[R] Error using 32-bit R and RODBC package on 64-bit Windows Server OS with R version 2.10

[Marc Schwartz]

On Nov 16, 2009, at 2:39 PM, helpme wrote:

> I am receiving an error when trying to connect to the Oracle  
> Database using
> RODBC on a 64-bit Windows Server OS. The version of R is 2.10.0- 
> win32.exe
>
> Is this the wrong version. Does RODBC only work with 32-bit ODBC  
> drivers?
>
> 've read over all the posts and documentation manuals.
> The system is Windows Server 2003 with R 2.81. and the latest  
> downloadable
> RODBC package. The Oracle SID/DSN is mfopdw. I made sure to add it to
> Control Panel->Administrative Priviledges->Microsoft ODBC system/ 
> user DNS.
>
> I've also tried the following in no particular order:
>
> 1.) Turn on all oracle services in control panel->administrative
> priviledges.
> 2.) Checked tsnnames.ora for SID.
> 3.) Add microsoft ODBC service to Control Panel services for SID
> 4.) Use Sqldeveler to test connection another way besides R (It was
> successful)
> 5.) channel<-odbcDriverConnect(
> connection="Driver={Microsoft ODBC for Oracle};
> DSN=abc,UID=abc;PWD=abc;"case="oracle")
>
> received error drivers SQLAllocHandle on SQL_HANDLE_ENV failed one  
> time;
> another time I got the error that Oracle client and networking  
> components
> 7.3 or greater is not found.
>
> 6.) tnsping mfopdw
>
> lsnrctl start mfopdw
>
> tried to add oracle/bin to path
>
> Nothing is working.

Three quick comments:

1. A better place to post these types of queries would be on the R-SIG- 
DB e-mail list, which is focused in this domain. More info here:

   https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-sig-db

2. Prof. Ripley will be a more definitive resource, so I would wait  
until he might respond.

3. If you have not yet, be sure to read the RODBC vignette, which is  
available either via:

   vignette("ROBDC")

or online at:

   http://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/RODBC/vignettes/RODBC.pdf


That all being said, since you have now posted what may be the root  
cause of your problem, which is the 64/32 bit details, I will venture  
a guess to say that this may be the problem. Since there is not a 64  
bit version of R for Windows (save I believe the Revolution commercial  
release), if you are using 64 bit Oracle client binaries and ODBC  
drivers (if they exist), they will not be compatible with 32 bit R/ 
RODBC.

I know that on OSX, with 64 bit R/RODBC and 32 bit ODBC drivers for  
Oracle, the connectivity would not work, so it seems reasonable that  
the reverse configuration would not be compatible either.

So, first, I would be sure that you are using 32 bit ODBC drivers for  
Oracle on Windows and not 64 bit. If you installed any other Oracle  
client related software, that likely also needs to be 32 bit as well.

Then I would review the above vignette document and be sure that any  
general installation references and those specifically pertaining to  
Windows have been followed consistently, especially configuring $PATH  
and other environmental configuration items required for Oracle  
itself, which on some platforms usually include things like  
$ORACLE_HOME, $TNS_ADMIN and so forth.  You indicate above:

   "tried to add oracle/bin to path"

which does not definitively indicate that you actually did so. Did  
you?  Also, check the capitalization, as the path is normally  
something like c:\Oracle\bin.

If you can connect to the Oracle server using Oracle's own clients  
such as the InstantClient, that typically means that most of the  
system configuration issues are correctly set up. If that connection  
is successful, then it may bring us back to the 32/64 bit conflict.

HTH,

Marc Schwartz