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Database links must be defined on the Application Server to establish a connection to the database that resides on the back end database engine. Each database to which you want to provide access is required to have its own database link. For example, if you want to provide access to the live company database, a sample database, and a training database, you would need to create three separate database links that connect to their own respective databases. Each database link utilizes an ODBC data source to establish the connection to the database. The procedures for creating data sources for the Microsoft SQL Server database engine are outlined in the next section.
Important! In general, you should not need to create database links within the Application Server. Database links are created automatically by the Installation and Configuration programs for your MetaCommunications product whenever a new database is created on Microsoft SQL Server. If your are using a distributed architecture with the Application Server residing on a different server than the MS SQL Database, database links will have to be configured.
Creating a database link in the Application Server Shell
1. Select Database Links from the Configuration menu. This will open the Database Links Setup dialog box if it is not open or bring it to the front if it is already open.
2. Click New to create a new database link. A Create Database Link dialog window will appear, allowing you to define the new database link you want to create.
Note: These instructions may be used to modify an existing database link by selecting an existing database link and clicking UPDATE.
3. Type the name of the new database link in the Name field. The database link name should be something understandable to end users of the client applications, since they will need to select a database link to use the first time they run a client application. Example names could include “Company_Database” or “Training_Database.”
4. Select an existing data source from the Data Source popup or click NEW to create a new data source. If you are creating a new ODBC data source for Microsoft SQL Server, please refer to the instructions in the next section.
5. After the data source has been selected (or created), type the Login ID and password to be used with the data source in the corresponding fields. The Login ID and password should be the ID and password initially used to create the database on SQL Server. If you are unsure of this information, please consult the Database Administrator.
6. Click OK to add the new database link. The Application Server will attempt to connect to the database using the new data source. If the attempt succeeds, the new database link will be listed in the Database Link Setup window.
7. Click Close to close the Database Links Setup window and make the new database link available for use by the client applications.