib/cfg directory of the database instance running the CLI/ODBC applications on UNIX platforms.
The environment variable DB2CLIINIPATH can also be used to override the default and specify a different location for the file.
The configuration keywords enable you to:
For a complete description of all the keywords and their usage, refer to the Installation and Configuration Supplement.
The db2cli.ini initialization file is an ASCII file which stores values for the DB2 CLI configuration options. A sample file is shipped to help you get started. Refer to the CLI Guide and Reference for information on each keyword.
See Platform Specific Details for CLI/ODBC Access for more information on how to modify this file on your platform.
Microsoft's 16-bit ODBC Driver Manager and all non-Microsoft ODBC Driver Managers use the odbc.ini file to record information about the available drivers and data sources. ODBC Driver Managers on UNIX platforms also uses the odbcinst.ini file. Although the necessary files are updated automatically by the tools on most platforms, users of ODBC on UNIX platforms will have to edit them manually. The file odbc.ini (and odbcinst.ini where required) are located:
It is also possible to modify this file manually. Do not change any of the existing entries in the file. To edit this file manually perform the following steps:
Step 1. | Use an ASCII editor to edit the odbc.ini file. The following is an example odbc.ini file: [ODBC Data Sources] MS Access Databases=Access Data (*.mdb) [MS Access Databases] Driver=D:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\simba.dll FileType=RedISAM SingleUser=False UseSystemDB=False The [ODBC Data Sources] section lists the name of each available data source and the description of the associated driver. For each data source listed in the [ODBC Data Sources] section, there is a section that lists additional information about that data source. These are called the Data Source Specification sections. |
Step 2. | Under the [ODBC DATA SOURCE] entry, add the following line: database_alias=IBM DB2 ODBC DRIVER where database_alias is the alias of the database cataloged in the database directory (the database name used by the command line processor CONNECT TO statement). |
Step 3. | Add a new entry in the Data Source Specification section to associate the data source with the driver: [database_alias] Driver=x:\windows\system\db2cliw.dll where:
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The following shows the example file with the IBM data source entries added:
[ODBC Data Sources] MS Access Databases=Access Data (*.mdb) SAMPLE=IBM DB2 ODBC DRIVER [MS Access Databases] Driver=D:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\simba.dll FileType=RedISAM SingleUser=False UseSystemDB=False [SAMPLE] Driver=D:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\db2cliw.dll Description=Sample DB2 Client/Server database
UNIX Configuration of .ini files
The section UNIX Client Access to DB2 using CLI/ODBC contains detailed steps on how to update both the odbc.ini and odbcinst.ini files.