Opens a connection to a Microsoft SQL Server database

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- PHP Manual
- SQLSRV Functions
- Opens a connection to a Microsoft SQL Server database

# sqlsrv_connect

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sqlsrv_connect — Opens a connection to a Microsoft SQL Server database

### Description

sqlsrv_connect(string `$serverName`, array `$connectionInfo` = ?): resource

Opens a connection to a Microsoft SQL Server database. By default, the connection is attempted using Windows Authentication. To connect using SQL Server Authentication, include "UID" and "PWD" in the connection options array.

### Parameters

`serverName`

  The name of the server to which a connection is established. To connect to a specific instance, follow the server name with a backward slash and the instance name (e.g. serverName\sqlexpress).

`connectionInfo`

  An associative array that specifies options for connecting to the server. If values for the UID and PWD keys are not specified, the connection will be attempted using Windows Authentication. For a complete list of supported keys, see » SQLSRV Connection Options.

### Return Values

A connection resource. If a connection cannot be successfully opened, `false` is returned.

### Examples

Example #1 Connect using Windows Authentication.

    <?php
    $serverName = "serverName\\sqlexpress"; //serverName\instanceName

    // Since UID and PWD are not specified in the $connectionInfo array,
    // The connection will be attempted using Windows Authentication.
    $connectionInfo = array( "Database"=>"dbName");
    $conn = sqlsrv_connect( $serverName, $connectionInfo);

    if( $conn ) {
         echo "Connection established.<br />";
    }else{
         echo "Connection could not be established.<br />";
         die( print_r( sqlsrv_errors(), true));
    }
    ?>

Example #2 Connect by specifying a user name and password.

    <?php
    $serverName = "serverName\\sqlexpress"; //serverName\instanceName
    $connectionInfo = array( "Database"=>"dbName", "UID"=>"userName", "PWD"=>"password");
    $conn = sqlsrv_connect( $serverName, $connectionInfo);

    if( $conn ) {
         echo "Connection established.<br />";
    }else{
         echo "Connection could not be established.<br />";
         die( print_r( sqlsrv_errors(), true));
    }
    ?>

Example #3 Connect on a specified port.

    <?php
    $serverName = "serverName\\sqlexpress, 1542"; //serverName\instanceName, portNumber (default is 1433)
    $connectionInfo = array( "Database"=>"dbName", "UID"=>"userName", "PWD"=>"password");
    $conn = sqlsrv_connect( $serverName, $connectionInfo);

    if( $conn ) {
         echo "Connection established.<br />";
    }else{
         echo "Connection could not be established.<br />";
         die( print_r( sqlsrv_errors(), true));
    }
    ?>

### Notes

By default, the sqlsrv_connect() uses connection pooling to improve connection performance. To turn off connection pooling (i.e. force a new connection on each call), set the "ConnectionPooling" option in the $connectionOptions array to 0 (or `false`). For more information, see » SQLSRV Connection Pooling.

The SQLSRV extension does not have a dedicated function for changing which database is connected to. The target database is specified in the $connectionOptions array that is passed to sqlsrv_connect. To change the database on an open connection, execute the following query "USE dbName" (e.g. sqlsrv_query($conn, "USE dbName")).

### See Also

- sqlsrv_close() - Closes an open connection and releases resourses associated with the connection
- sqlsrv_errors() - Returns error and warning information about the last SQLSRV operation performed
- sqlsrv_query() - Prepares and executes a query