Creating an iSeries database connection

Use the New Database Connection wizard to create a JDBC connection to DB2 Universal Database(TM) for iSeries(TM) driver.

Recommended prerequisite: Before you create an iSeries database connection, follow the instructions in Establishing your own iSeries perspective.
To create the connection and use the AS/400 Toolbox for Java JDBC Driver, follow these steps:
  1. Open your iSeries Data perspective if it is not already open: Click Window > Open Perspective > iSeries Data.
  2. Right-click in the empty area of the Database Explorer view and click New Connection. The New Database Connection wizard opens.
  3. In the Connection name field, type the name you want to give the database connection. Click Next.
  4. In the database manager list, expand DB2 Universal Database and select for iSeries V5R3.
  5. From the JDBC driver list, select AS/400 Toolbox for Java JDBC Driver.
  6. In the Host field, type the name of your iSeries host.
  7. The JDBC driver class field is not available and is pre-filled with com.ibm.as400.access.AS400JDBCDriver.
  8. In the Class location field, type the location of the JDBC driver. This should be X\rwdi_shared\eclipse\plugins\com.ibm.etools.iseries.toolbox_<version number> \runtime\jt400.jar (where X is the path where you have installed WebSphere Development Studio Client for iSeries and <version number> is the version, such as 6.0.0).
  9. The Connection URL field is not available and is pre-filled with the connection URL in the form jdbc:as400://<iSeries host name>.
  10. In the User ID and Password fields, supply your iSeries user ID and password. Click Next.
  11. To limit the database schemas that are loaded use a filter.. For more information about creating filters, refer to Creating a filter for an iSeries database connection. If you do not specify further filters, then all schemas (libraries) in QSYS are searched for tables (physical files) which might take a long time.
  12. Click Finish to create the database connection.
Depending on the filters, it takes a few seconds or up to half an hour to create the connection. The database metadata (data definitions such as tables and field definitions) is collected and used to create a transient model. You can view this model in the Database Explorer view. You can expand the folders under the database to browse its design.
For more information about connecting using the AS/400 Toolbox for Java JDBC Driver, refer to the IBM Toolbox for Java JDBC Frequently Asked Questions.

After creating a connection, read further on Finding information on database development.