Adding ODBC connections in Windows Server 2003 64-bit

Posted by Wade on May 3, 2007
BizTalk Server • Windows Server 2003 • x64

We’ve been deploying a BizTalk 2006 solution to a x64 system and, while BizTalk 2006 itself has no problems, I’ve had a lot of problems related to the BizTalk Adapters for Host Systems and the BizTalk Adapters for Enterprise Applications.  I plan to write a number of posts in the near future discussing these problems (once we have them all resolved).  In the meantime, I wanted to share this little tidbit I’ve learned about ODBC on 64-bit windows.


It’s important for you to know if your application is going to run as a 32-bit or 64-bit application.  There are two different repositories for ODBC connections, based on the drivers you’ve installed and the client that will run them.  32-bit applications will only see ODBC connections from the 32-bit side, and 64-bit applications will only see ODBC connections from the 64-bit side.


32-bit applications register ODBC connections to the following registry key:



HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\ODBC\ODBC.INI


64-bit applications register ODBC connections to the following registry key:



HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ODBC\ODBC.INI


Adding these keys is initially tricky, but if you understand the above then it should make sense.  Typically, you go to Start –> Administrative Tools –> Data Sources (ODBC) to create your ODBC connections.  And this is fine if you want to create 64-bit ODBC connections.  Any ODBC connection created using the Data Sources (ODBC) link will get created in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ODBC\ODBC.INI key.  This is because it calls the program %WINDIR%\System32\odbcad32.exe.  However, this program will not create 32-bit ODBC connections.


To create 32-bit ODBC connections, you have to run %WINDIR%\SysWOW64\odbcad32.exe.  Adding an ODBC connection through this application will create the ODBC connection in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\ODBC\ODBC.INI key, and allow your 32-bit applications to see and use the ODBC connection.


I’m still getting used to the concept of WOW and how it runs 32-bit applications on an x64 system.  This information may not be news to some of you, but it presented a challenge to me.


I hope this helps!

Comments (6)

  • Saravana
    June 15th, 2007 17:39

    Thanks for the post ,it helped me a lot.We are having 64 bit server running biztalk server 2006 on it.
    Saravana

  • Saravana
    June 15th, 2007 19:40

    Hello Wade
    I couldnt get connected with OracleDB .Iam getting the following error when i try to connect.I have installed oracle client for windows 2003,is there a separate software for 64 bit machines.Your blog was very usefull in solving most of the issues with biztalk adapter for oracle.
    Thanks
    Saravana Ramkumar
    Event Type: Error
    Event Source: Microsoft BizTalk Adapters for Enterprise Applications
    Event Category: None
    Event ID: 0
    Date: 6/15/2007
    Time: 3:23:49 PM
    User: N/A
    Computer: PSDBIZ01
    Description:
    Exception occurred:
    IM002 : [Microsoft][ODBC Driver Manager] Data source name not found and no default driver specified

    For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.

  • Wade
    June 15th, 2007 19:51

    Hi Saravana,

    Have you taken a look at the following post?

    The BizTalk Adapters for Enterprise Applications on Windows Server 2003 64-bit

    In this post I detail the exact steps you must take in order to get the Oracle adapter to work on 64-bit Windows — there are a LOT of registry hacks that you need to make, in addition to permission settings in the file system.

    I hope this helps. If not, feel free to either e-mail me directly or post another comment.

    Best of luck,

    Wade

  • Dom Cotton
    January 28th, 2008 14:52

    Hi Wade,

    Interesting article. I didnt know about the 32 bit ODBC adminstrator.

    However I have a slightly different problem. I have installed the oracle 9i client onto a windows server 2003 R2 64 bit server. When I go into ODBC administrator I click "Add" but in here i only see SQL Server as a selection – no oracle! However if I create a .udl file on the desktop I can see Microsoft OleDB for Oracle as a provider. Whats going wrong here? Any help you can offer would be fantastic.

    Regards,
    Dom

  • Troy
    February 2nd, 2010 13:56

    Thank you so much! This one had me stumped.

  • Fred
    February 27th, 2010 02:45

    Thank you very much for this information. It resolved our issue and saved the day!

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