Configure a System DSN for an ASP Application

Last updated: August 26, 2026.

A System DSN stores ODBC driver and connection settings for all users on a Windows computer, including an IIS application-pool identity.

1. Open the ODBC Data Source Administrator matching the application’s 32-bit or 64-bit architecture.
2. Select System DSN, choose the installed database driver, and configure the server and database.
3. Test the DSN using the same identity and network path used by IIS.

<%
Dim conn
Set conn = Server.CreateObject("ADODB.Connection")
conn.Open "DSN=ReportingDatabase;UID=app_user;PWD=replace-with-secret;"
%>

Prefer integrated authentication or protected application configuration instead of embedding a password in the page. A DSN-less connection string can be easier to deploy when driver settings are managed with the application.