C Initialization Parameters

C.8.1 HS_CALL_NAME

Specifies the remote functions that can be referenced in SQL statements. The value is a list of remote functions and their owners, separated by semicolons, in the following format:

owner_name.function_name
 

For example:

owner1.A1;owner2.A2;owner3.A3 

If an owner name is not specified for a remote function, the default owner name becomes the user name used to connect to the remote database (specified when the Heterogeneous Services database link is created or taken from user session if not specified in the DB link).

The entries for the owner names and the function names are case-sensitive.

C.8.2 HS_DB_DOMAIN

Specifies a unique network sub-address for a non-Oracle system. The HS_DB_DOMAIN initialization parameter is similar to the DB_DOMAIN initialization parameter, described in the Oracle Database Reference. The HS_DB_DOMAIN initialization parameter is required if you use the Oracle Names server. The HS_DB_NAME and HS_DB_DOMAIN initialization parameters define the global name of the non-Oracle system.

C.8.3 HS_DB_INTERNAL_NAME

Specifies a unique hexadecimal number identifying the instance to which the Heterogeneous Services agent is connected. This parameter's value is used as part of a transaction ID when global name services are activated. Specifying a nonunique number can cause problems when two-phase commit recovery actions are necessary for a transaction.

C.8.4 HS_DB_NAME

Specifies a unique alphanumeric name for the data store given to the non-Oracle system. This name identifies the non-Oracle system within the cooperative server environment. The HS_DB_NAME and HS_DB_DOMAIN initialization parameters define the global name of the non-Oracle system.

C.8.5 HS_DESCRIBE_CACHE_HWM

Specifies the maximum number of entries in the describe cache used by Heterogeneous Services. This limit is known as the describe cache high water mark. The cache contains descriptions of the mapped tables that Heterogeneous Services reuses so that it does not have to re-access the non-Oracle data store.

If you are accessing many mapped tables, increase the high water mark to improve performance. Increasing the high water mark improves performance at the cost of memory usage.

C.8.6 HS_LANGUAGE

Provides Heterogeneous Services with character set, language, and territory information of the non-Oracle data source. The value must use the following format:

language[_territory.character_set]

C.8.7 HS_LONG_PIECE_TRANSFER_SIZE

Sets the size of the piece of LONG data being transferred. A smaller piece size means less memory requirement, but more round-trips to fetch all the data. A larger piece size means fewer round-trips, but more of a memory requirement to store the intermediate pieces internally. Thus, the initialization parameter can be used to tune a system for the best performance, with the best trade-off between round-trips and memory requirements, and network latency or response time.

C.8.8 HS_OPEN_CURSORS

Defines the maximum number of cursors that can be open on one connection to a non-Oracle system instance.

The value never exceeds the number of open cursors in the Oracle database. Therefore, setting the same value as the OPEN_CURSORS initialization parameter in the Oracle database is recommended.

C.8.9 HS_RPC_FETCH_REBLOCKING

Controls whether Heterogeneous Services attempts to optimize performance of data transfer between the Oracle database and the Heterogeneous Services agent connected to the non-Oracle data store.

The following values are possible:

• OFF disables reblocking of fetched data so that data is immediately sent from agent to server.

• ON enables reblocking, which means that data fetched from the non-Oracle system is buffered in the agent and is not sent to the Oracle database until the amount of fetched data is equal or higher than the value of HS_RPC_FETCH_SIZE initialization parameter. However, any buffered data is returned immediately when a fetch indicates that no more data exists or when the non-Oracle system reports an error.

C.8.10 HS_RPC_FETCH_SIZE

Tunes internal data buffering to optimize the data transfer rate between the server and the agent process.

Increasing the value can reduce the number of network round-trips needed to transfer a given amount of data, but also tends to increase data bandwidth and to reduce latency as measured between issuing a query and completion of all fetches for the query. Nevertheless, increasing the fetch size can increase latency for the initial fetch results of a query, because the first fetch results are not transmitted until additional data is available.

