Applied Information
Sciences
UniAccess
WHITE PAPERS
LAST UPDATED: May 31, 2005
Using Microsoft SQL Server with UniAccess
This paper discusses methods of using UniAccess with Microsoft SQL Server. The paper covers two topics:
Calling UniAccess Using Microsoft SQL Server Distributed Queries, and Using UniAccess to Replicate
Microsoft SQL Server Data to RDMS 2200.
Calling UniAccess Using Microsoft SQL Server Distributed Queries
This section defines how to call UniAccess using Microsoft SQL Server’s Distributed Query feature.
There are four methods that can be used to access RDMS databases: Four-part names,
OPENQUERY, OPENROWSET, and, beginning with SQL Server 2000, OPENDATASOURCE. Using
the four-part names and OPENQUERY methods, the UniAccess server must first be configured as a
Linked Server under SQL Server. Then distributed queries can be made against UniAccess ODBC
Server for OS 2200 and/or UniAccess Transaction Server for OS 2200.
Configuring UniAccess as a Microsoft SQL Server Linked Server
Microsoft SQL Server linked servers are OLE DB data sources that can be referenced using fourpart names in distributed queries.
1. Using the ODBC Data Source Administrator, create a System DSN using UADriver.
This is the UniAccess server for which you will create a Microsoft SQL Server Linked
Server. Test the connection using the Test tab in the UniAccess configuration dialog.
2. Using the SQL Server Enterprise Manager (depicted in Figure 1), expand a server
group, expand a server, and then expand Security.
3. Right-click Linked Servers; then click New Linked Server. The Linked Server
Properties — New Linked Server dialog will open.
4. On the General tab, specify the name of the server to add as a linked server. This will be
the name that is used from T-SQL. It can be, but need not be, the same as the DSN
created in step 1.
5. Under Server Type, select Other data source.
6. Under Provider Name, select Microsoft OLE DB Provider for ODBC Drivers.
7. There are several options for the next step. The approach taken will be dictated by the
type of security desired. The following is one of the options as depicted in Figure 2,
Figure 3, and Figure 4:
a. Under the Provider String option specify a connection string as follows:
DSN=uasystemdsn;UID=userid;PWD=password
where:
uasystemdsn is the System DSN created in step 1 above.
userid is a valid OS 2200 userid.
password (optional) is a valid OS 2200 password. This is (required if
TIP session control is active, otherwise, leave blank).
b. Under the Security Tab, select Be made without using a security context.
c. Use the Linked Server Options tab to view or set the values for the various
options.
d. Close the Linked Server Properties dialog. The new linked server should appear
under Linked Servers in the SQL Server Enterprise Manager window (as
depicted in Figure 5).
8. If you wish to run a SQL Server select query using four-part names against the linked
server, you must configure your UniAccess DSN to support the owner field. To
accomplish this, go into the UADriver Setup for your particular DSN, select the
Advanced tab, and set Workarounds to 32 (see Figure 6).
Applied Information Sciences
2
Figure 1: SQL Server Enterprise Manager
Applied Information Sciences
3
Figure 2: Linked Server Properties Dialog — General
Applied Information Sciences
4
Figure 3: Linked Server Properties Dialog — Security
Applied Information Sciences
5
Figure 4: Linked Server Properties Dialog — Server Options
Applied Information Sciences
6
Figure 5: SQL Server Enterprise Manager Showing New UniAccess Linked Server
Applied Information Sciences
7
Accessing RDMS 2200 Databases Using Microsoft SQL Server’s Distributed Query
Feature
RDMS 2200 databases can be accessed indirectly through Microsoft SQL Server using OPENQUERY,
four-part names, OPENROWSET, and OPENDATASOURCE methods as T-SQL statements. The
OPENQUERY and four-part names statement require a linked server be configured as described
above. The OPENROWSET and OPENDATASOURCE methods, also known as ad hoc queries,
do not require a linked server. All these methods provide read-only access (SQL SELECT) to
RDMS data. In order to update RDMS data, we recommend using distributed query to call RPCs,
discussed at the end of this section.
Note: The root cause of update statements not working is that SQL Server (OLE DB/ADO) is
attempting to retrieve information about each of the columns in the insert list via
SQLColAttributes. For example, a call is made to SQLColAttributes to obtain the owner of the
column. The owner information is not available as a column attribute.
UADriver cannot return the owner information on a column basis via SQLColAttributes, since the
only information available regarding a column is that returned by RDMS via DECLARE ...
CURSOR ... WITH DESCRIPTION. Furthermore, it is limited by the TDS, which does not send
the qualifier (a.k.a. RDMS schema), nor table name.
