Datasource

The Datasource defines a connection to an external database. You need to define at least one of these in order to push and pull data to and from external database systems.

It has a name and a driver class (which should match the kind of datasource you are connecting to, e.g. Oracle, MySQL, SQLServer etc.). The protect during import flag can be used to prevent this datasource being updated or deleted during import. Remember to set the enabled flag to make the datasource active. Most importantly, ensure you have configured at least one datasource instance.

The toolbar has the standard icons and to show the list of tables visible for this datasource using the default login details; see the Table Details form.

For information about other property tabs, see Property Tabs.

Datasource Instances

A Datasource Instance defines connection details to a database. A number of instances can be defined to allow for several connections under a single Datasource. At least one Datasource Instance must be defined for each Datasource.

Field	Description
Name	Name of the Datasource Instance. Used to identify the datasource instance in collectors and exporters.
URL	URL to connect to the datasource. See example connection strings below.
Enabled	Flag whether this datasource is enabled or disabled.
Anonymous Username	Username for connecting to the datasource when the credentials of the PhixFlow user should not or cannot be used, for example in a scheduled task plan.
Password	Password for connecting to the datasource with the Anonymous Username.
Advanced
Check Query	See Advanced Configuration.
Datasource Profile	See Advanced Configuration.
Description	A description of the datasource instance.

A datasource instance must have a name, a URL, and a username and password used to connect to the external datasource. The URL should be in one of the following formats:

Example connection strings

Platform	Connection String
Oracle	jdbc:oracle:thin:@hostname:1521:phixflow
Oracle (> 12c with PDB containers)	jdbc:oracle:thin:@hostname:1521/phixflow
Sql Server	jdbc:sqlserver://hostname\myservice;databaseName=phixflow
MySQL	jdbc:mysql://hostname/phixflow
Big Query	jdbc:bigquery://@hostname:@port;ProjectId=@Project;

Advanced Configuration

External Credentials Settings

There are two flags on the details tab that determine what credential the datasource sends when connecting to the external source.

When the Anonymous Export Allowed flag is ticked, the datasource can be used by an exporter as part of the work done in executing a task e.g. when processing a scheduled task. In this mode, the datasource will use the configured anonymous username and password. If anonymous export is not allowed, the datasource cannot be used by an exporter during the execution of a task. The datasource can only use the logged in user's credentials (see Use user credentials below).

When the Use User Credentials on Export flag is ticked, the current logged in user's own PhixFlow username and password will be used to connect to the target database when an exporter is used interactively. Note that this means that the username/password must be set up on the target system by a Database Administrator.

Check Query

This is an advanced (optional) setting. Use this field when connections to the target database might go "stale", e.g. if the target database disconnects long running connections. Setting this field causes PhixFlow to run the query against the database just before each use of a "pooled" connection. If the query does not return a row, the connection is discarded and a new connection is created. To avoid any performance impact, the query should execute quickly. See also database collectors for guidance on writing SQL queries in PhixFlow.

Datasource Profile

This is an advanced (optional) setting. Use this field when connections to the target database have certain requirements that are not covered by PhixFlow's default external Datasource configuration. The value entered in this field will determine which external datasource connection profile that this datasource instance will use to connect to the target database.

Global Settings - For Administators

Datasource behaviour is also determined by these parameters set elsewhere in PhixFlow:

Privilege 'Allow anonymous updates on datasources'. Only a user with this privilege can modify the 'Anonymous export allowed' flag on a datasource.
System Configuration. parameter 'Allow anonymous export by default'. This causes the 'Anonymous export allowed' to be true by default on all new datasources.