Prerequisites and changes for using HCL Compass

Starting with HCL Compass there are prerequisites and changes to the supported platforms.

Linux

For Oracle usage, the following libraries are a prerequisite for installing on Linux:

libaio

32 bit libgcc

libstdc++.so.6

For the full list of Oracle OS requirements, see Operating System Requirements for x86-64 Linux Platforms.

For DB2 prerequisites and support, 64 bit requirements, see the IBM Documentation for Linux.

Note: Both DB2 and Oracle require the latest 64-bit Pluggable Authentication Modules for Linux (Linux-PAM) libpam.so.0.

Refer to the Oracle Operating System requirements for Operating System Requirements for Oracle Solaris on SPARC (64-Bit).

Oracle Secure connections

The Oracle wallet must be configured on client and server. To configure a secure connection with Oracle Wallet, consult Oracle documentation. On the client, the following connect option is needed in the HCL Compass connection to the database(s):

TNS_SERVICE_NAME=my_tns_svcname

The my_tns_svcname defines the secure service name defined by the tnsnames.ora.

To use secure connections, the environment where HCL Compass is running must not define the ORACLE_HOME Environment variable, unless it is defined to use the Oracle instant client embedded within the HCL Compass installation. The Oracle wallet must be available and needs to be defined in sqlnet.ora for the Oracle Instant Client, which is installed by HCL Compass.

Example:

c:\Program Files\IBM\RationalSDLC\common\odbc\oracle\network\admin\tnsnames.ora

c:\Program Files\IBM\RationalSDLC\common\odbc\oracle\network\admin\tnsnames.ora

Example for tnsnames.ora:
testSN =
  (DESCRIPTION =
    (ADDRESS_LIST =
     (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCPS)(HOST = oracle.mycompany.com)(PORT = 2484))
    )
    (CONNECT_DATA =
     (SERVICE_NAME = testSN)
    )
   )

With this example, the connection string in Maintenance Tool would use TNS_SERVICE_NAME=oracletestSN . When using the TNS_SERVICE_NAME in the connection string, any values defined in the tnsnames.ora such as HOST, PORT, SERVICE_NAME will override any values supplied in the Maintenance Tool fields.

Example for sqlnet.ora for an encrypted connection with a valid Oracle Client Wallet:

C:\Program Files\IBM\RationalSDLC\common\odbc\oracle\network\admin\sqlnet.ora is created.

Example for sqlnet.ora:

SQLNET.AUTHENTICATION_SERVICES = (BEQ,TCPS)
SSL_VERSION = 1.2
SSL_CLIENT_AUTHENTICATION = TRUE

WALLET_LOCATION=
  (SOURCE=
    (METHOD=file)
    (METHOD_DATA=(DIRECTORY="C:\oic12\network\admin\client_wallet")))

Use of an ORACLE_HOME or TNS_ADMIN environment variable will override the default of the product path <CQ_common>\odbc\oracle\network\admin\ and may cause conflicts.

The example could be useful if there is a shared network access vs. local file system files. An existing Oracle Client with these same environment variables will conflict with the product driver and should not be used on the same host.

Oracle connections now use Service Name, not SID

HCL Compass's embedded Oracle drivers now use the Oracle Service Name to connect to the database. They do not use the SID as was previously the default.

You must use the Service Name only, unless you have defined your database to use SID as a servicename with the server side configuration in the servers listener.ora: USE_SID_AS_SERVICE_LISTENER = ON. If any connections currently use SID to connect, the connections need to be updated in the HCL Compass Maintenance Tool or the Designer.

Note: For Windows 32 bit use C:\Program Files (x86)\ and for Windows 64 bit use C:\Program Files\ only.