DBA

Creating Linked server to SYBASE from SQL Server

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In this article we going to look into creating a heterogeneous linked server. i.e. We are going to create a linked server to SYBASE database server from SQL Server environment and then going to query datas from Sybase. First step in heterogeneous linked server is to create a ODBC connection to that RDBMS platform. For creating ODBC connection we need the ODBC drivers for that RDBMS platform. In this case we need Sybase driver in client machine, this is not included in windows so you need to download it from Sybase Website. Lets discuss on this step by step

Testing Environment

Windows 7
SQL Server 2008
Sybase ASE Developer Edition 15.02
Sybase ODBC Driver 3.51
Sybase DBName : sqlarticles (authors table with 4 test records)

Implementation Steps

  • Download Sybase ODBC drivers from the link Get Sybase ODBC Driver . Please note from Sybase ASE 15, Sybase will not ship the 3rd party DataDirect ODBC driver, Sybase has developed their own ODBC driver and it will be shipped.
  • Install the Sybase driver from the downloaded setup.
  • Once installation completed go to Run> Type odbcad32 and press enter
  • In the ODBC admin window go to System tab as shown below

sybase_linked_server_1

  • When you click on Add button a list of ODBC drivers available in the system will be shown, select Adaptive Server Enterprise (this will not be displayed if you havent installed Sybase ODBC Drivers) and then click finish button

sybase_linked_server_2

  • Now you will be shown with the ODBC driver configuration, all the fields in the window are self explanatory hence fill all the details required (you can also go to other tabs for other ODBC options) and click on Test Connection button to test the ODBC connection. Now another window will pop up to enter the password, just enter the credential and click OK as shown below

sybase_linked_server_3

sybase_linked_server_4

  • Now you have created the ODBC connection successfully, the next step is to create a new linked server in SQL Server.
  • Open Management studio and connect to the SQL Server Instance
  • Expand Server Objects in object explorer and right click on Linked Servers folder and then click on New Linked server in the menu as shown below

sybase_linked_server_5

  • New Linked server window will popup, fill all the details required. Provide the name for the Linked server, Select Other Data Source Option button, Select Provider as Microsoft OLE DB Provider for ODBC Drivers and provide the ODBC name in the field Data Source.

sybase_linked_server_6

  • Since we dont have the facility to enter the credential details in ODBC, we need to update the details here. To accomplish this, click on the Security tab in the left hand pane and provide Sybase credentials as shown below

sybase_linked_server_7

  • Thats it we have created a linked server to Sybase server from SQL.

Querying Data from Sybase Linked Server

Connect to SSMS and open a new query window and type the query to retrieve datas from Sybase linked server.

select name from sybase.sqlarticles.dbo.authors

sybase_linked_server_8

26 thoughts on “Creating Linked server to SYBASE from SQL Server”

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  3. Hello, I am trying to make this procedure but when I test the connection, right after I give the information on the Login window, appears the following error:

    [Sybase][ODBC Driver][Adaptive Server Enterprise]SQL Anywhere Error -157: Cannot convert ’08/10/09′ to a timestamp

    Do you have any idea or suggestion to fix this problem? I dont know where that date comes from. Regards. Andres.

    Reply

    1. @Andres – Sybase date format is not matched with SQL Server date format. If you are using ODBC driver then update in ODBC entry for AFTER connecting.

      set temporary option date_order=’MDY’

      If this isnt working then check SQL Server default date format and then change accordingly

      Reply

      1. Thanks for your answer Vidhya. However, I have this issue even before I configure the linked server in SQL Server Management Studio. This error message appears when I am configuring the DSN in the ODBC Drivers Configuration Window.

        Right before the part where you write “Now you have created the ODBC connection successfully…”. In that previous image, instead of “Login Succeeded” appears the error message that I wrote before:

        [Sybase][ODBC Driver][Adaptive Server Enterprise]SQL Anywhere Error -157: Cannot convert ’08/10/09′ to a timestamp

        Thanks for your suggestions. Regards, Andres.

        Reply

  5. after following the above steps..still i m getting error
    cannot initailze data source objectof OLE DB provider for LINKED SERVER “SYBASE”

    Reply

  7. Hi

    I am trying to execute stored procedure in sybase using linked server but i get below error message:

    OLE DB provider “MSDASQL” for linked server “” returned message “Multiple-step OLE DB operation generated errors. Check each OLE DB status value, if available. No work was done.”.

    Could you please help?

    Thanks in advance.

