Connecting to your Watson Query service instance

Prerequisites

Before you try to connect to your Watson Query instance, verify the prerequisites.

Step 1. Collect database details and credentials

To connect to your database, you need database details (such as the hostname), and credentials (such as a user ID and password.). You can collect this connection information from the Service credentials of the Watson Query service instance or from the Watson Query web console.

For more information, see Database details and connection credentials in Watson Query.

Step 2. Verify that a supported driver is installed

• If your application or tool already contains the Db2® v11.5 IBM Data Server Driver Package, your application or tool is able to connect to your Watson Query instance by using that driver.

• Otherwise, install the Db2 driver package.

  For more information, see the following resources:

  • Downloading the driver package.
  • Installing the driver package on Linux or PowerLinux.
  • Installing the driver package on Mac OS X.
  • Installing the driver package on Windows.

Step 3. Configure your environment

1. Add entries to the driver configuration file, db2dsdriver.cfg, for your database.

2. Configure Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). Connection details, such as which port to use and the connection string, depend on whether you use SSL connections. SSL is the default connection method.

   To use SSL connections, you need a CA certificate:

   • If you use the most recent Watson Query driver package, the certificate file is bundled with the package and is used for connections.
   • If you use the IBM Data Server Driver Package, you can download the SSL certificate from the Watson Query web console.

For more information, see the following resources:

• Configuring your local environment.
• SSL connectivity in Watson Query.

Step 4. Confirm that ports are available

If your network is behind a firewall, confirm that communications are allowed on the port that is needed to connect to the Watson Query service. The port number can be found in the connection information from the Service credentials table of the Watson Query service instance or from the Watson Query web console.

Connectivity options

Watson Query offers multiple secure connectivity options that depend on your application connection requirements.

For more information, see Connectivity options in Watson Query.