Create a DSN Using the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator

To import data from a database or with a custom query (a Freeform script), you establish communication between MicroStrategy and your data source. You can connect directly to a variety of data sources during the data import process. If your data source is a type that does not support direct connections during the data import process, you must create a DSN (data source name) for your data source. After you create a DSN, you can connect to the data source and import your data.

A DSN is the name for a pointer that is used by a client application (in this case MicroStrategy) to find and connect to a database. The information obtained through a DSN generally includes the host computer name or IP address, instance name, and database name. The exact information varies depending on the type of database server.

See the online readme corresponding to your software version to determine whether your data source requires you to create a DSN.

A DSN uses an ODBC (Open Database Connectivity) driver to establish connectivity to a database. An ODBC driver is a type of software that translates MicroStrategy Intelligence Server requests into commands that the database understands. See the online readme corresponding to your software version for a list of ODBC drivers that are certified or supported for use with Workstation.

The Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator manages database drivers and data sources on Windows. The utility is available from Microsoft and is usually included with the purchase of an ODBC driver. You can use the utility to create a DSN for a database. You can then use the DSN to establish a database connection, for use in importing data from a database or with a Freeform script.

Determine whether your data source requires a DSN to connect with Workstation. See the online readme corresponding to your software version for a list of data sources that require a DSN.

Review the list of certified and supported ODBC drivers for use with Workstation in the online readme corresponding to your software version. If the required ODBC driver is not installed on your machine, you must install the ODBC driver made available through the third-party (non-MicroStrategy) vendor of the driver. Refer to the vendor's documentation for steps. After installing an ODBC driver, you must shut down and restart Workstation. See Build Your First Dashboard for more information.

You must log on to the machine using a Windows user account with administrative privileges.

Log into the machine as an administrator. This gives you the ability to create a system-wide DSN, rather than a user-specific DSN. You must create system DSNs to use them with Workstation.
If you are using a 32-bit version of Windows, access the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator from the Control Panel. Refer to your third-party Microsoft documentation for steps to access the ODBC Data Source Administrator tool.

or

If you are using a 64-bit version of Windows, access the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator from the Control Panel. Only 64-bit drivers appear. To create a system-wide DSN, you must use the 32-bit version of Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator. To access this version of the tool, locate the Windows SysWOW64 folder. Within this folder, double-click the odbcad32.exe file.
Click the System DSN tab. A list of existing system data sources and their associated drivers appears.

To view all the installed ODBC drivers, click the Drivers tab.
Click Add. The Create New Data Source dialog opens.
Select the desired driver and click Finish. A driver setup dialog appears.
Enter the information in the appropriate fields to create a data source for the selected database driver. The information to enter varies depending on the database platform that you selected. Refer to the vendor documentation for specific details.
Click OK to create a new DSN.
Click OK.

Create a DSN Using the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator

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