    Reply

      1. Hi I have checked the datatypes they are simialr. I am trying to execute the stored procedures in below ways

        Execute [LINKEDSERVER].[DB].[dbo].[StoredProcedure] @P1, @P2, @P3, @P4, @P5

        declare @rowcount NUMERIC(38)
        declare @error_code NUMERIC(6)
        declare @error_desc VARCHAR(250)

        Execute [LINKEDSERVER].[DB].[dbo].[StoredProcedure] @P1, @P2, @P3, @P4, @P5, @rowcount Output, @error_code Output, @error_desc Output
        Select @rowcount As Row_Count,@error_code As Error_Code,@error_desc As Error_Desc

        Exec (‘EXEC [DB].[dbo].[StoredProcedure] ?,?,?,?,?,?’,@P1, @P2, @P3, @P4, @P5) AT [LINKEDSERVER]

        But i am getting below metioned error

        Msg 7213, Level 16, State 1, Line 1
        The attempt by the provider to pass remote stored procedure parameters to remote server ‘LINKEDSERVER’ failed. Verify that the number of parameters, the order, and the values passed are correct.

        I am using ASEOLEDB provider or MSDASQL provider to test. I have checked no. of parameters & their data types, they all match. The same Execute statement works in sybase.

        I hava also enabled Dynamic Parameters in Provider properties.

        Please help me with this issue.
        Regards
        Jaya

        Reply

          1. This works for dynamic parameters

            Declare @Parameter1 NUMERIC(4)
            Declare @Parameter2 VARCHAR(1)
            Declare @Parameter3 DATETIME
            Declare @Parameter4 NUMERIC(8)
            Declare @Parameter5 VARCHAR(12)
            Declare @Parameter6 VARCHAR(28)
            Declare @Parameter7 NUMERIC(38)
            Declare @Parameter8 NUMERIC(6)
            Declare @Parameter9 VARCHAR(250)

            select @Parameter1 = 1
            select @Parameter2 = ‘A’
            select @Parameter3 = NULL
            select @Parameter4 = NULL
            select @Parameter5 = NULL
            select @Parameter6 = NULL
            select @Parameter7 = NULL
            select @Parameter8 = NULL
            select @Parameter9 = NULL

            EXEC (‘EXEC [DB].[dbo].[StoredProcedure] ?,?,?,?,?,?,? ,? ,? ‘,@Parameter1,@Parameter2,@Parameter3,@Parameter4,@Parameter5,
            @Parameter6,@Parameter7 Output,@Parameter8 Output,@Parameter9 output) AT [LINKSERVER]

  8. Hi,

    I have installed Adaptive server Anywhere 11.0.1(ASA client) to create the system DSN.
    using the ODBC from “c:\windows\system32\odbcad32.exe”
    when i try to use this DSN created as data source for the linked server

    I am getting the below error “The specified DSN contains an architecture mismatch between the driver and Application(Microsoft SQL Server ,error 7303)”

    Please help me to solve this issue
    Thanks in advance

    Reply

  9. Your instructions are very good but I can’t get mine to work.
    Can you help?
    Error message: “The linked server has been created but failed a connection test… Cannot initialize the data source object of OLE DB provider “MSDASQL” for linked server “TESTDB14″. OLE DB provider “MSDASQL” for linked server “TESTDB14″ returned message “[Microsoft] [ODBC Driver Manager] Data source name not found and no default driver specified”. (Microsoft SQL Server, Error: 7303)

    Thanks,
    Mark

    Reply

  10. Hi.. i have tried the above instruction. but i got the error below..

    OLE DB provider “SQLNCLI11″ for linked server “SYBASE” returned message “Login timeout expired”.
    OLE DB provider “SQLNCLI11″ for linked server “SYBASE” returned message “A network-related or instance-specific error has occurred while establishing a connection to SQL Server. Server is not found or not accessible. Check if instance name is correct and if SQL Server is configured to allow remote connections. For more information see SQL Server Books Online.”.
    Msg 53, Level 16, State 1, Line 0
    Named Pipes Provider: Could not open a connection to SQL Server [53].

    Please advice

    Reply

  11. Hi,

    i have tried to create the linked server for my odbc source (Adaptive Server anywhere 7.0, working fine with odbc test connection). OS 64bit. when creating the linked server, it says:

    Cannot initialiye the data source object of OLE DB provider “MSDASQ:” for linked server “SYBASE”. OLE DB provider “MSDASQL” for linked server “SYBASE” returned message “[Microsoft][ODBC Driver Manager] The specified DSN contains an architecture mismatch between the Driver and Application”. (Microsoft SQL Server, Error: 7303)

    Do you have any idea how to solve that?

    Reply

      1. thanks for your answer :) ASA 7 is very old and does not provide 64bit drivers. what driver shall i take to make it work?

        Reply

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