Reading a SQL Anywhere 11 DB

[Former Member]

Hi there!

This is as newbie a question as you can possibly get. I've been handed a SQL Anywhere 11 database and been asked to read its contents. Is there an "Express" version that I could install on my Windows computer to do this and how would I go to connect the db? I'm more of a Microsoft SQL Server user...

Thanks for your time!

[Former Member]

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[chris_keating]

SAP SQL Anywhere (sapstore.com). Click trial which will provide links to the SAP SQL Anywhere, developer edition. This will be a SQL Anywhere 17 but a v10 or later database file can run on a v17 database server. See Connecting to a Database (Interactive SQL, SQL Central) | SAP Help Portal which provides a very easy way to a novice to access the database. I assume that you know the credentials (the default for older databases would be User ID: DBA Password: sql

• Run SQL Central
• Select Connections | Connect with SQL Anywhere 17
• Follow the steps described in the Option "Start and connect to a database on your local computer". Ensure that you provide the User ID and Password in the Authentication second of the Connect dialog
• I prefer View | Folders as the UI.. I think it makes navigating the database structure easier.

Data can be viewed by navigating into the Table folder and either

• Right mouse click the Table and select View Data in Interactive SQL; or
• Double click the table name and then select the Data tab

[windchaser]

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the information!

I installed the Developer edition and have been trying to connect the database without success. My guess is that the UserID and Password may have been changed because that's the error message that I'm getting. If I instead try to access directly on the client's server where his database is located, would I need to know the UserID and password over there as well? Otherwise, is there possibly some basic steps that I might be overlooking? Thanks!

[chris_keating]

You will need to know the credentials for the database. The default credentials are UserID: DBA and Password: sql. Note that the password is case sensitive. If you are not able to connect to the client database with those credentials, it means that the default connection credentials have changed. Check to see if there is a SQL Anywhere DSN defined for the client database. In some cases, the credentials may exist there. If not, your client should have those credentials. If you or your client have support with SAP, it is possible that someone can assist with accessing the database.

[windchaser]

Hi Chris,

I saw a .db file and a .log file but no .dsn file. The client is non-technical and has no idea what his credentials may be. If the client wants to get support, can you point me in the right direction to find out what costs might be entailed? Thanks!

[chris_keating]

A DSN is a Microsoft ODBC data source name = ODBC is one of the driver options for SQL Anywhere.

In order to get access to support, you would need to have maintenance and I believe that maintenance is based on an active license. The SAP Store (US geography) indicates that the minimum license is $960USD plus $183USD for Standard Support (maintenance). I am not sure if that is the only option as I am not involved in sales and licensing. Note, before taking this path, make sure that the customer can provide evidence of ownership of the database and/or the data it contains. This might be details of the schema, data, the application that was hosting the database, for example.

It certainly would be best if you could identify the login credentials for database in the absence of access to support. Was the database part of a commercial application. If so, have they contacted the vendor of that application for assistance. Or was it a part of an internal system. And is so, have they discussed this with the developers (or reviewed source code) to see if the credentials were maintained.