If the update statements could be submitted using four-part names, performance would likely be
unacceptable. When updating data on a linked server using four-part names, SQL Server will
retrieve all of the data in the table (or set of tables), descriptive information about each column,
and then submit the update statement. For additional information, please see the Microsoft
Knowledge Base article "PRB: Slow DELETE or UPDATE Against Non-SQL Linked Server"
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;309182.
Accessing RDMS 2200 Databases Using Microsoft SQL Server’s OPENQUERY
The OPENQUERY function accepts two parameters: the name of the linked server and the text
of the query to pass. The format of a SQL select statement using OPENQUERY is as follows:
<SQL select statement> FROM OPENQUERY (linkedserver.<select
statement>[database].[owner].table
where:
linkedserver is the name of the linked server specified in step 4 of Configuring UniAccess as
a Microsoft SQL Server Linked Server above. Note: The DSN associated with this linked
server must be configured with Workarounds = 32. (Note: Expanding the table view
Applied Information Sciences
8
under the Linked Servers in the SQL Server Enterprise Manager will display the owner
under the Schema column.)
database (optional) is the name of the database. This field must be present if using a nondefault database.
owner (optional) is the name of the database owner or, if unowned, the values "PUBLIC" or
[PUBLIC]. If this field is present, workarounds must be set to 32.
table is the name of the table.
The following examples show SQL select statements using a OPENQUERY:
SELECT a.* FROM OPENQUERY (LINK2UNIACCESS, 'select * from
UASAMPLE.SECOFFUSERID.employee') as a
SELECT a.* FROM OPENQUERY (LINK2UNIACCESS, 'select last_name from..employee') as a
A more complex OPENQUERY statement demonstrates the ability to merge data from separate servers:
SELECT distinct * FROM OPENQUERY(LINK2UNIACCESS, 'select * from UNIACCESS..
EMPLOYEE') a, SQLSERVERDATABASE..SQLSERVERTABLE b where a.column1 =
b.column1
Accessing RDMS 2200 Databases Using Microsoft SQL Server’s Four-Part Names
The format of a SQL select statement using four-part names is as follows:
<SQL select statement> FROM linkedserver.[database].[owner].table
where:
linkedserver is the name of the linked server specified in step 4 of Configuring UniAccess as
a Microsoft SQL Server Linked Server above. Note: The DSN associated with this linked
server must be configured with Workarounds = 32.
database (optional) is the name of the database. This field must be present if using a nondefault database.
owner (optional) is the name of the database owner or, if unowned, the values "PUBLIC" or
[PUBLIC]. If this field is present, workarounds must be set to 32. (Note: Expanding the
table view under the Linked Servers in the SQL Server Enterprise Manager will
display the owner under the Schema column.)
table is the name of the table.
The following examples show SQL select statements using four-part names:
Applied Information Sciences
9
SELECT * FROM
LINK2UNIACCESS.UASAMPLE.SECOFFUSERID.EMPLOYEE
SELECT * FROM LINK2UNIACCESS.UASAMPLE."PUBLIC".EMPLOYEE
SELECT LAST_NAME FROM LINK2UNIACCESS..EMPLOYEE
Accessing RDMS 2200 Databases Using Microsoft SQL Server’s OPENROWSET
The OPENROWSET statement can be used without a linked server because the entire connection string
can be supplied right in the OPENROWSET statement. The format of a SQL select statement using
OPENROWSET is as follows:
<SQL select statement> FROM OPENROWSET (‘MSDASQL’,
DRIVER=dsn;HOST=host;PORT=port;UID=userid;PWD=password’,<select statement
FROM database..table)
where:
dsn is the UniAccess datasource.
host is the name or the i.p. address of the host.
port is the port number for the UniAccess server.
userid is the userid used to log in to the UniAccess server.
password is the password to log in to the UniAccess server (required if TIP session control is
active, otherwise, leave blank).
The following is an example of a SQL select statement using OPENROWSET:
select a.* from
openrowset('MSDASQL','Driver={UniAccess};host=10.1.1.16;port=2050;uid=bluefish;
pwd=111111', 'Select * from uasample.employee') as a
Accessing RDMS 2200 Databases Using Microsoft SQL Server’s OPENDATASOURCE
The OPENDATASOURCE statement, introduced with SQL Server 2000, Provides ad hoc
connection information as part of a four-part object name without using a linked server name. The
format of a SQL statement using OPENROWSET is as follows:
<SQL select statement> FROM OPENDATASOURCE (‘MSDASQL’,
Applied Information Sciences
10
DSN=dsn;UID=userid;PWD=password’)
where:
dsn is the UniAccess datasource.
userid is the userid used to log in to the UniAccess server.
password is the password to log in to the UniAccess server (required if TIP session control is
active, otherwise, leave blank).
