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I have been successfully using Entity Framework 4.1 with my Sql Server for quite a while now.

The company is integrating with corportate now, which uses DB2 iSeries 5.4. I need to figure out how to integrate Entity Framework.

From what I can tell, I need to download the DB Data Server Provider 9.7, then apply the latest patch in order for it to work with VS2010 and EF4.

The trouble is, I can't find anywhere to download 9.7! I can find the 9.5 download area just fine, but nothing for 9.7. I have been searching for 6 hours now.

Can anyone provide me with a link that I can use to download what I need to get this working??

Scottie
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  • Isn't that component installed as a part of Client Access? What level is the server at? (We're also at 5.4, so I'll need to know this when we upgrade, but up through V5R4, it's always been a part of the CLient Access install.) – David Jul 02 '12 at 21:48
  • I do have IBM.Data.DB2.iSeries.dll in my Client Access folder. Will this work with EF4? If so, how do I get EF to see it? As of right now, the only available provders are SQL Server. – Scottie Jul 02 '12 at 21:53
  • I always just add a reference and browse out to the .dll. If that doesn't work, I'll shut up and let someone smarter than me take over. I'm just going off what I've done with previous versions. – David Jul 02 '12 at 21:55
  • Ok, I'm still pretty new to this. The provider installed looks like it's 6.1.0. The server is running 5.4.0. – Scottie Jul 02 '12 at 21:58
  • Then you won't nbe able to use the newer version yet. Unfotunately, one of the hassles we have being .NET developers working with the IMB DB2 database is that we're usually stuck not being able to use the tools we'd like. The provider gets installed with the Client Access package, and the level the Client Access package is at is usually pretty close to the service level the iSeries (or whatever it's called these days) is at. I can't use Entitoy Framework, or IBM.DB2 in my SSIS packages for the same reason you're having difficulty. – David Jul 02 '12 at 22:01
  • What do you mean by "browse out to the .dll"?? I don't see an option anywhere in the "New Connection" dialog when creating a new .edmx to find new .dll's. -- Just saw your response. Shoot. That's a bummer. Thanks for the help anyways. – Scottie Jul 02 '12 at 22:01
  • Just so you're aware as well, when you jump from V5R4 up to version 6, your .NET code will loikely break. Apparently the folks at IBM don't much care about backward compatibility in .NET. There's info om IBM's website covering it, but in our shop, it ground us to a halt while we re-write all our .NET code that accesses the DB2. Their proposed changes don't work in 100% of the cases. We opted instead, to set up exports to SQL Server instead of reading from DB2 directly because this is the third time they've broken something with an upgrade, and we're sick of it. – David Jul 02 '12 at 22:04
  • One article tacking issues to expect: http://answerpot.com/showthread.php?1286858-IBM%20ADO.net%20Data%20Provider%20Version%20Compatibility For us, it jsut made sense to set up exports and get our data from something other than DB2 bevcause we don't have the development staff to keep rewriting our code base because IBM can't play nicer. (Sorry, that's probably not appropriate. Just venting frustration.) – David Jul 02 '12 at 22:10
  • Here it is. The official IBM info on the breaking changes. It doesn't work in all cases. http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=nas1ed6f6dcdf7015272862574470072d30f – David Jul 02 '12 at 22:12

1 Answers1

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You should be able to get them from the Data Server Client Packages by version page.

Leo
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