# Microsoft SQL Server connection #

You can create a connection asset for Microsoft SQL Server\.

Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database management system\.

## Supported versions ##

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 *  Microsoft SQL Server 2000\+
 *  Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine (MSDE 2000)
 *  Microsoft SQL Server 7\.0

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## Create a connection to Microsoft SQL Server ##

To create the connection asset, you need the following connection details:

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 *  Database name
 *  Hostname or IP address
 *  Either the Port number or the Instance name\. If the server is configured for dynamic ports, use the Instance name\.
 *  Username and password
 *  Select **Use Active Directory** if the Microsoft SQL Server has been set up in a domain that uses NTLM (New Technology LAN Manager) authentication\. Then enter the name of the domain that is associated with the username and password
 *  SSL certificate (if required by the database server)

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For **Private connectivity**, to connect to a database that is not externalized to the internet (for example, behind a firewall), you must set up a [secure connection](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/manage-data/securingconn.html)\.

### Choose the method for creating a connection based on where you are in the platform ###

**In a project** : Click **Assets > New asset > Connect to a data source**\. See [Adding a connection to a project](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/manage-data/create-conn.html)\.

**In a deployment space** : Click **Add to space > Connection**\. See [Adding connections to a deployment space](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/analyze-data/ml-space-add-assets.html)\.

**In the Platform assets catalog** : Click **New connection**\.

### Next step: Add data assets from the connection ###

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 *  See [Add data from a connection in a project](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/manage-data/connected-data.html)\.

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## Where you can use this connection ##

You can use Microsoft SQL Server connections in the following workspaces and tools:

**Projects**

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 *  Data Refinery
 *  Decision Optimization
 *  Notebooks\. Click **Read data** on the **Code snippets** pane to get the connection credentials and load the data into a data structure\. See [Load data from data source connections](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/analyze-data/load-and-access-data.html#conns)\.
 *  SPSS Modeler
 *  Synthetic Data Generator

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**Catalogs**

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 *  Platform assets catalog

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## Microsoft SQL Server setup ##

[Microsoft SQL Server installation](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/database-engine/install-windows/install-sql-server?view=sql-server-ver15)

## Restriction ##

Except for NTLM authentication, Windows Authentication is not supported\.

### Running SQL statements ###

To ensure that your SQL statements run correctly, refer to the [Transact\-SQL Reference](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/t-sql/language-reference?view=sql-server-ver15) for the correct syntax\.

## Learn more ##

[Microsoft SQL Server documentation](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/sql-server/?view=sql-server-ver15)

**Parent topic:**[Supported connections](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/manage-data/conn_types.html)

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