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Relatively speaking, configuring ODBC and creating and data source
name is probably the most difficult part in the whole setup. However,
most likely since programmers, DBAs and system administrators will
use this tool, most of the users would already know how to do it.
Opening the ODBC Administrator
Double click the ODBC32 icon in the control panel to start the ODBC
Manager. Remember you can only use version 3.x or above in order to
connect to the databases. You can confirm the version of manager by
clicking on the "About" tab on the administrator
Different kinds of DSN
You can create three different kinds of data source names.
User DSN
These data sources are local to a computer, and may only be used by
the current user.
System DSN
These data sources are local to a computer, rather than dedicated to
a user. The system, or any user having privileges, can use a data
source set up with a system DSN.
File DSN
These are file-based data sources that may be shared between all
users that have the same drivers installed, so have access to the
database. These data sources need not be dedicated to a user or local
to a computer.
Creating a new DSN
Depending on your needs you can decide what type of DNS would be
suitable for you. In the example below we will create a System DSN
that will point to an MS SQL Server database.
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Click on the System DSN tab
in the Data Source Administrator
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Click the Add button to add
a new DSN.
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The next screen will display all the available ODBC drivers that you
have installed on the machine. For this example, select SQL Server.
Please note that screen in the next step may differ from driver to
driver. For this example we are using version 2.65.
Click the Ok button when done. |
