How to setup Oracle ODBC for HCL Domino on Linux

Oracle is very selective about which versions of software to use. It is recommended to use the Instant Client version that corresponds to the Oracle database version. Regarding the unixODBC version, it is possible to deviate a little, without going overboard.
By following this guide, it is possible to obtain full functionality of the Lotusscript LCConnection and ODBCConnection objects.

Environment

• OS: Rocky Linux 9.5
• Database: Oracle 11.2.0.3
• Domino: HCL Domino 14 FP4

References

• Oracle Instant Client ODBC release compatibility
• unixODBC 2.3.11 RPMs
• Oracle Instant Client Downloads (Basic + ODBC)

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Setup Steps

1. Install Required Packages

Download and install the following RPMs:

• Oracle Instant Client (Basic + ODBC)
• unixODBC 2.3.11

Install them using:

dnf install ./<package.rpm>

2. Configure TNS

Create or copy tnsnames.ora to /etc/oracle/tnsnames.ora

3. Verify configuration paths

Check the current unixODBC configuration with:

odbcinst -j

Example output:

DRIVERS............: /etc/odbcinst.ini
SYSTEM DATA SOURCES: /etc/odbc.ini
FILE DATA SOURCES..: /etc/ODBCDataSources
USER DATA SOURCES..: /root/.odbc.ini
SQLULEN Size.......: 8
SQLLEN Size........: 8
SQLSETPOSIROW Size.: 8

The first two paths will be configured.

4. Configure /etc/odbcinst.ini

[Oracle11g]
Description     = Oracle ODBC driver for Oracle 11g
Driver          = /usr/lib/oracle/11.2/client64/lib/libsqora.so.11.1
Setup           =
FileUsage       = 1
CPTimeout       = 5
CPReuse         = 5
UsageCount      = 10

Making sure the Driver value points to the actual Oracle library.

5. Configure /etc/odbc.ini

[DSNNAME]
Driver      = Oracle11g
DSN         = Oracle11g
ServerName  = NAME

Driver and DSN must be the same as the odbcinst.ini section title.
The ServerName value will be the instance name as configures in the tnsnames.ora.

6. Environment Variables

Create a shell script /etc/profile.d/oracle.sh:

#!/bin/bash
export TNS_ADMIN=/etc/oracle
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/lib/oracle/11.2/client64/lib:/opt/hcl/domino/notes/latest/linux:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH

Ensure this is executable and available at login.

7. Domino systemd integration (Daniel Nashed Start Script)

When starting Domino as a service, I'm using Daniel Nashed' start script, bash profile is not loaded. Instead, edit the file /etc/systemd/system/domino.service adding the required environment variables:

Environment=ORACLE_HOME=/usr/lib/oracle/11.2/client64
Environment=LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/lib/oracle/11.2/client64/lib:/opt/hcl/domino/notes/latest/linux:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
Environment=TNS_ADMIN=/etc/oracle

8. Check dependencies

To ensure the Oracle ODBC library links correctly:

ldd /usr/lib/oracle/11.2/client64/lib/libsqora.so.11.1

9. Test Connection with Domino

Use HCL's dctest tool (run as notes user):

/opt/hcl/domino/notes/14000000/linux/dctest

Then choose 3 - ODBC and provide DSN, username and password to test it.

Troubleshooting

Error: libodbc.so not found

Create a symbolic link:

ln -s /usr/lib64/libodbc.so.2 /usr/lib64/libodbc.so

Instance member SERVER does not exists

System ODBC library is not found. Might be an LD_LIBRARY_PATH issue or a libodbc.so not found (hard-link as described above). Use dctest to troubleshoot.

Test ODBC connection from the command line

Run as notes user:

isql -v DSNNAME USER PASS

Notes

• Ensure the notes user has access to the environment variables and library paths at runtime.
• bash_profile is not used for systemd services — use Environment= in the service file instead.