Connect to IBM Informix Data from HeidiSQL

HeidiSQL is an open-source database administration tool that natively supports MariaDB, MySQL, SQL Server, and PostgreSQL. When paired with CData Connect Cloud, HediSQL reach extends to include access to live IBM Informix data. This article demonstrates how to connect to IBM Informix using Connect Cloud and query IBM Informix data in HeidiSQL.

CData Connect Cloud provides a pure SQL Server interface for IBM Informix, allowing you to query data from IBM Informix without replicating the data to a natively supported database. Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect Cloud pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc.) directly to IBM Informix, leveraging server-side processing to return the requested IBM Informix data quickly.

Configure IBM Informix Connectivity for HeidiSQL

Connectivity to IBM Informix from HeidiSQL is made possible through CData Connect Cloud. To work with IBM Informix data from HeidiSQL, we start by creating and configuring a IBM Informix connection.

1. Log into Connect Cloud, click Connections and click Add Connection
2. Select "IBM Informix" from the Add Connection panel
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to IBM Informix.

   Set the following properties to connect to IBM Informix

   • Server: Set this to the name of the server running IBM Informix.
   • Port: Set this to the port the IBM Informix server is listening on.
   • Database: Set this to the name of the IBM Informix database.
   • User: Set this to the username of a user allowed to access the database.
   • Password: Set this to the password of a user allowed to access the database.
4. Click Create & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add IBM Informix Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

If you are connecting from a service, application, platform, or framework that does not support OAuth authentication, you can create a Personal Access Token (PAT) to use for authentication. Best practices would dictate that you create a separate PAT for each service, to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on your username at the top right of the Connect Cloud app and click User Profile.
2. On the User Profile page, scroll down to the Personal Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give your PAT a name and click Create.
4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

Connect to IBM Informix from HeidiSQL using Connect Cloud

To establish a connection from HeidiSQL to the CData Connect Cloud Virtual SQL Server API, follow these steps.

Create a new HeidiSQL Session

1. In the Session Manager, select New in the bottom-left
2. Give the new session a descriptive name, e.g. Connect-Cloud-IBM Informix

Configure a SQL Server Connection to Connect Cloud

1. In the session settings, set the Network type to Microsoft SQL Server (TCP/IP)
2. The Library DLL should automatically update to MSOLEDBSQL
3. Set the Hostname/IP to tds.cdata.com
4. Set the User to your CData Connect Cloud username. This is displayed in the top-right corner of the CData Connect Cloud interface. For example, [email protected]
5. Set the Password to your PAT created in Connect Cloud in the previous section.
6. Set the Port to 14333

Query IBM Informix from HeidiSQL

1. In the database listing on the left, find your connection to IBM Informix configured earlier.
2. Expand this connection to view individual tables or data objects present within IBM Informix.
3. Write custom SQL queries targeting these tables, treating the data source like any SQL Server database, or visually explore each tabular data set by selecting the relevant tables

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