Re: A question about ODBC drivers & Informix on Ultrix

"Andrew Stuart" <astuart@werple.mira.net.au> wrote: :Can anyone tell me what is involved in installing ODBC drivers onto an :Ultrix based database server running Informix? Go to http://www.openlinksw.com and download their trial software. One component is installed on your server (the request broker) and then a general client on your PC's. There are Unix clients available as well. :I would also like to know if there is any way to control who has access to :the server via ODBC once it has been installed? Yes, but only if you use the Openlink ODBC drivers exclusively. Then there is a file on the server where you control this based on TCP/IP adress, login name and application. If you allow your users to install an ODBC driver that uses I-Net they can bypass this security. You may be able to avoide that by setting up the Informix database without a TCP/IP connection (with shared memory connection only). That of corse removes your ability to communicate with another database server on another machine as well (for replication or remote access). If you can't do, this you will have to control by other means that noone installs another driver. :Is it possible to alllow some users access and others not? Is there any :way to control access levels? Yes, a well built system as mentioned above. One user may even have one accesslevel in one program and another when using another program. Say a user has a program through which he does database updates and thereby have full update rights to tables you can still give him select only (or no access at all) if he runs an application like MS Access where he would otherwise (with other ODBC drivers) be able to freely update anything in the database. In addition to this you might want to use the set role statement to give users the rights they should have (without this they should have no access at all). Then there is yet another hurdle for someone that installs another ODBC driver. It's only a hurdle, not secure, but better than nothing. This is why Openlink as far as I know has the one and only ODBC driver that can be used in a professional way. Besides they probably have the fastest drivers available. PS. I am not afiliated with Openlink in any way. I am only trying to get the Informix user community to demand this kind of quality from every supplier they deal with. Nils.Myklebust@idg.no NM Data AS, P.O.Box 9090 Gronland, N-0133 Oslo, Norway My opinions are those of my company The Informix FAQ is at http://www.iiug.org