Toad 9.7 & Oracle Instant Client 11.1

Referring to Toad + Oracle instant client, I tried to set it up but unfortunately it doesn't work out for me. Some extra additional steps help to resolve the issue and I love to share it here.

First, download Oracle Client from Oracle Database Instant Client. Instant Client Package - Basic Lite wil do just fine. (about 17MB)

Next, create 4 folders ( recommended under c:\Program Files ) according to folder hierarchy below;



You should have 4 folders.

C:\Program Files\oracle
C:\Program Files\oracle\bin
C:\Program Files\oracle\network
C:\Program Files\oracle\network\admin

Now, extract the Instant Client Package to C:\Program Files\oracle\bin ( make sure the oci.dll is in the C:\Program Files\oracle\bin )



Right click at My Computer > Properties > Goto Advance tab > Click Environment Variables. Add listed Environment Variables below to your OS.

LD_LIBRARY_PATH = C:\Program Files\oracle\bin
ORACLE_HOME = C:\Program Files\oracle
ORACLE_HOME_NAME = C:\Program Files\oracle
SQL_PATH = C:\Program Files\oracle
TNS_ADMIN = C:\Program Files\oracle\network\admin

Under system variables, edit Path, add C:\Program Files\oracle\bin to the end of other path (don't forget to separate it with ";")



Copy/create 3 simple *.ora files below to C:\Program Files\oracle\network\admin



tnsnames.ora

DEV =
(DESCRIPTION =
(ADDRESS_LIST =
(ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = foo)(PORT = 1531))
)
(CONNECT_DATA =
(SERVICE_NAME = foo)
)
)

sqlnet.ora

NAMES.DIRECTORY_PATH= (LDAP, TNSNAMES, HOSTNAME)
NAMES.DEFAULT_DOMAIN = WORLD
TRACE_LEVEL_CLIENT = OFF
SQLNET.EXPIRE_TIME = 30

ldap.ora

DEFAULT_ADMIN_CONTEXT = “ou=oracledatabases,dc=mycompany,dc=com”
DIRECTORY_SERVERS = (ldap_server.mycompany.com:389:636)
DIRECTORY_SERVER_TYPE = OID

Finally, test it out.



The drop down button seems to be highlighted in red but it works. I've tried it with several DB connections.