This blog will help you learn how to create a Microsoft Business Connectivity Services service application in SharePoint Server 2013.

SharePoint

SharePoint 2013 is a collaboration environment that organizations of all sizes can use to increase the efficiency of business processes.

BCS
  • Business Connectivity Services is a centralized infrastructure in SharePoint 2013/2016 that supports integrated data solutions.BCS will help you to present the data in an external list.
  • External lists look and feel like regular SharePoint lists, except that they can only display external data.If you want to integrate external data alongside other data in a list or library, you would use an external data column.
  • External data may be in a database and it is accessed by using the out-of-the-box Business Connectivity Services connector for that database.
  • BCS can also connect to data that is available through a web service.
Create a BCS using OOTB
If you want to create a BCS using OOTB method, open the SharePoint Central Administration website with a farm administrator account.
Under Application Management, select "Manage service applications".
At last, you have to select "New" and then click "Business Data Connectivity Service".

Powershell Method
  • Open your SharePoint Management Shell.
  • Copy the below code.
  • Run this one.
    1. Add - PsSnapin Microsoft.SharePoint.PowerShell - ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    2. # Required Details / Settings
    3. $ServiceName = "BCS Service"
    4. $ServiceProxyName = "BCS Proxy"
    5. $AppPoolAccount = "SPDEV\gowtham"
    6. $AppPoolName = "SharePoint App Pool"
    7. $DatabaseServer = "bcs2013"
    8. $DatabaseName = "BCS"
    9. Write - Host - ForegroundColor Yellow "Checking if Application Pool Accounts exists"
    10. $AppPoolAccount = Get - SPManagedAccount - Identity $AppPoolAccount - EA 0
    11. if ($AppPoolAccount - eq $null)
    12. {
    13. $AppPoolCred = Get - Credential $AppPoolAccount
    14. $AppPoolAccount = New - SPManagedAccount - Credential $AppPoolCred - EA 0
    15. }
    16. $AppPool = Get - SPServiceApplicationPool - Identity $AppPoolName - ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    17. if (!$AppPool)
    18. {
    19. Write - Host - ForegroundColor Green "Creating Application Pool"
    20. $AppPool = New - SPServiceApplicationPool - Name $AppPoolName - Account $AppPoolAccount - Verbose
    21. }
    22. Write - Host - ForegroundColor Yellow "Checking if BCS Service Application exists"
    23. $ServiceApplication = Get - SPServiceApplication - Name $ServiceName - ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    24. if (!$ServiceApplication)
    25. {
    26. Write - Host - ForegroundColor Green "Creating BCS Service Application"
    27. $ServiceApplication = New - SPBusinessDataCatalogServiceApplication– ApplicationPool $AppPool– DatabaseName $DatabaseName– DatabaseServer $DatabaseServer– Name $ServiceName
    28. }
    29. Write - Host - ForegroundColor Yellow "Starting the BCS Service"
    30. $ServiceInstance = Get - SPServiceInstance | Where - Object
    31. {
    32. $_.TypeName - like "*Business*"
    33. }
    34. Start - SPServiceInstance $ServiceInstance
    35. Write - Host - ForegroundColor Green "BCS Services Created Succesfully."
Conclusion
The above code will create a BCS using OOTB method.

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