Connecting to a database from Linux and UNIX systems: 64-bit considerations

To enable a broker to connect to a database, define the ODBC data source name (DSN) for the database.

Before you start:

On Linux and UNIX systems, an ODBC Driver Manager exists, but no graphical application is available to help you to configure the ODBC DSNs. To enable a 64-bit ODBC connection, define each database as a DSN in a plain text file (called odbc64.ini) on the computer that hosts the broker.

Important: Before you can create a broker on HP-UX (Integrity platform), define the 64-bit ODBC data source name (DSN) that the broker will use to connect to the broker database.

Define 64-bit DSNs in the following situations:
  • On HP-UX (Integrity platform), the broker is a 64-bit application therefore all database connections are 64-bit. Define a 64-bit DSN for the broker database and for any user databases.
  • On any Linux or UNIX system, if a message flow application is deployed to a 64-bit execution group, define a 64-bit DSN for the broker database and any user databases. If you use a 64-bit execution group, the broker database, and any user databases, must also be 64-bit.
  • If the message flow transactions are globally coordinated by a 64-bit queue manager (all WebSphere MQ Version 6 queue managers on 64-bit platforms are 64-bit), define all of the user databases as DSNs in the odbc64.ini file, even when the message flow applications are deployed to a 32-bit execution group, and 32-bit DSNs are also defined in odbc.ini. If the globally coordinated message flow applications use MRM messages, also define a 64-bit DSN for the broker database.

    If you configure a 64-bit queue manager to globally coordinate transactions, the broker database and any user databases must also be 64-bit.

If the message flow application is deployed to a 32-bit execution group, enable 32-bit connections to the databases, including the broker database; see Connecting to a database from Linux and UNIX systems.

To configure a 64-bit DSN for a database:

  1. Copy the odbc64.ini sample file that is supplied in the DD64 directory of your WebSphere Message Broker installation to a location of your choice; for example, copy the file to your user ID's home directory. Copying this file enables each broker service user ID on the system to use its own DSN definitions.

    The sample file is shown in odbc64.ini sample file.

  2. Ensure that the odbc64.ini file has file ownership of mqm:mqbrkrs, and has the same permissions as the supplied odbc64.ini sample file.
  3. Set the ODBCINI64 environment variable to point to your odbc64.ini file, specifying a full path and file name.

    If you have already run the mqsiprofile script, the ODBCINI64 environment variable is set to a default value. Change the value of the variable so that it points to the location of your odbc64.ini file, ensuring that the fully-qualified file path is correct.

  4. On all Linux and UNIX systems except HP-UX (Integrity platform), set the library search path environment variable to show the location of the 32-bit libraries for the database manager that you are using.

    If you are using a 64-bit queue manager (all WebSphere MQ Version 6 queue managers on 64-bit platforms are 64-bit) to globally coordinate transactions, setting the library search path might prevent you from running any WebSphere MQ commands in the same environment. For more information, see "Implications of a 64-bit queue manager" in the WebSphere MQ Quick Beginnings book for your operating system. This book is available online on the WebSphere MQ library Web page.

    For more information about the library search path, see the database manager's documentation.

    The library search path environment variable depends on your operating system:
    • On Solaris and Linux (x86 platform): LD_LIBRARY_PATH
    • On HP-UX: SHLIB_PATH
    • On AIX: LIBPATH
    1. If you are connecting to a 64-bit DB2 database instance, add DB2 instance directory/sqllib/lib32 to the start of the library search path environment variable; for example, on Solaris:
      export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=DB2 instance directory/sqllib/lib32:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH

      This step is necessary because some parts of the broker must see a 32-bit environment. However, this step might prevent you from running DB2 commands in this environment shell. To enter DB2 commands, start a separate environment shell, and run db2profile for the relevant database instance.

    2. If you are using a 64-bit Oracle instance, add $ORACLE_HOME/lib32 to the start of the library search path environment variable.
      For example, on HP-UX:
      export SHLIB_PATH=$ORACLE_HOME/lib32:$SHLIB_PATH

      This step is necessary because some parts of the broker must see a 32-bit environment.

