UNIX: Create Datastore Data Sources for Microsoft SQL Server

Note: We recommend that you use a connection string to connect to Azure databases; that is, using the connect attribute within the database configuration file, which is covered in Update the Configuration File for Microsoft SQL Server Databases.

If you did not use connection strings when configuring the database configuration file, use the following steps to create ODBC data sources to access the datastore databases.

There are a number of different driver managers that you can use to configure an ODBC data source. These instructions are carried out using unixODBC. If you are using a different driver manager, consult the vendor instructions for creating data sources.

Run the command odbcinst -j command, and note down the location of the drivers configuration file (odbcinst.ini) and the user data sources configuration file (.odbc.ini).
Open the odbcinst.ini configuration file and ensure that you have something similar to the following:
(This may differ depending on the version of MSSQL you are running.)
```
[ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server]
Description=Microsoft ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server
Driver=/opt/microsoft/msodbcsql17/lib64/libmsodbcsql-17.2.so.0.1
UsageCount=1
```
Open the .odbc.ini configuration file and add an entry for the mandatory data source:
```
[<datasource-name>]
Driver = <driver-name>
Server = <server-name>
Database = master
```
where:
- <datasource-name> - a name for the data source.
- <driver-name> - the name of the driver as configured in the .odbcinst.ini file; in the example above, that would be ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server.
- <server-name> - the name of the server on which the database instance resides.
- master - the name of the primary configuration database supplied with MSSQL.
Add a new data source entry for each required datastore:
```
[<datasource-name>]
Driver = <driver-name>
Server = <server-name>
Database = <datastore-name>
```
where:
- <datastore-name> - the name of the datastore that you want to create.
Save the .odbc.ini configuration file.

Example .odbc.ini file

The following is an example of an .odbc.ini configuration file contains data sources for a local MSSQL database instance with two datastores. It also includes the mandatory data source for the master database.

[SS.MASTER]
Driver = ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server
Server = localhost
Database = master

[SS.VSAM]
Driver = ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server
Server = localhost
Database = VSAM

[SS.SEQFILES]
Driver = ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server
Server = localhost
Database = SEQ

The data sources for the datastore databases are configured. You can now start to upload data files to them using the dbfhdeploy command line utility.