FAQs

Many ODBC drivers exist for accessing a single type of database. If you were to acquire several of them you would be able to access multiple databases. The catch here is that each would appear as a separate data source. Many front end applications are unable to or make it difficult to access multiple datasources. Thus your choice of front end applications or even development tools is limited. Even if your application is able to access multiple data sources you will typically take a performance hit as each driver is separately interrogated and data is staged on the client to perform a join. Your data access capabilities are also limited by the functionality of the weakest or least capable driver. In addition a multi driver solutions suffers from multiple points of failure, multi vendor support responsibility, and vendor bias. CONNX is truly different because all of the data sources accessed are presented to the client application as if they came from ONE SINGLE Relational Database. A Data Access Engine also provides functionality such as meta data management, security, advanced SQL and data conversion that simply are not core components of a simple ODBC driver.

Yes, CONNX allows access to multiple heterogeneous databases concurrently. This allows you to join data from disparate datasources regardless of their type or location. All of the tables in your enterprise databases are represented as if they are contained in one enterprise spanning database.

Yes. Please click here for more information.

All new releases go through a stringent market study. Suggestions for product enhancements (Request for Change) are collected from a variety of sources including our feedback form on this site, focus groups, site visits, contact with technical support, and direct contact with our sales executives.

Yes. CONNX respects the existing security of the database accessed. CONNX also allows storage of database logins to automate authentication. In addition CONNX allows further user, group, application, field and record (through views) level security.

CONNX can act as a “datapump”, but it is much more. A “datapump” simply moves data from one location to another. The need for a datapump usually arises when an application is being migrated from one platform to another.

CONNX is a unique data connectivity tool, that provides access to multiple heterogeneous databases through a single driver. CONNX “pumps” data from disparate data sources and combines the raw data into meaningful information. CONNX accomplishes this through its data dictionary, containing detailed information about the tables and files accessed from the remote databases.

SolutionsIQ is committed to supporting all major databases on all platforms. This also include newer databases such as SQL Server, Oracle, DB2, Sybase, Informix. The CONNX 8 family of products will deliver on our commitment to support these databases, and round out or support for all data on the enterprise.

Our commitment to support all major databases means that CONNX provides you a “technology buffer” that provides you with a consistent and reliable method of accessing your data, no matter where it is located.

No. CONNX works with your existing database structure.

Yes, the CONNX Administrator allows system administrators and developers to configure and maintain metadata, security, data sources, and views.

Yes. CONNX provides a Windows application called the Data Dictionary Administrator, which allows the user to create and maintain the metadata, create views, and establish additional security.

The CONNX user reference guide is available through online help.

CONNX Client installation takes about 5 minutes. Typically installation time on the server can take up to 30 minutes depending on the number of servers and data sources involved.

Yes. As the Euro is simply a type of currency, CONNX is capable of storing and retrieving any type of monetary value.

Traditional data warehouses store a static copy or snapshot of the data. The CONNX approach is to provide real-time access to the disparate data. Within companies where data is time-critical, the warehouse approach is undesirable because of the static nature of the data. Until CONNX, there was no simple or efficient way to access data from disparate data sources. CONNX is the key to real-time access to multiple data sources.

Yes. CONNX has several features that can help in data warehousing projects.

Typically, in a data warehouse, a company is bringing several disparate data sources into a common repository. Once the data is there, then additional tables can be created for fast cubing of the data.

The CONNX heterogeneous join technology, and the CONNX Insert/Select feature make CONNX an ideal tool for the creation and maintenance of data warehouses.

CONNX can also be used in conjunction with CASE Tools to reverse and forward engineer data structures.

Most large corporations have several databases on mainframe systems. One of our goals is for CONNX to provide a single source for native support for all major databases in use by organizations today. Digital is a significant portion of the legacy mainframe database market, and it is key that we support the databases on the Digital platform.

Data conversion is one of the most underestimated tasks in database projects. If a company cannot properly decipher the data stored in a remote database, then the data is useless. Data conversion is key to providing seamless access to disparate databases.

