Data Source Name (DSN) Connection Properties

The following tables list the connection properties you can set in the DSNs for use with Vertica's ODBC driver.

Required Connection Properties

These connection properties are the minimum required to create a functioning DSN.

NOTE: If you use a host name (Servername) whose DNS entry resolves to multiple IP addresses, the client attempts to connect to the first IP address returned by the DNS. If a connection cannot be made to the first address, the client attempts to connect to the second, then the third, continuing until it either connects successfully or runs out of addresses.

Property Description Default Value

Driver

The file path and name of the driver used.

none

Database

The name of the database running on the server.

none

Servername

The host name or IP address of any active node in a Vertica cluster.

You can provide an IPv4 address, IPv6 address, or host name.

In mixed IPv4/IPv6 networks, the DNS server configuration determines which IP version address is sent first. Use the PreferredAddressFamily option to force the connection to use either IPv4 or IPv6.

You can also use the aliases "server" and "host" for this property.

none

UID

The database username.

none

Optional Properties

These are basic properties that are optional.

Property Description Default Value

Port

The port number on which Vertica listens for ODBC connections.

5433

PWD

The password for the specified user name. You may insert an empty string to leave this property blank.

 

none (login only succeeds if the user does not have a password set)

PreferredAddressFamily

The IP version to use if the client and server have both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses and you have provided a host name. Valid values are:

  • ipv4—Connect to the server using IPv4.
  • ipv6—Connect to the server using IPv6.
  • none—Use the IP address provided by the DNS server.
none

Advanced Settings

Property Description Default

AutoCommit

A Boolean value that controls whether the driver automatically commits transactions after executing a DML statement.

true

BackupServerNode

A string containing the host name or IP address that client libraries can try to connect to if the host specified in ServerName is unreachable. Connection attempts continue until successful or until the list of server nodes is exhausted.

Valid values: Comma-separated list of servers optionally followed by a colon and port number.

none
ConnectionLoadBalance

A Boolean value that indicates whether the connection can be redirected to a host in the database other than the ServerNode.

This affects the connection only if the load balancing. is set to something other than "none". When the node differs from the node the client is connected to, the client disconnects and reconnects to the targeted node. See About Native Connection Load Balancing in the Administration Guide.

false

ConnSettings

A string containing SQL commands that the driver should execute immediately after connecting to the server. You can use this property to configure the connection, such as setting a schema search path.

Reserved symbol: In the connection string ';' is a reserved symbol. To set multiple properties as part of ConnSettings properties, use '%3B' for ','. Also use '+' for spaces.

none

ConvertSquareBracketIdentifiers Controls whether square-bracket query identifiers are converted to a double quote identifier for compatibility when making queries to a Vertica database. false

DirectBatchInsert

A Boolean value that controls where data inserted through the connection is stored. When set to true, Vertica directly inserts data into ROS containers. Otherwise, it stores data using ClosedAUTO mode.

When you load data using AUTO mode, Vertica inserts the data first into the WOS. If the WOS is full, Vertica inserts the data directly into ROS. For details about load options, see Choosing a Load Method.

false

DriverStringConversions

Controls whether the ODBC driver performs type conversions on strings sent between the ODBC driver and the database. Possible values are:

  • NONE—No conversion in either direction. This results in the highest performance.
  • INPUT—Strings sent from the client to the server are converted, but strings sent from the server to the client are not.
  • OUTPUT—Strings sent by the server to the client are converted, but strings sent from the client to the server are not.
  • BOTH—Strings are converted in both directions.

OUTPUT

Locale

The locale used for the session. Specify the locale as an ICU Locale.

See the ICU User Guide for a complete list of properties that can be used to specify a locale.

en_US@collation=binary (English as in the United States of America)

PromptOnNoPassword

[Windows only] Controls whether users are prompted to enter a password, if none is supplied by the connection string or DSN used to connect to Vertica. See Prompting Windows Users for Passwords.

false

ReadOnly

A true or false value that controls whether the connection can read data only from Vertica.

false

ResultBufferSize

Size of memory buffer for the large result sets in streaming mode. A value of 0 means ResultBufferSize is turned off.

This property was previously called MaxMemoryCache

131072 (128KB)

TransactionIsolation

Sets the transaction isolation for the connection. Valid values are:

  • Read Committed
  • Serializable
  • Server Default

See Changing Transaction Isolation Levels in the Administrator's Guide for an explanation of transaction isolation.

Server Default

Identification

Property Description Default Standard/Vertica

Description

Description for the DSN entry.

Required? No

Insert an empty string to leave the description empty.

none

Standard

Label / SessionLabel

Sets a label for the connection on the server. This value appears in the client_label column of the V_MONITOR.SESSIONS system table.

Label and SessionLabel are synonyms and can be used interchangeably.

none

Vertica

Encryption

Property Description Default Standard/Vertica

SSLMode

Controls whether the connection to the database uses SSL encryption. Valid values follow. For descriptions of these values, refer to Configuring SSL for ODBC Clients.

  • require
  • prefer—Prefers that the server use SSL. If the server does not offer an encrypted channel, the client requests one. The first connection attempt to the database tries to use SSL. If that attempt fails, a second connection is attempted over a clear channel.
  • allow—Makes a connection to the server whether the server uses SSL or not. The first connection attempt to the database is attempted over a clear channel. If that fails, a second connection is attempted over SSL.
  • disable—Never connects to the server using SSL. Typically, you use this setting for troubleshooting.

prefer

Vertica

SSLCertFile The absolute path of the client's public certificate file. This file can reside anywhere on the system. none Vertica
SSLKeyFile The absolute path to the client's private key file. This file can reside anywhere on the system. none Vertica

Third-Party Compatibility

Property Description Default Standard/Vertica

ColumnsAsChar

Specifies how character column types are reported when the driver is in Unicode mode. When set to false, the ODBC driver reports the data type of character columns as WCHAR. If you set ColumnsAsChar to true, the driver identifies character column as CHAR.

You typically use this setting for compatibility with some third-party clients, such as Informatica.

false

Vertica

ThreePartNaming

A Boolean value that controls how catalog names are interpreted by the driver. When this value is false, the driver reports that catalog names are not supported. When catalog names are not supported, they cannot be used as a filter in database metadata API calls. In this case, the driver returns NULL as the catalog name in all driver metadata results.

When this value is true, catalog names can be used as a filter in database metadata API calls. In this case, the driver returns the database name as the catalog name in metadata results. Some third-party applications assume a certain catalog behavior and do not work properly with the default values. Enable this option if your client software expects to get the catalog name from the database metadata and use it as part of a three-part name reference.

false (UNIX)

true (Window)

Vertica

EnforceBatchInsertNullConstraints

Prevents NULL values from being loaded into columns with a NOT NULL constraint during batch inserts. When this value is set to true, batch inserts roll back when NULL values are inserted in to columns with NOT NULL constraints. When this value is set to false, batch insert behavior is unchanged.

Verticarecommends only using this property with SAP Data Services as it could negatively impact database performance.

false Vertica

Kerberos Connection Properties

Use the following properties for client authentication using Kerberos.

Property Description Default Standard/Vertica

KerberosServiceName

Provides the service name portion of the Vertica Kerberos principal; for example: vertica/host@EXAMPLE.COM

vertica

Vertica

KerberosHostname

Provides the instance or host name portion of the Vertica Kerberos principal; for example: vertica/host@EXAMPLE.COM

Value specified in the servername connection string property

Vertica