C.8.11 HS_TIME_ZONE

Specifies the default local time zone displacement for the current SQL session. The format mask, [+|-]hh:mm, is specified to indicate the hours and minutes before or after UTC (Coordinated Universal Time—formerly Greenwich Mean Time). For example:

HS_TIME_ZONE = [+ | -] hh:mm

C.8.12 HS_TRANSACTION_MODEL

Specifies the type of transaction model that is used when the non-Oracle database is updated by a transaction.

The following values are possible:

• COMMIT_CONFIRM provides read and write access to the non-Oracle database and allows the gateway to be part of a distributed update. To use the commit-confirm model, the following items must be created in the non-Oracle database:

  • Transaction log table. The default table name is HS_TRANSACTION_LOG. A different name can be set using the HS_FDS_TRANSACTION_LOG parameter. The transaction log table must be granted SELECT, DELETE, and INSERT privileges set to public.

  • Recovery account. The account name is assigned with the HS_FDS_RECOVERY_ACCOUNT parameter.

  • Recovery account password. The password is assigned with the HS_FDS_RECOVERY_PWD parameter.

    COMMIT_CONFIRM does not apply to Oracle Database Gateway for ODBC. The default value for Oracle Database Gateway for ODBC is SINGLE_SITE.

• READ_ONLY provides read access to the non-Oracle database.

• SINGLE_SITE provides read and write access to the non-Oracle database. However, the gateway cannot participate in distributed updates.

C.8.13 IFILE

Use the IFILE initialization parameter to embed another initialization file within the current initialization file. The value should be an absolute path and should not contain environment variables. The three levels of nesting limit does not apply.

C.8.14 HS_FDS_CONNECT_INFO

HS_FDS_CONNECT_INFO which describes the connection to the non-Oracle system.

The default initialization parameter file already has an entry for this parameter. The syntax for HS_FDS_CONNECT_INFO for the gateways are as follows:

For Oracle Database Gateway for Sybase:

HS_FDS_CONNECT_INFO=host_name:port_number/database_name

where, host_name is the host name or IP address of the machine hosting the Sybase database, port_number is the port number of the Sybase database server, and database_name is the Sybase database name.

For Oracle Database Gateway for Informix:

HS_FDS_CONNECT_INFO=host_name:port_number/server_name/database_name

where, host_name is the host name or IP address of the machine hosting the Informix database, port_number is the port number of the Informix database server, server_name is the name of the server machine for the Informix data, and database_name is the Informix database name.

For Oracle Database Gateway for Teradata:

HS_FDS_CONNECT_INFO=host_alias:port_number[/database_name]

where, host_alias is the host alias name or IP address of the machine hosting the Teradata database, port_number is the port number of the Teradata database server, and database_name is the Teradata database name. The database_name variable is optional.

For Oracle Database Gateway for SQL Server:

HS_FDS_CONNECT_INFO=host_name[[:port_number]|/[instance_name]][/database_name]

where, host_name is the host name or IP address of the machine hosting the SQL Server database, port_number is the port number of the SQL Server database server, instance_name is the instance of SQL Server running on the machine, and database_name is the SQL Server database name. Either of the variables port_number or instance_name can be used, but not both together. Optionally, they both can be omitted. The variable database_name is always optional. The slash (/) is required when a particular value is omitted. For example, all of the following entries are valid:

HS_FDS_CONNECT_INFO=host_name/instance_name/database_name
HS_FDS_CONNECT_INFO=host_name//database_name
HS_FDS_CONNECT_INFO=host_name:port_name//database_name
HS_FDS_CONNECT_INFO=host_name/instance_name
HS_FDS_CONNECT_INFO=host_name 

For Oracle Database Gateway for ODBC:

HS_FDS_CONNECT_INFO=dsn_value

where dsn_value is the data source name configured in the odbc.ini file.

