Ch 11 - Data Sources

A data source is a WebSphere Product Center Entity that defines how data will be imported into WebSphere Product Center. External data can originate from various locations or databases and be accessed in a number of different ways. From example you might want to import data from a database, a file found on an FTP server, or data from your local file system. Each of these options requires specific configuration parameters in order to access the data. A Data Source encapsulates these parameters, and lets them be manipulated as a single named entity so that once the source details are setup it can be re-used throughout the product.

Creating a data source

To create a new data source click on the New button from the Data Source console. (existing data sources can also be modified using the edit tool button). The "Create Data Source" wizard appears. Complete each step of the wizard.

1. Data Source - Enter a name for the data source. 

2.  Select Data Source Type -  The steps of creating a new data source include specifying a name for the data source. As in the case of an import, the name should be as explanatory as possible. Ex: "Upload through Browser" or "Retrieve by FTP". After selecting a data source type, click Select.

Possible data source types include the following:

Have Websphere Product Center retrieve via FTP
By selecting this option, the user is telling WebSphere Product Center to connect to a specified FTP server to retrieve the data file to be uploaded. WebSphere Product Center requires the user to specify the following additional information so that it can connect to the FTP server and retrieve the correct file: the server address and port number, the username and password, the file name and directory in which it is located.

Take from Document Store (including FTP)
The Document Store is an area of WebSphere Product Center that stores every single document that has either been imported into WebSphere Product Center or that has been generated by WebSphere Product Center for export. It is therefore possible to fetch files from that document store into a feed.

Updated via Web Browser
This option is used to manually import a file into WebSphere Product Center using the "Browse" function to explore and select a file residing on your hard disk or on any network accessible drives.

3. Provide details about the data source - The details to provide regarding the data source depends on the selection made in Step 2.

If data source type selected is... Additional information required
Have Websphere Product Center retrieve via FTP Enter values for the following:
  • Server address
  • Server port
  • Username
  • Password
  • Filename
  • Directory
Take from Document Store (including FTP) Enter the full path to the document in the Websphere Product Center Document Store
Updated via Web Browser No additional details are required.

4. After completing each step of the "Create Data Source "wizard, return to the Data Console.

Editing a data source

Deleting a data source