  5. If you are using a DB2 instance, set the environment variable MQSI_LIBPATH64 to include the regular 64-bit database libraries. For example, on AIX:Start of change
    export MQSI_LIBPATH64=DB2_instance_directory/sqllib/lib64:$MQSI_LIBPATH64
    End of change
  6. If you are using a DB2 database instance that is installed on AIX, and a single process will make more than ten connections using shared memory, use TCP/IP mode to connect to the database instance. For detailed instructions, see DB2 error message SQL1224N is issued when you connect to DB2.

    On AIX, a single process can make a maximum of ten connections using shared memory to a DB2 database. Therefore, if you deploy more than one or two message flows at the same time, you might see connection failures characterized by the DB2 error message SQL1224N. The connection errors are reported in the system log from the broker's execution group.

  7. Edit the final stanza in the odbc64.ini file (the [ODBC] stanza) to specify the location of the ODBC Driver Manager, and to control tracing. The exact details in the stanza depend on the operating system.
    To ensure that you edit the correct odbc64.ini file, open the file in the vi text editor using the following command:
    vi $ODBCINI64
    1. In InstallDir, add the WebSphere Message Broker installation location to complete the fully qualified path to the ODBC directory that is shown in the sample odbc64.ini file. You must specify this value, otherwise the ODBC definition will not work.
    2. In Trace, set the value to 0; if your IBM Service representative asks you to enable ODBC trace, set the value to 1.
    3. In TraceFile, type the fully-qualified path and file name to which the ODBC trace is written. Trace files can become large; specify a directory with plenty of free disk space.
    4. In TraceDll, add the WebSphere Message Broker installation location to complete the fully qualified path to the ODBC trace DLL that is shown in the sample odbc64.ini file.
    5. Accept the default values that are shown in the sample odbc64.ini file for all the other entries in the stanza; for example, on AIX:
      [ODBC]
      Trace=0
      TraceFile=<A Directory with plenty of free space>/odbctrace.out
      TraceDll=<Your install directory>/DD64/lib/odbctrac.so
      InstallDir=<Your install directory>/DD64
      UseCursorLib=0
      IANAAppCodePage=4
      UNICODE=UTF-8
  8. Edit the first stanza in the odbc64.ini file (the [ODBC Data Sources] stanza) to list the DSN of each database; for example:
    [ODBC Data Sources]
    WBRKBKDB=IBM DB2 ODBC Driver
    MYDB=IBM DB2 ODBC Driver
    ORACLEDB=DataDirect 5.0 64bit
    Oracle Wire Protocol
    SYBASEDB=DataDirect
    5.0 64bit Sybase Wire Protocol
    SQLSERVERDB=DataDirect
    5.0 64bit SQL Server Wire Protocol
    The DB2 database called WBRKBKDB in the example, is the broker database that is created by the Default Configuration wizard. If you are not using the default configuration, you do not need to list this database in the odbc64.ini file.

    List all of your DSNs in your odbc64.ini file, regardless of the database manager. Multiple DSNs can resolve to the same database, but be aware that this action can cause problems if you are using global coordination of transactions.

