32bit System - ODBC to ODBC Bridge

Daniel Zillmann

Hi everyone,

 

We are facing the issue of connecting a 32bit system to Board. We came across the ODBC to ODBC bridge solution, now we are wondering if anyone else has done something similar and could let us know if they have come across any issues with it.

 

We are looking at this vendor:

 

ODBC-ODBC Bridge 

 

Thanks in advance for the help!

Best regards,

Daniel

Unknown

Hi Daniel Zillmann,

   That’s a tricky one. I suspect you’ll need some kind of middleware to bridge the gap, as you’ve identified. Another option could be using SSIS to pickup from the source and deposit to a 64-bit SQL target. Since you mentioned the ODBC 32-bit source, this might work for you. I’ve done it in the past to load from 32-bit sources. One trick is that the SSIS project itself runs in 32-bit mode. 

 

Good luck,

Björn Reuber

Hi Daniel Zillmann,

 

can you please recheck, if an 64bit ODBC driver exist, cause I can't believe, that for a modern software (also it might run in 32bit) there is no 64bit odbc driver. Cause for the driver it is not important if the (source) software is running in 32bit or 64bit, the driver only needs to match the target software (in this case board)

 

regards

Björn

Daniel Zillmann

Hi Björn Reuber,

 

I will be with the client today and have a closer look at their system, but other consultants have been involved in the POC process and so far the solution with the bridge software was the only one that worked. It is an ERP system that was developed here in Australia, the vendor is going to update the system to 64bit this year, but we do not want to wait. My feeling is that they do not have a 64bit ODBC driver at the moment, but I will investigate that today. Thank you and Bob Gill for your help!

 

Cheers,

Daniel

Previous Member

Hi,

We had the same problem a few years ago with an old ERP.
We have solved with a "microsoft access database" (*.mdb): first we load the data on access from the 32 bit ERP; then we load data on "Board" from "microsoft access database" using 64-bit drivers.

 

Best regards,

Paolo

Previous Member

HI All,

 

This is an issue at the Microsoft Operating System level rather than any specific application.  Currently there is no way for a 64 bit ODBC to talk to a 32 bt ODBC.  I have also had this issue at another customer.  BOARD is a 64 bit application.  This will also apply to any other tool.  The same is also true of MS SQL Server (note the post on using MS Reporting Services above).  MS SQL server is only 64 bit since SQL Server 2005 (which is now out of support by Microsoft).  The work arounds are really either upgrade the source system to a 64 bit version (I suspect that an old version of the software is in use and probably out of support by the vendor) or to export the data to a CSV/TXT format, which is usually possible and then use the BOARD ASCII data reader to import the data.  In my case the source system was upgraded to 64bit and the issue was resolved.  This is probably not the answer you wanted but don't believe there is another.

 

Chris

Björn Reuber

Hi,

 

for me it sounds confusing.

BOARD is a 64bit Software, so it only can use 64bit ODBC driver. BUT you can use a64bit ODBC Driver to connect to a 32bit relational DB or vice versa with a 32bit ODBC you can connect to a 64bit relational DB. So normaly you doesnt have to change your core system, cause only the odbc driver is necessary and this is independent from the software

 

regards

Björn

Unknown

Hi Björn Reuber,

   For relational database platforms you are correct. I suspect the challenge here is some applications run on proprietary database platforms. These platforms are not necessarily OLAP or OLTP designs. The ODBC drivers need to interact with the application directly, rather than just the database platform. If the application is 32-bit and the driver is 64-bit, they cannot trade objects or messages. Many database platforms are smart enough to interact with either 32-bit or 64-bit drivers... but many older applications are not. Industry-specific ERP systems which tend to be resistant to change are a common culprit. 

Previous Member

Exactly correct Björn

 

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Daniel Zillmann

Hello Bob Gill, Björn Reuber, christopher field, Paolo Messa,

 

Thanks a lot for your replies and my apologies that I have been quiet on my own thread. I have been busy with understanding the whole situation and the options we have.

Let me me explain the situation, the customer has a 32bit ERP system and there is no 64bit version out there. The 64bit version is in development, but it will take until the end of the year to finalise it. We have tested the Easysoft ODBC Bridge and it is capable of connecting to the 32bit ODBC driver and after that I can connect Access or Excel (both 64bit) to the Bridge and read the data. With Excel or Access you could even work with 32bit version and connect directly to the 32bit ODBC.

 

Sadly that is not working with Board, apparently the "getschema" is failing when connecting to the ODBC. I am assuming that has something to do with ERP tables. I am only running this test with one very simple table, so if that is not working, there is no point from my point of view to test this further.

 

Furthermore the customer is a cloud customer and due to ISO restrictions we will not be able to install the Bridge on the Cloud server.

 

The only good solution is a SQL middle layer which we then use for connecting to Board, which is similar to the Access Database solution. We will probably need the Bridge for that, because as Christopher pointed out, SQL Server will be 64bit.

 

I hope this more detailed description helps other users in the future if they encounter a similar issue and might save them some time, even though 32bit systems will probably be extinct very soon.

 

Thanks again for your help,

Daniel