How to: Create, Delete, or Modify a Shared Data Source (Management Studio)

To create a shared data source item

1. In Object Explorer, expand a report server node.

2. Right-click the Home folder or a subfolder of Home, and then click New Data Source. The General page of the New Data Source dialog box is displayed.

3. Type a name for the shared data source. A name must contain at least one character. It can also include spaces and certain symbols, but not the characters ; ? : @ & = + , $ / * < > | " or /.

4. Optionally type a description to provide users with information about the connection. This description will appear on the Contents page in Report Manager.

5. In the Select a page area, click Connection. The Connection page for New Data Source dialog box is displayed.

6. For Data Source Type, select a data source type from the list.

7. Specify a Connection string to the data source. It is recommended that you do not specify credentials in the connection string.

   The following example illustrates a connection string used to connect to the local SQL Server AdventureWorks database:

   data source=<localservername>; initial catalog=AdventureWorks
   

8. For Connect using, specify how credentials are obtained when the report runs, as follows:

   • If you want to prompt the user for a logon name and password, click The credentials supplied by the user running the report.
   • If you intend to use the data source with reports that support subscriptions or other scheduled operations (such as automated report history generation), click Credentials stored securely in the report server. Do not select Use as Windows credentials when connecting to the data source.
   • If you want the report server to pass the credentials of the user accessing the report to the server hosting the external data source, click Windows NT Integrated Security. In this case, the user is not prompted to type a user name or password.
   • If none of the above apply, click Credentials are not required. (This setting is not recommended in your production environment and should be used for testing purposes only.)

   For more information about configuring credentials, see New Data Source (Connection Page).

9. Click OK.

To delete a shared data source item

1. In Object Explorer, expand a report server node.

2. Expand the Home folder and navigate to the shared data source that you want to delete. The following icon indicates a data source item:

   

3. Right-click the data source item, and click Delete. The Delete Object dialog box is displayed.

4. Click OK.

To modify a shared data source item

1. In Object Explorer, expand a report server node.

2. Expand the Home folder and navigate to the shared data source that you want to delete. The following icon indicates a data source item:

   

3. Right-click the data source item, and click Properties. The General page of the Data Source Properties dialog box is displayed. Make your modifications to the general properties.

   To modify connection, permissions, or reports properties, click the appropriate page in the Select a page area that you want to open. Make your modifications to those properties.

4. Click OK.

See Also

Tasks

How to: Specify Stored Credentials for a Data Source (Management Studio)

Concepts

Creating, Modifying, and Deleting Shared Data Sources
Shared Data Sources and Report-Specific Data Sources
Report Server How-to Topics

Other Resources

New Data Source (General Page)
New Data Source (Connection Page)
Using Object Explorer

Help and Information

Getting SQL Server 2005 Assistance