Multi-Tier Installation and Configuration Guide for use with Epicor (formerly Activant) Prophet 21

Prophet 21 ships as an AIX server, which contains a Progress database and our Multi-Tier server components.

Note: For several years, Prophet 21 has included a deprecated version (typically Release 3.x or 4.x) of the Multi-Tier server components. We strongly recommend upgrading these to the latest available version (Release 5.x or later) for the Progress engine in your Prophet 21 installation. If you choose to upgrade, the rest of this page may be ignored; our general instructions are sufficient.

It is important that the Release version of the Multi-Tier Generic Client (ODBC, JDBC, or ADO.NET) components on your client host match the Release version of the Multi-Tier server-side components as closely as possible. Using Clients from one major Release (e.g., 5.x) against Broker/Agent from another major Release (e.g., 3.x) is neither tested, recommended, nor supported. We have made major changes in data type handling, among other things, which may lead to unpredictable and undesirable results when using such mixes of component versions.

Determine the version of the existing Multi-Tier components

  1. Access your AIX server's command line.
  2. Run these commands: 


    cd /usr/lpp/p21pro/openlink         [ENTER]
./oplrqb -?                         [ENTER]

  3. Note the Release, Version, and CVSID information returned. For example: 


    OpenLink Request Broker
Version 2.19 (Release 4.1) as of Wed Sep 05 2001 (cvsid 00059).

Obtain the Multi-Tier Client Installer

Note: Some client operating systems (e.g., Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, all 64-bit Windows) are not and will not be supported by the deprecated Release 3.x and 4.x Multi-Tier Clients matching the server components typically pre-installed on Prophet 21 machines. If your client operating system is among these, you must upgrade the server components to the latest available version for the Progress engine in your Prophet 21 installation. Once you upgrade, the rest of this page may be ignored; our general instructions are sufficient.

  1. Open a Support Case through our online Support Center. There is no charge for using this system.
  2. Answer the questions on the form as best you can. Guess if necessary, but please tell us you did so.
  3. In the Problem Description box, be sure to include the Request Broker release, version, and cvsid information you discovered above, and request the matching client components for the data consuming client OS.
  4. Wait (typically less than one business hour) for our Support Team to provide you with download links and other relevant information.

Install the Multi-Tier Client Components

  1. Download the client ZIP archive onto your Windows client.
  2. Use Winzip to extract the contents.
  3. Find the extracted Disk1 folder.
  4. Run setup.exe found inside Disk1.
  5. Choose a Quick Client Install.

Configure and test the Multi-Tier Client

  1. Open the Windows Control Panel.
  2. Open the Administrative Tools subfolder, if present.
  3. Open the Data Sources (ODBC) utility.
  4. Click on the System DSN tab.
  5. Click Add.
  6. Select the OpenLink Generic 32 Bit Driver from the driver list box.
  7. Click Finish.
  8. Set the following values in the ODBC DSN Setup screen:
    • Name — ActivantP21 (This is an arbitrary name; you can change it however you like.)
    • Domain — Progress 8
    • Hostname — the DNS-resolvable hostname or IP address of the P21 database host, e.g., 192.168.123.231 or p21host.example.com
    • Database Name — the full path to the P21 Progress database file, e.g., /usr/lpp/p21pro/db/gate.db
    • Username — usually blank, but may need to be a Progress username
    • Leave all other fields blank.
  9. Click the Test Connection button.
Referenced by...