Oracle ODBC with Instant Client

2016-10-27

Sometimes we don’t want to have full client installed just for an ODBC connection to Oracle Database, so I had a try with Oracle Instant Client.

Download & install required packages

Instant Client Package – Basic
Instant Client Package – ODBC You can download either Instant Client for Microsoft Windows (32-bit) or Instant Client for Microsoft Windows (64-bit) based on your preference.

After we have the packages, unzip them into a directory, all the files should be in same directory. and then run odbc_install.exe with admin privilege. Once you have the successfully installed message, the ODBC driver should appear in control panel – ODBC Data sources.

Configuration

Configure TNSNAMES.ORA TNSNAMES file format would be

TNS_Name = 
  (DESCRIPTION =
    (ADDRESS_LIST =
      (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = dlsun242)(PORT = 1521))
    )
    (CONNECT_DATA =
      (SERVICE_NAME = ORCL)
    )
  )

Set Environment Variable Add a new System variable called TNS_ADMIN, and enter the path where your TNSNAMES.ORA resides as the value
Test the ODBC At this point, we should be able to see the TNS name in ODBC setup, and successfully connect to DB after enter username and password.