  9. For each database that you listed in the [ODBC Data Sources] stanza, create a stanza in the odbc64.ini file after the [ODBC Data Sources] stanza. The entries in the stanza depend on the database manager. The information for different operating systems can differ; for example, the file paths to the drivers.
    For a DB2 database instance:
    1. In Driver, accept the value shown in the sample odbc64.ini file.
    2. In Description, type a meaningful description of the database. This text field is for information only, and does not affect the connection.
    3. In Database, type the DB2 alias. The data source name must be the same as the database alias name. If you are using a remote DB2 database, set up your client-server connection to resolve this alias to the correct database. For more information, see the DB2 documentation.
      For example, on AIX:
      [MYDB]
      Driver=libdb2Wrapper64.so
      Description=MYDB DB2 ODBC Database
      Database=MYDB
    For an Oracle database:
    1. In Driver, add the WebSphere Message Broker installation location to complete the fully qualified path to the driver that is shown in the sample odbc64.ini file.
    2. In Description, type a meaningful description of the database. This text field is for information only, and does not affect the connection.
    3. In HostName, type the IP address of the instance on which the Oracle database is running.
    4. In PortNumber, type the port number on which the Oracle database is listening.
    5. In SID, type the Oracle System Identifier of the database as known on the Oracle database server.
    6. Accept the default values that are shown in the sample odbc64.ini file for all the other entries in the stanza; for example, on AIX:
      [ORACLEDB]
      Driver=<Your install directory>/DD64/lib/UKora20.so
      Description=DataDirect 5.0 Oracle Wire Protocol
      HostName=<Your Oracle Server Machine Name>
      PortNumber=<Port on which Oracle is listening on HostName>
      SID=<Your Oracle SID>
      CatalogOptions=0
      EnableStaticCursorsForLongData=0
      ApplicationUsingThreads=1
      EnableDescribeParam=1
      OptimizePrepare=1
      WorkArounds=536870912
      ProcedureRetResults=1
      ColumnSizeAsCharacter=1
    For a Sybase database:
    1. In Driver, add the WebSphere Message Broker installation location to complete the fully qualified path to the driver that is shown in the sample odbc64.ini file.
    2. In Description, type a meaningful description of the database. This text field is for information only, and does not affect the connection.
    3. In Database, type the name of the database to which to connect by default. If you do not specify a value, the default is the database that is defined by your system administrator for each user.
    4. In NetworkAddress, type the network address of your Sybase ASE server (which is required for local and remote databases). Specify an IP address in the following format:
      <servername or IP address>,<portnumber>
      For example, Sybaseserver,5000. You can also specify the IP address directly; for example, 199.226.224.34,5000. You can find the port number in the Sybase interfaces file, which is named interfaces on UNIX and Linux systems.
    5. Accept the default values that are shown in the sample odbc64.ini file for all the other entries in the stanza; for example, on AIX:
      [SYBASEDB]
      Driver=<Your install directory>/DD64/lib/UKase20.so
      Description=DataDirect 5.0 Sybase Wire Protocol
      Database=<Your Database Name>
      ApplicationsUsingThreads=1
      EnableDescribeParam=1
      OptimizePrepare=1
      SelectMethod=0
      NetworkAddress=<YourServerName>,<YourPortNumber>
      SelectUserName=1
    For an SQLServer database:
    1. In Driver, add the WebSphere Message Broker installation location to complete the fully qualified path to the driver that is shown in the sample odbc64.ini file.
    2. In Description, type a meaningful description of the database. This text field is for information only, and does not affect the connection.
    3. In Address, type the network address of your database server (which is required for local and remote databases). Specify an IP address in the following format:
      <servername or IP address>,<portnumber>
    4. In Database, type the name of the database to which to connect by default. If you do not specify a value, the default is the database that is defined by your system administrator for each user.
    5. Accept the default values that are shown in the sample odbc64.ini file for all the other entries in the stanza; for example, on AIX:
      [SQLSERVERDB]
      Driver=<Your install directory>/DD64/lib/UKmsss20.so
      Description=DataDirect 5.0 SQL Server Wire Protocol
      Address=<Your SQLServer host>,<your SQLServer server port>
      AnsiNPW=Yes
      Database=<Your Database Name>
      QuoteId=No
  10. Ensure that you have edited all three parts of the odbc64.ini file:
    • The [ODBC Data Source] stanza at the top of the odbc64.ini file.
    • A stanza for each data source.
    • The [ODBC] stanza at the end of the odbc64.ini file.
    If you do not configure all three parts correctly, the ODBC DSNs will not work, and the broker will not be able to connect to the database.
You have now configured 64-bit ODBC database connections on Linux and UNIX systems.
Now configure the environment for issuing console commands, and for running the broker, so that it can access the required database libraries. For more information, see Setting your environment to access databases.
Related tasks
Creating a DB2 database on Linux and UNIX systems
Creating the databases
Changing the Database Heap Size on DB2 broker databases
Related reference
Supported databases
odbc64.ini sample file