A quick tour of connections to enterprise geodatabases

To access the data in an enterprise geodatabase, client applications must connect to the database.

Connecting to the database entails using the database management system's (DBMS) connection methods and drivers that are present in the ArcGIS client application. When you connect from a remote client computer to the database management systems on the server, you must install the DBMS client on the remote computer.

Alternatively, connections can be made to the database using an ArcSDE service. To set up a service, you must install the ArcSDE application server. Instructions for setting up and using an ArcSDE service are included with that installation.

Connecting from ArcGIS for Desktop

Connections to enterprise geodatabases are made through the Database Connections node in the Catalog tree. See Database connections in ArcGIS for Desktop for information on making a connection from ArcGIS for Desktop to an enterprise geodatabase.

Error messages related to connections to the enterprise geodatabase from ArcGIS for Desktop are written to a log file (sdedc_<dbms type>.log) in the %TEMP% directory of the machine where ArcGIS for Desktop is installed.

Connecting from a SQL application

When you connect to a geodatabase using SQL, you open a SQL application, such as Management Studio for SQL Server, a PL/SQL prompt for PostgreSQL, or SQL*Plus for Oracle, and connect as a particular database user. See your DBMS documentation for instructions on using its SQL interfaces.