Setting Up Data Sources for BI Publisher

BI Publisher supports three types of data sources:

• JDBC driver database connections
• JNDI datasource connections
• Files
  The files data source option enables you to define a directory to which BI Publisher can connect. You can then place XML files in this directory to use as data input to your reports.

By default, BI Publisher Administrators can access all data sources.
If you have not set up the user roles yet, you can assign data sources to a role from the Create Role interface. See Understanding Users and Roles for more information.
Adding a JDBC Data Source

1. From the Admin page select JDBC Connection. This will display the list of existing JDBC connections.
2. Select the Add Data Source button.
3. Enter the following fields for the new connection:
   
   • Data Source Name - enter a display name for the data source.
   • Connection String - enter the database connect string.
     For an Oracle database the connect string will have the following format:
     jdbc:oracle:thin@server:port:sid
     For example: jdbc:oracle:thin@myserver.mycompany.com:1521:prod
     For a Microsoft SQL Server, the connect string will have the following format:
     jdbc:sqlserver://server
     For example:
     jdbc:sqlserver://myserver.mycompany.com
     Note that if your Oracle BI Server is SSL-enabled, you must copy the keystore to the BI Publisher server and provide it in the connection string.
   • User Name - enter the user name required to access the data source on the database.
   • Password - enter the password associated with the user name for access to the data source on the database.
   • Database Driver Class - enter the database driver class for the connection.
     For example: oracle.jdbc.driver.OracleDriver or
     com.microsoft.jdbc.sqlserver.SQLServerDriver
     
     Important: The JDBC connection library must be placed under [JRE_TOP]/lib. If you are using OC4J, the Oracle driver library will be present with your OC4J install. For other JDBC database libraries you must place them there manually, and restart the server to make them available.
   • Use Proxy Authentication - select this box to enable Proxy Authentication. This applies to Oracle 10g deployments only. For more information, see Oracle Database Security Guide 10g.
4. If you would like to test the connection, select Test Connection. If the test is successful, the confirmation message, "Connection established successfully" will display. If connection error occurs, the message "Could not establish connection," will display.
5. Define security for this data source. Use the shuttle buttons to move roles from the Available Roles list to the Allowed Roles list. Only users assigned the roles on the Allowed Roles list will be able to create reports from this the data source.

Adding a JNDI Data Source

1. From the Admin page select JNDI Connection. This will display the list of existing JNDI connections.
2. Select the Add Data Source button.
3. Enter the following fields for the new connection:
   
   • Data Source Name - enter a display name for the data source.
   • JNDI Name - enter the JNDI name of the data source.
   • Use Proxy Authentication - select this box to enable Proxy Authentication. This applies to Oracle 10g deployments only. For more information, see Oracle Database Security Guide 10g.
4. If you would like to test the connection, select Test Connection. If the test is successful, the confirmation message, "Connection established successfully" will display. If connection error occurs, the message "Could not establish connection," will display.
5. Define security for this data source. Use the shuttle buttons to move roles from the Available Roles list to the Allowed Roles list. Only users assigned the roles on the Allowed Roles list will be able to create reports from this the data source.

Adding a File Data Source

1. From the Admin page select File. This will display the list of existing file sources.
2. Select the Add Data Source button.
3. Enter the following fields for the new data source:
   
   • Data Source Name - enter a display name for the data source.
   • Path - enter the full path to the top-level directory on your server.
4. Define security for this data source. Use the shuttle buttons to move roles from the Available Roles list to the Allowed Roles list. Only users assigned the roles on the Allowed Roles list will be able to create reports from this the data source.

Viewing or Updating a Data Source

1. From the Admin page select the Data Source type to update.
2. Select the name of the connection to view or update. All fields are updateable.
3. Select Apply to apply any changes or Cancel to exit the update page.

(This article is an excerpt from Oracle Library)