You connect to the database server and the geodatabases on it from the Database Servers node in the ArcGIS for Desktop Catalog tree if you need to perform administrative tasks on the geodatabase or on the database server itself.
Connect to a database server
To connect to a database server, you must first add the database server to the Catalog tree in ArcGIS for Desktop.
Once the database server connection file exists, you can connect to it by following these steps:
- Start ArcMap, open the Catalog window, and expand the Database Servers folder in the Catalog tree.
- To connect, do one of the following:
- Double-click the database server connection icon in the Catalog tree.
- Right-click the database server connection icon in the Catalog tree and click Connect.
Connect to a geodatabase
Once you connect to the database server, you can connect to individual geodatabases on the database server.
Connections from this node are used by server or geodatabase administrators to manage permissions for logins in individual geodatabases; create backups of a geodatabase; and compress, analyze, or shrink a geodatabase.
- Connect to the database server that contains the geodatabase you want to access.
- To connect to an individual geodatabase, do one of the following:
- Click the geodatabase in the Catalog tree. (As soon as you click on a geodatabase in the Catalog tree, it makes a connection.)
- Double-click the geodatabase in the Contents tab of the Catalog window. (A single click in the Contents tab does not connect to the geodatabase; you must double-click the geodatabase to connect.)