Configuring a SugarCRM Data Source using a CDATA JDBC Driver
Contents
Overview
Before you can add a SugarCRM data source using a CDATA JDBC Driver, you must install the Explore Analytics Agent. Please see the section Installing the Explore Analytics Agent for installation instructions.
In addition to installing the agent, you need to obtain and install the CDATA SugarCRM JDBC Driver:
- Obtain the SugarCRM JDBC driver from CDATA (you'll need to get a license for it from CDATA)
- Install the SugarCRM JDBC driver following the CDATA instructions
- copy the driver files over to the agent. You'll need to locate the driver's "lib" folder. This folder typically contains 3 files: cdata.jdbc.sugarcrm.jar, cdata.jdbc.sugarcrm.lic, and cdata.jdbc.sugarcrm.remoting.ini
- copy the 3 files over to the Agent's "lib" folder. This is the folder containing ".jar" file including "agent.jar". On Windows, the folder name defaults to "c:\Program Files (x86)\Explore Analytics\Explore Analytics Agent\lib".
- restart the agent.
The rest of this page assumes that you have the agent installed and running. You're now ready to setup a SugarCRM data source and create live reports that draw data directly from SugarCRM.
Creating the Explore Analytics Data Source
To create the data source, go to the "Data" menu and select the option "Add a new data source", then select "SugarCRM using CDATA".
You will see the following dialog (we show it with some example inputs already populated). We then explain each entry.
Data Source Name
Give this data source a name to identify it.
Description
Optional description. This is shown when you list data sources to help users choose the correct data source.
Agent Service Account
The choices for this field are typically pre-populated for you, and there's usually only one choice. This is the name of the Explore Analytics account through which the agent connects to Explore Analytics. You will need to make a selection here only if you have multiple agents that service different data sources.
SugarCRM URL
This is the URL of your SugarCRM instance that you log into.
SugarCRM User
The SugarCRM user Id that Explore Analytics will use for getting data from SugarCRM.
SugarCRM Password
The password for the SugarCRM user Id.
Time Zone
Dates returned by SugarCRM will be displayed in this timezone. Select the timezone that's appropriate for your organization.
Known Issues
At the time of writing this note (April 7, 2018) there are a few issues that were recently corrected in the CDATA driver. Please make sure that your driver is dated April 6 or later, or contact CDATA Technical Support to obtain the latest version of the driver.
Grouping by Week and by the Quarter Hour
Grouping by week fails of the date/time has null values. You can work around this issue by filtering out null dates. We expect the issue to be resolved in a future version of the CDATA driver.
Grouping by the quarter hour fails with an error. Please avoid this option. We expect the issue to be resolved in a future version of the CDATA driver.
Discovering Reference Fields
This data source does not automatically discover reference fields. For example, the fact that the "Assigned_User_Id" field in the "Accounts" table, is a reference to the "User" table matching its "Id" field. Defining reference fields allows you to include fields from the referenced table in the report. This is extremely useful. You'll need to define reference fields manually.
Getting Help
Setting up an agent-based data source is the most difficult task in Explore Analytics. Don't hesitate to seek help. You can contact Explore Analytics Support.
