The QuerySurge Connection Wizard and Managing Connections

The QuerySurge Connection Wizard is designed to help you create Connections to your databases and data stores easily. There are a couple of important things that you'll need to be aware of as you start to use the Wizard:

• The Connection Wizard offers multiple types of Connections, to expedite creating standard connections to these technologies.
• For non-standard connection setups (connections, for example, that use advanced JDBC Driver properties) you can use the Connection Extensibility option in the Connection Wizard. This option lets you fully specify the JDBC URL that you use to connect.
• For any technology that does not explicitly appear in the Wizard, you can use the Connection Extensibility option in the Wizard to create a connection. This option lets you fully specify the JDBC URL that you use to connect.
• QuerySurge does not bundle (in the QuerySurge installer) all of the JDBC drivers for the Connections in the Wizard (this is a matter of legalities). You can always "manually" deploy a driver that QuerySurge does not bundle (see how here for Agents on Windows and here for Agents on Linux).

Connection Wizard Basics

1. The Connection Wizard is in the QuerySurge Admin view, so only QuerySurge Admin logins can access it. To start the Wizard, click on the Configuration > Connections node in the tree, and then use the Add button at the bottom of the main panel. To start creating your Connection, click on the Next button.
   
   
2. Choose a name for your Connection - this is the name for the Connection as it appears in QuerySurge - so select a name that will be descriptive for all QuerySurge users. In the Data Source drop-down, choose the technology of the Data Source that you're going to connect to (for illustration, we use Oracle here). Note that when you choose your Data Source, a listing of the information you are likely going to need for the Connection shows in the lower part of the Wizard. Once you've made your selection, click on the Next button.
   
   
   
   
3. The Wizard then guides you through entry of the standard information to make your Connection. This could differ from technology to technology, depending on the requirements for a connection (we show the basics for an Oracle connection in this example). Again, note that if you need to make a non-standard connection (for example, a connection using advanced JDBC properties), you can use the Connection Extensibility option in the Wizard.
   
   

Connection Wizard: Advanced Mode

1. The Wizard Advanced Mode gives you access to some advanced options on your connections; the specific options depend on the type of connection that you are setting up. You access the Wizard's advanced mode by selecting the checkbox in the first step of the Wizard:
   
   
   
   
2. As noted, the specific Advanced Mode options depend on the type of connection that you are setting up. We show options for Oracle here, but the options you have access to will be dependent on the specific technology that you are connecting to:
   
   

Once Your Connection Information is Complete

Once your Connection information has been entered, click the Next button. You'll see the Wizard's summary of your Connection information. You can review the information to make sure that it looks correct. In addition, you can test your Connection before you save it with the Test Connection button. When you are ready, click the Save button to save your Connection.

The Connections Grid

After you save your Connection, it appears in the Connection grid.

Sorting and Filtering the Connection Grid

You can sort and filter the grid by any of the columns, by clicking on the right of the column header, to open the sorting and filtering options:

Connection Metadata

You can access your Connection Metadata using the Connection grid. QuerySurge collects metadata on each of your Connections by default (you can modify this in the Advanced Mode), because this information is needed by the Query Wizard. You can see the Connection Metadata for any Connection by selecting the Connecting (single-left-click), and then clicking on the View Metadata button at the bottom of the grid panel. Note that QuerySurge collects the metadata when you create your Connection and does not automatically refresh it. You have the option to refresh your metadata by clicking on the Refresh button in the lower right. You may close the Connection Metadata popup while the refresh process is running. Note that it may take some time to complete, depending on the number of tables and columns involved, and the other typical factors governing query responses (e.g. the speed of your database, the speed of your network, the number of jobs currently running on your database).