Before you can proceed with the branding process, you must register a 2-character file prefix and password on the OEM Partner website.

Note: You will need to log in to the Progress DataDirect OEM Partner website to complete these steps. The OEM Partner website is password-protected. Progress DataDirect provides URLs and log in credentials for the site as part of your OEM agreement.

Take the following steps before proceeding with the branding process:

  1. Optionally, verify the digital signature of the installer package you want to brand. Verifying the signature assures that the installer package you are branding has not been tampered with. See "Verifying an installer package signature" for details.
  2. Obtain the serial number and the IPE key (also known as the Control Number) for branding the product.

    If you have not received the serial number and the IPE key, you can obtain this information through this two part process.

    • Log on to the Progress DataDirect OEM Partner website. Navigate to the DataDirect Inside Connection page. Then, click on the Current Licenses link (on the navigation bar to the left) for the serial number.
    • Request an IPE key (or Control Number) at the Product and Version Upgrades page. Enter customer information and serial number, and click REQUEST UPGRADE.
  3. Register a 2-character file prefix on the OEM Partner website. Use this registered file prefix during branding to avoid file name conflicts with other Progress DataDirect for JDBC drivers that may be installed on a user’s system. If you already use a unique file prefix registered with Progress DataDirect, you can use that prefix.
    We recommend that you register a prefix using the following characters: a-z and 0-9 with special characters that are valid for file names in your operating system, such as underscore (_) or the dollar sign ($). Invalid characters for file names on Windows are \ / : * ? “ < > |.
    Note: The value dd is a reserved file prefix. Specifying this value returns an error.
  4. Register a password on the OEM Partner website (a maximum of 24 characters). The password is case-sensitive. Use this registered password during branding to protect the drivers from being used by other applications.

    Your password must be a maximum of 24 characters of 7-bit ASCII values. If you enter fewer than 24 characters, the missing characters are automatically padded as uppercase Qs. For example, if you enter: DATAD1RECT the password is automatically padded with Qs as follows: DATAD1RECTQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ

  5. Autonomous REST Connector only: The Autonomous REST Connector supports the following methods of branding and locking the driver:
    • Locking the API: If third-party applications and BI tools will be using the driver, you can brand the driver to accept only calls to your API. This eliminates the need to modify the application to pass a password to unlock the driver.
    • License file and password locking: If the driver will be used only by applications that you can modify, you can brand the driver to be unlocked via a license file and password.

    If you brand the driver to accept only calls to your API, you will need the following additional prerequisites:

    • Download the branding tool, BrandingTool.jar, from the OEM Partner website.
    • Create an input REST file. See "Branding the Autonomous REST Connector to lock the API" for more information.