Registering Datasources

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A datasource is the connection profile that lets you have access to a database, and, therefore, to your data. So, when you register a datasource, you’re telling the application how to get at the database(s) you want to operate on. In fact, all database activities are performed through datasources, so you need a datasource profile for each database instance (or database server) in your enterprise. Each connection profile consists of basics such as unique name, DBMS-specific connection parameters, and user credentials.

Collectively, datasource definitions are stored in a datasource catalog. The catalog can be registry-based, local file-based, or network shared file-based, with each method addressing particular advantages. For details, see Specifying a Datasource Catalog Storage Option.

You register datasources using the following techniques:

Manual registration	You can register datasources individually. For details, see Manually Registering or Editing Datasources.
Automatic discovery	You can have search computers or your network for datasources. For details, see Automatically Discovering Datasources.
Import/Export	You can export and import sets of datasource registrations. For details, see Importing and Exporting Datasource Definitions.

As an aid in maintaining your datasource registrations, you can quickly view basic registration details of a datasource. For details, see Viewing Datasource Properties.

Lastly, when a datasource registration becomes obsolete, you can unregister the datasource. For details, see Unregistering Datasources.