# OpenAccessDataSource Component Overview

The `OpenAccessDataSource` component enables data items to connect to an **Telerik Data Access Model**. This allows seamless integration of **Telerik Reporting** with applications or websites that utilize **Telerik Data Access**. There are several main benefits when using the `OpenAccessDataSource` component for connecting to a **Telerik Data Access Model**:

\***Dedicated design-time support**: the `OpenAccessDataSource` component has its own set of design-time editors, tool windows, and a configuration wizard. In addition to this, `OpenAccessDataSource` adds support for entity schema in **Data Explorer** and live data preview of the report in **Report Designer**.

\***Configuring database connectivity**: the `OpenAccessDataSource` component offers an additional level of control over the database connectivity of the **Telerik Data Access Model**. You can specify a connection string or a named connection from the configuration file of the main application or website. That ensures `OpenAccessDataSource` can establish a valid database connection both at design time and when running the report in production.

\***Maintaining OpenAccessContext lifecycle**: the `OpenAccessDataSource` component allows the option to maintain the entire lifecycle of the `OpenAccessContext` automatically. It can create its own instance of the `OpenAccessContext` internally, keep it alive for the duration of the report generation process, and then destroy it automatically when it is no longer needed by the reporting engine.

## Supported developer platforms

* .NET Framework 4.6.2 and above