Normally an ADO .NET connection string uses “server” or “data source” to specify the machine name \ sql server instance, your application will be connecting to.

data source = .\sql instance name
server = .\sql instance name

SqlConnection conn = newSqlConnection(@”data source = .\sql2012;
                                         integrated security = true;
                                         database = AdventureWorks”);

But there are few more ways to specify the same

address = .\ sql instance name
addr = .\ sql instance name
network address = .\ sql instance name

 

SSPI stands for Security Support Provider Interface. The SSPI allows an application to use any of the available security packages on a system without changing the interface to use security services. The SSPI does not establish logon credentials because that is generally a privileged operation handled by the operating system.

Usually a .NETconnection string looks like this, you will have your own server, databse names ofcourse.

“Data Source=localhost\sql2012;Initial Catalog=AdventureWorks;
Integrated Security=SSPI”

Other than SSPI you can also use “true”. Integrated Security actually ensures that you are connecting with SQL Server using Windows Authentication, not SQL Authentication; which requires username and password to be provided with the connecting string.

 

Besides Microsoft SQL Server there are various other databases which exist in industry and are widely used among the various corporate clients. While you will most likely be able to obtain an ADO.NET data provider directly from the database but you can always go and get the ADO.NET data provider for the database of your choice from www.sqlsummit.com/DataProv.htm

The ADO.NET providers exist for following dbs SQLite, IBM DB2, MySQL, PostgreSQL, TurboDB, Sybase and etc.

 

If you recall starting .NET 1.1 until .NET 3.5 all the .NET platform shipped with an assembly named System.Data.OracleClient.dll, which was one of the recommended data provider to connect .NET appplication with Oracle databas.seas the name suggests, offered a data provider to communicate with Oracle databases.

With the release of 4.0, Microsoft made this assembly obsolete and will eventually be deprecated.

The reason is certainly not that Microsoft only wants SQL Server and other MS specific Dbs to be used using .NET, but the actual reason is that Oracle corp provides its own custom .NET assembly, which follows the same overall design guidelines as the data providers provided by Microsoft.

You can download this assembly free of cost from Oracle corp’s web site at
www.oracle.com/technology/tech/windows/odpnet/index.html.