C.8.15 HS_FDS_DEFAULT_OWNER

The name of the table owner that is used for the non-Oracle database tables if an owner is not specified in the SQL statements.

C.8.16 HS_FDS_PROC_IS_FUNC

Enables return values from functions. By default, all stored procedures and functions do not return a return value to the user.

C.8.17 HS_FDS_RECOVERY_ACCOUNT

Specifies the name of the recovery account used for the commit-confirm transaction model. An account with user name and password must be set up at the non-Oracle system. For more information about the commit-confirm model, see the HS_TRANSACTION_MODEL parameter.

The name of the recovery account is case-sensitive.

C.8.18 HS_FDS_RECOVERY_PWD

Specifies the password of the recovery account used for the commit-confirm transaction model set up at the non-Oracle system. For more information about the commit-confirm model, see the HS_TRANSACTION_MODEL parameter.

The name of the password of the recovery account is case-sensitive.

C.8.19 HS_FDS_RESULTSET_SUPPORT

Enables result sets to be returned from stored procedures. By default, all stored procedures do not return a result set to the user.

C.8.20 HS_FDS_TRACE_LEVEL

Specifies whether error tracing is turned on or off for gateway connectivity.

The following values are valid:

• OFF disables the tracing of error messages.

• ON enables the tracing of error messages that occur when you encounter problems. The results are written by default to a gateway log file in LOG directory where the gateway is installed.

• DEBUG enables the tracing of detailed error messages that can be used for debugging.

C.8.21 HS_FDS_TRANSACTION_LOG

Specifies the name of the table created in the non-Oracle system for logging transactions. For more information about the transaction model, see the HS_TRANSACTION_MODEL parameter.

C.8.22 HS_FDS_SHAREABLE_NAME

Specifies the full path name to the ODBC driver manager.

This is a required parameter, whose format is:

HS_FDS_SHAREABLE_NAME=odbc_installation_path/lib/libodbc.sl

Where:

odbc_installation_path is the path where the ODBC driver is installed.

C.8.23 HS_FDS_REPORT_REAL_AS_DOUBLE

Enables Oracle Database Gateway for SQL Server to treat SINGLE FLOAT PRECISION fields as DOUBLE FLOAT PRECISION fields.

C.8.24 HS_FDS_FETCH_ROWS

HS_FDS_FETCH_ROWS specifies the fetch array size. This is the number of rows to be fetched from the non-Oracle database and to return to Oracle database at one time. This parameter will be affected by the HS_RPC_FETCH_SIZE and HS_RPC_FETCH_REBLOCKING parameters.

C.8.25 DRDA_CACHE_TABLE_DESC

DRDA_CACHE_TABLE_DESC directs the gateway to cache table descriptions once per transaction. This can reduce the number of table lookups requested by Oracle database and can speed up the execution of SQL statements. You may wish to disable this option if you would be altering the structure of a remote table and if you would be examining it within the same transaction.

C.8.26 DRDA_CAPABILITY

DRDA_CAPABILITY specifies which mapped functions of Oracle database will be treated natively. In other words, no special pre processing or post processing will be done for these functions. They will be passed through to the DRDA Server unmodified.

C.8.27 DRDA_CODEPAGE_MAP

DRDA_CODEPAGE_MAP specifies the location of the codepage map. You may specify only the filename, which will be searched for within the $ORACLE_HOME/dg4drda/admin directory, or you may specify the full path name of the file.

C.8.28 DRDA_COMM_BUFLEN

DRDA_COMM_BUFLEN specifies the communications buffer length. This is a number indicating the TCP/IP buffer size in bytes.

C.8.29 DRDA_CONNECT_PARM

DRDA_CONNECT_PARM specifies the TCP/IP hostname or IP Address of the DRDA Server and, as an option, the Service Port number on which the DRDA Server is listening.

