This topic includes the following sections:
- Opening a system catalog from DBA
- Opening a system catalog from the command line
- If the system catalog won’t open...
To open a system catalog, you must have a connect file, and the user you log in with must have an access level of 254 or 255. For a system catalog that supports privilege-based users, you must use one of the initial users: DBA or DBADMIN. See Managing access with users, groups, and table settings for more information.
You can open a system catalog from DBA (by selecting Catalog > Open) or by using the -c option when you start DBA from the command line.
Opening a system catalog from DBA
| 1. | Start DBA, and then select Catalog > Open. |
| 2. | Complete the fields in the Open System Catalog window: |
Connect file
The name of the connect file for the system catalog. Unless you specify a path, the connect file must be in the GENESIS_HOME directory. Optionally, you can enter the entire connect string in this field:
user_name/password/connect_filename
User name
A case-sensitive alphanumeric name, which is stored in the system catalog. The user you log in with must have an access level of 254 or 255. For a system catalog that supports privilege-based users, you must use one of the initial users: DBA or DBADMIN. See Managing access with users, groups, and table settings for more information.
Password
The password for the user. The default password for the DBA and DBADMIN users is MANAGER.
| 3. | Click OK. If the DBA program can open the system catalog, the Open System Catalog window will close, and the information line at the bottom of the main DBA window will have the message “Connected to catalog connect_filename as user_name.” |
Opening a system catalog from the command line
You can open DBA and your system catalog in one step from the command line. (You can specify other command-line options after the -c option. See Options .)
- At a Windows or Unix prompt, use the following syntax:
dbr SODBC_DBA:xfdba.dbr -c user_name/password/connect_filename
- At an OpenVMS prompt, use the following syntax:
$ XFDBA -C user_name/password/connect_filename
The DBA program will open. If DBA can open the system catalog, the information line at the bottom of the main DBA window will have the message “Connected to catalog connect_filename as user_name.”
For example, to open the system catalog for the sample database in a Windows or Unix environment, enter
dbr SODBC_DBA:xfdba.dbr -c DBADMIN/MANAGER/sodbc_sa
To open the system catalog for the sample database in an OpenVMS environment, enter
$ XFDBA -C DBADMIN/MANAGER/SODBC_SA
These examples assume that your connect file is sodbc_sa, that SODBC_DBA is set to the directory where the DBA program resides, and that GENESIS_HOME is set to the directory where the connect file resides.
If the system catalog won’t open...
If you can’t open a system catalog, typically it’s because xfODBC can’t locate the necessary data files and system catalog files. Make sure files are stored in the expected directories and that the connect file and environment variables are set correctly.
Check your connect file
- Did you enter the entire connect filename, including the file extension (if applicable), when connecting to the system catalog?
- Is the directory specified in the dictsource line of the connect file valid? Is the line formatted correctly?
- Did you use environment variables in the Open filename field in Repository? If so, you can define those variables in the connect file.
Verify environment variables
Because environment variables enable xfODBC to locate files, it’s important to verify their settings.
- GENESIS_HOME—Is this set correctly? For client/server configurations, was it set before the SQL OpenNet server was started? See Specifying the connect file location (GENESIS_HOME).
- SODBC_DBA—Is this set correctly? See Specifying the location of DBA and dbcreate.
Verify the log-in
- Do you have user files and group or privilege files? (See System catalog.)
- When entering the connect string, did you type the username and password exactly as stored? They are case sensitive.
