Environments and Data Sources

Environments and data sources work together to manage and organize how users access data in SEI. Typically, you create separate environments—such as Production or Test—to represent different contexts or stages. Within each environment, you define one or more data sources, each representing a specific database connection.

Every data model in SEI is based on a single data source. You can associate several data sources with a single environment, and quickly switch your active environment at any time using the Environment dropdown in the toolbar. The selected environment applies to all open views.

Add an environment

Environments allow you to set up separate configurations for different contexts, such as Production or Test.

  1. Go to Administration > Env. & Data Sources in the left panel.

  2. In the Environments panel, click the + Add button.

  3. Enter a name for your new environment.

  4. (Optional) Click Set as Default at the bottom of the panel to make this environment the default for new users.

 

Add a data source

A data source contains the connection details for a specific database. When you create a data source, it becomes available in all environments, though its settings can be configured separately for each environment.

To add a new data source:

  1. Select your desired environment.

  2. In the Data Sources panel, click the + Add button at the top.

  3. Enter a descriptive name for the new data source.

    The new data source now appears in every environment and is ready to be configured as needed.

 

Configure the data source definition

Once you’ve added a data source, you need to define how it connects to your database.

  1. In the Data Sources panel, select the data source you wish to configure.

  2. The Data Source Definition panel will display editable fields.

  3. Enter the required data source properties.

  4. Click Save to apply your changes.

 

Set data warehouse option

If you intend to use a data source for OLAP cubes, you’ll need to designate it as the data warehouse.

  1. In the Data Sources panel, select the relevant data source.

  2. Click the Set as Data Warehouse button at the bottom.

  3. Additional fields will appear for configuring:

    • Enter the Data Warehouse Schema. This typically matches the custom schema.

    • (SQL Server Only) Enable Use MARS during the cube loading to allow multiple active result sets for safer parallel queries.

Note:  The default behavior before version 8.0.1 was to have MARS enabled. Learn more about this option here.

 

Data source definition properties

Field Description
Data Source Description The name that appears for the data source.
Type

The type of database connection the data source uses:

  • Microsoft SQL Server

  • Microsoft Access

  • ISeries (IBM DB2)

  • Oracle

  • ODBC for MySQL

  • ODBC Excel

  • ODBC Pervasive

  • ODBC Teradata

  • Snowflake

To use another database type, either create an OLEDB connection, or create an SQL linked server.

Server

The server instance name.
Database Name

The database name. (For Oracle: Use the SID)

Transaction With (No Lock)

 (SQL Server and iSeries only): Read transactions without waiting for locks to be released. Be aware:,this may show uncommitted or inaccurate data.
Database Schema Name

The database schemas accessible by a data model based on this data source. You can add as many as needed. If the same table or view name exists in more than one schema, the first schema in the list takes priority.

Entry format:

  • SQL, OLEDB: Database name and schema name (ex: databasexyz.schemaxyz).

  • Oracle: User name and schema name (ex: userabc.schemaabc).

  • DB2 iSeries: Library Name only.

  • Access: Not Required.
Force Translation (iSeries only) Enable the connector’s Force Translate property.
Port (Oracle only) The port number of the Oracle instance.
Path (Access only) File path to the Access database.
Pooling

(Oracle only) Activate then define the Pooling parameters (Min and Max pool size, Increase and Decrease numbers).

Important

Improve Oracle databases performances by selecting the Pooling checkbox. This activates connection pooling feature of the Oracle Database.

The default values of Min, Max, Increase and Decrease number of connections of the pool are sufficient for a start, and should evolve according to your needs.

The maximum number of connections, set on the Oracle server, must be higher than the Max Pool Size.

Authentication Strategy

Choose how to connect to the database:

  • Windows Authentication: When SEI runs on the same server as the database being accessed and if the local host account under which the SEI account runs has access to the database.

  • Use Specific: If using a specific server user to access the data.
User Name, Password If you chose Use Specific authentication, enter the required user credentials.

 

Snowflake specific data source properties

Snowflake is a fully managed, cloud-based OLAP database optimized for large-scale analytics and batch processing. It features independent scaling of storage and compute, automatic data partitioning, and high-performance parallel query execution.

To configure a connection to Snowflake, select Snowflake as the data source type. Dedicated Snowflake fields will appear in the setup page—complete these fields as described in the following table.

Field Description
Server Snowflake account name.
Database Schema Name Schema name only (no database prefix).
Authentication Strategy For Key-Pair Authentication: Use your public/private keys if your source supports this method.
Key User, Key File, Key Password The username, uploaded private key file, and optional password if the key file is protected.