Environments & Data Sources

Environments and data sources control how SEI connects to your databases.

An environment represents a working context for a specific stage of your workflow. For example, you might have a Production environment for live data, a Test environment for validating changes, and a Development environment for building new content. A data source defines the actual database connection used within that environment. Each data model in SEI uses one data source, and you can assign multiple data sources to a single environment.

You can switch environments at any time using the environment selector in the navigation panel. The selected environment applies to all open views.

When to use environments

• Controlling data access: Restrict or grant access to specific data and reports based on the active environment.
• Separating work contexts: Maintain distinct environments for development, testing, and production so you can validate changes before they go live.

When to create data sources

• Connecting to multiple systems: Add data sources for platforms such as SQL Server, Oracle, and Snowflake.
• Organizing connections: Keep your database connections grouped by purpose, such as reporting, analytics, or integrations, so they are easier to manage.

Add an environment

You can create as many environments as you need. If you created dedicated Oracle or SQL Server database users during installation, make sure to add them to SEI before assigning them to an environment. Assign a unique color to each environment. The color appears around the environment name in the navigation panel, which helps users quickly identify which environment they are working in.

1. In the navigation panel, select the gear icon to open the Administration page.
2. Select Env. & Data Sources.
3. In the Environments panel, click the + icon.
4. Enter an environment name and abbreviated name.
5. Choose a color by selecting Apply, or enter a HEX code manually.
6. Click Confirm.

note

To set an environment as the default for new users, select it from the list and click Set as Default.

Add the production environment

1. In the navigation panel, select the gear icon to open the Administration page.
2. Select Env. & Data Sources.
3. In the Environments panel, click the + icon.
4. Enter Production as the Environment Name.
5. Enter Prod as the Abbreviated Name.
6. Choose a color and select Apply.
7. Click Confirm.
8. When you create the production data source, use the administrative user and the minimum permissions for the SEI Schema.

Add the administration environment

1. In the Environments panel, click the + icon.
2. Enter Administration as the Environment Name.
3. Enter Admin as the Abbreviated Name.
4. Choose a color and select Apply.
5. Click Confirm.
6. When you create a admin data source, use the administrative user credentials for the SEI Schema.

Rename an environment

1. In the Environments panel, select the environment you want to rename.
2. Click the pencil icon.
3. Enter the new name and click Confirm.

Create a data source

1. Select the environment where you want to add the data source.
2. In the Data Sources panel, click the + icon.
3. Enter the required configuration details in the Data Source Definition panel.
4. Click Validate, then Save.

Data Source Definition properties

Property	Description
Data Source Description	Enter a unique name for your data source. A clear name helps you identify the connection when you manage multiple sources.
Type	Select the database type you are connecting to: SQL Server Microsoft Access iSeries (IBM DB2) Oracle ODBC for MySQL ODBC Excel ODBC Pervasive ODBC Teradata Acumatica Sage Intacct Snowflake For other database types, use an OLEDB connection or a SQL linked server.
Server	Enter the name of the database server. This is usually the server hostname or network address.
Database Name	Enter the warehouse or database name. This field is case-sensitive. For Oracle, enter the Oracle SID.
Extra connection string properties	Add any additional connection string parameters required by the database provider.
Transaction With (No Lock)	Available for SQL Server and iSeries. Allows reading data without waiting for locks to be released, which can improve performance on busy systems. Note that this option may return uncommitted or incomplete data.
Database Schema Name	Define the schemas available to data models. Add more than one schema if needed. Use the following format: SQL, OLEDB – database name + schema name (e.g., databasexyz.schemaxyz) Oracle – user name + schema name (e.g., userabc.schemaabc) DB2 iSeries – library name only Access – not required If more than one schema contains the same table or view name, the first one listed takes priority.
Force Translation	iSeries only. Enables the connector's Force Translate property when required by your environment.
Port	Available for Oracle only. Enter the port number used by the Oracle instance.
Path	Available for Access only. Enter the full file path to the Access database file.
Pooling	Available Oracle only. Enable and configure connection pooling to improve performance. Default values are: Min. Pool Size – 1 Max. Pool Size – 100 Decr. Pool Size – 1 Incr. Pool Size – 5 The Oracle server must support more connections than the Max Pool Size value.
SEI Schema	Enter the schema used by SEI components. This defines where the application stores and reads its internal objects.
Authentication Strategy	Choose how to connect to the database: Windows Authentication – uses the SEI service account credentials and is recommended when the service account has access to the database server. Use Specific – connects using a username and password defined on the database server. Key-Pair Authentication – connects using a certificate or key pair instead of a password, which is common in cloud or high-security environments. OAuth 2.0 – uses token-based authentication and is available for Acumatica only.

Set a data source as data warehouse

If you plan to use OLAP cubes, you need to designate one data source as the data warehouse. This tells SEI where to store and process cube data.

1. In the Data Sources panel, select the data source.
2. Click Set as Data Warehouse at the bottom of the panel.
   Additional fields appear in the Data Source Definition panel.
3. Enter the Data Warehouse Schema. This value usually matches your custom schema.
4. If you are using SQL Server, enable Use MARS during the cube loading to allow multiple active result sets to run at the same time.

note

Before version 8.0.1, MARS was enabled by default. For more information, see Using Multiple Active Result Sets (MARS).