ECDA is an integrated set of software applications and connectivity tools that allows you to access data within a heterogeneous database environment. ECDA gives you the ability to access a variety of LAN-based, non-Sybase data sources, as well as mainframe data sources. It consists of components that provide transparent data access within an enterprise, including access to servers housed on zSeries, iSeries, UNIX, Linux, and Microsoft Windows platforms.
Mainframe Connect™, a suite of products you
can purchase separately, allows you to access and integrate mainframe
data and applications. For more information, see the Mainframe Connect Overview
Guide.
With ECDA, you can maintain a corporate view of distributed operations, even when distributed business units run on a variety of hardware and database management system (DBMS) platforms. Because ECDA is database-independent middleware, it allows LAN-based clients to see a consistent picture of enterprise data, no matter what the data source.
ECDA components allow applications to interact with non-Sybase DBMSs, such as DB2 UDB, Microsoft SQL Server, and Oracle, as well as Sybase DBMSs, including Adaptive Server Enterprise (ASE), Adaptive Server Anywhere, and Sybase® IQ.
Specifically, The DirectConnect™ server component of ECDA works as a gateway to support ASE and Replication Server® interoperability with various non-Sybase databases.
Sybase Central™ is a graphical tool that provides a common interface for managing Sybase products. Each server product is managed by a service provider “plug-in” that operates in parallel with other service providers in the Sybase Central framework.
Sybase Central displays a visual representation of servers and provides a point-and-click interface for choosing options.
ECDA provides these Sybase Central plug-ins:
ASE plug-in, which allows you to manage and monitor ASE installations. This plug-in also allows you to set up proxy tables with ASE/CIS for access to remote, non-Sybase data sources.
DirectConnect server plug-in (DirectConnect Manager), which allows you to manage DirectConnect servers locally or remotely throughout your business environment.