After you add a View Composer database to SQL Server, you must configure an ODBC connection to the new database to make this data source visible to the View Composer service.

When you configure an ODBC DSN for View Composer, secure the underlying database connection to an appropriate level for your environment. For information about securing database connections, see the SQL Server documentation.

If the underlying database connection uses SSL encryption, we recommend that you configure your database servers with SSL certificates signed by a trusted CA. If you use self-signed certificates, your database connections might be susceptible to man-in-the-middle attacks.

Prerequisites

Complete the steps described in Add a View Composer Database to SQL Server.

Procedure

  1. On the computer on which View Composer will be installed, select Start > Administrative Tools > Data Source (ODBC).
  2. Select the System DSN tab.
  3. Click Add and select SQL Native Client from the list.
  4. Click Finish.
  5. In the Create a New Data Source to SQL Server setup wizard, type a name and description of the View Composer database.
    For example: ViewComposer
  6. In the Server text box, type the SQL Server database name.
    Use the form host_name\server_name, where host_name is the name of the computer and server_name is the SQL Server instance.
    For example: VCHOST1\VIM_SQLEXP
  7. Click Next.
  8. Make sure that the Connect to SQL Server to obtain default settings for the additional configuration options check box is selected and select an authentication option.
    Option Description
    Integrate Windows authentication Select this option if you are using a local instance of SQL Server. This option is also known as trusted authentication. Integrate Windows authentication is supported only if SQL Server is running on the local computer.
    SQL Server authentication Select this option if you are using a remote instance of SQL Server. Windows NT authentication is not supported on remote SQL Server.

    If you manually set SQL Server database permissions and assigned them to a user, authenticate with that user. For example, authenticate with the user vcmpuser. If not, authenticate as the sysadmin (SA) or a user account with sysadmin privileges.

  9. Click Next.
  10. Select the Change the default database to check box and select the name of the View Composer database from the list.
    For example: ViewComposer
  11. If the SQL Server connection is configured with SSL enabled, navigate to the Microsoft SQL Server DSN Configuration page and select Use strong encryption for data.
  12. Finish and close the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator wizard.

What to do next

Install the new View Composer service. See Install the View Composer Service.