ODBC driver search behavior for configuration files

The default behavior of the ODBC driver is to search certain places in sequence to locate the two ODBC configuration files.

The Netezza Performance Server ODBC driver searches for the files as follows:
  1. If there is an NZ_ODBC_INI_PATH entry in the environment that describes a directory path, the driver first searches that directory for the odbcinst.ini and odbc.ini non-hidden configuration files.
  2. The driver then searches the home directory of the current user for the .odbcinst.ini and .odbc.ini hidden files. If the two configuration files exist as non-hidden files in the home directory of the user, the driver ignores them.
  3. If the driver does not find hidden configuration files in the home directory of the current user, it next searches the /usr/local/etc directory for the odbcinst.ini and odbc.ini non-hidden files. If the two configuration files exist as hidden files in the /usr/local/etc directory, the driver ignores them.

The way that a Netezza Performance Server ODBC driver searches for ODBC configuration files is straightforward and unambiguous. However, the driver manager that you install on the client system also uses the two ODBC configuration files. The way that a Netezza Performance Server ODBC driver searches for ODBC configuration files can sometimes conflict with the way that the driver manager searches for them. This can sometimes cause configuration problems.