You’ll first have to configure an ODBC connection “System DSN”/”System Data Source” via the “iSeries Access ODBC driver” or it might be call the IBM i Access driver which you can learn how to download and install here:

http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=nas8N1010355

Here’s some of the ways to configure the odbc connection

Setting a default SQL library and library list on a ODBC connection for a IBMi DB2 connection in Windows and Linux

Once you have the ODBC connection setup you can use it in PHP and here’s a Simple Example on how to execute SQL remotely and safely on an IBM i via ODBC.  Note you won’t want to dump the error info in production its there to alert you about errors.

<?php
$hostname = "MYIBMI";
$user = "MYPROFILE";
$password = "";//leave blank and prompt. (works in windows not sure if it will work in other situations)
$pdoConnection = new PDO("odbc:" . $hostname, $user, $password);
$sql="SELECT * FROM MYLIB.MYTABLE WHERE NAME=:NAME AND CITY=:CITY";
$stmt = $pdoConnection->prepare($sql);
if (!$stmt)
{
echo implode($this->_pdoConnection->errorInfo());
}
else
{
$stmt->bindValue(":NAME", "Chuck");
$stmt->bindValue(":CITY", "Orlando");
}
if ($stmt->execute())
{
while ($row = $stmt->fetch(PDO::FETCH_ASSOC))
{
var_dump($row).PHP_EOL;
}
}
else
{
echo 'statement failed with '.$stmt->errorInfo();
}

view raw
PHPPDOIBMiConnection.php
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Here’s an example on how to run a SQL extenal stored procedure

<?
//Create db connection
$hostname = "MYIBMI";
$user = "MYPROFILE";
$password = "";
$dbconn = new PDO("odbc:" . $hostname, $user, $password);
//SQL to run stored proc
$sql = "call #LALLAN.getCusInfo(?, ?, ?, ?)";
//Prepare SQL for execution
$stmt = $dbconn->prepare($sql);
//Create a test object for demo purposes
$Customer = new stdClass();
$Customer->ID = 1;
$Customer->Data1 = "";
$Customer->Data2 = "";
$Customer->Data3 = 1;
//Bind object properties to our object
$stmt->bindParam(1, $Customer->ID, PDO::PARAM_INT);
$stmt->bindParam(2, $Customer->Data1, PDO::PARAM_INPUT_OUTPUT);
$stmt->bindParam(3, $Customer->Data2, PDO::PARAM_INPUT_OUTPUT);
$stmt->bindParam(4, $Customer->Data3, PDO::PARAM_INPUT_OUTPUT);
//Run it
$stmt->execute();
//Dump our object to the screen to see what everything got set to. Or alternatively run xdebug or another debugger to view the $Customer object after execution
var_dump($Customer);

view raw
RunStoredProcedureWithPDO.php
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Make sure to enable SSL to encrypt your SQL statements that are sent

 

Windows

Run C:\Windows\SysWOW64\odbcad32.exe and edit connection options and make sure ssl is selected or IBM i navigator is defaulted to sslodbc windows secure.png

Linux 

Setup stunnel

guide is here: under 2.6 Encrypt the connection with Secure Sockets Layer

Other References:
Windows: http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/power/software/i/access/windows.html
Linux: http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/power/software/i/access/linux.html