The DRDA standard specifies that port 446 be used for DRDA services. However, if several DRDA servers are operating on the same system, then they will need to provide service on different ports. Therefore, the port number that is used by each DRDA server will need to be extracted from the configuration of each individual DRDA server. DB2 for OS/390 and DB2/400 typically use the DRDA standard port number, 446, whereas DB2/UDB typically uses 50000 as the port number. Refer to IBM DB2 Administrator and Installation guides for locating and changing these port numbers for your DRDA server. For additional information, consult your DB2 DBA or System Administrator.

C.8.30 DRDA_DEFAULT_CCSID

DRDA_DEFAULT_CCSID specifies the default CCSID or character set codepage for character set conversions when the DRDA Server database indicates that a character string has a CCSID of 65535. DRDA Servers use CCSID 65535 for columns specified as "FOR BIT DATA". In most cases, this parameter should not be specified, allowing CCSID 65535 to be treated as an Oracle RAW data type.

This parameter is for supporting databases (in particular, DB2/400) that use CCSID 65535 as the default for all tables created. Allowing CCSID 65535 to be treated as another CCSID can save such sites from having to modify every table.

C.8.31 DRDA_DESCRIBE_TABLE

DRDA_DESCRIBE_TABLE directs the gateway to use the DRDA operation Table Describe to return the description of tables. This is an optimization that reduces the amount of time and resources that are used to look up the definition of a table.

C.8.32 DRDA_DISABLE_CALL

DRDA_DISABLE_CALL controls stored procedure usage, and is also used to control how the package is bound on the target database. This parameter should be set to FALSE only for supported target DRDA servers and should be set to TRUE otherwise.

C.8.33 DRDA_FLUSH_CACHE

DRDA_FLUSH_CACHE specifies when the cursor cache is to be flushed. With DRDA_FLUSH_CACHE=COMMIT, the cursor cache is flushed whenever the transaction is committed. With DRDA_FLUSH_CACHE=SESSION, the cache is not flushed until the session terminates.

C.8.34 DRDA_GRAPHIC_CHAR_SIZE

DRDA_GRAPHIC_CHAR_SIZE is used to define the character conversion size to be used for GRAPHIC data types. It is a tuning parameter which affects the maximum size of a GRAPHIC data type when the column is described.

C.8.35 DRDA_GRAPHIC_PAD_SIZE

DRDA_GRAPHIC_PAD_SIZE is used to pad the size of a Graphic column as described by the DRDA Server. This is sometimes necessary depending upon the character set of the DRDA database and Oracle database. If the Oracle database is based on EBCDIC and the DRDA database is based on ASCII, then a pad size of 2 may be needed.

C.8.36 DRDA_GRAPHIC_LIT_CHECK

DRDA_GRAPHIC_LIT_CHECK directs the gateway to evaluate string literals within INSERT SQL statements in order to determine if they need to be converted to double-byte format for insertion into a Graphic column at the DRDA Server database. This is done by querying the column attributes of the table in the SQL statement to determine if a string literal is being applied to a column with a Graphic data type. If the table column is Graphic, and if this parameter is TRUE, then the gateway will rewrite the SQL statement with the literal converted to double-byte format. Existing double-byte characters in the string will be preserved, and all single-byte characters will be converted to double-byte characters.

C.8.37 DRDA_GRAPHIC_TO_MBCS

DRDA_GRAPHIC_TO_MBCS directs the gateway to convert graphic data that has been fetched from the DRDA Server into Oracle multi-byte data, translating double-byte characters into single-byte characters where possible.

C.8.38 DRDA_ISOLATION_LEVEL

DRDA_ISOLATION_LEVEL specifies the isolation level that is defined to the package when it is created. All SQL statements that are sent to the remote DRDA database are executed with this isolation level. Isolation level seriously affects performance of applications. Use caution when specifying an isolation level other than the default. For information on isolation levels, refer to your IBM database manuals.

The following table lists the isolation levels and their descriptions. The levels are specified in ascending order of control, with CHG having the least reliable cursor stability and RR having the most. Note that higher stability uses more resources on the server and can lock those resources for extended periods.

