ODBC Source System: ODBC Database Connection Tab

Use

You create the connection to an ODBC source system on this tab.

Prerequisites

You have created the database file that you want to use as the data source as a Data Source Name (DSN) in the ODBC Data Source Adminstrator.

See also: Creating a DSN in the ODBC Data Source Administrator

Procedure

  1. In the menu, choose Start of the navigation pathPlant Connectivity Next navigation step New Next navigation step Source SystemEnd of the navigation path. Choose the ODBC source system entry in the dialog box.

    PCo creates the ODBC source system.

  2. On the ODBC Database Connection tab, enter the following data:

Field

Description

Data Source Name (DSN)

You can choose the database file that you created previously as a DSN as the data source here.

Each entry is identified either as a User DSN or as a System DSN.

User Name and Password

If the data source requires authentication, you can enter the logon data here.

Variant Representation

The ODBC agent supports some data types from the connected data source. PCo supports the following data types:

  • Integer

  • Boolean

  • Date

  • Double

  • Float

  • String

  • Time stamp

  • Decimal

If PCo does not find any of the mentioned data types in the database table to be read, PCo is to represent the data as follows:

  • Convert Data According to Data in First Row

    With this setting, PCo reads the first row of data and attempts to convert the data into one of the data types that are supported.

  • Convert Data Into String

    With this setting, PCo attempts to convert the column values into strings. The system displays a message if conversion is not possible. This is the default setting.

  • Flag Columns as "Unsupported"

    With this setting, PCo sets the column values to Unsupported.

Convert Server Date and Time Values to UTC

This setting is only possible in conjunction with the setting First. This enables the conversion of date and time values to UTC so that they are displayed correctly in SAP MII.

The SAP MII-PCo connection assumes any date or time value from the agent is in UTC; not all data sources return date and time values in UTC.

Time Zone of Server

This setting is only possible in conjunction with the setting Convert Data According to Data in First Row. Here you enter the time zone of the data server used to convert the local date and time values to UTC.

Result

The connection to the ODBC source system has now been established. You can now create the agent instance for this.