The following is an example of a SQL select statement using the OPENROWSET method:
SELECT * FROM OPENDATASOURCE
('MSDASQL', 'dsn=uacsdsn;UID=bluefish;PWD=111111').
UASAMPLE.SECOFFUSERID.EMPLOYEE
Applied Information Sciences
11
Calling UniAccess RPCs using Microsoft SQL Server’s Distributed Query Feature
Due to compatibility differences between SQL Server and RDMS, SQL UPDATE, INSERT, and DELETE
statements will not work using any of the above referenced methods. We suggest using a UniAccess
Server-Library transaction to update the RDMS data – either a user-written transaction or UARS.
The format of calling a user-written RPC is as follows:
linkedserver.database..rpcname <parameterlist>
where:
linkedserver is the name of the linked server specified in step 4 of Configuring UniAccess as a
Microsoft SQL Server Linked Server above.
rpcname is the name of the user-written UASL Transaction
parameterlist (optional) is the RPC parameter list.
The following is an example of calling a user-written UASL Transaction using a linked server:
LINK2UNIACCESS.UASAMPLE..get_employee @first_name='R%', @last_name='%'
The format of a SQL statement calling the language transaction (UARS) is as follows:
Linkedserver[.database]..UARS ‘<SQL Statement>’
where:
linkedserver is the name of the linked server specified in step 4 of Configuring UniAccess as a
Microsoft SQL Server Linked Server above.
database (optional) is the name of the database in which the stored procedure is located. This
is only necessary if UARS is being called in a non-default database.
UARS is the name of the language transaction.
Following are examples of calling the language transaction (UARS) using linked servers:
LINK2UNIACCESS...UARS ‘delete from employee where last_name = ‘’Doe’’’
LINK2UNIACCESS.UASAMPLE..UARS ‘select * from employee where first_name=’’Roger’’’
Applied Information Sciences
12
Using UniAccess to Replicate Microsoft SQL Server Data to RDMS
2200
Microsoft SQL Server version 6.5 and later have the capability to replicate data to ODBC data sources.
The following diagram represents the flow of data from two Microsoft SQL Server databases to an
RDMS 2200 database using UniAccess as the conduit. Typical uses for this type of application would
be the accumulation of remote office data into a corporate-wide data warehouse running under RDMS
2200. Attributes such as the frequency of replication, the size of the commit batches, and synchronization
strategies can all be configured using this architecture.
Figure 6: Replicating SQL Server and UniAccess
To configure SQL Server and UniAccess for replication, perform the following steps:
1. If the SQL Server is not configured for publishing, use the SQL Server Enterprise Manager to
configure the server for publishing. Highlight the appropriate SQL Server, select
Tools/Replication/Configure Publishing, Subscribers, and Distributors, which will start a wizard
to guide you through the process.
2. Install the 32-bit UADriver. Create a system DSN for the UniAccess ODBC data source. The
DSN must be configured with the following options:
Applied Information Sciences
13
Tab
Setting
Value
Contents
UARS
Support Manual
Commit
Yes
UARS
Convert Varchar to
Char
Yes
UARS
Storage Area
Selected
UARS
Support SQL Server
Replication
Yes
Advanced
Support Distributed
Transactions
n/a
Only required if immediate updating is desired. This is a
radio button; therefore, it is selected with no value.
Advanced
UADTC Location
Yes
Only required if immediate updating is desired.
The storage area must be created prior to attempting
replication. Failure to provide a storage area will result in
replication failing.
Note: The userid that is used for replication must be allowed to set the above configuration
items. This can be verified by running the test available under the Test tab of UADriver.
3.
To create a publication for replication, use the SQL Server Enterprise
Manager:
a. Select the Tools/Replication/Create and Manage Publications menu item,
which opens a dialog. Click the Create Publication . . . button which starts the
Create Publication Wizard. Click Next.
b. On the Choose Publication Database page, select the database you wish to
replicate and click the Next button. On the Select Publication Type page,
select the publication type. Click Next.
c. On the Specify Subscriber Types page, the response is dependent upon the
version of SQL Server. Select Heterogeneous data sources . . . . Multiple
types of servers can be selected. Click Next.
d. On the Specify Articles page, select the tables to be replicated. Click Next..
e. On the Select Publication Name and Description page, select a name and,
optionally, a description. Click Next.
f.
On the Customize the Properties of the Publication page, make a selection.
