 <p>I create a database alias on each server to point to the database. I then use this alias in my web.config files. If I need to change which database the application points to, then I change the alias and not the web.config.</p> <p>For SQL Server, go to SQL Server Configuration Manager > SQL Native Client Configuration > Aliases > Create New Alias.</p> <p>You can do the same thing with Oracle with the tnsnames file.</p>