Adding IBM Data Connections

You can use the Server Explorer to add new IBM^® data connections.

The data connections can then be accessed from your IBM database project in the Solution Explorer.

You can apply filters for schemas and for each object type in your IBM data connection. With a filter, you can narrow the list of objects that are displayed in the Server Explorer. You can filter schemas, procedures, functions, tables, and views. If your IBM database has many schemas, procedures, functions, tables, and views, refreshing the view in the Server Explorer can take several minutes. To save time, and to show only schemas, procedures, functions, tables, and views that are relevant to your project, you can set filters at the schema level and the object type (folder) level.

To add an IBM data connection:

In the Server Explorer window, right-click the Data Connections node and then select Add Connection on the shortcut menu.
The Add Connection window opens.
If the value in the Data source field is not the name of the IBM data provider that you want to use:
1. Click Change.
  The Change Data Source window opens.
2. In the Data source list, click <other>.
3. In the Data provider list, select the IBM data provider that you want to use.
4. Click OK.
In the Add Connection window, type the name of the server to connect to. The server can be a combination of the server IP address (IPv4 or IPv6) or host name followed by a colon and a port number.
You can select the server name instead of typing it. You can also click Refresh to discover available servers.
Optional: Specify a valid user name and password combination.
If you specified a password and want Visual Studio to remember it, select the Save my password check box.
Select or type the name of the IBM database or database alias.
Optional: Specify the connection options. Click + to expand the connection options section.
- If you want to automatically refresh the data connection when you start a new session of Visual Studio, select the Automatic refresh of connection when IDE loads check box.
- If you do not want to see result sets when you open procedure result set definitions, clear the Run procedures to discover result sets check box.
- If your database administrator has defined a trusted context for you and you want to establish a trusted connection, specify your system authorization ID and password.
- If you want to specify a resolution for concurrent access, select your choice from the list.
Optional: Specify the filtering options. Click + to expand the filtering options section.
- To limit the objects shown in a DB2 for z/OS data connection to the objects in specific databases, type the name of the database.
  Note:The filters that are specified in the filtering options section of the Add Connection window take precedence over the filters that are specified by the connection string.
- To limit the objects shown in the data connection to the objects in specific schemas, type the name of the schema, or specify a partial schema name.
  Note:The filters that are specified in the filtering options section of the Add Connection window take precedence over the filters that are specified by the connection string.
- To hide the system schemas in the data connection in the Server Explorer, select the Exclude system schemas check box.
- To filter the types of tables that are shown under your DB2 data connection, click and select the table types in the Select Table Type Filter window.
- For each of the folders listed in the filter grid, to include the folder in the data connection, select its Include Folder check box.
  The check box selection for the XML Schema Repository folder is ignored.
- If you select the check box for a folder and want to limit the objects shown in the folder, enter the name of an object in the Object Name Filter cell, or enter a partial name.
Optional: To specify values for the data connection properties in the Advanced Properties window, click Advanced. Click a property to see its description in the box under the list.
Optional: To test the connection to the database, click Test Connection.
Click OK.

The new IBM data connection is added to the Server Explorer.

See Also