Introduction

This article contains three sections: general guidance on potential pain points for the Oracle data source, a list of troubleshooting articles by symptom, and a list of Oracle bugs that have been patched out of our software.  We hope that this article will prove to be a one-stop resource for problems related to the Oracle data source, but if you do not see your problem addressed here, please submit a ticket and we will do our best to assist you.

For guidance on the Oracle data export, please see the guide here.

General Guidance

Connecting to an Oracle data source can some times be difficult for two primary reasons: extra software is required to allow SQL Server and Oracle to communicate, and Oracle and SQL Server data types do not always match up.

The Oracle Data Provider

The extra software needed to connect SQL Server and Oracle is called the Oracle Data Provider (ODP), and you can find our guide to installing it here.  The ODP software can present difficulties because a mistake during the installation process can cause the data source not to work correctly, no matter how it is later configured. 

If you are having issue getting your Oracle data source set up for the first time, a problem during the ODP installation process is by far the most probable cause.  Checking to ensure the ODP and your TimeXtender software are using the same bit version and reinstalling the ODP will often resolve these first-time setup woes.

Data Type Clashes

The other common problem with the Oracle data source occurs because Oracle data types are often larger than the data types used by TimeXtender's default settings, especially text data types and date-time data types. Selecting Force Unicode Conversion and converting dates to in-range values, re-synchronizing, and re-deploying will resolve these problems quickly.

Problems by Symptom:

I can't set up the Oracle data source

• Testing the connection to a new Oracle data source causes the Oracle data source window to close and an error message about AddEditDatasourceOracleCommand to appear.
• Testing the connection to a new Oracle data source results in an error message about OracleConnectionStringBuilder.
• Testing the connection to a new Oracle data source connection results in an error message about Oracle.DataAccess.
• Testing an Oracle global database connection results in a logon error message.

I can't synchronize the Oracle data source

• Reading objects from an Oracle data source takes a very long time, or returns an incomplete or empty list of tables.
• Reading objects from the Oracle Data Source returns no values, and the specified owner name has the correct permissions.
• Reading objects from an Oracle data source results in an error message about Oracle drivers, but Test Connection to the Oracle data source works.

I can't synchronize or deploy Oracle data source tables

• Reading objects from an Oracle data source results in an SSIS error message, but Test Connection to the Oracle data source works.

I can't deploy Oracle data source tables

• Deploying an Oracle table results in an error message about Unicode conversion.
• Deploying an Oracle table results an error message about the DefaultCodePage property.
• After changing the tnsnames file, deploying an oracle table results in a PRIMEOUTPUTFAILED error.

I can't execute Oracle data source tables

• Executing an Oracle table results in an error message about date formats.

List of Patched Bugs:

To review the list of fixes in a TimeXtender release, visit the download page and review Release Notes for any specific version.