Relational.

You can extract data from any relational database that the Integration Service can connect to. When extracting data from relational sources and Application sources, you must configure the database connection to the data source prior to configuring the session.

File.

You can create a session to extract data from a flat file, COBOL, or XML source. Use an operating system command to generate source data for a flat file or COBOL source or generate a file list.

If you use a flat file or XML source, the Integration Service can extract data from any local directory or FTP connection for the source file. If the file source requires an FTP connection, you need to configure the FTP connection to the host machine before you create the session.

Heterogeneous.

You can extract data from multiple sources in the same session. You can extract from multiple relational sources, such as Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server. Or, you can extract from multiple source types, such as relational and flat file. When you configure a session with heterogeneous sources, configure each source instance separately.