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Informix Error -924: IBM is not licensed to access the specified database server.

Cause and resolution

IBM is not licensed to access the specified database server.

If you have installed an IBM Informix NET station package only on your client computer, you cannot access locally resident databases. If the database that you are attempting to access is not locally resident, enter the command again and specify a site name with the database name, or set your DBPATH environment variable to indicate searches only in specific sites. If you want to use your IBM Informix product to access both local and remote databases, contact your IBM representative for details on purchasing the appropriate IBM Informix product.

Oninit® Troubleshooting Guidance

Reasons / Common Causes

-924 fires specifically with an IBM Informix NET station package (client-only, no local database access) attempting to reach a locally-resident database — per the official guidance, this specific product configuration can't access local databases at all; it's licensed for remote access only.

  1. An IBM Informix NET station-package-only client attempting local database access, per the official guidance — the direct, only cause; this configuration doesn't support local access under any circumstances.
  2. A statement that looks like it's targeting a remote database but resolves locally, if the site name/DBPATH scoping wasn't specific enough.
Solutions / Resolution
  1. If the target database isn't actually meant to be local, specify a site name with the database name, per the official guidance:
    DATABASE sales@remote_site;
  2. Or set DBPATH to search only specific (remote) sites, per the official guidance, so ambiguous references don't accidentally resolve locally.
  3. If both local and remote access are genuinely needed, contact your IBM representative about purchasing the appropriate Informix product, per the official guidance — this station package specifically doesn't support local access under any license.
Examples
Specifying a remote site explicitly
DATABASE sales@remote_site;
Scoping DBPATH to remote sites only
$ echo "$DBPATH"
//remote_site1:/data://remote_site2:/data
Diagnostic Checks
  1. Confirm the installed product is an IBM Informix NET station package (client-only, no local database access), and whether local access was mistakenly attempted.
  2. Check DBPATH's scoping to ensure references resolve to the intended remote site.
Related Errors / Related Topics
  • -923 — "IBM is licensed to access the current database server only." The mirror-image licensing restriction: no network access at all, rather than no local access.
  • -926 — "The database server is not licensed for distributed data access." A related licensing restriction, on the server side rather than this client-side station-package limitation.

This specific product (station-package-only) can't do local access at all — always qualify with a remote site name, or upgrade the product if local access is genuinely needed too.