Data Providers
A .NET data provider is a software library consisting of classes that provide data access to a data source, executing commands at a data source and fetching data from a data source with support to execute commands within transactions. In order to set up data source connections within Bizview to external data sources, the data provider for that data source needs to exist on the server. Otherwise, they can't be installed. For instance, if you want to create a data source for MySQL, the .NET data provider needs to be present.
Access Data Providers by selecting System Administration > Data Services > Setup > Data Providers.
This topic contains the following sections:
Server Installed Providers
The data providers that are defined in Bizview (present on server) are displayed in the list. To get newly installed data providers, click the Get Installed Providers link at the top. This will refresh the list in Bizview.
For each data provider, there are a set of parameters displayed to the right. These are unique to each data provider and will not be described here. The definitions of what each parameter means can be found on the internet.
Custom Providers
In addition to using installed data providers, you can also define a custom data provider.
Complete the following:
Click 'New' at the bottom of the page.
Enter the information required.
Below is a list of available fields:
Field | Description | Example | Note |
---|---|---|---|
Class ID | The unique Class ID for the Data Provider. | 6F9619FF-8B86-D011-B42D-00C04FC964FF | Auto generated, cannot edit. |
Provider name | The description of the Data Provider. | NCG DB2 Provider | |
Description | Information about the provider. | ||
Connection type | DB2 | ||
Manufacturer | Manufacturer of the provider. | IBM | |
Connection example | Provide an example of the connection string. | Server=myAddress:myPortNumber;Database=myDataBase;UID=myUsername;PWD=myPassword; | The information provided here will be visible in the Help information for the parameter. |
Select Save.
Once you save the Data Provider, you can start adding Parameters to the provider.
Click the [+] above the parameter list.
Below is a list of available fields:
Field | Description | Example | Note |
---|---|---|---|
Parameter ID | Unique ID for the parameter. | Server | |
Sequence | Internal order among connection string parameters. | 2 | |
Mandatory | Mandatory or not. | Yes/No | |
Encrypted | Encrypt the data. | Yes/No | If checked, Bizview will encrypt the data stored in the parameter. |
Additional Information
You can search the internet for ".net connection string parameter <database name>" for example and definitions of specific data providers.
Usage
The Data Provider is necessary when defining a new Data Source.