This driver is a simple driver. It provides additional functionality to enable ClearSCADA to interface with specific supported devices using a particular protocol. To interact successfully with such devices, you need to:
- Install and run the driver
- Ensure that the driver is licensed
- Configure the required database items and settings on the driver
- Ensure that the database items (and any database items on which they depend) have valid, saved, configuration and are 'In Service'.
This guide explains features that are specific to the ClearSCADA ODBC Driver. This driver has been produced by Schneider Electric to run on the servers on a ClearSCADA system, and should not be confused with the WindowsTM ODBC driver that is often supplied with WindowsTM software. In this guide, the ClearSCADA ODBC driver is generally referred to as the ODBC driver.
The ClearSCADA ODBC Driver allows point data to be transferred from another database into the ClearSCADA database, using Open DataBase Connectivity (ODBC) data transfer standards (see Using ODBC to Access the ClearSCADA Database). The driver performs the necessary conversions to enable the data to be transferred between the source and destination databases. This is dependent on:
- ClearSCADA running the ClearSCADA ODBC Driver
- The other application and its database management system being ODBC-compliant
- The other application and its database management system running their own WindowsTM ODBC driver.
ODBC can be used to transfer data between a ClearSCADA database and, for example, Oracle, Access, Excel, dBase or an SQL server.
In ClearSCADA, you can write an ODBC Query using SQL that allows a block of data to be located and retrieved from the other application’s database. As with other ODBC drivers, ClearSCADA’s ODBC driver converts that query into a request that can be recognized by the other application’s database management system. The other application can then perform the requested data transfer.
You use OBDC points in ClearSCADA to extract data from the data table that is produced as a result of the ODBC query request.
Given the required Write access privileges, you can also replace or insert an individual value within another application’s database, by sending a point control to that application. Within ClearSCADA, you enter the SQL Query code that defines the location of the data in the other application’s database and the specifies the data that is to be replaced or inserted. The actual value that is to be sent to the other application’s database, is specified when the control is requested.
The ODBC documentation explains how to configure ODBC-specific features and items in the ClearSCADA database (see Configuration Order). It also explains the driver-specific features that are of interest to operators, such as:
and driver-specific aspects that may be of interest to system administrators and engineers when investigating unexpected system behavior:
Use the documentation along with the ClearSCADA Guide to Simple Drivers and the core documentation when configuring ODBC features on your system.
NOTE: For other applications to access the ClearSCADA database using ODBC, the appropriate Data Access components have to be installed as part of the ClearSCADA installation process. For more information, see Third Party ODBC Client - System Connections in the ClearSCADA Guide to Client Administration.
For information on exporting Crystal Reports in ODBC format, see the ClearSCADA Crystal Reports documentation.