Strange Question: Why do we need an ODBC connection?

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Hello:

I've been working in Microsoft Dynamics GP Land, for years, even back when it was called "Great Plains Land". :)

I just recently found out that, after all of these years, the ODBC connnection's login ID and password are not retained by the ODBC connection that you create manually or even have automatically created when you originally install GP.

So, let's say that you configure or modify an ODBC connection using the "sa" login ID and password. (I don't care if this is during or even long after the original installation.)

I used to think that, if the "sa" password changed, that the ODBC connection would essentially "break" and users could not use or enter GP.

But, again, I recently found out that that's not the case.

So, what "good" is an ODBC connection if the login ID and password that you configure the ODBC connection with is simply used for testing connectivity?

And, is this different for other apps? Do the ODBC connections of other apps retain the login ID and password?

Thanks!

John

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L Vail 65,271 on at

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John,

Not any ODBC connection stores the username and password. The 'good' is that you cannot connect to the database without it. For GP in particular, you need a 32-bit ODBC connection. In setting up the ODBC connection, you do not have to enter a username nor password for it to be a valid ODBC. Simply don't enter a user ID on the DSN Configuration window for Native 11, or don't mark the checkbox for Native 10.

Kind regards,

Leslie

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Victoria Yudin 22,769 on at

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An ODBC connection is like the 'address and driving directions' for the application on your local computer to know how to get to the data on your SQL server. The 'address' tells the application exactly what SQL server/instance to look for, the 'driving directions' tell it what settings should be used to properly and most efficiently connect to the data.

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David Musgrave MVP ... 14,095 Most Valuable Professional on at

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Hi John

As Leslie had explained the credentials used during ODBC setup is for testing the connection at the end of the setup.

They can also be used to bring in default connection settings if they have been set up, but we don't use that.

The credentials are not stored once the window is closed.

We need the ODBC (Open DataBase connectivity) connection as our communication pipeline to SQL Server.

As we don't want ODBC to interfere with data sent or received we turn off all the checkboxes.

David

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Community Member on at

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Hi All:

I think that I should have asked my question differently.

Instead of asking, "What "good" is an ODBC connection if the login ID and password that you configure the ODBC connection with is simply used for testing connectivity?", I should ask, "How is it possible for an ODBC connection to successfully work, if the login ID and password that it uses is not retained?".

John

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Victoria Yudin 22,769 on at

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John,

I think you're missing the point of the ODBC connection. It's not EVERYTHING you need to connect to your data. It's simply a pointer with some settings, in the same sense that you can set up a shortcut on your desktop to a file on your network. The shortcut itself does not store any permissions. When you go to open that file it will check to make sure your network/Windows user has permissions to open that file. You can copy that shortcut to every desktop in the company. Only when you are logged in as a user who has permissions to that file will you be able to open it without additional steps.

Similarly, the ODBC connection is like a shortcut pointing to the SQL data. It's slightly more complex because it also specifies some settings, but a shortcut is all it is meant to be. The ODBC connection itself does not store any permissions. When you launch GP it uses the ODBC connection to determine where the SQL server is and what settings to use to connect to it, but then it uses your GP user ID and password to actually determine whether you have permission to connect to the data on the SQL server.

Hope that helps.

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Community Member on at

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Thank you. I suppose the way that I was incorrectly thinking of an ODBC connection was similar to a service that is run based on the login ID and password of that service. Apparently, an ODBC connection is not a service but rather a pipeline, as you said earlier.

Thanks, again!

John

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Community Member on at

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One more thing. I want to thank you all for continuing to help me, for all of these years! I'm so glad to have Dave Musgrave, Leslie Vail, Victoria Yudin, Mariano Gomez, and Beat Bucher as my good friends!

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