Set Up DSN in ODBC Data Source

Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) is a widely used programming interface that enables applications to access data in Database Management Systems (DBMS) that use Structured Query Language (SQL) as a data access standard.

You can use ODBC Data Sources to access data stored in a variety of DBMS. To access data in a ODBC-compliant DBMS database, you must add software components called drivers to your system. ODBC Data Source Administrator helps you add and configure these drivers.

Note: Process Runner DB is compatible and supports only ODBC DSNs in 32-Bit version of Microsoft Windows.

You can use varieties of database for ODBC connectivity such as MS SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL, and many others. In this example, we have used SQL Server to setup data source.

To set up SQL ODBC DSN (Data Source Name),

1. Open ODBC Data Source Administrator.

   To open ODBC Administrator, click Start, point to Settings, and then select Control Panel. Double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Data Sources (ODBC) or ODBC Data Source (32-bit).

2. Select User DSN tab and select Add (a System DSN is available to all users of the system, including Services. If you want to create a DSN that is only available to you, create User DSN).

   Note: This example shows the configurations at user level. Switch to System DSN tab if you want to setup DSN at system level.

   

3. In the Create New Data Source window, scroll down and select SQL Server. Select Finish.

   

4. In the Create a New Data Source to SQL Server window, enter the connection information about how to connect to a database in SQL Server. Select Next.

   

   Option	Description
   Name	A unique name here to identify this data source. It has nothing to do with any system names. Just make up a name that you think is appropriate. Here we type in DSN_Name.
   Description	A brief description about this data source.
   Server	Host name or IP address of the SQL server.

5. Select the type of authenticity of login and enter the user details as shown below.

   

   • Login ID : The SQL username used to connect to SQL server. Normally you can user 'sa' as login id. Make sure you have installed SQL server.
   • Password: The password for the user.
6. In the drop-down box, select the database you need to connect. Select Next.

   

7. Select Finish to proceed further.

   

8. Select Test Data Source to make sure the connection information you just entered is correct.

   

9. After successful testing, select OK to create the DSN.
10. The ODBC Data Source Administrator window displays the newly created DSN in the list. Select OK to close ODBC Administrator window.