Abstract

Before you report a problem to StarQuest Customer Support, review the StarQuest Customer Support knowledge base because it may have the answer you need. There are many technical documents that address common problems and provide helpful suggestions and sample code.

Before contacting StarQuest Customer Support, collect as much information as you can about the problem. By sending in a complete problem description, you can help expedite finding a solution to your problem.

This article describes how to find the information you need to report a StarSQL ODBC Driver for Windows problem and a few additional steps that you can do to help the Customer Support staff better serve your requests.

Solution

Step 1: Locate the StarSQL Version.

To obtain the StarSQL ODBC Driver for Windows version, use the Windows ODBC Data Source Administrator:

1. From Control Panel, Administrative Tools, click Data Sources (ODBC) to launch the ODBC Data Source Administrator. If you are running StarSQL on a Windows 64-bit operating system, open the 32-bit ODBC Data Source Administrator by launching \WINDOWS\SysWOW64\odbcad32.exe.
2. Click on the Drivers tab.
3. Scroll down to StarSQL 32 and note the complete version number listed. For example, StarSQL 5.35.0415.

Step 2: Gather StarSQL Data Source Configuration Information.

1. From Control Panel, Administrative Tools, click Data Sources (ODBC) to launch the ODBC Data Source Administrator. If you are running StarSQL on a Windows 64-bit operating system, open the 32-bit ODBC Data Source Administrator by launching \WINDOWS\SysWOW64\odbcad32.exe.
2. Click on the appropriate DSN tab and gather the StarSQL data source configuration.
   • For a User or System DSN, click on the appropriate tab, highlight the DSN, and click Configure. On the left pane of the StarSQL Data Source Configuration Wizard, click on the Summary node. Copy all of the text in the Summary page on the right pane and save it in a text document to be sent to StarQuest Customer Support.  
   • For a File DSN, click on the File DSN tab and locate the directory where the data source files are stored. Using Windows Explorer, browse to that directory and locate the StarSQL File DSN. For example, PRODDB2.DSN. Make a copy of this file to provide to StarQuest Customer Support.

Step 3: Record Environment Configuration.

The environment configuration information will help us to understand how StarSQL is used in your environment. The configuration is divided into three layers: client, network, and host.

1. For the client, collect the following information:

• Operating system (e.g., Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008) and the service pack level.
• The application and version that you are using with StarSQL (e.g., Microsoft Access 2005, Business Objects Designer XI). If it is a custom application, specify what tools were used to build it (e.g., Visual Basic and ADO, PowerBuilder 6.0). If this is a Web application, note the Web server type and version (e.g., IIS 6, Apache 2.0).

2. For the network, note the following information:

• The network protocol used with your StarSQL data source. In most cases, it will be TCP/IP. If using SNA server, record the Host Integration or SNA Server version and service pack level.

3. For the DB2 host, record the DB2 software version and the operating system and its version. The most common choices are:

• DB2 for OS/390 and z/OS v7 or v8
• DB2 Server for VSE & VM (formerly known as SQL/DS) v7
• i5/OS V5R3 or V5R4
• DB2 Universal Database for Linux, UNIX and Windows v8 or v9 (include fix pack level)

Step 4: Describe Symptoms of Problem and Reproduction Scenario.

When you describe the problem, keep in mind the following questions:

• Is this a new problem? If yes, what has changed recently?
• Can this problem be reproduced? If so, what is the reproduction scenario?
• What are the symptoms of the problem? Is it an empty result set when data is expected, an unexpected error message, a crash in the application, or is the application not responding? If there is an error message, write it down exactly as it appears or capture a screen shot of it.
• If you are experiencing an error related to StarSQL licensing, please provide the type of license being used (e.g., node-locked client license or StarLicense server license).

Step 5: Collect Traces.

Trace data can greatly expedite the problem resolution process. Please see the following technical documents for further information about capturing these traces:

How to Generate a DRDA Trace with the StarSQL DRDA Trace Recorder

How to Generate an ODBC Trace with the ODBC Administrator

Under multi-threaded environments (such as a web application running in IIS), you may be unable to capture StarSQL DRDA or ODBC traces. As an alternative, use StarPipes to capture DRDA traces.

How to Generate a DRDA and Debug Traces using StarPipes

Step 6: Contact StarQuest Customer Support.

To open a problem report with StarQuest Customer Support, send an email to contact@starquest.com that includes the following information:

• Company/Organization name
• Your name, email address, and contact phone number
• All information gathered in Steps 1 - 5.  Any attachments, such as traces or data source configuration files, should be compressed into a single archive file (e.g., .zip file) before sending.

DISCLAIMER

The information in technical documents comes without any warranty. The author(s) or distributor(s) will not accept responsibility for any damage incurred directly or indirectly through use of the information contained in these documents. The information in technical documents may be gathered from various sources, including IBM, Microsoft, and other organizations.