Introduction

This document is aimed at Denodo users that require to be ready to work with Denodo 9, because they are new users or because they are upgrading from a previous Denodo version. In this document users can find the changes included in Denodo 9 and its related documentation. In addition, this document provides the keys to install Denodo 9.

For a quick start guide on how to install and set up the Solution Manager see: Denodo Solution Manager: First Steps.

Denodo 9 New Features

New Features Common to All Modules

There are several new features common to all the modules of the Denodo Platform 9.

The Denodo Platform Control Center and the web tools have a new look.

Denodo ships now with the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) version 17 (the Denodo servers and its tools cannot run with earlier Java versions).

In addition, it has added support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.0.

Besides these, the web container of the Denodo 9 is upgraded to Apache Tomcat 10.x. The default amount of memory is increased from 1 to 2 gigabytes.

New Features of Virtual DataPort

The new features of Virtual DataPort in Denodo 9 include changes in data sources, execution engine, Denodo stored procedures, and VCS..

The Version Control System integration has a new wizard to resolve unresolved elements, instead of the pull just failing. It also added support for versioning users, roles, their privileges, and Global Security Policies. Finally, it also added a GET_REVISION command which returns the VQL of elements created, modified, or dropped between two commit ids.

It is also important to mention the changes in the Execution Engine. In some scenarios, window functions which could not be executed in VDP or pushed down to a data source are moved to the configured MPP engine. The Denodo MPP can now use the Apache Iceberg format for caching and storing data in remote tables and summaries. You can now graphically introspect the Delta folders of the MPP. The execution trace of queries now also includes information about the execution in the MPP engine.

New Features of Design Studio

The Design Studio has a new welcome page with direct access to the most common tasks, and resources of the Denodo Community, to accelerate the onboarding of new users.

The Create Data Source wizard has been redesigned to be easier to use and with a more modern look & feel. It also includes the Denodo Templates that creates the necessary data sources and views to query the REST API of several popular SaaS services (Microsoft Dynamic 365, Marketo, Google Analytics, etc.).

For views which have cache enabled, the options tab can show the cache refresh job from Scheduler.

New Features of Data Catalog

A brand new Data preparation aimed at business users without knowledge of SQL, based on the what you see is what you get principle. This makes it possible for non-technical users to query views, add filters, etc.

The AI Assisted Query leverages your GPT model to execute Natural Language queries. The query wizards now use AI to suggest transformations and filters based on your prior queries.

Denodo 9 Deprecated Features

The ITPilot, which was deprecated in Denodo 8.0, has been removed. The Administration Tool is deprecated in Denodo 9. As a result, we strongly encourage users to transition to the Design Studio. Besides the Admin Tool, the following features are currently deprecated in Denodo 9.

• Data Type “Date”.
• VQL Syntax

• SQLFRAGMENT Clause
• Syntax ALTER TABLE <base view name> ADD SEARCHMETHOD
• QUERY WRAPPER command
• VIEWPROPERTIES Parameter of CONTEXT Clause in SELECT Statements
• Deprecated Functions
• Deprecate Stored Procedures

• Data Sources

• ODBC Data Sources
• Some JDBC Adapters
• Data Sources Decrypt Filter

• Version Control System with Subversion and Microsoft Team Foundation Server (TFS)
• Denodo Stored Procedures API: getNumOfAffectedRows method.
• Denodo Custom Wrappers API: some methods.
• Denodo JDBC Driver:  parameter wanOptimizedCalls.
• Denodo Web Services: created with Virtual DataPort 4.7 or earlier versions.
• Script Export: includeEnvSpecificElements and includeNonEnvSpecificElements parameters.
• Resource Manager: The action Switch Query to Plan
• Data Catalog : Roles “selfserviceadmin”,”selfserviceexporter”
• Scheduler: The Private REST API
• Solution Manager: REST API Authentication with Session
• Launching Several Virtual DataPort Instances of the Same Installation
• Denodo4Eclipse Plugin deprecated in Denodo 8.0 has been removed

Denodo 9 Installation Keys

Installation General Overview

Denodo 9 includes three installers:

• Denodo Solution Manager installer (denodo-install-solutionmanager-9.0).

• Includes the Solution Manager and License Manager.

• Denodo Platform installer (denodo-install-9.0).

• Includes Virtual DataPort, Scheduler and Data Catalog.

• Denodo Administration Tool (denodo-install-vdp-client-9.0).

• Includes the Virtual DataPort Administration Tool and the JDBC and ODBC drivers.

Additionally, there are three versions of each installer. Use the Windows or Linux version appropriate for your Operating System, or the generic installer if you want to provide your own JDK during installation.

The above image shows a generic architecture using the Solution Manager.

The Solution Manager should not be installed in the same host as other Denodo instances. The reason is that when you promote changes, you may switch off some of the Servers of the cluster. However, you want the License Manager to attend requests at all times, from all the other Denodo servers of all environments of the organization.

The above image has three environments: Development, Testing and Production. Each environment has a Virtual DataPort Server or a cluster of servers with a load balancer. The Solution Manager is installed in another host and it is used to define and manage the three environments, using the Solution Manager Administration Tool.

The licenses of all the Denodo servers are managed from just one place (the Solution Manager), administrators will now get a single license file that contains all the licenses of the organization. Therefore, it is necessary to install the global license in the Solution Manager: the centralized place for license management.

When a Denodo component starts, it requests permission to run to the License Manager.

If approved, the server starts and periodically, it requests permission to keep running. Only server components request a license, not client applications. I.e. Design Studio does not connect to the License Manager because it does not need a license. More information about how licenses work can be found in the Denodo 9 documentation.

In order to request that permission to run, for each node we need to define the connection to the License Manager:

Installation Key Steps

As a summary of the installation process, it requires to follow the steps below:

Solution Manager

1. Verify the hardware and software requirements are satisfied, and copy the installer to the node (denodo-install-solutionmanager-9.0).
2. Install the Solution Manager.
3. Replicate the Encryption Key if you’ve already installed a Solution Manager 9 or Denodo Platform 9.
4. Install the latest update of Solution Manager 9.
5. Install the License (it can be done also during the installation: step 2).
6. Optionally, perform any of the Post Installation Tasks (Change the default passwords, enable SSL/TLS, etc.).
7. Start the components of the Solution Manager.

Denodo Platform

1. Verify the hardware and software requirements are satisfied and copy the installer to the nodes (denodo-install-9.0).
2. Install the Denodo Platform in all the nodes defined in the previous step.
3. Replicate the Encryption Key if you’ve already installed a Solution Manager 9 or Denodo Platform 9.
4. Install the latest update in the Denodo Platform 9.
5. For each installation configure the connection to the License Manager.
6. Optionally, perform any Post Installation Tasks.
7. Register the Denodo Platform components in Solution Manager.
8. Start the VDP, Scheduler, and/or Data Catalog components.

Denodo 9 Migration Keys

Review the Preparing to Upgrade Guide before migrating in case you are using an external cache or metadata database or Git repository.

Install the latest update of Denodo 8.0 in your current installation. Follow the Export the settings and metadata section to obtain the settings and metadata. If you are upgrading from Denodo 7.0 or earlier, refer to the previous guides for some additional steps. Due to some changes added in Denodo 9, it may be needed to review the metadata before importing the VQL file into your new Denodo 9 installation.

After importing the metadata, refer to the Post Upgrade Tasks for some common configurations and test that everything works as expected.