IBM Informix JDBC Driver Download

Download the Informix JDBC driver, copy the JDBC URL into DbSchema, and start designing schemas with ER diagrams — free Community Edition.

About the Informix JDBC driver

A JDBC driver is a Java .jar library that lets applications connect to Informix. DbSchema uses JDBC to reverse engineer schemas, run SQL, and generate documentation. Driver files are usually published by the database vendor or an open-source project.

JDBC URL format

Host, port, database name, and SSL options are passed in a URL starting with jdbc:. Each Informix driver uses its own syntax — see the connection details below.

The Informix JDBC driver

IBM Informix is a high-performance embedded and enterprise database used in retail point-of-sale systems, financial institutions, and time-series data management. It is known for its JSON/BSON support, time-series extensions (TimeSeries), and very low memory footprint.

The IBM Informix JDBC URL

• Required File(s): ifxjdbc.jar
• Java Driver Class: com.informix.jdbc.IfxDriver
• JDBC URL: jdbc:informix-sqli://HOST:PORT/DB:informixserver=PARAM
• Website: IBM

Download Informix JDBC Driver

The driver archive is a zip file. Extract it and load the .jar files using DbSchema's Driver Manager.

Connecting to a Remote Informix Server

Informix asks for one value no other database here needs: the server name. Host and port alone are not enough, because a single machine can run several Informix servers on different ports.

1. Read the connection details from sqlhosts. The sqlhosts file on the server maps each Informix server to a protocol, a host and a service. An entry using onsoctcp is the ordinary TCP/IP listener that the JDBC driver expects; drsoctcp beside it is the DRDA listener on its own port and is a different door.
2. Pass the server name in the URL. The URL carries INFORMIXSERVER=, which DbSchema exposes as a parameter field. It has to match the sqlhosts entry exactly. Omitting it, or naming a server that listens on another port, is the usual cause of a connection that hangs and then times out.
3. Resolve the service to a real port. Where sqlhosts names a service rather than a number, the port is defined in /etc/services on the server. Development builds commonly listen on 9088, but this is a local choice rather than a fixed default — read the actual value.
4. Open port 9088 in the server's firewall. The database listens on port 9088 unless it was installed with a different one. A host firewall on the server blocks incoming connections on that port until a rule allows them. The firewall guide has the commands for Windows, ufw, firewalld and iptables.
5. Connect from DbSchema. In the Connection Dialog choose Remote computer or custom port, fill in the server host and the port, then press Test Connection to check that the server answers before you connect.

DbSchema and IBM Informix

DbSchema connects to Informix using the IBM JDBC driver and renders table hierarchies, fragment strategies, and smart large objects in the ER diagram. Use the Schema Synchronization feature to generate Informix-compatible DDL including FRAGMENT BY ROUND ROBIN and EXTENT SIZE parameters.