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This is a step-by-step
document on how to create a Microsoft Access DSN for use in a ASP page.
Each step will be accompanied by a screenshot to illustrate the procedure.
There are separate sections for the RaQ3 and RaQ4 in each step of the
procedure. Instructions for either the RaQ3 or RaQ4 will begin in BOLD
GREEN text.
Microsoft databases
cannot run on Cobalt servers. This is not a limitation of Cobalt products
but rather a deficiency in those applications. MS Access and MS SQL Server
can only run on Windows platforms.
This is a HOW-TO for
MS Access only. Chili!ASP ships with a direct ODBC driver for MS SQL Server
7 which negates the need for Step 1 of this document. In fact, the procedure
to create a DSN for MS SQL Server 7 is almost the same as the HOW-TO
for MySQL.
Step
1
On
your Windows OS with your database installed,
you will need to install
this program. (download this zip file and run the setup
program - if running under NT or Windows 2000, you will need administrator
rights to install the program)
- See Step 13 on how to uninstall this Sequelink software.
When prompted for
the Serial and Key, enter EVAL under Serial. To avoid the 30 day
evaluation period, contact Chili!Soft Support at tech@chilisoft.com
to fully unlock the product.
It will auto-detect
the databases on your system (in this case, Access) and show the screen
below for Access:
Remember the name
(SLSocket) given here - it will be used later on in this HOW-TO.
The defaults are usually
fine. Click OK and it will complete the installation.
Other
steps that need to be performed (assuming it is a Windows NT 4.0 machine):
Enable access to
the OS via a pre-defined user account with appropriate rights to read/write/execute
in the directory where the Access MDB files are located.
Consult your nearest
NT/Win2000 Systems Administrator for help if you are unsure about this
process.
In my example below,
I've shared D:\Temp and put the database files in D:\Temp\MSAccess.
Step
2
For
a RaQ3, log into the Web Interface and view the Install
Software menu. Click on the Chilisoft ASP link listed under
Software on the Cobalt Server.
For
the RaQ4,
log into the Web Interface and view the Services menu under Control Panel.
Click on Parameters of the ASP Administrative Server.
IMPORTANT
NOTE
If the Parameters option is not available, you need to enable the checkbox
(and don't forget to Save Changes) to start the ASP Administrative Server
first.
Make sure ASP is
enabled for the main site of the RaQ4.
Step
3
For
a RaQ3, click on the link to the ASP Administration Console,
as shown below.
You will then be prompted
to log in (see screenshot below) - the default login name is
admin - the default password is root
For
the RaQ4,
you will be prompted to log in. The login user name is admin - the
password is the same as your Cobalt admin password.
Step
4
For
a RaQ3, click on the Manage a server link.
Next, click on the
properties link.
Step
5
For
a RaQ3, click on the Databases link.
For
a RaQ4, click on the Databases link.
Step
6
For
a RaQ3, click on Add New DSN.
For
a RaQ4, click on Add New DSN.
Step
7
For
a RaQ3, select SequeLink and click Next.
For
a RaQ4, select SequeLink and click Next.
Step
8
For
a RaQ3, enter a DSN name and description and click Next.
For
a RaQ4, enter a DSN name and description and click Next.
Step
9
For
a RaQ3, enter the details of the DSN and click Next.
For
a RaQ4, enter details of the DSN and click Next.
The LogonID and Password
fields can be ignored for now - unless you enabled them for your database,
then enter the proper identification here.
The Database field
is the full path and filename of the Access MDB file.
e.g.
C:\Access\Example.mdb
The syntax of the
Database field follows standard Microsoft naming conventions - as in the
backslash (\) instead of the forward slash (/) in directory names as well
as defining which drive it is on.
You need to give
a name for the SQLnkDSN - call it anything you want, with
no spaces or special characters. Remember this value as you will need
it later on.
This will lead to
the following screen to complete the Add New DSN process.
Step
10
For
a RaQ3 and RaQ4, telnet into your Cobalt box, log in as admin
and type "su -" to log in as root.
Next, type "cd
/home/chiliasp/asp-apache-3000"
The program you want
to run is called setsqlnk - type "./setsqlnk"
Select 2 to Add a
New entry. It will prompt for a name. This value directly corresponds
to the SQLnkDSN entry in Step 7.
In my example, it
was called Access1 - so I need to call this new SQLnk entry Access1.
Next, it will prompt
for a description (optional) and transliteration - if you
press Enter for each of these prompts, it'll accept the default values
which is fine.
Next, choose TCP/IP
network (it is the only available choice) and enter the IP address
of the Windows machine with both database and extra software installed.
For Server Type,
pick Windows NT.
At the user
prompt, enter the valid NT/Win2000 username that has rights to
the machine for database access. Enter the password for the user
as well.
Next,
select option 12 for MS Access.
There
is a
IMPORTANT
NOTE
If the Access file requires a Username and Password, you will need to
select option 14 (ODBC Socket). When the ASP connection string is setup,
include the UID= and PWD= arguments.
Enter the name
of the service given in Step 1 - it defaults to SLSocket.
At the database
prompt, enter the path and filename to the Access MDB file.
This completes the
addition of the new entry.
The next step is to
test the connection - do so by selecting option 6. Should it fail,
you can edit the entry again via option 4.
If
the test fails, go to your NT/Windows 2000 machine and check the Services
tab in Control Panel (under Administrator Tools in Windows 2000) - make
sure the SLSocket service is started.
TIP
Assuming you placed all your Access MDB files in the same location (directory),
the creation of this SQLnkDSN need only be performed once - you can control
which Access file is used via the creation of the DSN in the ASP Administrative
Console (Step 9).
Step
11
For
a RaQ3, test the DSN you just created by clicking on test.
For
a RaQ4, test the DSN you just created by clicking on test.
IMPORTANT
NOTE
On machines without the latest Chili!ASP patch, the Test DSN link will
give the Failed error every time after it fails once. Either install
the patch by clicking on this link (the patch is a standard PKG file
that you install via the RaQ's User Interface) or restart the ASP engine
each time this occurs.
It is
included in OS Update 1.0 for the RaQ4
and Chili!ASP
Interbase Fix for the RaQ3
Step
12
For
a RaQ3 and RaQ4, here is an example of the ASP code using a
DSN called AccessTest.
<%
ConnString = "DSN=AccessTest"
Set Conn = Server.CreateObject("ADODB.Connection")
Conn.Open ConnString
Conn.Execute .....
....
....
Conn.Close
Set Conn = Nothing
%>
For
a RaQ3 and RaQ4, here is an example of the ASP code using a
DSN called AccessTest that is password protected.
<%
ConnString = "DSN=AccessTest;UID=AccessUser;PWD=Password"
Set Conn = Server.CreateObject("ADODB.Connection")
Conn.Open ConnString
Conn.Execute .....
....
....
Conn.Close
Set Conn = Nothing
%>
Step
13
To
uninstall the Sequelink software from your Windows machine,
first, stop the service that is running.
Open up the registry
editor and remove the following keys:
HKLM\SOFTWARE\INTERSOLV
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\SLSocket
Next, delete the
Program Group in the Start Menu as well as the installed software
directory, usually in Program Files\SequeLink Server.
Restart the box.
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