Use Oracle Databases

Use the Data Link Properties dialog box to compose a connection string that will enable your project to connect to an Oracle database instance via OLE DB.

This procedure is a supplement to other procedures that describe how to configure your project to connect to external databases. It assumes you have already opened the Data Link Properties dialog box, which is a standard Windows system interface, and it starts from that point. The Data Link Properties dialog box is invoked by Studio — for example, from the Database Configuration dialog box — but it is not actually a part of Studio. For a more comprehensive description of the Data Link Properties dialog box, go to: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/79t8s5dk(v=vs.90)

Before you begin this task, you should download and install the latest version of 32-bit Oracle Data Access Components (ODAC) for Windows, on both your project development workstation and the computer(s) that will host the project runtime / database gateway. (AVEVA Edge is a 32-bit application and therefore requires 32-bit providers.) To download the software, go to: www.oracle.com/technetwork/database/windows/downloads/utilsoft-087491.html

Most versions of Windows include Microsoft OLE DB Provider for Oracle, which is the provider that we recommended in the past. More recently, however, we have observed issues when we use that provider to try to connect to the latest version of Oracle, so we have determined it is better to use the providers that are made available by Oracle itself. The procedure below reflects that.

Note: This task was last tested using Oracle 10g Release 1.

To compose a connection string for an Oracle database instance:

1. In the Provider tab of the Data Link Properties dialog box, in the OLE DB Provider(s) list, select Oracle Provider for OLE DB.

2. Click Next.

   The Connection tab of the Data Link Properties dialog box is displayed.

3. In the Enter a server name field: enter the Oracle TNS name. The Transparent Network Substrate (TNS) name for the specific database instance, for example MyDatabase. This name references an entry in the server's tnsnames.ora file, which contains additional information about the database instances.

4. In the User name and Password boxes, type your credentials for the database instance.

5. Select the Allow saving password option.

6. Click Test Connection.

   A message is displayed to inform you if the test connection succeeded. If it did not, review your settings and then try again.

7. Click OK to close the Data Link Properties dialog box.

The connection string, user name, and password are automatically pasted into the database configuration. An example of the connection string is shown below:

Provider=OraOLEDB.Oracle.1; Data Source=MyDatabase