> # Connecting to an ADO Data Source

> You can connect to a data source using a Connection window, or using a provider string. For information about connecting using an ADO provider string, refer to the SequeLink Developer's Reference.

> ### Testing ADO Connections

> The ADO provider opens a Connection window when you perform either of the following actions:

> - You request a connection to an ADO provider from within your data consumer, and your data consumer requests the ADO provider to prompt for missing connection parameters.
> - You click Test Connect in an ADO provider setup window to test the connection to a data source you have set up.

> See "ADO Connection Dialogs" for more information about ADO connection dialogs that may appear.

> ### ADO Connection Dialogs

> When your data consumer requests the ADO provider to prompt for missing connection parameters and an ADO data source has not been specified, the DataDirect SequeLink for ADO Provider Connection dialog box appears.

> Select the data source that you want to use from the drop-down list. If you do not want to specify a data source name, select None from the drop-down list. In some cases, the data source name may be supplied automatically. Then, click OK.

> The other connection dialogs that may appear involve prompting for information required to make a SequeLink data access connection.

> A SequeLink data access connection involves the following stages:

> 1. A network connection is established.
> 2. An authentication mechanism is used to establish the identity of the SequeLink Client to the SequeLink Server.
> 3. Based on information provided by the SequeLink Client application (for example, a database user name and password), a database connection is established.

> #### Stage 1: Establishing a Network Connection

> The first stage of the connection process involves establishing a network connection. The dialog that appears depends on whether the connection has been configured to connect directly to a SequeLink service or to retrieve connection information for the SequeLink service from a centralized LDAP directory.

> ##### Connecting Directly to a SequeLink® Service

> If the connection has been configured to connect directly to a SequeLink service, the Connect to the SequeLink Server dialog box appears.

> Provide the following information; then, click OK.

> SequeLink Server Host: Type the TCP/IP host name of the SequeLink service.

> SequeLink Server Port: Type the TCP/IP port on which the SequeLink service is listening. A default installation of SequeLink Server uses the port 19996.

> Server Data Source: Type the name of a server data source to use for the connection or click the ... button to select an existing data source. This step is optional. If a server data source is not specified, the default server data source for that service will be used for the connection.

> ##### Retrieving Connection Information from an LDAP Directory

> If the connection has been configured to connect to an LDAP server to retrieve connection information from an LDAP directory, the Connect to the SequeLink Server dialog box appears.

> Provide the following information; then, click OK.

> LDAP Server Host: Type the TCP/IP host name of the LDAP server.

> LDAP Server Port: Type the TCP/IP port on which the LDAP server is listening.

> Distinguished Name: Type the Distinguished Name (DN) of the LDAP entry.

> See "Creating LDAP Entries for SequeLink® Services" for information on setting up an LDAP server for SequeLink.

> #### Stage 2: SequeLink® Server Authentication

> The second stage of the connection process involves authentication of the SequeLink Client to the SequeLink Server. The dialog boxes that appear depend on how authentication is configured for the SequeLink service.

> - When ServiceAuthMethods=anonymous or ServiceAuthMethods=integrated_nt, no dialogs appear.
> - When ServiceAuthMethods=OSLogon(HUID,HPWD) or ServiceAuthMethods=OSLogon(UID,PWD), the Logon to SequeLink Service dialog box appears.

> Provide the following information; then, click OK.

> Host User Name: Type the host user name.

> NOTE: When connecting to a Windows server, you must prefix the host user name with a server name, if authenticating to a local server, or a domain name (for example, SALES\DJONES). If the server name or domain name is omitted, the SequeLink Server will attempt to authenticate the user ID and password with the database account defined for the machine on which the SequeLink Server is running. If this validation fails, the SequeLink Server will attempt to authenticate the user ID and password with the database account defined for the domain of the machine on which the SequeLink Server is running.

> Host Password: Type the host password.

> - When ServiceAuthMethods=OSLogon(HUID,HPWD,NPWD) or ServiceAuthMethods=OSLogon(UID,PWD,NPWD) and the password is expired, the Password expired. Please specify new password dialog box appears.

> NOTE: If the password is not expired, the previous dialog appears. You are only prompted for the Host User Name and Host Password.

> Provide the following information; then, click OK.

> Host User Name: Type the host user name.

> NOTE: When connecting to a Windows server, you must prefix the host user name with a server name, if authenticating to a local server, or a domain name (for example, SALES\DJONES). If the server name or domain name is omitted, the SequeLink Server will attempt to authenticate the user ID and password with the database account defined for the machine on which the SequeLink Server is running. If this validation fails, the SequeLink Server will attempt to authenticate the user ID and password with the database account defined for the domain of the machine on which the SequeLink Server is running.

> Host Password: Type the host password.

> New Password: Type the new password to be used by the SequeLink password change mechanism.

> Confirm Password: Type again the new password to confirm it.

> See "Configuring SequeLink® Security" for more information about configuring authentication.

> #### Stage 3: Data Store Logon

> The last stage of the connection process involves logging on the data store. The dialogs that appear depend on the data store logon method configured for the SequeLink service:

> - When DataSourceLogonMethod=OSIntegrated, no dialogs appear.
> - When DataSourceLogonMethod=DBMSLogon(UID,PWD) or DataSourceLogonMethod=DBMSLogon(DBUID,DBPWD), a data store-specific user name and password are required and the Logon to SequeLink Service dialog box appears.

> Provide the following information; then, click OK.

> Database User Name: Type the database logon ID.

> Database Password: Type the database password.

> Database: Type the name of the database to which you want to connect. This field is disabled when the data store does not recognize the concept of databases.

> See "Configuring SequeLink® Security" for more information about configuring data store logon methods.