ECDA and DirectConnect names and packaging

Before Sybase introduced ECDA 12.5, its options were sold as individual DirectConnect products named “DirectConnect for [target].” You will see the name “DirectConnect” used in the software and in documents. Past and current option names are as follows:

**Table 2-1: DirectConnect and ECDA names**
Old product name	Current option name
DirectConnect for DB2 UDB	Enterprise Connect Data Access Option for DB2 UDB
DirectConnect for Informix	Enterprise Connect Data Access Option for Informix
DirectConnect Manager	Part of each Enterprise Connect Data Access Option and still called “DC Manager”
DirectConnect for Microsoft SQL Server	Enterprise Connect Data Access Option for Microsoft SQL Server
DirectConnect for ODBC	Enterprise Connect Data Access Option for ODBC
DirectConnect for Oracle	Enterprise Connect Data Access Option for Oracle
DirectConnect for z/OS	Mainframe Connect™ DirectConnect for z/OS

DirectConnect products and services

The following DirectConnect products support heterogeneous replication systems based on Sybase replication technology:

DirectConnect for DB2 UDB
DirectConnect for Informix
DirectConnect for Microsoft SQL Server
DirectConnect for ODBC
DirectConnect for Oracle
DirectConnect for z/OS

ECDA products provide the following middleware services:

DirectConnect access services that provide access to non-Sybase data sources
DirectConnect administrative services (DirectConnect Manager) that provide server-side system management

How DirectConnect works

All Sybase DirectConnect products provide basic connectivity to non-Sybase data services. In particular, they provide access management, copy management, and remote systems management.

Each DirectConnect product consists of a server and one or more access service libraries. The server provides the framework in which the service libraries operate. From the server, each access service library accesses data from a particular target database, such as DB2 Universal Database, Informix, Microsoft SQL Server, or Oracle.

Each access service library contains one or more access services that are specific sets of configuration properties. An access service provides the following functionality:

Transforms SQL
Supports remote procedure calls (RPCs)
Transfers data between target databases and other servers, if the servers are accessible through Open Client
Supports catalog stored procedures (CSPs) and system stored procedures from Adaptive Server/CIS

The DirectConnect server listens for, validates, and accepts incoming client connections, such as language events or remote procedure calls (RPCs). These events are routed to the target data source (replicate database) through DirectConnect access services, which provide target-specific connectivity features, including datatype conversion, network connectivity, and SQL transformation.