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Easysoft ODBC-ODBC Bridge

Why do I get connection refused errors from the client?

Article:
00067
Last Reviewed:
8th January 2024
Revision:
2

If you get errors such as:

08001:1:4:[Easysoft ODBC (Client)] Client unable to establish connection
HY000:2:4:[Easysoft ODBC (Client)] Connection refused, error text

then the Easysoft ODBC-ODBC Bridge Server is not listening on the specified port or the operating system refused the connection due to the listen backlog queue filling. (In this last case, see the question Why do I get connection refused under heavy loads?.) First check the DSN entry you are using in the odbc.ini (or .odbc.ini or ODBC Administrator) is correct. The attribute to check is SERVERPORT. If the server is up and running on the specified machine, listening on the specified port, you should be able to telnet to that port and see if the server sends its startup protocol message. E.g. if the SERVERPORT value is demo.easysoft.com:8888 you should be able to telnet to port 8888 on demo.easysoft.com.

telnet demo.easysoft.com 8888

You should see something like this:

87FA9694x1:0:1998-1112-0000000001001:NT^02:4.0.1381^03:Intel^04:4^05:^06:Yp^07:1^

(Do not worry if it is not exactly the same as this, the output will vary, depending on the Easysoft ODBC-ODBC Bridge version, operating system and machine type.)

If the telnet fails to connect then nothing is listening on that port and you should check the port used on the server and make sure the server is running. If you get connected but then see a connection closed by foreign host message then you should see the other connection-related questions in this KB.

If you are connecting to a non Windows server then check your /etc/inetd.conf and /etc/services files or equivalent. These should be similar to those shown below:

/etc/services
esoobserver 8888/tcp # Easysoft ODBC-ODBC Bridge
/etc/inetd.conf
 esoobserver stream tcp nowait root /bin/sh /bin/sh
      /usr/local/easysoft/server/server

This should have been done for you by the installation. The important parts are:

  1. The name used in the /etc/services file should match the name used in the /etc/inetd.conf (esoobserver in the example).
  2. 8888 is the port which inetd will listen to on the servers behalf. There must only be one 8888 in the /etc/services file. If 8888 is taken by another service simply replace it with an unused port number and change the ServerPort attribute in any odbc.ini files which reference this machine.
  3. The "/bin/sh bin/sh" columns in the /etc/inetd.conf file must be the path to a valid shell. If you suspect this is not valid, trying running the named shell from the prompt e.g. /bin/sh. Sometimes, UNIX machines have a file called /etc/shells which lists valid shells.
  4. The last column in the inetd.conf file should be a path to a shell script which runs the esoobserver. The default installation is shown above where the shell script is: 
     #!/bin/sh
 cd /usr/local/easysoft/server 
 ./esoobserver inetd

Check this script is executable and try running it. If esoobserver does not exist then you have not yet created a binary of the Easysoft ODBC-ODBC Bridge linked with your ODBC driver. See BUILDING in the docs directory.

If you are connecting to a Windows server then you should look at the following list for possible problems:

  1. If on NT check that the NT service manager is running and the Easysoft ODBC-ODBC Bridge service is started. If the Easysoft service is not running start it.

    If on Windows 95 then you have to start the esoobserver manually, in the Start Menu -> Programs -> Easysoft -> ODBC-ODBC Bridge program group, click on the ODBC-ODBC Bridge Server.

  2. By default, the service listens on port 8888. Run "netstat -a" from a DOS prompt to check that something is listening on port 8888.
  3. Check that the esoobserver.exe program runs by executing it from a DOS prompt. You should get a message saying the command line is missing a method followed by some help text.
  4. If on NT, check the Application event log to see if there are any messages from the Easysoft service.
  5. The final checks all require examining the registry and are beyond the scope of this document. If you get to this stage please contact Easysoft Support for assistance.
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