Introduction to Server Explorer
You can use Server Explorer to view and manipulate data links, database connections, and system resources on any server to which you have network access. Using Server Explorer, you can:
- Open data connections.
- Log on to servers, and display their databases and system services, including event logs, message queues, performance counters, system services, and SQL databases.
- View information about available Web Services and the methods and schemas they make available.
- Make data connections to SQL Servers and other databases.
- Store database projects and references.
- Drag nodes from Server Explorer into your Visual Studio .NET projects, thus creating data components that reference the data resource or monitor its activity.
- Interact with data resources by programming to these data components created in your Visual Studio .NET projects.
The following table lists node types available in Server Explorer.
| Node | Description |
|---|---|
| Data Connections | Top-level node that lists any data connections added by a user to the server. You can make Data Connections to many types of databases, including Oracle databases running on UNIX or Microsoft Windows operating systems. For more information, see Adding New Data Connections in Server Explorer. |
| [child nodes] | The child nodes beneath each data connection list the database diagrams, tables, views, stored procedures, and functions in that database.
In some editions of Visual Studio .NET, only certain types of database connections are permitted. |
| Servers | Top-level node that lists the servers currently available for use. Beneath each server node are listed the databases and server resources you can use in your applications. For more information, see Adding New Servers in Server Explorer.
The Servers node of the Server Explorer is not available in the Standard Edition of Visual Basic .NET and Visual C# .NET. See Visual Basic Standard Edition Features. |
| Crystal Services | Child of the Servers node. Lists the available Crystal Reporting options. |
| Event Logs | Child of the Servers node. Lists Application, Security, and System event logs on the selected Microsoft Windows 2000 server or Windows NT version 4.0, and any custom logs present on the server. For more information, see Introduction to the EventLog Component, Working with Event Logs in Server Explorer, Launching Event Viewer, and Finding Errors Using the Event Viewer. |
| Message Queues | Child of the Servers node. Lists the message queues available on the selected server, along with the messages that each queue contains. For more information about message queues, see Creating MessageQueue Component Instances and Finding Queues in Server Explorer. |
| Performance Counters | Child of the Servers node. Lists the performance counters on the selected Windows 2000 or Windows NT 4.0 server. For more information, see Creating PerformanceCounter Component Instances and Working with Performance Counters in Server Explorer. |
| Services | Child of the Servers node. Lists the services that exist on the selected Windows 2000 or Windows NT 4.0 server, as well as the current status of each service. For more information, see Creating ServiceController Component Instances, Performing Administrative Tasks on Services, and Mapping Events in NTFRS Service Logs to Threads in Performance Monitor. |
| SQL Servers | Child of the Servers node. Lists the SQL server databases available on the selected server, and allows access to them from Visual Studio .NET data components. For more information, see Selecting a SQL Server Data Source and Windows 2000 and SQL Server Security. |
| Additional Components | Some component providers furnish additional components for Server Explorer. For details, please consult their documentation.
Additional components are not permitted in some editions of Visual Studio .NET. |
For Further Information on Windows NT Servers
For more information on system data from Windows NT servers available through Server Explorer, select Help from the Start menu and consult these Help topics:
- Administrative Tools
- Message Queuing Overview
Open the Windows NT Administrative Tools Control Panel and double-click its Event Viewer, Performance, and Services nodes to consult these help topics:
- Event Viewer Overview
- Performance Logs and Alerts Overview
- Services Overview
See Also
Windows NT, Terminal Server, and Microsoft Exchange Services Use TCP/IP Ports | Connecting to Remote Resources with Server Explorer | Accessing and Initializing Server Explorer | Databases in Server Explorer | User Credentials and Access to Data Sources in Server Explorer | Adding Items from Server Explorer | Data Link Properties Dialog Box | Information on Data Link Properties and OLE DB Providers