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🎟 5. Platform-wide view of data source connections?

  • 1.  🎟 5. Platform-wide view of data source connections?

    Posted Thu October 14, 2021 01:20 PM
    Connections are assets that allow you to access & work with your external data. Connecting to your data can happen in different contexts and locations on the platform. How do you keep track of all your connections?
    🎟 For 1 raffle entry, tell us how helpful would it be for you to have a single view of all the connections you have access to on the platform (or an administrative view of all connections created on the platform), and how would you expect to utilize such a view in the context of your work?
    🎟 Bonus ticket time 🎟 If you could have a platform-wide view of only one asset type (e.g. notebooks, models, dashboards, connections, data etc.) which would you choose and why? 



    #InnovationJam #InnovationJamOct2021


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    Brett Witteck
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    #CloudPakforDataGroup


  • 2.  RE: 🎟 5. Platform-wide view of data source connections?

    IBM Champion
    Posted Thu October 14, 2021 01:32 PM
    It would be nice to have a single view of all connections so one can understand at one glance all the possible connections available.
    Nowing all connections I can now all data I may access to.

    I would prefer platform-wide view of Data. This from an application developer point of view, that need to know which data can correlate in order to develop an application.

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    Chiara Baldan
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  • 3.  RE: 🎟 5. Platform-wide view of data source connections?

    Posted Thu October 14, 2021 01:39 PM
    Edited by System Fri January 20, 2023 04:30 PM
    Thanks Chiara! A follow up question for you... What actions would you expect to take with a view of all connections? How would you "use" this view of just connections?

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    Karen Gonzalez
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  • 4.  RE: 🎟 5. Platform-wide view of data source connections?

    IBM Champion
    Posted Thu October 14, 2021 01:54 PM
    Hello Karen, 
    as I said we do not yet have CP4D we did some demos only.
    But think that if I know my connections I could know what Data I could possibly access to.
    If I do not have access to that data I could ask for it.

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    Chiara Baldan
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  • 5.  RE: 🎟 5. Platform-wide view of data source connections?

    Posted Thu October 14, 2021 02:00 PM

    So Chiara, you would expect to be able to initiate a request for data from the list of available connections when you don't see what you need?

    Is it fair to say too that you would want to be able to "look inside" the connections listed and shop for the data you need?

    Thanks again for the engagement Chiara... great information.



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    Karen Gonzalez
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  • 6.  RE: 🎟 5. Platform-wide view of data source connections?

    IBM Champion
    Posted Thu October 14, 2021 02:11 PM
    The ideal would be to look inside...but we have also sensitive data so it would be difficult for us to be able to shop for data that we need seeing it.
    But we also know what kind of data is hosted (not sure it is the correct word) somewhere so we could than ask for permission to access it if we would knowthe connection is there. 
    Not sure it makes sense, or my point was clear.

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    Chiara Baldan
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  • 7.  RE: 🎟 5. Platform-wide view of data source connections?

    Posted Thu October 14, 2021 02:58 PM
    It makes sense Chiara. Thank you so much!

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    Karen Gonzalez
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  • 8.  RE: 🎟 5. Platform-wide view of data source connections?

    Posted Thu October 14, 2021 01:40 PM
    Thanks for the input, Chiara! It makes sense that you'd want to see the actual data you have access to, especially when looking for patterns and assessing what data to use for building apps.

    We're curious to know, what is your process is today for finding the connections and data you have access to?

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    Daniel Klahn
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  • 9.  RE: 🎟 5. Platform-wide view of data source connections?

    IBM Champion
    Posted Thu October 14, 2021 01:48 PM
    Hello Daniel,
    not sure we have a real process today. We get request from application developer to access data.
    At the moment we are looking into creating some virtualization layers (like with DVM for z/OS) .
    Next step is to have an internal 'catalogue of services' where applciation developers can see for example throug DVM what data can be correlated, than can ask to use it.
    Not sure this answer your question.

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    Chiara Baldan
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  • 10.  RE: 🎟 5. Platform-wide view of data source connections?

    Posted Thu October 14, 2021 01:56 PM
    Chiara,
    This helps a lot. If I understand correctly, it sounds like your app developers would really benefit from seeing all the data they already have access to in addition to potential data they can request to access and use via DVM.

    - Daniel

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    Daniel Klahn
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  • 11.  RE: 🎟 5. Platform-wide view of data source connections?

    Posted Thu October 14, 2021 06:57 PM
    For an integrated platform with proper metadata management, it should only have 1 connection to a unique sources for a connection type to ensure re-usability.

    However, it need to allow using of difference UserID and Password from security perspective.

    For example, there's at least 3 ways to connect to Db2 -
    1. Db2 Connector using Db2 Client
    2. Db2 JDBC using Db2 JDBC Driver
    3. Db2 ODBC using Db2 ODBC Driver
    4. etc.
    For each unique sources, it should only have 1 unique connection of 1 connection type.

    At the same time, we need to be able to search and filter all those connection as we will start to have thousands of connections in 1 place.

    For example, search by hostname, database name, filter by connection type like JDBC, ODBC, etc.

    Not sure whether this will ensure a unqiue connection name - Source Type (Db2, Oracle, etc) + Connection Type (JDBC, ODBC, Client, REST API, etc) + Hostname + DB.

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    HOW MING YONG
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  • 12.  RE: 🎟 5. Platform-wide view of data source connections?

    Posted Fri October 15, 2021 07:06 AM

    I'd like to see 4 types of platform connections.

    1) application use connections, think Cognos repo or open scale or custom application with defined user authentication model  needing access to a database, these credentials should be managed via access control user defined in CPD.  

    2) public use connections, these are by default viewable and usable by everyone, and require user authentication, hence authorization is handled at the server end of the connection.  These should be smart enough to recognize if another connection of its type is already available.  These should be pooled connections for performance 

    3) Trusted public connections, these are by default viewable and usable by all, trusted user credentials are managed by access control user Id in access control section of CPD.


    4) private use connections these are personal database connections which are managed as they are today.  Manually adding users or groups to give access.  These are similar to application use.  These might be for very special highly connection optimized connections.  



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    Tom McManus
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