TechNote (Archived)

Data Source Undefined errors when working with ODBC Socket data sources

Issue

When adding or modifying ODBC Socket data sources, one of the following errors may be generated:

 Connection verification failed for data source: test3  []java.sql.SQLException: SQLException while attempting   to connect: java.sql.SQLException: [MERANT][SequeLink   JDBC Driver][SequeLink Server]The specified data source   is not defined.  The root cause was that: java.sql.SQLException:   SQLException while attempting to connect:   java.sql.SQLException: [MERANT][SequeLink JDBC Driver]   [SequeLink Server] The specified data source is not   defined.

 Error Occurred While Processing Request  Variable THISDATASOURCE is undefined.  The error occurred in C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\CFIDE\administrator\   datasources\odbcsocket.cfm: line 531  Called from C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\CFIDE\administrator\   datasources\odbcsocket.cfm: line 455  Called from C:\Inetpub\wwwroot\CFIDE\administrator\   datasources\odbcsocket.cfm: line 769

ODBC Socket data sources are those which utilize the DataDirect SequeLink ODBC Socket Server services. Within the ColdFusion Administrator, this corresponds to the selections in the drop-down driver box for Microsoft Access and ODBC Socket. These driver choices use the SequeLink ODBC Socket Server services, which are labeled as ColdFusion MX ODBC Agent and ColdFusion MX ODBC Server in the Windows Services list. The ColdFusion MX ODBC Agent is used by CFMX to make changes to ODBC data sources. The ColdFusion MX ODBC Server is used by CFMX to access ODBC data sources.

When creating or modifying any data sources that use the ODBC Socket server, both the ColdFusion MX ODBC Agent and ColdFusion MX ODBC Server services must be running. If the ColdFusion MX ODBC Agent service is not running, you will see the first error listed above. If the service is running but the account it is configured to run as does not have sufficient system permissions, you will see the second error listed.

Solution

To determine if permissions are the cause of the error, temporarily change the ColdFusion MX ODBC Agent service to run as the local SYSTEM account rather than an NT user account:

Windows NT:

Select the Start menu > Settings > Control Panel > Services.
Highlight the ColdFusion MX ODBC Agent service and click Startup.
Change the Log On As: option to be System Account. Click OK.
Stop and restart the ColdFusion MX ODBC Agent service.
Open the ColdFusion Administrator and create or modify the data source.

Windows 2000/XP:

Select the Start menu > Settings > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services.
Highlight the ColdFusion MX ODBC Agent service.
Right-click on the service and choose Properties
Select the Log On tab.
Change the Log on as: option to be Local System account. Click OK.
Restart the ColdFusion MX ODBC Agent service.
Open the ColdFusion Administrator and create or modify the data source.

If you are able to successfully create or modify the data source after making this change, the user account previously designated for the ColdFusion MX ODBC Agent service does not have sufficient privileges to function correctly. The following suggestions may help determine where additional privileges may be needed.

View the Windows Event Viewer log.
ColdFusion MX ODBC Agent errors are typically logged to the Event Log, which will provide additional information regarding the specific Windows error number being generated.
Use a Windows Registry monitoring tool, such as RegMon.
Using a registry monitoring tool can provide information regarding success/failure events during Registry access by the ColdFusion MX ODBC Agent service. In particular, access to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ODBC\ODBC.INI\ is needed by the service.