This page is for administrators who need to connect PhixFlow to external databases

.

Overview

The PhixFlow application can communicate with an external database from which it needs to load data. This is configured using a Datasource in an analysis model. 

To communicate with an external database, PhixFlow needs:

1. The jar files for connecting to a database, stored in PhixFlow's Database Driver File Directory. This location is set directly in System Configuration → System Directories → Database Driver File Directory.
2. A database driver configured in the repository. One database driver item can refer to multiple jar files.

Preinstalled Databases

There are three databases on which PhixFlow can be installed:

1. MySQL
2. MS SQL Server
3. Oracle.

For each of these, PhixFlow is preconfigured with:

• jar files stored in in tomcat/webapps/phixflow/WEB-INF/lib 
• a database driver in the repository, which uses jar files.

You can use these pre-configured database drivers in a datasource. However, you cannot update their properties or see their jar files.

Additional Databases

You may need to configure additional database drivers to support:

• other types of database
• different versions a database.

How to Configure a Database Driver

1. Find out which

1. JDBC

1. database drivers you require

1. . This information is available in the documentation for your database. Also

1. check the System Requirements and Compatibility page for supported versions. Communication to a database may require multiple JDBC driver files. 

1. Download the required JDBC driver files from:
   • either the database supplier (recommended)
   • or an open source repository, such as https://mvnrepository.com/.
2. Ensure you have a Database Driver File Directory setup. If it has been setup it can be seen in System Configuration → System Directories → Database Driver File Directory.
   1. If it has not been setup, create the directory in a location available to Tomcat.
   2. Open Administration → System Configuration → System Directories, and update the Database Driver File Directory with the path of the directory.
3. In PhixFlow, for each type of database, create one database driver;
   1. In the full repository scroll down to the

      Insert excerpt
      _driver_repo _driver_repo nopanel true

       section. 
   2. To add a new driver,

1. 1. click

1. 1. Insert excerpt
      _

1. 1. addIcon _

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      . PhixFlow opens a property tab where you can enter the details for the new driver.
      1. To open an existing database driver

1. 1. 1. , in the repository double-click

1. 1. 1. on its name.
   2. In the database driver properties → Database Driver File section, add all the JDBC driver files that the database requires; see Properties Tab → Settings, below.
   3. For each jar file, specify the path to the file stored in the Database Driver File Directory.

Insert excerpt
_property_tabs _property_tabs name basic-h nopanel true

Anchor
properties properties

The database drivers configured in the repository populate

the drop-down list in

→ Database Driver 

Settings

Basic 

Advanced

Database Driver

File

This section has a toolbar with standard buttons. 

The grid

lists the jar files for this database driver. Each database usually requires multiple jar files. To add a jar file to the list:

1. Click

   Insert excerpt
   _

1. new _

1. new nopanel true

    to open a the properties for a new

1. Database Driver File Location.
   (Database Driver File Location properties are only available from this grid. They are not listed in the repository.)

2. In the Basic Settings section, set:

   Field	Description
   Name	Enter a unique name for the driver.
   Connector Jar File Location

1. The root Database Driver File Directory, must be specified in System Configuration.  Specify a path, relative to the root Database Driver File Directory: either to a specific driver jar file or to a sub-directory that contains multiple driver jar files. For example: if the file is /opt/phixflow-drivers/BigQueryJDBC/driverfile.jar and the Database Driver File Directory is set to /opt/phixflow-drivers/ then enter: for Linux: BigQueryJDBC/driverfile.jar Windows:  BigQueryJDBC\driverfile.jar If you specify a sub-directory, all jar files will be loaded but further sub-directories will be ignored.

   
   

2. Click 

   Insert excerpt
   _finish _finish nopanel true

    to save and close the properties

1. and return to the

1. database driver properties.

To remove a jar file from the grid, use the toolbar button 

Using Drivers Across Multiple Instances

If you run multiple instances of PhixFlow, you must ensure that:

• a custom database driver used by a datasource, is moved with the datasource to another PhixFlow instance
• AND the database driver has access to the database driver jar file from the other instance.

This means all datasource objects continue to work in other instances. 

For adding database drivers to the same application or package as the model; see Package.

How PhixFlow Decides Which Driver to Use

PhixFlow is configured with a class path for finding drivers

. This will use the first appropriate driver it finds in:

1. The Connector Jar File Location configured for the database drivers file. 
2. tomcat/webapps/phixflow/WEB-INF/lib
3. tomcat/lib.

Deprecated Database Drivers

For PhixFlow pre-version 10.1, the repository includes the following deprecated database drivers, for backwards compatibility. 

• DB2
• Debug JDBC
• Google Big Query
• Hadoop Hive
• MySQL
• Netezza
• Sun ODBC Bridge
• Teradata