Connect to Sybase Data in DBeaver

The CData ODBC Driver for Sybase enables access to live data from Sybase under the ODBC standard, allowing you work with Sybase data in a wide variety of BI, reporting, and ETL tools and directly, using familiar SQL queries. This article shows how to manage Sybase data with visual tools in DBeaver like the query browser.

The CData ODBC drivers offer unmatched performance for interacting with live Sybase data in DBeaver due to optimized data processing built into the driver. When you issue complex SQL queries from DBeaver to Sybase, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Sybase and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations (often SQL functions and JOIN operations) client-side. With built-in dynamic metadata querying, you can manage and analyze Sybase data.

Connect to Sybase

If you have not already done so, provide values for the required connection properties in the data source name (DSN). You can configure the DSN using the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator. This is also the last step of the driver installation. See the "Getting Started" chapter in the Help documentation for a guide to using the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure a DSN.

To connect to Sybase, specify the following connection properties:

• Server: Set this to the name or network address of the Sybase database instance.
• Database: Set this to the name of the Sybase database running on the specified Server.

Optionally, you can also secure your connections with TLS/SSL by setting UseSSL to true.

Sybase supports several methods for authentication including Password and Kerberos.

Connect Using Password Authentication

Set the AuthScheme to Password and set the following connection properties to use Sybase authentication.

• User: Set this to the username of the authenticating Sybase user.
• Password: Set this to the username of the authenticating Sybase user.

Connect using LDAP Authentication

To connect with LDAP authentication, configure Sybase server-side to use the LDAP authentication mechanism.

After configuring Sybase for LDAP, you can connect using the same credentials as Password authentication.

Connect Using Kerberos Authentication

To leverage Kerberos authentication, begin by enabling it setting AuthScheme to Kerberos. See the Using Kerberos section in the Help documentation for more information on using Kerberos authentication.

You can find an example connection string below:

Server=MyServer;Port=MyPort;User=SampleUser;Password=SamplePassword;Database=MyDB;Kerberos=true;KerberosKDC=MyKDC;KerberosRealm=MYREALM.COM;KerberosSPN=server-name

Finally, set the "Map To WVarchar connection property to False in the DSN Configuration window for the driver. This configuration will allow string types to be mapped to SQL_VARCHAR and prevent SQL_WVARCHAR types from being displayed as NULL.

Connecting to the Sybase ODBC Data Source in DBeaver

1. Open the DBeaver application and in the Database menu, select the New Database Connection option. 👁 Creating a new Database Connection
   
2. In the 'Connect to a database' window, select ODBC and click Next. 👁 Creating a new Database Connection
   
3. In the Database/Schema field, enter the DSN name (CData Sybase Source by default). It will be automatically added to the JDBC URL as well.
4. Click the Test Connection button. You should receive a 'Connected' message after DBeaver has detected the DSN, along with details about the driver if the connection is successful. 👁 Successfully tested connection
   

Query Sybase Data

You can now query information from the tables exposed by the data source connection. You can expand the database structure in order to view all the tables. You can retrieve the table's data by right-clicking on a table name and selecting View data. The data will then be available in the Data tab.

Free Trial & More Information

At this point, you have connected to live Sybase data from DBeaver. For more information, visit the CData ODBC Driver page. Download a free, 30-day trial and start working live Sybase data DBeaver today.