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Data Sources

The Data Sources tab of the Reporting Framework Console, showing the Create Database Connection button and the Name, Description, Type, Status, and Available Columns.

The Data Sources tab provides the ability to create new data sources that can be used for reports. On this tab, you can create, edit, and delete data sources. The Reporting Framework extension supports creating a connection to an Oracle, PostgreSQL, MSSQL, or Snowflake database. When creating a connection to an external system, it is strongly recommended that you access the database with a user that has read-only access. The query designer will attempt to block any statements that perform data modification, but the best security is managing access based on the user that connects to the server. Additionally, you can limit access to your external server by IP address coming from the Blackboard server. Check with Support for a range of IP addresses to whitelist on your system.

Name

A descriptive name that identifies your connection; this is displayed when selecting a connection in the query designer.

Description

A description of your connection.

Type

The type of database service.

Status

The connection status: a green check indicates that the connection is successful; a red x indicates that the server is not accessible.

Available

Indicates whether the connection is available for queries.

Create a new data source

Select Create Database Connection. This launches the screen to configure your new data source. Fill in the following fields.

Name

A descriptive name that identifies your connection; this is displayed when selecting a connection in the query designer.

Description

A short description of your connection.

Host URL

The JDCB connection configuration for the connection.

User Name

The username for the connection.

Password

The password for the connection.

Type

The type of database service.

Availability

Select if the connection is available for queries.

Sample Data Source Host URL Strings

Oracle

{host name}:port:sid

host.test.net:1521:orcl

MSSQL with default instance

{server name/IP}:{port}?database:{database name}

10.103.127.3?database=test

10.103.127.3:1433?database=test

MSSQL with named instance

{server name/IP}:{port}?database:{database name};instance={instance name}

srvsql1:1533?database:BBLEARN;instance=bbdev

PostgreSQL

host:port/database

host.test.net:5432/warehouse

Snowflake

{Server URL}?db={database name}&warehouse={warehouse name}

blackboard_us.snowflakecomputing.com?db=CONSULTING &warehouse=REPORTING_WH

Edit a Data Source

Choose Edit from the context menu next to the name of the data source you would like to edit. You can edit any of the fields listed above.

Delete a Data Source

Choose Delete from the context menu next to the name of the data source you would like to delete.