MS SQL2005 and AIX 5.3

Question

MS SQL2005 and AIX 5.3

cagan

SSC Enthusiast

Points: 163
More actions
September 8, 2010 at 7:56 am

#240101

Hello all,
I have an IBM box that has AIX 5.3. This server holds all of our client information. I want to be able to run reports on SQL. Does anyone have any info as to where I should start on this project, I am fairly new to MS SQL 2005. My first thought was to link the servers through odbc, but didn't know really where to start. Any help would be appreciated?
Thanks
Cagan

Viewing 9 posts - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)

You must be logged in to reply to this topic. Login to reply

Steve Jones - SSC Editor SSC Guru Points: 738683 More actions · Answer 1

AIX is the operating system. It's not necessarily anything that holds data. Either you have flat files (text files) or some other system of storing the data on the AIX system. If you have ODBC drivers, you can query from SQL Server, or move the data across. Depending on requirements, it might be better to make copies then try to read the data in real time.

cagan SSC Enthusiast Points: 163 More actions · Answer 2

Thanks for the response. I have a script that I can run that dumps a csv file of all the data to a certain directory in the system. Can I run a cron with this script and then somehow trigger the information into sql. Thanks

Jeffrey Williams SSC Guru Points: 90350 More actions · Answer 3

What is the database system that is running on AIX? Most of the database products that will run on AIX will have some type of ODBC/OLEDB access. Once you know that, you should be able to setup an SSIS package to extract the data from that system and import it into SQL Server.

Another option would be a linked server - if you need real-time access to the data on the AIX system from SQL Server.

Or, you can export to files - transfer the files to the SQL Server machine and use BCP (Bulk Copy Program) to import the data.

Jeffrey Williams
“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.”

― Charles R. Swindoll

How to post questions to get better answers faster
Managing Transaction Logs

cagan SSC Enthusiast Points: 163 More actions · Answer 4

Thanks for the suggestions. I did some research and it looks like I need a dharma driver to make my database link to SQL, it is an odbc/oledb driver that is offered by the software company that we use. If I decided to link the servers in real time I would think that this would slow the system down quite a bit, is this correct? thank you

Cagan

Jeffrey Williams SSC Guru Points: 90350 More actions · Answer 5

cagan (9/9/2010)
Thanks for the suggestions. I did some research and it looks like I need a dharma driver to make my database link to SQL, it is an odbc/oledb driver that is offered by the software company that we use. If I decided to link the servers in real time I would think that this would slow the system down quite a bit, is this correct? thank you
Cagan

Just creating the linked server won't slow either system down. When you access the system through the linked server, depending upon how you write your code - you could cause performance issues. But, that is not because of the linked server connection and would be the same if you use SSIS or any other tool.

Based upon your previous information, I would think an SSIS package to extract the data you need and import on a daily/weekly/monthly basis would be a better option. It does not sound like you really need to access the data real-time.

I would go ahead and create the linked server - just in case, but I would use SSIS to extract the data I needed for reporting and schedule that.

Jeffrey Williams
“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.”

― Charles R. Swindoll

How to post questions to get better answers faster
Managing Transaction Logs

Steve Jones - SSC Editor SSC Guru Points: 738683 More actions · Answer 6

I'd agree with Jeffrey here that SSIS is a better solution. While you can access the csv in real time, you'll essentially be pulling the entire file into SQL each time you access it so that a query can be performend. With no indexes.

Pull the data with SSIS. If you have a driver, you can use the Import Data wizard to set a basic package and then schedule it periodically.

cagan SSC Enthusiast Points: 163 More actions · Answer 7

Thank you. You are correct about not needing real time data, weekly updates would probably work best for my situation. So, now all I need to do is setup SSIS, is there anything else that you can recommend? Thanks for all the help.

Cagan

cagan SSC Enthusiast Points: 163 More actions · Answer 8

Steve,

Thank you for the input and confirmation.

Cagan