Oracle Connectivity Guidelines
The following notes apply to Oracle connectors.
Oracle Client
You must have the Oracle engine running to connect to an Oracle database. The integration platform calls the oci.dll file provided by Oracle, a component in the Oracle client. The client must be installed and properly configured on your system. Being able to connect with a third-party client such as SQL *Plus does not mean that your system is set correctly for the integration platform to connect.
Path
DataConnect requires the ORACLE_HOME environment variable to be set to identify the correct location of the tnsnames.ora file.
TNS name
If ORACLE_HOME is set, then you can choose the database alias from the Database drop-down list.
If ORACLE_HOME is not set, then you can manually specify the database alias in the Database text box.
Version
The client version must be the same or newer than the server version. You can check this by going to Help > About in Net8 Assistant or in SQL *Plus.
Upgrades
Oracle upgrades can cause erroneous versions to be written to your machine, which may prevent the integration platform from connecting to an Oracle database. If this happens, try a lower version and re-attempt the connection.
Table Names
In older Oracle versions, there is an issue with lower case characters in table names. For more information, see the Connector-Specific Notes section for your specific Oracle connector type.
To troubleshoot your Oracle connection
• Connect to the Database Alias, not the SID.
• Connect to Oracle with ODBC 3.x. If you are unable to connect, there could be conflict between the client and server versions. See Version.
Issues and Their Solutions
Issue
Cannot find the oci.dll file.
Solution
The oci.dll is not in the standard path. All Oracle components must be installed and configured properly. See Path.
Issue
Connect to ora12154:tns. Could not resolve service name (25519).
Solution
Must set up in TNS Names.ora.
Issue
Connect (session begin): error 1005. [Ora01005:null password given: Logon denied] in connecttoapi [vbxsupp.bas] (25519)
Solution
Check for a version mismatch between the Oracle client and server. See Upgrades above. Remove and reinstall the integration platform. For instructions, see the Getting Started help topic.