KB37360: "Specified security mechanism, (Unknown), is not supported by server" error message appears when creating a new DSN in MicroStrategy Universal 9.x - 10.x running on UNIX/Linux against a DB2 database

Sample Code/Error

Connect failed.Error type: Odbc error. Odbc operation attempted: SQLDriverConnect. Specified security mechanism, (Unknown), is not supported by server.

 
CAUSE:
In the Connectivity Wizard, before a DSN is created, connectivity to the database can be tested. During this test, the user ID and password specified in the Connectivity Wizard are passed to the database server without encryption. On the DB2 server, the authentication type can be set (e.g., SERVER) and the authentication type determines how and where a user will be verified. When the authentication type is set to SERVER, the user ID and password specified during the test connection from Strategy is compared with the user ID and password combination at the server and no encryption is involved in this process. However, when the authentication type on the DB2 server requires encryption (e.g, SERVER_ENCRYPT), the authentication process fails as no encryption is used by the Connectivity Wizard when testing the connection.
 
ACTION:
An Enhancement Request has been logged to provide the ability for specifying the encryption option in the Connectivity Wizard in UNIX/Linux. Currently this issue is still being reviewed for feasibility by our Technology team and it is not scoped for any upcoming scheduled Strategy release. 
 
WORKAROUND:
It is not necessary to test connectivity to the database server during DSN creation. Once the DSN is created, the authentication and encryption settings in Strategy can be modified to match those on the DB2 server. DB2 encyrption on Unix for Strategy ODBC Driver for DB2 Wire Protocol can be enabled by adding the following two parameters in the ODBC.ini file: AuthenticationMethod and EncryptionMethod as shown below (Note: Always backup the odbc.ini file before making any modifications):
 
IpAddress=192.168.10.123
Database=TEST
TcpPort=50010
Driver=/opt/MicroStrategy/lib32/MYdb2XX.so
Description=Strategy ODBC Driver for DB2 Wire Protocol
ApplicationUsingThreads=1
DynamicSections=200
GrantAuthid=PUBLIC
GrantExecute=1
PackageCollection=NULLID
WithHold=1
IANAAppCodePage=106
DefaultIsolationLevel=1
EnableBatchSupport=0
AuthenticationMethod=1
EncryptionMethod=1
 
 

37360 KB37360