To create connections between an application and a relational
database, WebSphere Application Server uses the driver implementation
classes that are encapsulated by the JDBC provider.
Before you begin
Each JDBC provider is essentially an object that represents
vendor-specific JDBC driver classes to Application Server, for establishing
access to that particular vendor database. JDBC providers are prerequisites
for data sources, which supply applications with the physical connections
to a database. Consult the
JDBC provider
table to identify the appropriate JDBC provider for your database
and application requirements.
Removed support: The product
no longer supports the DB2 for 390 and z/OS Legacy JDBC driver and
the corresponding JDBC provider, the DB2 for zOS Local JDBC provider
(RRS). Now WebSphere Application Server for z/OS requires the DB2
Universal JDBC Driver to connect with DB2 for z/OS. Migrate your existing
provider settings to the DB2 Universal JDBC Driver provider. Consult
the topic "Migrating from the JDBC/SQLJ Driver for OS/390 and z/OS
to the DB2 Universal JDBC Driver" in the Information Management Software
for z/OS Solutions Information Center, which is located at
http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/dzichelp.
About this task
Configure at least one JDBC provider for each database server
that you plan to use at a particular scope within your WebSphere Application
Server environment.
Procedure
- Open the administrative console.
- Click Resources > JDBC > JDBC
Providers.
- Select the scope at which applications
can use the JDBC provider. (This scope becomes the scope of any data
source that you associate with this provider.) You can
choose a cell, node, cluster, or server. For more information, see Administrative console scope settings.
- Click New. This action
causes the Create a new JDBC Provider wizard to launch.
- Use the first drop-down list to select
the database type of the JDBC provider that you need to create.
The User-Defined option: Select
User-Defined for
your database type if you encounter either of the following scenarios:
- You do not see your database type.
- You cannot select the JDBC provider type that you need in the
next step.
The user-defined selection triggers the wizard page to display
your provider type as a User-defined JDBC provider, and your implementation
type as User-defined. Consult your database documentation for the
JDBC driver class files, data source properties, and so on that are
required for your user-defined provider. You must supply this information
on the next two wizard pages: one page for database class path information,
and the other page for database-specific properties.
- Select your JDBC provider type if it is
displayed in the second drop-down list. Select Show
Deprecated to trigger the display of both current and deprecated
providers. If you cannot find your provider in this expanded list,
then select User-Defined from the previous list of database
types.
Restriction: The product issues
a DSRA360 error message if you select the DB2 for z/OS Local JDBC
Provider (RRS) provider. In Version 6.1, Application Server completely
removes support for the DB2 for z/OS Local JDBC Provider (RRS) provider.
- From the third drop-down list, select
the implementation type that is necessary for your application.
If your application does not require that connections support
two-phase commit transactions, choose Connection Pool Data Source.
Choose XA Data Source, however, if your application requires
connections that support two-phase commit transactions. Applications
that use this data source configuration have the benefit of container-managed
transaction recovery.
After you select an implementation type, the
wizard fills the name and the description fields for your JDBC provider.
You can type different values for these fields; they exist for administrative
purposes only.
- Click Next to see the Enter
database class path information wizard page.
- In the Class path field, type the full
path location of the database JDBC driver class files. Your
class path information becomes the value of the WebSphere environment
variable that is displayed on this page, in the form of ${DATABASE_JDBC_DRIVER_PATH}.
WebSphere Application Server uses the variable to define your JDBC
provider; this practice eliminates the need to specify static JDBC
class paths for individual applications. Remember that if you do not
provide the full, correct JDBC driver class path for the variable,
your data source ultimately fails. If the field already displays a
fully qualified class path, you can accept that variable definition
by completing the rest of this wizard page and clicking Next.
- Use the Native library path field to
specify additional class files that your JDBC driver might require
to function properly on your WebSphere Application Server platform.
Type the full directory path name of these class files.
- Click Next to see a summary of
your JDBC provider settings.
- Click Finish if you are satisfied
with the entire JDBC provider configuration. You
now see the JDBC provider collection page, which displays your new
JDBC provider in a table along with other providers that are configured
for the same scope.
What to do next
Your next step is to create a data source for association
with your JDBC provider. For detailed information, see
Configuring a data source using the administrative console.
Remember: If you modify configuration of a JDBC provider, like the class
path, native library path, or custom properties, click OK and
then restart every application server within the scope of that JDBC
provider. Otherwise, the new configuration does not work and you receive
data source failure messages.