Powershell Connection to Oracle Database

Question

I'm having trouble connecting to an Oracle database from Powershell using the Oracle.ManagedDataAccess.dll.

I followed this tutorial on Technet and ended up with this code:

add-type -path "C:\oracle\product\12.1.0\client_1\ODP.NET\managed\common\Oracle.ManagedDataAccess.dll"
$username = "XXXX"
$password = "XXXX"
$data_source = "(DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=TCP)(HOST=XXXX)(PORT=XXXX))(CONNECT_DATA = (SERVER=dedicated)(SERVICE_NAME=XXXX)))"
$connection_string = "User Id=$username;Password=$password;Data Source=$data_source"

try{
    $con = New-Object Oracle.ManagedDataAccess.Client.OracleConnection($connection_string)

    $con.Open()
} catch {
    Write-Error (“Can’t open connection: {0}`n{1}” -f `
        $con.ConnectionString, $_.Exception.ToString())
} finally{
    if ($con.State -eq ‘Open’) { $con.close() }
}

Unfortunately I'm getting this error:

C:\Users\XXXX\Desktop\oracle_test.ps1 : Can’t open connection: User Id=XXXX;Password=XXXX;Data Source=(DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=TCP)(HOST=XXXX)(PORT=XXXX))(CONNECT_DATA = 
(SERVER=dedicated)(SERVICE_NAME=XXXX)))
System.Management.Automation.MethodInvocationException: Exception calling "Open" with "0" argument(s): "The type initializer for 'Oracle.ManagedDataAccess.Types.TimeStamp' threw an exception." ---> 
System.TypeInitializationException: The type initializer for 'Oracle.ManagedDataAccess.Types.TimeStamp' threw an exception. ---> System.Runtime.Serialization.SerializationException: Unable to find assembly 
'Oracle.ManagedDataAccess, Version=4.121.2.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=XXXX'.
   at OracleInternal.Common.OracleTimeZone.GetInstance()
   at Oracle.ManagedDataAccess.Types.TimeStamp..cctor()
   --- End of inner exception stack trace ---
   at OracleInternal.ConnectionPool.PoolManager`3.CreateNewPR(Int32 reqCount, Boolean bForPoolPopulation, ConnectionString csWithDiffOrNewPwd, String instanceName)
   at OracleInternal.ConnectionPool.PoolManager`3.Get(ConnectionString csWithDiffOrNewPwd, Boolean bGetForApp, String affinityInstanceName, Boolean bForceMatch)
   at OracleInternal.ConnectionPool.OraclePoolManager.Get(ConnectionString csWithNewPassword, Boolean bGetForApp, String affinityInstanceName, Boolean bForceMatch)
   at OracleInternal.ConnectionPool.OracleConnectionDispenser`3.Get(ConnectionString cs, PM conPM, ConnectionString pmCS, SecureString securedPassword, SecureString securedProxyPassword)
   at Oracle.ManagedDataAccess.Client.OracleConnection.Open()
   at CallSite.Target(Closure , CallSite , Object )
   --- End of inner exception stack trace ---
   at System.Management.Automation.ExceptionHandlingOps.CheckActionPreference(FunctionContext funcContext, Exception exception)
   at System.Management.Automation.Interpreter.ActionCallInstruction`2.Run(InterpretedFrame frame)
   at System.Management.Automation.Interpreter.EnterTryCatchFinallyInstruction.Run(InterpretedFrame frame)
   at System.Management.Automation.Interpreter.EnterTryCatchFinallyInstruction.Run(InterpretedFrame frame)
    + CategoryInfo          : NotSpecified: (:) [Write-Error], WriteErrorException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.WriteErrorException,oracle_test.ps1

• I have checked, that the connection string is correct (it works for tnsping)
• The Username and password are correct as well
• I replaced anything that shouldn't be disclosed with XXXX
• The database version is: Oracle Database 12c Release 12.1.0.1.0
• The error is the same for the 32-Bit and 64-Bit Powershell instances
• Before the first run the Oracle.ManagedDataAccess.dll isn't loaded, after the run it stays loaded until I close that shell

Unfortunately I'm neither an Oracle nor a Powershell Expert (I prefer MySQL and Python), therefore I would really appreciate any ideas and/or insights you might have.

Answer 1

Im not sure if this is technically a solution - I'd classify it more as a workaround, but it worked for me.

---

After doing some more research I found a suitable alternative to the Oracle.ManagedDataAccess.dll. I found the System.Data.OracleClient class of the .Net Framework. (It requires an installed Oracle Client, which the machine fortunately has)

Here's an outline of the solution that worked for me:

add-type -AssemblyName System.Data.OracleClient

$username = "XXXX"
$password = "XXXX"
$data_source = "XXXX"
$connection_string = "User Id=$username;Password=$password;Data Source=$data_source"

$statement = "select level, level + 1 as Test from dual CONNECT BY LEVEL <= 10"

try{
    $con = New-Object System.Data.OracleClient.OracleConnection($connection_string)

    $con.Open()

    $cmd = $con.CreateCommand()
    $cmd.CommandText = $statement

    $result = $cmd.ExecuteReader()
    # Do something with the results...

} catch {
    Write-Error (“Database Exception: {0}`n{1}” -f `
        $con.ConnectionString, $_.Exception.ToString())
} finally{
    if ($con.State -eq ‘Open’) { $con.close() }
}