C.8.39 DRDA_LOCAL_NODE_NAME

DRDA_LOCAL_NODE_NAME specifies the name by which the gateway will be known to the DRDA Server. This name is used internally by the DRDA Server to identify the local node.

C.8.40 DRDA_MBCS_TO_GRAPHIC

DRDA_MBCS_TO_GRAPHIC directs the gateway to convert multi-byte data (that has been sent from Oracle to the DRDA database) into pure double-byte characters. This parameter is primarily intended to be used with bind variables in order to ensure that the data is properly formatted and will therefore be acceptable to the DRDA Server. It applies only to INSERT SQL statements that are using bind variables. When used in combination with the DRDA_GRAPHIC_LIT_CHECK parameter, this parameter can help ensure that data that is being inserted into a Graphic column is handled correctly by the target DRDA Server.

C.8.41 DRDA_OPTIMIZE_QUERY

DRDA_OPTIMIZE_QUERY enables or disables the distributed query optimizer (DQO) capability. The DQO capability is useful for optimizing queries that access large amount of data, but it can add overhead to small queries.

This parameter is valid only if the DRDA Server is DB2/OS390. If the DRDA Server is DB2/400 or DB2/UDB, then you must set the value to FALSE.

C.8.42 DRDA_PACKAGE_COLLID

DRDA_PACKAGE_COLLID specifies the package collection ID. Note that in DB2/400, the collection ID is actually the name of an AS/400 library.

C.8.43 DRDA_PACKAGE_CONSTOKEN

DRDA_PACKAGE_CONSTOKEN specifies the package consistency token. This is a 16-digit hexadecimal representation of an 8-byte token. Oracle recommends that you do not change the consistency token. The consistency token used at runtime must match the one used when the package is bound. The value depends on the DRDA Server being used.

C.8.44 DRDA_PACKAGE_NAME

DRDA_PACKAGE_NAME specifies the package name. Note that the package is stored in the DRDA Server under this name as a SQL resource. Refer to the DRDA Server documentation for length limitations package names. Many typical implementations restrict the length to 8 characters.

C.8.45 DRDA_PACKAGE_OWNER

DRDA_PACKAGE_OWNER specifies the database user ID that owns the package. This enables the owner to be a user other than the connected user ID when the package is created. The package owner must be the same user as the owner of the ORACLE2PC table.

C.8.46 DRDA_PACKAGE_SECTIONS

DRDA_PACKAGE_SECTIONS specifies the number of cursors declared at the remote database when the package is bound. This is the maximum number of open cursors permitted at any one time. Change this parameter only if an application needs more than 100 open concurrent cursors.

C.8.47 DRDA_READ_ONLY

DRDA_READ_ONLY specifies whether the gateway runs in a read-only transaction mode. In this mode, SQL statements that modify data are not permitted.

C.8.48 DRDA_RECOVERY_PASSWORD

DRDA_RECOVERY_PASSWORD is used with the DRDA_RECOVERY_USERID. The recovery user connects to the IBM database if a distributed transaction is in doubt.

C.8.49 DRDA_RECOVERY_USERID

DRDA_RECOVERY_USERID specifies the user ID that is used by the gateway if a distributed transaction becomes in doubt. This user ID must have execute privileges on the package and must be defined to the IBM database.

If a distributed transaction becomes in doubt, then the Oracle database determines the status of the transaction by connecting to the IBM database, using the DRDA_RECOVERY_USERID. If this parameter is missing, then the gateway attempts to connect to a user ID of ORARECOV.

C.8.50 DRDA_REMOTE_DB_NAME

DRDA_REMOTE_DB_NAME specifies the DRDA Server location name. This is an identifying name that is assigned to the server for DRDA purposes. A technique for determining this name by using a SQL SELECT statement is discussed in each of the server-specific installation sections in Chapter 13, "Configuring the DRDA Server".

