Configure a JDBC provider and data source

 

For access to relational databases, applications use the JDBC drivers and data sources that you configure for the appserver. Each vendor database requires different JDBC driver implementation classes for JDBC connectivity. A JDBC provider encapsulates those vendor-specific driver files. Through the data source that you associate with the JDBC provider, an appserver obtains and manages the physical connections for transactions between applications and the database. Determine the version of data source that we need according to the API specification of your applications.

• Data sources (WAS Version 4) are for use with the EJB 1.0 specification and the Java Servlet 2.2 specification.

• Data sources of the latest standard version are for use with applications that implement the more advanced releases of these specifications.

 

Procedure

1. Verify that all of the necessary JDBC driver files are installed on your node manager. Consult the article Data source minimum required settings, by vendor for that information. If you opt to configure a user-defined JDBC provider, check your database documentation for information about the driver files.

2. Create a JDBC provider.

   From the administrative console, see Creating a JDBC provider using the console.

   OR

   Use the wsadmin scripting client, see Configure a JDBC provider using scripting.

   OR

   Using the JMX API, see Creating a JDBC provider and data source using the Java Management Extensions API.

3. Create a data source.

   From the console, see Creating a data source using the administrative console.

   OR

   Use the wsadmin scripting client, see Configure new data sources using scripting. (For V4 data sources, see Configure new WAS40 data sources using scripting.)

   OR

   Using the JMX API, see Creating a JDBC provider and data source using the Java Management Extensions API. Required properties: Different database vendors require different properties for implementations of their JDBC drivers. Set these properties on the WAS data source. Because Application Server contains templates for many vendor JDBC implementations, the administrative console surfaces the required properties and prompts you for them as you create a data source. However, if you script your data access configurations, consult the article Data source minimum required settings, by vendor for the required properties and settings options.

4. Optional: Configure custom properties. Like the required properties, custom properties for specific vendor JDBC drivers must be set on the Application Server data source. Consult your database documentation for information about available custom properties.

5. Bind resource references to the data source. See the article Data source lookups for enterprise beans and Web modules .

6. Test the connection (for non-container-managed persistence usage). See the Test connection service article.

 

Results

If you use the DB2 JDBC Universal Driver, you might experience data source failures that the appserver JVM log does not document. Check the DB2 database log or the WAS JDBC trace log (if JDBC trace was active). You might find that a bad authentication credential is the cause of failure. Currently the DB2 JDBC Universal Driver does not identify or surface the errors that are produced by non-valid authentication credentials in a proper or consistent way.

Even if you receive information about a bad credential, check the database and JDBC trace logs. These logs provide more reliable, detailed error data on authentication failures.

The JDBC trace log exists only if the JDBC trace service is active during server start up. Activate the service in the console. For more information, see Enabling trace at server startup. Specify WAS.database as the trace group and select com.ibm.ws.db2.logwriter as the trace string.

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Data source minimum required settings, by vendor

Configure a JDBC provider using the console

Configure a JDBC provider for a clustered environment

Configure a data source using the console

Creating and configuring a JDBC provider and data source using the Java Management Extensions API

Verifying a connection

Test connection service

Testing a connection with the console

Testing a connection using wsadmin

 

Related concepts

JDBC providers
Data sources
The benefits of using resource references
Data source lookups for enterprise beans and Web modules

 

Related tasks

Configure a JDBC provider using scripting
Configure new data sources using scripting
Configure new WAS40 data sources using scripting

 

Related Reference

Data source collection
Data sources (WAS V4)
JDBC provider collection