ODBC Connection Parameters

You specify connection parameters when you create a data source or modify a data source connection.

For more information, see Data source connections.

Table 1. ODBC connection parameters
Parameter Description

ODBC data source

Enter the data source name (DSN) as defined in the ODBC.ini file.

For more information about the ODBC.ini file, see the IBM® Cognos® Analytics Installation and Configuration Guide.

ODBC connect string

Enter any text that must be appended to the connection string.

This parameter is typically left blank.

Collation sequence

Enter the collation sequence to be included in the database connection string.

Collation sequences are required only in rare cases where there may be sorting discrepancies between IBM Cognos software and a database.

Open asynchronously

Select if you want the connection to process requests independent of each other. Do not select if you want the connection to complete the current request before starting another one.

Unicode ODBC

When the UNICODE option is checked the ODBC API for Unicode will be called otherwise the non-Unicode ODBC API will be called.

When the non-UNICODE API is called, SQL statements and parameters will be encoded in the character set of the machine where the query engine is running.

For more details on the ODBC API and UNICODE support refer to the Microsoft ODBC API reference.

Timeouts

Specify the time in seconds within which you want the database to connect or wait for your reply before timing out.

Valid entries are zero to 32,767. To have the database have wait indefinitely, enter zero, which is the default.

Signon

For more information on signon, see Securing data sources.

For Teradata, Microsoft SQL, and generic ODBC:

  • If no authentication is required, select No authentication.
  • If the credentials to the database match the credentials used to logon to the IBM Cognos environment, for single signon, select An external namespace and select the appropriate namespace.
  • If authentication is required, select Signons. If a password is required, select the Password check box and enter the password in the Password and Confirm password boxes. To create a user ID and password that automatically connects to the data source, select Create a signon that the Everyone group can use. Enter the User ID and then enter the password in the Password and Confirm password boxes.