Creating a Data Source Name

Typically, after installing the Simba SQL Server ODBC Driver, you need to create a Data Source Name (DSN).

Alternatively, for information about DSN-less connections, see Using a Connection String.

To create a Data Source Name:

  1. From the Start menu, go to ODBC Data Sources.

    Note: Make sure to select the ODBC Data Source Administrator that has the same bitness as the client application that you are using to connect to SQL Server.

  2. In the ODBC Data Source Administrator, click the Drivers tab, and then scroll down as needed to confirm that the Simba SQL Server ODBC Driver appears in the alphabetical list of ODBC drivers that are installed on your system.
  3. Choose one:
    • To create a DSN that only the user currently logged into Windows can use, click the User DSN tab.
    • Or, to create a DSN that all users who log into Windows can use, click the System DSN tab.

      Note: It is recommended that you create a System DSN instead of a User DSN. Some applications load the data using a different user account, and might not be able to detect User DSNs that are created under another user account.

  4. Click Add.
  5. In the Create New Data Source dialog box, select Simba SQL Server ODBC Driver and then click Finish. The Simba SQL Server ODBC Driver DSN Setup dialog box opens.
  6. In the Data Source Name field, type a name for your DSN.
  7. Optionally, in the Description field, type relevant details about the DSN.
  1. In the Server field, type the name or IP address of the host where your SQL Server instance is running.
    Note: You can specify the name of the SQL Server instance by using the syntax [ServerInfo]\[Instance], where [ServerInfo] is the IP address or host name of the server and [Instance] is the name of the instance. Make sure that the Port field is left empty in this scenario.
  2. In the Port field, type the number of the TCP port that the server uses to listen for client connections.
    Note: The default port used by SQL Server is 1433.
  3. In the Database field, type the name of the database that you want to access.
  4. Optionally, in the Application Name field, type the name of the application that calls SQLDriverConnect.
  5. To use TLS to encrypt all communication with the SQL Server instance before sending it over the network, select the Encrypt check box and then do one of the following:
    • To enable one-way authentication so that the connector verifies the server certificate using a CA certificate, in the CA Certificate field, type the full path and file name of the CA certificate that you want to use.
    • Or, to trust the server certificate instead of verifying it, select the Trust Server Certificate check box.
  6. To specify the minimum version of TLS that the connector must use to connect to the server, from the Minimum TLS/SSL drop-down list, select the required TLS version.

  7. To configure the connector to enable read-only mode, from the Application Intent drop-down list, select the ReadOnly option. For more information, see Application Intent.

  8. Configure authentication by specifying the authentication mechanism. For more information, see Configuring Authentication.
  9. To return certain SQL Server-specific data types as ODBC data types instead of SQL Server data types, select the Return SQL Server-Specific Types as ODBC Types check box. For a complete list of the data types that this setting applies to, see Return SQL Server-Specific Types as ODBC Types.
  10. To include temporary tables in the results when calling SQLTables, select the Enable Table Types check box.
  11. To optimize connectivity for Always On Availability Groups and Failover Cluster Instances, select the Multi-Subnet Failover check box.
  12. To configure logging behavior for the connector, click Logging Options. For more information, see Configuring Connector-wide Logging Options.
  13. To test the connection, click Test. Review the results as needed, and then click OK.
    Note: If the connection fails, then confirm that the settings in the Simba SQL Server ODBC Driver DSN Setup dialog box are correct. Contact your SQL Server administrator as needed.
  14. To save your settings and close the Simba SQL Server ODBC Driver DSN Setup dialog box, click OK.
  15. To close the ODBC Data Source Administrator, click OK.