Using SQL Azure with Enterprise Server for .NET

SQL Azure databases can host CICS and JES regions, application objects (DLLs and MODs), and VSAM data files. An Enterprise Server for .NET installation, whether deployed on-premises or in Azure, can access a SQL Azure region and VSAM file databases. Accessing SQL Azure on-premises is significantly slower than accessing it directly from Azure, when the region and SQL Azure database(s) are hosted in the same data center.

By default, Enterprise Server for .NET uses Windows authentication (SSPI), using the logged-in user's credentials, to access SQL Server databases. However, connecting to a SQL Azure database requires a specially formatted connection string that includes your SQL Azure database server name, user name and password. Do the following to determine the connection string for your master database.

By default, the administration tool wizard will create connection strings automatically, but if you want to override the defaults, follow these steps to obtain the database connection strings:

Login to the Azure Management portal and click SQL databases in the left-hand pane.
The SQL databases screen will be displayed.
Click on the database of interest.
In the Overview section, click the link labeled Show database connection strings, or click Connection strings from the left pane.
The Connection Strings screen will be displayed.
Copy the connection string from the ADO.NET tab.
The connection string will be similar to the following, though the parameters listed might be different:
```
Server=tcp:[servername].database.windows.net;
                Database=master;
                User ID=[username]@[servername];
                Password=[userpassword];
                Trusted_Connection=False;
                 Encrypt=True;
```
where:
- [servername] is the name of your SQL Azure database server (for example iwek9v4j6a)
- [username] is your SQL Azure user name and [userpassword] is your SQL Azure password (you might have to edit the connection string and set these yourself)
- Database=master must not be included in the displayed connection string
The connection string for each of your SQL Azure databases has the same format, with the appropriate database name instead of master. When you configure a connection string for Enterprise Server for .NET, you will have to specify the database. See SQL Azure Connection Strings for a list of the databases you will need.