Overview

ODBC Driver - Product Overview
The foundation of the Connect for ODBC drivers is DataDirect's high performance, market-leading wire protocol architecture. Wire protocol ODBC drivers communicate at the database's native (wire) protocol, effectively removing a communication layer and eliminating the need for database client libraries. This document provides a broad overview of all DataDirect Connect for ODBC drivers. Read More.

What's New in Release 5.3 of the DataDirect ODBC Driver?
Learn about the latest Connect for ODBC features, including Operating System Authentication, SSL encryption, IPv6 support, new database-specific features, and a new MySQL driver. Read More.

Security Features in DataDirect Connect
Learn about the built-in security features of DataDirect Connect, including Operating System Authentication, SSL encryption, and a secure architecture. Also, see our Security Support Matrix for complete information on the security features supported by DataDirect Connect.

Application Failover in DataDirect Connect
Application failover is an important function for automatically and transparently redirecting requests to an alternate server in the case of a failed or down system. DataDirect Connect provides configurable failover connection options that do not require changes to application code.

Solutions

ODBC on UNIX / Linux to SQL Server
Since collaborating with Microsoft on the ODBC 1.0 standard, DataDirect has maintained an active business relationship with Microsoft and has leveraged it to create not only the first, but the most Microsoft-like SQL Server ODBC driver for non-Windows platforms.
Read More.

Using DataDirect Connect for ODBC with Oracle RAC
More companies are turning to a Grid computing infrastructure for distributed computing and data resources such as processing, network bandwidth, and storage. Grids allow companies to pool available resources for scalability and high availability. Built on Oracle Parallel Server (OPS) architecture, Oracle introduced Real Application Clusters (RAC) with Oracle 9i.
Read More.

Using DataDirect Connect for ODBC with Oracle Heterogeneous Services
Corporate developers frequently need to integrate and consolidate data residing in diverse database systems. Oracle users make use of Oracle Heterogeneous Services to integrate non-Oracle data into their primary database. Using the Generic Connectivity agent, Oracle users can communicate to another database or data store, such as XML, via ODBC.
Read More.

Competitive Information

Middleware in Action: Industrial Strength Data Access by Ken North
This independent technology assessment by Ken North, the industry expert on databases and middleware, presents a top level view of the role of data access middleware and its importance. It discusses the defining characteristics of premium data access middleware, such as features that affect performance and scalability, and includes a checklist of critical features. Find out why Ken North endorses DataDirect as the best middleware solution for ODBC, JDBC, and ADO.NET applications.
Read More.

Independent Performance Benchmark by Ken North
According to Industry experts, ODBC has been widely adopted as the standard API for coding database access because it makes SQL applications portable across databases. Yet, some in the information technology community have held off on adopting ODBC due to a commonly held misperception that the benefits of ODBC come with a performance penalty, i.e., that application performance with ODBC is slower than using a proprietary (native) API such as Oracle's OCI (Oracle Call Interface.) Read More.

Why Choose a Wire Protocol ODBC Driver?
DataDirect Technologies has introduced an innovative architecture for ODBC drivers that eliminate the need for the database vendor's client software. These drivers are called "Wire Protocol" because they communicate with the database at the most direct level possible, the database's low-level wire API.
Read More.

What You Don't Know About Data Connectivity CAN Hurt You
Data connectivity, the middleware that enables applications to access databases, is a critical, but often overlooked component of the IT infrastructure. These components, such as ODBC and JDBC drivers and ADO.NET providers, can have dramatic effects on application performance, reliability, and portability. This white paper provides an overview of data connectivity, details its effect on application quality, and explores various alternative solutions.
Read More.

For Database and Application Developers

DataDirect Connect for ODBC Developer Center
The DataDirect ODBC Developer Center serves as the clearing house for the most current, developer-oriented ODBC data connectivity information available in the industry. This area of the site contains in-depth technical articles on improving ODBC performance, using our ODBC drivers in development platforms including PERL and PHP, as well as extensive information on topics such as Unicode, connection failover, 64-bit architecture and Oracle Heterogeneous Services.
Visit The ODBC Developer Center

Try our ODBC Driver Performance Wizards
Performance tuning is part science, part art - for most organizations it is largely guesswork. DataDirect's Performance Tuning Wizard contains patent pending technology that eliminates the guesswork from ODBC driver configuration and ensures that optimal performance can be attained out-of-the-box.
Learn More.

What is a Wire Protocol ODBC Driver?
A relational database management system (RDBMS) is written using an application programming interface (API), which is specific to that database. For example, an Oracle 9i database has its own version of the API specification (called Net9), which must run on each client application.
Read More.

Using PERL with DataDirect Connect for ODBC
Because PERL is easily portable across operating systems, several initiatives have been undertaken to develop modules that enable developers to use the ODBC interface, thus enhancing PERL's portability across corporate databases. DataDirect Connect® for ODBC allows PERL applications not only to be completely portable, but also highly scalable. DataDirect Connect for ODBC enables applications to achieve better performance through its unique wire protocol technology and network optimizations.
Read More.

Why Choose 64-Bit Technology as Your Server Platform?
Companies are processing more and more data, and encountering performance limitations with their 32-bit systems. Increasingly, software companies are announcing support for 64-bit applications. Many hardware vendors already have 64-bit solutions in place. This white paper gives you an overview of the reasons for switching to 64-bit computing, and provides examples of companies who have made the switch for all or part of their computing needs.
Read More.