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Configuring Oracle BI ODBC Data Source Names (DSNs)


In a non-English environment, you cannot use a direct ODBC connection to Oracle BI Server. Only the Oracle BI Presentation Services client can connect directly to Oracle BI Server in a non-English environment.

This procedure applies to Windows-based operating systems.

To create a new data source

  1. Open the Windows ODBC Control Panel applet by selecting Start > Settings > Control Panel, and then double-click the ODBC Data Sources icon.

    If you are running Windows 2000 or XP, the Data Sources (ODBC) icon is available under Administrative Tools.

  2. In the ODBC Data Source Administrator dialog box, click the System DSN tab, and then click Add.
  3. Select the Oracle BI Server driver from the Create New Data Source dialog, and then click Finish.

    The first DSN Configuration screen appears.

  4. Type a name for the data source in the Name field.
  5. (Optional) Type a description in the Description field.
  6. If this data source will not participate in a cluster, in the Server field at the bottom of the screen, select the machine on which the Oracle BI Server is running.

    If the server name does not appear in the drop-down list, type the name in the Server field. This needs to be the NetBIOS name (computer name) of the machine.

  7. If this data source is to participate in a cluster, do the following:
    1. Select the option Is this a Clustered DSN?

      This causes the fields Primary Controller and Secondary Controller to become active, and the Server field to become inactive.

    2. Type the name of the machine that is specified as the primary Cluster Controller (from the parameter PRIMARY_CONTROLLER in the NQClusterConfig.INI file). This needs to be the NetBIOS name (computer name) of the machine.
    3. If a secondary Cluster Controller has been specified (from the parameter SECONDARY_CONTROLLER in the NQClusterConfig.INI file), type the name of the machine in the Secondary Controller field. The computer name must be unique from that of the primary Cluster Controller.
    4. To test the connection to the Cluster Controller, click Test Connect.

      A message indicates if the connection was tested successfully. If the test is not successful, correct any error identified in the message and test the connection again.

  8. In the next DSN Configuration screen, type a valid user ID and password for the repository to which you want the data source to connect. If you are using Windows operating system authentication, leave this field blank. You will then log into the Oracle BI Server with the logon ID of your Windows account.
  9. If you want to save your logon ID in the repository, check the option Save login ID.

    If you check this option, you will not have to type your logon information each time you connect.

  10. In the Port field, specify the TCP/IP port the Oracle BI Server is using for client/server communications.

    The default port is 9703. This port number should match the port number specified in the parameter RPC_SERVICE_OR_PORT in the Server section in the NQSConfig.INI file. If you change the port number in the configuration file, remember to reconfigure any affected ODBC data sources to use the new port number.

    NOTE:  The default client/server communication method for the Oracle BI Server has changed from Distributed component object model (DCOM) to TCP/IP. Support for DCOM will be discontinued in a future release. For sites already running the Oracle BI Server that want to continue to use DCOM until support is discontinued, leave this field set to its default value and define a Windows system environment variable named NQUIRE_DCOM to force the usage of DCOM. Set the variable value to 1. (To define a system environment variable, select System from the Control Panel, click the Advanced tab, and then click the Environment Variables button to open the Environment Variables dialog box.)

  11. If you want to connect to a repository other than the default repository, select the option Change the default repository to, and then type the logical name of the repository (as it appears in the NQSConfig.INI file) to which you want to connect in the field below the check box.

    If this option is not selected, the data source will connect to the repository marked as the default repository in the NQSConfig.INI file, or to the first repository listed if none of the entries is marked as the default.

  12. Select the option Connect to Oracle BI Server to obtain default settings for additional configuration.

    The setup will attempt to connect to the server to obtain information about the business models in the repository. If you do not select this option, you can still configure the DSN by manually entering the information in the next configuration screen.

  13. Click Next to advance to the next window.
  14. To change the default catalog, select the option Change the default catalog to, and then type the name of the catalog in the field below the check box.

    The default catalog is the catalog folder that appears at the top of the Presentation layer in the Administration Tool. For the DSN used by Oracle BI Presentation Services, it is better to leave this check box clear with the drop-down box showing no entry.

    You can also specify user IDs and passwords for the underlying databases to which the Oracle BI Server connects. If you specify database user IDs and passwords, those are used to connect to the databases if user-specific database logon information is configured in the connection pools, as described in Creating or Changing Connection Pools. The database-specific user IDs and passwords allow privileged users to connect to the underlying databases at the level of authority granted to those users in the databases.

  15. At this point, you can change the password for the Oracle BI user the DSN logs in as (if the server is running in a writable mode). To change the password, you must have entered your logon information and selected the option Connect to Oracle BI in the previous screen. The new password is stored in encrypted form in the repository.
Oracle® Business Intelligence Server Administration Guide Copyright © 2007, Oracle. All rights reserved.