One of the goals of CONNX is not only to provide connectivity, but to provide access to all data on the enterprise. Most corporations have many types of databases. CONNX provides access to all of those databases without the time and inconvenience of configuring separate ODBC drivers for each database, and the uncertainty that they will all work together properly. Most desktop applications do not allow the use of more than one data source or do so inefficiently. CONNX removes that limitation. Additionally, the CONNX Data Dictionary allows customers to create applications that are database-independent by creating views in the CONNX Data Dictionary instead of in the database itself. As a result, CONNX is not just an ODBC driver but an enterprise-wide data connectivity product.

Most definitely. We have had several customers who initially purchased CONNX to assist in a migration off their legacy system; however, CONNX worked so well that they postponed indefinitely their migration plans. Once customers realize that they can access their data in real-time from the desktop, they begin to understand they can solve their immediate business problems without a costly migration.

CONNX is a ODBC level 2 driver. CONNX was developed with the ODBC 2.5 specification.
Will CONNX work with applications that were developed with the ODBC 3.x specification? Yes!

CONNX is compatible with all ODBC 1.x, 2.x and 3.x applications.

The CONNX Data Dictionary functions as the metadata repository. This is a PC file that has the extension of (*.CDD). It can reside either on a server (for centralized access), or locally on the client machine. This sensitive information is encrypted using a 128bit key.

Yes. CONNX can be installed in a Client/Server and n-tier configurations. In either case CONNX distributes the workload to minimize network traffic and processor load. CONNX also works in 3-tier web application environments, including Microsoft Internet Information Server. CONNX also works with development tools designed for n-tier distribution including Borland C++ Client/Server edition, and Borland Delphi Client/Server edition.

Yes. By default, CONNX communicates to the VMS Server using port 6500. This port must be opened or proxied in order for CONNX to work properly though a firewall.
Please see our Firewall white paper for more details.

CONNX is designed to have a minimal impact on application databases.

When used in a read/only mode – CONNX does not perform any locks on the data, allowing existing applications to process normally. Also, the CONNX Distributed SQL Engine is designed to take some of the workload off of the database server.

Typically, applications that use CONNX have less of an impact on database servers than applications that use some other method of accessing the database.

Yes. CONNX will work with the RDO, DAO, ADO and Jet engine data wrappers.

Yes. CONNX is capable of working with any database model for relational databases.

Yes. The CONNX SQL Optimizer automatically takes advantage of keys & indexes on the tables in the queries.

It depends.

Using ODBC and OLE-DB, you can create different types of resultsets.

If you create a “STATIC” resultset, the results are cached on the Client.
If you create a “DYNAMIC” or “KEYSET” resultset, then the results are re-retrieved from the database when requested

Yes. CONNX has an advanced SQL Optimizer which will quickly determine the best way to execute your queries.

No. Currently, CONNX does not allow administrators to set processing resource limits for query execution.

CONNX has a distributed SQL Engine that will examine several factors when performing joins.
CONNX uses the following four major factors to determine the best way to process joins:

1) Join Direction (Left outer Joins, or Right outer Joins)
2) Indexes available on tables in the query that match criteria columns
3) Indexes available on tables in the query that match join columns
4) Table cardinality

The CONNX SQL Engine analyzes this data to determine the best way to process the query. This is done dynamically for each query executed.

CONNX includes a unique high-performance, disparate database join technology that allows CONNX to join tables together from separate databases. This functionality means that if data is stored in two or more different databases, CONNX will join the data from the separate databases as if the database were one physical database. This is extremely important when developing mission-critical, enterprise-wide applications that span several physical databases.

Yes. CONNX Versions are backward compatible except where noted in the CONNX documentation.

Database technology is changing at a rapid pace. CONNX has a solid core on which the additional features and extensions are built. By ensuring our core architecture would fulfill our current requirement and future needs, we also reduced the time to market with these new features. Our new core architecture allows us to quickly add support for other databases and open access technologies.