okie, why will u need to install mssql extension on php? possibly becos u need to connect to a ms sql server of ur vendor or something like that. for integration i hope. cos unix works best w php and mysql, ie, installation, it is almost already thr. correct me if i m wrong.

so wad you need?
if your server is jus fresh out of the box or say u had installed whm/cpanel there will be quite a far bit of stuff u will need.

1. Txt2man
2. unixODBC
3. freeTDS
4. PHP mssql.so

if this point if you are wondering if i m using any rpm for installation?
sorry,i m not, cos my server centos installed w whm/cpanel seems to be poorly equipped or configured for rpm installation, too many dependencies required. so jus download all the binary and upload them onto ur server.

Setup 1: Install unixODBC package

Install unixODBC first. Download the software in your home directory or anywhere you like and uncompress and untar the software.

You can do this by using following command

Once it is done, go to the unixODBCxxxx dir and run the configure command.

Note: If you dont use enable-gui option and dont have Qt package, you will get the error. So make sure you use it if no Qt is installed.

After configure is successfully completed, run the make and then make install commands.

Install it

Step 1.1: Installing Txt2man
this step is optional if your server already have txt2man installed.
txt2man is required by freeTDS to man it documentation, i do find this portion pretty useless though.
else jus download the package, and run the make

Install it

Step 2: Install freeTDS package

Download the freeTDS package and untar and uncompress it.

Run the configure.

Run the make

Install it

Step 3: Configuration freeTDS
Start configuration with freeTDS. Look for the freetds.conf file and add the entry for the MS SQL server.

Sql server standard port is the 1433. The tds version for MS SQL server 2000 is 8. You can try 8.0 with new version as well.
Important: the host need to be the same as the declaration. ie
if you have [mssql.hostname.com], ur host will be = mssql.hostname.com

Step 4: Configuration – unixODBC

The unixODBC need two main configuration files called odbcinst.ini and odbc.ini. These files should be in the /etc/ dir.

I. The first file odbcinst.ini contain the definition of ODBC driver.

Note: Before making above entries, make sure libtdsodbc.so exists in the /usr/local/lib dir.
In the above configuration, we have define TDS as driver.

II. The second file is odbc.ini. This file has information about your MS SQL database.

You can notice above that the freeTDS driver is the name defined in odbcinst.ini while servername is the one defined in freetds.conf.

Step 5: Test MS SQL connectivity from Linux box
Check if you can connect to MS SQL database using unixODBC tool called isql.

If you see the results, you are connected.

Step 6: Getting your mssql.so file
Update: I came back to follow this to create an .so file and realise, mmm, this instruction wasn’t too clear. So here it goes. From PHP.net Download page, download the source code, then if you unzip, you will find a folder “ext” and “mssql” in the “ext” folder. tat’s the folder i m referring to, ‘cd’ to this folder and then run phpize as below mentioned.

Add: for the benefits of those who just need the .so file, you can download the mssql.so from here. however, i don’t assure, compatibility with you php version. is built with php 5.2.10 binaries.

php.net is not distrubuting the binary version of php package for *nix server, so you will have to create the .so extension file yourself. download the source file for php and upload the folder /ext/mssql/ into your server
then

this commands will automatically create a copy of mssql.so in the installed extension folder.
you can check your extension folder from

Step 7: Enabling the extension

or you can use a texteditor and add that value manually into php.ini

Step 8: Restarting Apache Server!
dependin on version installed and location

and you are done!
do drop me an email should you face any problem at any step!
i know the pain in gettin this extension installed on unix. and considering rpm fails to work in the first place.
i will say, this is the best way to get it installed, cos u have full control over it. and didn’t fail me, of cos, after hell lots of googling around.

Source:
dpacool.com
unixodbc.org
Scott’s Blog
PHP PECL