When you click on the "Configure the data retrieval service" link, you will land on the "Data Retrieval Service" page. This page lets you configure the data retrieval options for global or for individual web applications. These settings are web application scoped; i.e., all the the site collections under the same web application inherit the same settings.
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What is DRS?
A "Data Retrieval Service" implements a data-binding technology that enables data consumers and data sources to communicate with each other through SOAP and XML. Data Retrieval services are XML Web services that return XML data from different data sources. A data retrieval service is installed and runs on a server extended with Windows SharePoint Services. Windows SharePoint Services come with a default set of data retrieval services for working with data in SharePoint lists, OLEDB, and XML data sources. Client applications and data-bound web parts, like Spreadsheet web part, can use a data retrieval service to query the data source supported by the particular data source.
I was first introduced in SharePoint Service 2.0 and continue with it as it is in all further versions. Here are the options you can configure on this page.
The only caution is to understand it before making the change because a bad setting can stop your development from working. It is highly recommended to use the default settings but if there is any real need, then you can change it as per the requirement.
Settings
You have two options to configure the settings.
- Global settings, means same settings across all web applications. You can change it for your entire farm globally, by selecting Globally.
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- Web Application Settings, with this option, you can dedicate the settings for individual web applications. You can change it for a specific web app by selecting the web app.
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- Enable Data Retrieval Service
Turns data retrieval services on or off. By default, data retrieval services are enabled. If you plan to turn it off, you should uncheck the box.
Note - Be careful before disabling this, because there are chances that Custom Development as SharePoint designer customization may stop working
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- Limit Response Size
Specifies the response size of the data source that is returned to the data retrieval service. Its default value is 10000 (10 KB). If you want to increase the value, then I would highly recommend you monitor the performance of your SharePoint. In some cases, the memory utilization gets spiked. ![]()
- Update Support
You can enable or disable the support for Updating queries. By default, this option is disabled. Most of the developers opt for this option when you query non SharePoint Databases.
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- Data Source Timeout
By default, the value for this option is 30 seconds. You can change it to higher or lower numbers as per your requirement. Don’t play with this value unless you have a valid reason to change it.
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- Enable Data Source Controls
Turns the data source controls ON or OFF on the Server. If this setting is set to disabled, no query results are processed. By default, this option is enabled.
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At the end, you have to click "OK" to submit your changes.
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