Database connection

Open with Workspace → Connections → Database… on the main menu bar. A modal dialog for connecting to an Oracle or SQL Server database.

Top of the dialog

Field	Shown when	What it does
Execution Mode	Dropdown: shown when enabled for this workspace	Which execution mode to use.
Reversal Mode	Dropdown: shown when enabled for this workspace	Which reversal mode to use.
Database Vendor	Always shown	Dropdown: picks which vendor-specific form to show below.

Bottom buttons

Button	What it does
Disconnect	Close the active connection. Shown only when connected.
Connect	Activate the selected connection as the workspace's current database.
Test	Verify the connection works without making it active.
Cancel	Close the dialog without changes.

Auto-connect on startup

At the bottom of the dialog, a checkbox: Auto-connect on startup. Tooltip: "Automatically connect to this database when opening this workspace. Only available when using Windows authentication or when credentials are saved."

Vendor: SQL Server

Field	What it holds
Previous Connections	Dropdown of saved connections. The ✕ button next to it deletes the currently-selected saved connection.
Connection Name	The friendly name the connection will be saved as.
Server	The SQL Server hostname or host\instance.
Database	The database / catalogue name.
Authentication	Dropdown: picks the auth method (Windows, SQL, etc.).
Username	Only shown for password-based authentication.
Password	Only shown for password-based authentication. Masked.
Trust Server Certificate	Checkbox: bypass certificate validation for the connection.

Vendor: Oracle

Oracle supports four connection types selected via the Connection Type dropdown. Different fields show up for each.

Common fields (all connection types)

Field	What it holds
Previous Connections	Saved connections dropdown with delete button.
Connection Name	Friendly name for the saved connection.
Connection Type	Dropdown: Basic, DataSource, Cloud, Custom.
Authentication	Dropdown: auth method.
Username	Always shown (enabled when password auth is selected).
Password	Shown only for password auth. Masked.

Connection Type: Basic

Additional fields:

Field	What it holds
Hostname	The Oracle server hostname.
Port	TCP port (usually 1521).
Service Name	The Oracle service name.
Instance Name	The Oracle instance name.
SID	The Oracle SID (if using SID-based connection).

Connection Type: DataSource

Additional fields:

Field	What it holds
Data Source	The TNS alias / data-source name.
Wallet Location	Folder path with Browse button.
TnsAdmin Location	Folder path with Browse button.

Connection Type: Cloud

Additional fields:

Field	What it holds
URL	The cloud connection URL.

Connection Type: Custom

Additional fields:

Field	What it holds
Custom String	A multi-line textbox for a hand-written connection string.

Kerberos authentication

Kerberos single sign-on against Oracle is supported directly through DataStar's managed Oracle driver. In v3, you do not need to install MIT Kerberos on the client machine, which was a prerequisite in v2. DataStar ships with Oracle.ManagedDataAccess.Kerberos and Kerberos.NET built in, so the managed driver negotiates Kerberos authentication itself.

What you still need:

1. A krb5.conf file that identifies your realm and KDCs. A common location is C:\ProgramData\Kerberos\krb5.conf.

2. A sqlnet.ora file alongside it with the following settings:

   SQLNET.AUTHENTICATION_SERVICES=(KERBEROS5)
   SQLNET.KERBEROS5_CONF=C:/ProgramData/Kerberos/krb5.conf
   SQLNET.KERBEROS5_CONF_MIT=TRUE
   SQLNET.KERBEROS5_CC_NAME=MSLSA:

   SQLNET.KERBEROS5_CC_NAME=MSLSA: tells the driver to use the current Windows user's credential cache, which is the usual choice on a domain-joined Windows 11 machine.

To connect from the Database Connection dialog:

1. Set Connection Type to DataSource.
2. Set Data Source to the TNS name of your Oracle service.
3. Set Authentication to Windows Authentication.
4. Set TnsAdmin Location to the folder containing sqlnet.ora.
5. Connect. The driver picks up your Windows ticket and negotiates Kerberos with Oracle.

The same sqlnet.ora works for DataStar.Tools on build and deployment agents; see the CI/CD overview for how to point the CLI at it.