A quick tour of setting up a geodatabase in Informix

This topic applies to ArcGIS for Desktop Standard and ArcGIS for Desktop Advanced only.

Use the Enable Enterprise Geodatabase geoprocessing tool or a Python script to create geodatabases in an IBM Informix database management system (DBMS).

You can use the Enable Enterprise Geodatabase geoprocessing tool if you have access to ArcGIS for Desktop (Standard or Advanced). If you need to create a geodatabase from a computer where ArcGIS Engine Runtime with the Geodatabase Update extension or ArcGIS for Server (Standard or Advanced) are installed, run a Python script.

Before you can create a geodatabase in Informix, you must first install the Informix software, configure the DBMS, create a database, register it with Spatial DataBlade, and create an operating system user named sde.

Configuring the DBMS involves setting up storage spaces for tables, indexes, and files that are stored in the database instance and adequately allocating memory. You should give consideration to the names, types, and locations of tables, indexes, and storage spaces you create; how large to make your backup log files; and what size to make the temporary space. As the database administrator, you know the naming conventions used at your site as well as what type of configuration your site requires.

You must also decide in what language your data will be stored. If you want to set up your database to use languages other than the default language of the DBMS, you must configure your DBMS for that.

Check the system requirements on the Resource Center before you set up a geodatabase to be sure the database, ArcGIS, and hardware combinations you want to use are supported.

Setting up a geodatabase in Informix

The following is a summary of the steps you take to create a geodatabase in Informix:

1. Install the Informix IDS and configure it. See your Informix documentation for information on configuring the database.

   To create a geodatabase in the Informix database, you must have the Spatial DataBlade module registered and one of Informix's full-text search extensions. See ArcSDE XML columns in Informix for more information.

2. Create an operating system account with the user name sde.
3. Make the following changes to the Informix ONCONFIG file:
   • Uncomment the VPCLASS jvp,num=1 parameter to run Java user-defined routines (UDRs).

     If you do not uncomment this parameter, the sde.retrieve_uid() function will not be created when you enable geodatabase functionality in the Informix database. The sde.retrieve_uid() function is required if any tables in your geodatabase participate in geodatabase replication or offline maps. It is also needed if you use SQL to edit tables that contain global ID or GUID columns.

   • Set the USEOSTIME parameter to 1 to use subsecond precision for time values.

     Setting this parameter allows you to implement editing workflows that require editing nonversioned data while disconnected from the network.

4. Restart Informix to implement the changes you made to the ONCONFIG file.
5. Install and configure the Informix client application on the ArcGIS client computers.

   This must be done before the Enable Enterprise Geodatabase tool or a Python script can be run.

   See the Informix documentation for instructions to install the client. If you are installing the Informix client to run with a 32-bit ArcGIS client, install the 32-bit Informix I-Connect client. If you are installing the Informix client to run with ArcGIS for Server, install the 64-bit I-Connect client. See Setting up a connection to Informix for more information.

6. Create a database and storage spaces on the Informix instance.
7. Grant the EXTEND role and RESOURCE privilege to the sde user you created in step 2.
8. Create a geodatabase in the database by doing one of the following:
   • Run the Enable Enterprise Geodatabase tool from ArcGIS for Desktop (Standard or Advanced). See Enabling geodatabase functionality in an Informix database for details.
   • Run a Python script from a computer running ArcGIS for Desktop (Standard or Advanced), ArcGIS Engine with the Geodatabase Update extension, or ArcGIS for Server (Standard or Advanced). An example script can be copied from Scripting geodatabase creation in Informix and altered to run at your site.

Alternate setup scenarios

There are some scenarios that require you to use different tools to set up a geodatabase in Informix, such as when you want to use an ArcSDE service for connections or multiple geodatabases are needed in the same Informix instance. See Multiple geodatabases in Informix for information on setting up multiple geodatabases on the same Informix instance.

To use an ArcSDE service, you must install and configure the ArcSDE application server. See the installation guide provided with the ArcSDE application server for instructions for this scenario. The ArcSDE application server installation can be downloaded from the Esri Customer Care portal.