Data Source information must be configured for each AS/400 or mainframe system that is to be accessed using the OLE DB Provider. Information on Data Sources is stored in the registry on the local machine.
The default parameters for the OLE DB Provider are used as the default values for Data Sources and when these parameters are not configured for each Data Source.
The parameters that can be configured for each Data Source are as follows:
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Host Environment | Two option buttons that indicate whether the data resides on an AS/400 or a mainframe system. If the data resides on a mainframe system, then a File must be entered for host column description and the RDB Name field is not applicable. |
| Remote LU Alias | The name of the remote LU alias configured in the SNA server. This is the only required parameter that must be configured for each Data Source. |
| Local LU Alias | The name of the local LU alias configured in the SNA server. This parameter defaults to the Local LU Alias configured for the OLE DB Provider. |
| APPC Mode | The APPC mode that must be set to a value that matches the host configuration and SNA server configuration. This parameter defaults to the APPC Mode configured for the OLE DB Provider, which is typically QPCSUPP. Legal values for the APPC mode include QPCSUPP (5250), #INTER (interactive), #INTERSC (interactive), #BATCH (batch), #BATCHSC (batch), and custom modes. The following modes that support bidirectional LZ89 compression are also legal: #INTERC (interactive), INTERCS (interactive), BATCHC (batch), and BATCHCS (batch). |
| RDB Name | The Remote Database Name used for connecting to OS/400 systems. This value is only used when the database name is different from the remote LU alias configured in the SNA server. |
| Default Library | The default AS/400 library to be accessed. This parameter is not required for mainframe access and is optional when connecting to AS/400 files. |
| Host CCSID | The character code set identifier (CCSID) to be used on the host. The allowed data values for Host CCSID are selected from a drop-down list box. This parameter defaults to the Host CCSID configured for the OLE DB Provider and is typically U.S./Canada (37). |
| PC Code Page | This parameter is only used when the SNA client is configured for custom code page conversion. When configured for custom conversions, the PC Code Page parameter indicates the code page to be used on the PC for character code conversion. The allowed data values for PC Code Page are selected from a drop-down list box. If this parameter is set to Binary or 65535, then no character code conversions will take place. This parameter defaults to the PC Code Page configured for the OLE DB Provider and is typically United States (437). |
| File | This parameter is only enabled if the Host Column Description check box is selected. HCD (host column description) files are optional when communicating with an AS/400 but are required for accessing files on mainframes. The File parameter indicates the name and path to the DDM HCD file for this Data Source stored on the PC. This parameter has no default value, but a useful convention for the file name is the Data Source name with a file extension of .HCD. This file name must have an .HCD extension. |
These parameters correspond with registry keys and values that are created and modified by the SNA OLE DB Management Console snap-in under the Data Sources registry key
The Host CCSID setting used by the OLE DB Provider must bet set to match the CCSID actually used on the host otherwise data loss will occur. Note that some AS/400 systems default to a CCSID of 937 rather than 37 for enabling double-byte character sets (DBCS).