Click Next. If you have chosen to customize the properties, additional pages will
be displayed.
Applied Information Sciences
14
g. On the Completing the Create Publication Wizard page, click Finish.
4. To verify the properties of the publication agent using the SQL Server Enterprise
Manager:
a. Under the appropriate server, expand the Replication Monitor folder and the
Agents folder.
b. In the Snapshot Agents folder, highlight the publication. Right click on the
publication and select Agent Properties . . . .
c. Set the appropriate values and click OK. If no values are changed, click
Cancel.
5. To start the publication agent using the SQL Server Enterprise Manager:
a. Under the appropriate server, expand the Replication Monitor folder and the
Agents folder.
b. In the Snapshot Agents folder, highlight the publication. Right click on your
selected publication in the right panel and select Start Agent (see Figure 6).
6. To configure your DSN as a subscriber using the SQL Enterprise Manager:
a. Select the Tools/Replication/Configure Publishing, Subscribers, and
Distribution . . menu item, which opens a dialog.
b. Click on the Subscribers tab and the New button.
c. Select ODBC data source and OK.
d. Select your DSN, fill in the login information if needed and click OK.
7.
To push the subscription to your DSN using the SQL Enterprise Manager:
a. Under the appropriate server, select the
Tools/Replication/Push Subscriptions to Others . . . menu
item.
b. Highlight the selected publication and select Push New
Subscription . . . . This will start the Push Subscription Wizard.
Click Next.
c. On the Choose Subscribers page, select the subscriber
associated with your DSN and click Next.
d. On the Chose Destination Database page, either accept the
default name or provide an RDMS database name. Click
Next.
Applied Information Sciences
15
e. On the Set Distribution Agent Schedule page, make your
selections and click Next.
f.
On the Initialize Subscription page, make your selections and click Next.
g. On the Start Required Services page, make your selections and click Next.
h. On the Completing the Push Subscription Wizard page, verify your
selections and click Finish.
8. To start the Snapshot agent using the SQL Enterprise Manager:
a. Expand Replication Monitor/Agents and select Snapshot Agents.
b. In the right panel, right click on the snapshot agent and select Start Agent
Start (see Figure 7).
9. To start the Distribution Agent using the SQL Enterprise Manager:
a. Expand Replication Monitor/Agents and select Distribution Agents.
b. In the right panel, right click on the distribution agent and select Start
Agent (see Figure 8).
10. To troubleshoot, check the status of the various agents.
Applied Information Sciences
16
Figure 7: Snapshot Agent’s Result Panel
Applied Information Sciences
17
Applied Information Sciences
18
DISCLAIMER
Permission to use this document is granted, provided that (1) this permission, as well as the disclaimer and copyright notice that follow
appear in all copies, (2) use of this document is for informational and non-commercial or personal use only, and (3) the document is not
modified in any way.
APPLIED INFORMATION SCIENCES, INC. AND/OR ITS RESPECTIVE SUPPLIERS MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS
ABOUT THE SUITABILITY OF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS DOCUMENT FOR ANY PURPOSE. THIS
DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. APPLIED INFORMATION SCIENCES, INC.
AND/OR THEIR RESPECTIVE SUPPLIERS HEREBY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS WITH
REGARD TO THIS INFORMATION, INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL APPLIED
INFORMATION SCIENCES, INC. AND/OR THEIR RESPECTIVE SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT OR
CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS,
WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN
CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF INFORMATION AVAILABLE IN THIS DOCUMENT.
THIS DOCUMENT COULD INCLUDE TECHNICAL INACCURACIES OR TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS. CHANGES ARE
PERIODICALLY ADDED TO THE INFORMATION HEREIN. APPLIED INFORMATION SCIENCES, INC. AND/ OR
THEIR RESPECTIVE SUPPLIERS MAY MAKE IMPROVEMENTS AND/OR CHANGES IN THE PRODUCT(S) AND/OR
THE PROGRAM(S) DESCRIBED HEREIN AT ANY TIME.
IN NO EVENT SHALL APPLIED INFORMATION SCIENCES, INC AND/OR ITS RESPECTIVE SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE
FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING
FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS
ACTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF SOFTWARE, DOCUMENTS,
PROVISION OF OR FAILURE TO PROVIDE SERVICES, OR INFORMATION AVAILABLE FROM THIS SERVER.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE. Copyright 2005 Applied Information Sciences, Inc., 1850 Centennial Park Drive, Reston, Virginia,
20191 U.S.A. All rights reserved.
TRADEMARKS. Product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Any rights not expressly granted herein are reserved.
Applied Information Sciences
19