C.8.51 FDS_CLASS

FDS_CLASS specifies the capability classification used by Oracle database and the gateway. These values may change from release to release, depending on whether the gateway capabilities change.

The valid default values for FDS_CLASS are as follows:

For a DB2/OS390 database: TG4DRDA_DB2MVS

For a DB2/400 database: TG4DRDA_DB2400

For a DB2/UDB database: TG4DRDA_DB2UDB

C.8.52 HS_NLS_NCHAR

HS_NLS_NCHAR specifies the character set that the gateway will use to interact with the DRDA Server when accessing Graphic data. Set this parameter to the same value as the character set component of the HS_LANGUAGE parameter. For additional details, refer to Appendix E, "Globalization Support for DRDA" and to the Oracle Database Heterogeneous Connectivity Administrator's Guide.

C.8.53 LOG_DESTINATION

LOG_DESTINATION specifies the destination for gateway logging and tracing. This parameter should specify a file. If the file already exists, it will be overwritten.

After any failure to open the logpath, a second attempt to open the default is made.

Usually, LOG_DESTINATION should specify a directory. If it is specified as a file, and if two or more users simultaneously use the same instance of the gateway, then they are writing to the same log. The integrity of this log is not guaranteed. If you do not specify this parameter, then the default is assumed.

C.8.54 ORA_MAX_DATE

ORA_MAX_DATE specifies the gateway maximum date value. If the fetched date value is larger than 4712-12-31, the gateway replaces the date value with the value defined by the ORA_MAX_DATE parameter. Any date between January 1, 4712 BC and December 31, 4712 AD is valid.

C.8.55 ORA_NLS11

ORA_NLS11 specifies the directory to which the gateway loads its character sets and other language data. Normally this parameter does not need to be set. Some configurations, however, may require that it be set.

C.8.56 ORACLE_DRDA_TCTL

ORACLE_DRDA_TCTL specifies the path to the DRDA internal trace control file. This file contains module tracing commands. A sample file is stored in $ORACLE_HOME/dg4drda/admin/debug.tctl. This parameter is used for diagnostic purposes.

C.8.57 ORACLE_DRDA_TRACE

ORACLE_DRDA_TRACE is used to specify a different log path for DRDA internal tracing. This tracing is separate from the rest of the gateway tracing, as specified by the LOG_DESTINATION parameter. By default, this parameter will append the DRDA internal trace to the gateway trace. This parameter is used for diagnostic purposes.

C.8.58 TRACE_LEVEL

TRACE_LEVEL specifies a code tracing level. This value determines the level of detail which is logged to the gateway logfile during execution. This parameter is primarily used for diagnostics.

C.8.59 HS_NLS_DATE_FORMAT

Defines the date format for dates used by the target system. This initialization parameter has the same function as the NLS_DATE_FORMAT initialization parameter for an Oracle database. The value can be any valid date mask listed in the Oracle Database SQL Language Reference, but must match the date format of the target system. For example, if the target system stores the date February 14, 2001 as 2001/02/14, set the parameter to yyyy/mm/dd. Note that characters must be lowercase.

C.8.60 HS_NLS_DATE_LANGUAGE

Specifies the language used in character date values coming from the non-Oracle system. Date formats can be language independent. For example, if the format is dd/mm/yyyy, all three components of the character date are numeric. In the format dd-mon-yyyy, however, the month component is the name abbreviated to three characters. The abbreviation is language dependent. For example, the abbreviation for the month April is "apr", which in French is "avr" (Avril).

Heterogeneous Services assumes that character date values fetched from the non-Oracle system are in this format. Also, Heterogeneous Services sends character date bind values in this format to the non-Oracle system.

C.8.61 HS_NLS_NUMERIC_CHARACTER

Specifies the characters to use as the group separator and the decimal character. The group separator separates integer groups (such as thousands, millions, and billions). The decimal character separates the integer portion of a number from the decimal portion.