Setting up an ODBC User Data Source Name (DSN)

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5. Setting up an ODBC User Data Source Name (DSN)

Introduction

An ODBC User DSN defines a connection to a data source. An ODBC User DSN:

• Can be created and configured without administrator privileges
• Only accessible by the user who created the DSN.
• Convenient for connecting ODBC aware desktop applications to Fernhill SCADA.

The setup instructions depend on whether you are accessing data from a Windows or Linux computer:

• Setup an ODBC User DSN on Windows
• Setup an ODBC User DSN for UnixODBC on Linux

Setting up an ODBC User DSN on Windows

To set up an ODBC user DSN on Windows to Fernhill SCADA follow these steps:

1. Open the Control Panel.
2. From the Control Panel, open Administrative Tools.
3. Open Data Sources (ODBC).

   The ODBC Data Source Administrator opens:

   
4. Click Add...

   The Create New Data Source dialog opens:

   

   Note: The list of drivers on your computer may be different to the list shown above.

5. Select Fernhill SCADA, scrolling down the list if necessary.

   The Fernhill SCADA DSN Configuration dialog opens:

   
6. Enter the following information:
   
   

   Field	Typical data
   Name	My Fernhill SCADA
   Description	Connection to local server
   Server	localhost

7. Click OK to close the Fernhill SCADA DSN Configuration dialog.

   The new connection to Fernhill SCADA will appear in the ODBC Data Source Administrator:

   

   Note: If you are running Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, or Windows Vista, the Platform column is not shown.

8. Click OK to close the ODBC Data Source Administrator.

Setting up an ODBC User DSN for UnixODBC on Linux

There are two different ways to configure ODBC User DSNs for UnixODBC on Linux:

• Configure an ODBC User DSN for UnixODBC using the GUI Interface
• Configure an ODBC User DSN for UnixODBC using the command line

These instructions assume you have registered the Fernhill SCADA ODBC Driver with UnixODBC. If you have not registered the Fernhill SCADA ODBC Driver with UnixODBC do so now. The instructions depend on the Linux distribution you are using:

• Register the ODBC Driver with UnixODBC on Debian Linux
• Register the ODBC Driver with UnixODBC on Raspbian Linux
• Register the ODBC Driver with UnixODBC on Ubuntu Linux

Configure an ODBC User DSN for UnixODBC Using the GUI Interface

Follow these steps to use the UnixODBC GUI tool ODBCManageDataSourcesQ4 to configure an ODBC User DSN for Fernhill SCADA:

1. Open a terminal window.
2. In the terminal window enter this command to start the UnixODBC ODBC Administrator:

   ODBCManageDataSourcesQ4

   Note: If you see a Command not found error, install the unixodbc-bin package. The UnixODBC ODBC Administrator is part of this package.

   The UnixODBC ODBC Administrator window opens:

   
   
   
3. Click the Add... button.

   The Create New Data Source dialog opens:

   

   Note: The list of drivers on your computer may be different to the list shown above.

4. Select the Fernhill SCADA entry using a SINGLE MOUSE CLICK, then click OK.

   Note: Try to avoid double clicking the Fernhill SCADA entry. A double click will open a dialog to configure the Driver properties.

   The Data Source Properties (new) dialog opens:

   

   See Supported ODBC Keywords for information on how these values change the ODBC driver behaviour.

5. Enter the following values:
   
   

   Field	Typical data
   Name	FHS
   Description	Connection to Fernhill SCADA
   Server	localhost

   In the Server field you can enter any of the following to connect to another computer:

   • A node name,
   • A fully qualified domain name,
   • An IP Address.

6. Click OK to close the Data Source Properties (new) dialog.

   The configured DSN is now shown in the ODBC Administrator dialog:

   
   
   
7. Click OK to close the ODBC Administrator dialog.

Configure an ODBC User DSN for UnixODBC using the command line

Follow these steps to use the UnixODBC command line tool odbcinst to configure an ODBC User DSN for Fernhill SCADA:

1. Open a terminal window.
2. Using an editor of your choice create a text file called unixodbc-fhs with this content:

   [FHS]
   Description=Connection to Fernhill SCADA
   Driver=Fernhill SCADA
   Server=localhost

   In the Server entry you can use any of the following to connect to another computer:

   • A node name,
   • A fully qualified domain name,
   • An IP Address.

   See Supported ODBC Keywords for a detailed description of the keywords supported by the ODBC Driver.

3. Enter the following command to register the driver:

   odbcinst -i -s -h -f unixodbc-fhs

Further Information

Diagnosing Connection Problems

If you are having problems connecting to a Fernhill SCADA Server.

Setting up an ODBC System DSN

For instructions on setting up an ODBC System DSN.

Setting up an ODBC Data Source Name (DSN)

For an overview of the different types of ODBC Data Source Name.

Glossary

For the meaning of terms used in Fernhill SCADA.

Fernhill SCADA Version 3.49. Copyright © 2012-2020 Fernhill Software Ltd: All rights reserved.