You can connect to databases from ArcGIS to view, query, and analyze the data they contain. Some of the databases you access can contain geodatabase tables, functions, and procedures, but they don't have to; you can connect to any supported database and view the data from ArcGIS Pro.
Most types of databases require that you install and configure a database client on the machine that will connect to the database.
Database connections
When you connect to a database in ArcGIS Pro, you must provide connection properties. These properties help ArcGIS Pro locate the database and provide authentication information to allow you to access the database contents.
Note:
- The information in this help page does not apply to connections to SQLite databases or GeoPackage files. See Work with SQLite databases and GeoPackage files in ArcGIS Pro for instructions on connecting to these types of files.
- The information here does not apply to connections to cloud data warehouses. For information on connecting to a cloud data warehouse using a database connection, see Connections to cloud data warehouses in ArcGIS Pro.
- ArcGIS supports connections to a specific set of databases. To access nonspatial data in databases that ArcGIS doesn't directly support, see Work with OLE DB connections.
Authentication type
Databases use the credentials that you provide to confirm that you are allowed to connect. How those credentials are provided varies depending on the type of authentication the database is configured to use.
There are many types of authentication. ArcGIS supports the following authentication types when you connect to a database or database service:
- Database authentication—Uses usernames and passwords defined in the database. ArcGIS supports this type of authentication for connections to all supported databases and database services.
- Operating system authentication—Uses local or network logins to authenticate. This type of authentication is implemented differently per database, and ArcGIS supports this type of authentication for a subset of databases.
- Microsoft Entra ID—Only supported when you connect to Microsoft Azure SQL Managed Instance and Microsoft Azure SQL Database instances.
Database authentication
If you choose Database authentication, you must provide a valid database username and password in the User name and Password text boxes, respectively. Usernames can be a maximum of 30 characters.
Note:
Outside of ArcGIS, you can create usernames in Microsoft SQL Server that contain special characters. These usernames must be delimited whenever they are used. ArcGIS adds the delimiter when it is passed to SQL Server; you do not need to include delimiters with the username. For example, if your username is map.user, type map.user, not "map.user", in the User name text box. For more information on regular and delimited identifiers, see your SQL Server documentation.
Uncheck Save user name and password if you prefer not to save your login information as part of the connection; doing this can help maintain the security of the database. However, if you do this, you'll be prompted to provide a username and password every time you connect.
Note:
Do not uncheck Save user name and password if you will register the connection file with an ArcGIS Server site or ArcGIS Enterprise organization, if you need to use the Catalog pane search to locate data accessed through this connection file, or if you will use the connection file in geoprocessing models or scripts.
ArcGIS Pro caches credentials for the first successful database connection for which you do not save the username and password. If you create a second connection to the same database in the same ArcGIS Pro session and do not save credentials, the cached credentials from the first connection are used even if you provide different credentials in the second connection file. To connect with different credentials without saving the username and password, start a new ArcGIS Pro session.
Operating system authentication
If you choose Operating system authentication, you do not need to type a username and password—the connection is made using the login name and password used to sign in to the operating system. If the login used for the operating system is not a valid database login, the connection fails. At present, ArcGIS supports operating system authentication when connecting to Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, IBM Db2, and PostgreSQL.
Note:
- Security Support Provider Interface (SSPI) and Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) are supported for operating system authentication with PostgreSQL.
- When you use operating system authentication in Oracle, the operating system login is prefixed with an os_authent_prefix string (by default, OPS$) and stored in the USERNAME table in the database. The maximum number of characters allowed for the username when connecting to the geodatabase is 30. In these specific cases, ArcGIS places quotation marks around your username to pass it to the database. Those quotation marks count toward the 30-character total.
Microsoft Entra ID options
When you connect to Azure SQL Database or SQL Managed Instance, you can use one of the following Entra ID authentication options:
- Microsoft Entra multifactor authentication (MFA)—When you connect using the Microsoft Entra MFA option on the database connection dialog box, you must provide the
Entra ID
username, and a code is sent to
you in a text message, email, or MFA device to complete the authentication process. No password is required on the database connection dialog box. Depending on how your network and
authentication protocols are configured, you may also be able to use a
fingerprint scan for authentication.
Note:
Even though you choose the option to save the username, if you share the database connection file (.sde) with other users, the connection will be made using that user's login account, not the login account that you saved in the connection file.
You cannot register this database connection with an ArcGIS Server site.
- Microsoft Entra Password—When you connect using the Microsoft Entra Password option on the database connection dialog box, you must provide a valid
Entra ID
username and password in the
User name and
Password text boxes, respectively. Usernames
can be a maximum of 30 characters.
Note:
Do not uncheck Save user name and password if you will register the connection file with an ArcGIS Server site or ArcGIS Enterprise organization, if you need to use the Catalog pane search to locate data accessed through this connection file, or if you will use the connection file in geoprocessing models or scripts.
ArcGIS Pro caches credentials for the first successful database connection for which you do not save the username and password. If you create a second connection to the same database in the same ArcGIS Pro session and do not save credentials, the cached credentials from the first connection are used even if you provide different credentials in the second connection file. To connect with different credentials without saving the username and password, start a new ArcGIS Pro session.
- Microsoft Entra Integrated—When you connect using the Microsoft Entra Integrated option on the database connection dialog box, the connection is made using the login name and password used to sign in to the operating system. If the login used for the operating system is not a valid Entra ID login, the connection fails.
Database platform and properties
The value you choose from the Database Platform drop-down list indicates the type of database to which you'll connect. The items available on the dialog box and the information that you provide to make the connection depend on the database platform type you choose.
See the following for information about how to connect to each database platform: