--- title: "Configure the IBM Db2 data source | Grafana Enterprise Plugins documentation" description: "Configure the IBM Db2 data source plugin for Grafana" --- > For a curated documentation index, see [llms.txt](/llms.txt). For the complete documentation index, see [llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt). # Configure the IBM Db2 data source This document explains how to configure the IBM Db2 data source plugin. For general information on adding data sources, refer to [Add a data source](/docs/grafana/latest/administration/data-source-management/#add-a-data-source). ## Before you begin Before you configure the data source, ensure you have: - **IBM Db2 plugin:** Install the plugin from the [Grafana plugin catalog](/grafana/plugins/grafana-ibmdb2-datasource/). - **Grafana permissions:** Organization administrator role or equivalent. - **IBM Db2 database:** A running database configured for external access. - **Network access:** Connectivity from Grafana to the Db2 server host and port. ## Add the data source To add the data source: 1. Click **Connections** in the left-side menu. 2. Click **Add new connection**. 3. Search for `IBM Db2`. 4. Select **IBM Db2**. 5. Click **Add new data source**. ## Configure connection settings Enter the connection details for your IBM Db2 database. All fields in this section are required. Expand table | Setting | Description | |-------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | **Host URL** | The hostname and port of your Db2 server in `host:port` format. Example: `db2.example.com:50000`. | | **Database name** | The name of the database to connect to. Example: `SAMPLE`. | ## Configure authentication Enter the credentials and security settings for your database connection. Expand table | Setting | Description | |--------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | **Username** | Required. The database user for authentication. Example: `db2inst1`. | | **Password** | Required. The password for the database user. This value is stored securely. | | **SSL Connection** | Enable or disable SSL/TLS encryption. Enabled by default. | ## Additional settings Expand **Additional settings** (collapsible section) to configure optional options for more control over your data source. The section is collapsed by default. ### Query Timeout Expand table | Setting | Description | |-------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | **Query Timeout** | Controls how long queries can run before timing out (1–600 seconds, default: 30 seconds). Increase for slow databases or large result sets. | ### Connection pool The plugin maintains a per-datasource connection pool to avoid the overhead of creating a new TCP connection and authenticating with Db2 for every query. Expand table | Setting | Description | |-----------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | **Connection pool size** | Maximum number of concurrent connections kept open for this datasource (1–100, default: 50). Increase for high query concurrency; decrease to limit load on the database server. On self-hosted Grafana, the default can be overridden globally for all datasources with the `GF_PLUGINS_IBMDB2_DATASOURCE_POOLSIZE` environment variable. | | **Max connection lifetime** | Maximum time in seconds a pooled connection may be reused before it is closed and replaced (default: 300 seconds / 5 minutes). Set to `0` for no limit. Lowering this value is useful when the database server enforces short connection lifetimes. | Pools are keyed by datasource UID and configuration version. When you save updated credentials or settings, Grafana increments the configuration version, and the plugin automatically creates a fresh pool with the new credentials — no restart required. ### Private data source connect (PDC) > Note > > Private data source connect (PDC) is only available for Grafana Cloud users. Use PDC to connect to and query your IBM Db2 database in a secure network without opening that network to inbound traffic from Grafana Cloud. Grafana Cloud has a **Private data source connect** section at the bottom of the data source configuration page. Use the drop-down menu to select your PDC network. In the same drop-down, you can also click on **Manage private data source connect** to be taken to your PDC connection page, where you’ll find your PDC configuration details and be able to create new connections. For more information on how PDC works, refer to [Private data source connect](/docs/grafana-cloud/connect-externally-hosted/private-data-source-connect/). > Note > > A Grafana Cloud stack can have at most **25 IBM Db2 PDC datasources with different database targets** (different host or port) active simultaneously. If you need more than 25 distinct PDC-connected Db2 databases in a single stack, contact Grafana support. ## Verify the connection Click **Save & test** to verify the connection to your IBM Db2 database. A successful connection displays the message **Data source is working**. ## Provision the data source You can define the data source using YAML files as part of the Grafana provisioning system. For more information, refer to [Provisioning Grafana](/docs/grafana/latest/administration/provisioning/#data-sources). Example provisioning configuration: YAML ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```yaml apiVersion: 1 datasources: - name: IBM Db2 type: grafana-ibmdb2-datasource access: proxy jsonData: settings: - name: type value: db2 - name: host value: - name: port value: '' - name: database value: - name: username value: - name: sslConnection value: 'true' - name: password secure: true queryTimeoutSeconds: 30 # Optional: query timeout in seconds (default: 30, range: 1-600) connectionPoolSize: 50 # Optional: max connections in pool (default: 50, range: 1-100) connMaxLifetime: 300 # Optional: max connection lifetime in seconds (default: 300, 0 = no limit) secureJsonData: password: ``` ## Configure the data source with Terraform You can use the [Grafana Terraform provider](https://registry.terraform.io/providers/grafana/grafana/latest/docs) to manage the IBM Db2 data source as code. Example Terraform configuration: hcl ![Copy code to clipboard](/media/images/icons/icon-copy-small-2.svg) Copy ```hcl resource "grafana_data_source" "ibm_db2" { type = "grafana-ibmdb2-datasource" name = "IBM Db2" json_data_encoded = jsonencode({ settings = [ { name = "type", value = "db2" }, { name = "host", value = "" }, { name = "port", value = "" }, { name = "database", value = "" }, { name = "username", value = "" }, { name = "sslConnection", value = "true" }, { name = "password", secure = true } ] # Optional: query timeout in seconds (default: 30, range: 1-600) queryTimeoutSeconds = 30 # Optional: connection pool settings connectionPoolSize = 50 # max connections per datasource (default: 50, range: 1-100) connMaxLifetime = 300 # max connection lifetime in seconds (default: 300, 0 = no limit) }) secure_json_data_encoded = jsonencode({ password = var.db2_password }) } ```