Configuring MITS Report for use with MySQL, Oracle, and DB2

 MITS Report provides the ability to connect to a number of different database types including:

• Microsoft SQL Server
• Rocket Software UniData and UniVerse
• MySQL
• Oracle
• DB2

Enabling MySQL, Oracle, and/or DB2 access in MITS Report requires the following:

• MITS Report Version 0.1 or newer*
• The current JDBC database driver (in the form of a “.jar” file) for the specific version of the database you will be connecting to.  This can be acquired from the database vendor.

The version of the JDBC driver must be compatible with the version of the database you will be connecting to. We generally find that the most current version of the driver is compatible with the currently supported versions of the respective database. If you will be connecting to a version of the database that is no longer supported by the database vendor, you will need to locate a version of the JDBC driver that is compatible with your version of the database. 

Acquiring the Correct Driver

MySQL:

On the MySQL developer Web site (http://dev.mysql.com), the MySQL JDBC driver is referred to as “Connector/J.”

1. Navigate to http://dev.mysql.com
2. Select the Downloads tab
3. Locate the link for Connector/J
4. Follow the prompts to download the ZIP file

This ZIP file will contain the required driver JAR file as well as some additional files. The only file you will need is the driver JAR file. The other files can be discarded.

Oracle:

Oracle provides several different JAR files for each release. These JAR files contains the same JDBC driver, but each is compiled in a slightly different manner for debugging purposes. We recommend that you choose a version without any debugging options.  

1. Navigate to http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/database/features/jdbc/index- html
2. Under JDBC Driver Downloads, select the appropriate Oracle
3. Accept the license agreement at the top of the page, then select the jar file for your Oracle version.

Note that you may be required to sign in with an Oracle ID (or create a new Oracle account) before you will be able to download the file.

DB2:

The JDBC driver JAR typically comes with DB2 and can be located somewhere in the DB2 installation . The drivers are typically not guaranteed to be forward or backwards compatible, so it is important that the driver version is right for the DB2 version.

Unlike other databases where the vendor provides one official driver with a variety of version numbers, there are multiple types of DB2 DJBC drivers provided by IBM, each with their own version numbering system. Additionally, there are also DB2 drivers provided by 3rd parties.

At this time, MITS Report will only recognize two types of JDBC Drivers for DB2, both of which are provided by IBM:

• JDBC Universal Driver
• Toolbox for Java Driver (including JTOpen) JDBC Universal Driver

The JDBC Universal Driver is located in a JAR file named db2jcc.jar and usually requires an additional licensing jar file named db2jcc_license_cu.jar, both of which must be put into the MITS Report "shared/lib" directory. This version of the JAR file is for connecting to DB2 installed on Windows, Linux, and Unix, but not for DB2 on IBM iSeries machines. The common port number for DB2 on these platforms is 5000.

Toolbox for Java Driver

The Toolbox for Java Driver is located in a JAR file named jt400.jar and is for the IBM iSeries machines. IBM iSeries is a line of high performance machines using a special OS and CPU architecture. JTOpen is an open-source version of this same driver, developed by the same developers at IBM as the non-open-source version. The advantage of JTOpen is that it released more frequently and the most current fixes are provided sooner than the standard version, but offered "as is" without warranty.

Note that the iSeries driver ignores the port number specified through the MITS Report UI, and will always try to connect on port 449.

Installing the drive in MITS Report

To install the driver, simply place the driver JAR file in the following directory under your MITS Report installation directory, then restart the MITS Report service: /shared/lib

For example, if you are installing a MySQL driver for MITS Report on Windows (installed in the default directory of C:\Program Files\MitsReport), you would place the mysql-connector-java- 5.1.17-bin.jar file in C:\Program Files\MitsReport\shared\lib.