Introduction

The goal of this article is to explain how Denodo Virtual DataPort (VDP) can be accessed from Ignition (by Inductive Automation).

Ignition is a software which allows users to create custom industrial software applications. Its use cases revolve around creating applications including SCADA, MES, IIoT, reporting, alarming, and more.

With the power of Denodo, various different source connectivities and operations can be carried out which can further be consumed from tools like Ignition.

How can Ignition interact with Denodo and what are its benefits?

The Denodo connection will be a database connection in Ignition and the Denodo elements can be used in the consumption layer of Ignition such as historical data logging, reporting, storing alarm logs, etc.

Ignition, being a Java-based application, leverages JDBC to connect to different databases and the JDBC approach will be used to connect to Denodo using the Denodo JDBC driver.

Note: The Denodo JDBC driver is available in any Denodo installation under the folder <DENODO_HOME>\tools\client-drivers\jdbc or can be downloaded from the Denodo Community Website.

Adding the Denodo JDBC driver in Ignition

To add the Denodo JDBC driver in Ignition, follow the below steps:

1. In the Gateway Webpage Config section, click on Databases > Drivers which will display the Database Drivers & Settings page.

2. Click on the Create new JDBC Driver... link which can be found at the bottom of the page.

3. Enter the details and upload the jar file for the Denodo JDBC driver of the Denodo version you will be connecting to.

        Classname: com.denodo.vdp.jdbc.Driver

        URL format: jdbc:denodo://host:port/database

        Default Validation Query: SELECT 1

4. Modify the driver properties as needed, they can also be added while creating the connection.
5. Save the new Driver.

Creating the connection to Denodo

To add the Denodo connection in Ignition, follow the below steps:

1. In the Ignition Gateway, navigate to the Gateway Config tab and select the Databases > Connections option.

2. In the Database Connections page, click on the Create new Database Connection... link at the bottom.

3. In the next page, choose the Denodo JDBC driver which was created based on the steps highlighted in the earlier section of this document and click on Next.

4. After choosing the Denodo driver, enter the details to connect to the Denodo VDP server:

Connect URL: jdbc:denodo://<hostname>:<portname>/<database>

Username: <username>

Password: <password>

Consider adding “Extra Connection Properties” if other parameters are needed for the Denodo JDBC connection to work.

For example, if Virtual DataPort uses Kerberos, the below “Extra Connection Properties” can be added:

useKerberos=true;useTicketCache=true;renewTGT=true

The Access Through JDBC section of the Virtual DataPort Developer Guide can be referred for more details on the different Denodo JDBC connection parameters.

In addition, regarding other connection properties, refer to the Ignition documentation for more details.

5. Once the connection is created, the status of the new connection can be seen as valid under the Database Connections section of the tool.

6. Based on the “Valid” status, the connection will be successfully established and the elements from Virtual DataPort can be used in the Ignition environment as required.

Monitoring the Connection

The status of the Denodo connection can be monitored from the Status section of the Gateway Webpage, under Connections > Databases.

This panel shows the current state and a fault message, if applicable, when the Denodo connection is active. If a faulted message is seen then the connection has to be fixed based on the nature of the error.

Note that whenever Ignition is unable to connect to Denodo, Ignition tries to re-establish the connection every 10 seconds to see if the connection works.

References

Access Through JDBC

Ignition User Manual