A JDBC provider represents a JDBC driver. To access a database, your applications use data sources, which use a JDBC driver to access the database.
For information on how to create a JDBC provider and data source, see Manage JDBC providers for your application server in the Administration topic.
Consider the following before you create a JDBC provider and data source:
Decide which data source to use: a Version 4.0 or a Version 5.0 data source.
A Version 5.0 data source is used by a J2EE 1.3 application to access the data from the database. A data source is created under a JDBC provider, which provides the specific JDBC driver implementation class. If your application uses EJB 2.0 modules, only Version 5.0 data sources can be used.
A Version 4.0 data source is used by a J2EE 1.2 application to access the data from the database. A data source is created under a JDBC provider, which provides the specific JDBC driver implementation class. If your application uses EJB 1.1 modules, only Version 4.0 data source can be used.
Although WebSphere Application Server - Express supports WebSphere Application Server Version 4.0 data sources, it is recommended that you use the WebSphere Application Server - Express specifications for all new data sources.
Decide which JDBC provider to implement.
For more information, see Available JDBC providers.
(Optional) If your application is configured using WebSphere Application Server - Express security, and you have created a J2C authentication data entry, the Component-managed Authentication Alias field is used for database authentication in run time. If you do not set this field, and your database requires a user ID and password to get a connection, you receive an exception during run time. If your resource authentication (res-auth) is set to Application, set the alias in the Component-managed Authentication Alias.
(Optional) If your application is configured using WebSphere Application Server - Express security, and you have created a J2C authentication data entry, the Container-managed Authentication Alias field is used for database authentication in run time. If you do not set this field, and your database requires a user ID and password to get a connection, then you receive an exception during run time. If your resource authentication (res-auth) is set to Container, set the alias in the Container-managed Authentication Alias.