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EntryPoint Configuration

This topic describes how to configure an EntryPoint, also referred to as an EP. See EntryPoints for an introduction to the topic.

Each EntryPoint has a series of common properties, and other properties that vary depending on the database and the type of connection to it.

To continue entering a new EntryPoint using the New EntryPoint Wizard, please see Configuration Details below.

Accessing EntryPoint Configurations through Profiles

Upon entering the EntryPoints tab from the top menu, all defined Profiles are seen in a grid. (See Profile Configuration)

Multiple EntryPoints are defined for a single DBMS server Profile.

Each Profile reveals a sub-grid with its list of EntryPoints.

The arrow icon in the first column of the Profile grid, expands the grid to show all EntryPoints associated with the Profile.

Press the Grid Expand All button to show all EntryPoints of all Profiles.

The grid shows when no EntryPoints have been defined for a Profile:

Individual EntryPoints can be enabled or disabled using the checkbox in the second column of the each EP sub-grid.

The LINKAR account contains all MV Components. Each data account used by Linkar must be Enabled from LINKAR.

Special files can be added to data accounts for demonstrations and testing. These files are also added to data accounts from LINKAR.

Enable/Disable Accounts, and Demo Files

It helps to understand how these operations work.

Linkar is designed to configure other accounts from the LINKAR account. Login to LINKAR, then execute commands that reach out to other accounts to enable/disable functionality.

To perform the functions described here, this screen opens the same terminal emulator in the browser that is used to Install MV Components. This is an administration effort, not an application transaction. So this is not using the connection type or credentials defined for the EntryPoint. For example, the EP might be configured to use the Sockets Connection Type, but for this operation, terminal emulation will be used, with Telnet or SSH.

At the top of this screen the Terminal connection type can be selected, Telnet or SSH, and the TCP port used for this connection. Again, this might be different from that configured for the EP itself. This is a "one-off" connection just for this purpose.

Enable MV Account

On clicking the Enable MV Account button, a block of help text opens to help guide this process.

Enter a space-delimited list of accounts to be enabled. The account for the current EntryPoint is pre-entered but other accounts can be named here as well.

The Command to do this operation is shown: "LK.ENABLE account1 account2 ...". This browser interface does not need to be used. To perform this operation manually at any time, login to the LINKAR account and use LK.ENABLE from TCL.

For details on LK.ENABLE, see MV Commands. Note in that topic, LK.ENABLE ALL to refresh all Linkar-enabled accounts.

Click the Start Connection button. Login to the LINKAR account. Other accounts will be enabled from LINKAR.

When you are logged-in to the account and at the command prompt (TCL/ECL), press the green “Enable MV Account” button at the bottom of the screen.

When done, exit from the server using your normal commands. Then press the red "Close Terminal" button at the bottom of the screen.

Disable MV Account

This process is exactly the same as above, but the TCL command is LK.DISABLE.

For details on LK.DISABLE, see MV Commands. Note in that topic, LK.DISABLE ALL to disable all previously Linkar-enabled accounts.

Create Demo Files

This process is exactly the same as above, but the TCL command is LK.DEMOFILES.

An account must be enabled before demo files are copied into that account. See MV Commands.

Delete Demo Files

This process is exactly the same as above, but the TCL command is LK.DEMOFILES DELETE account1 account2.

"Back to List" returns to the Profile/EP grid.

Create or Delete an EntryPoint

To create a new EntryPoint press the + New EntryPoint button in the header of the EntryPoint sub-grid. (The New EntryPoint Wizard from the top menu is recommended.)

To delete an EntryPoint, click on the red Trash/Rubbish icon in the second column of the EntryPoint sub-grid, or check multiple EntryPoints in the first column and press the Delete Selected button in the sub-grid header.

Configuration Details

The EntryPoint sub-grid includes these columns:

1.Name of the EntryPoint (EP).

2.Custom EntryPoint IP or hostname.

3.TCP port on which Linkar SERVER listens for connections to the EntryPoint.

4.Connection Type.

5.Account to which the EP connects.

6.The number of permanent sessions defined.

7.The number of temporary (temporal) on-demand sessions defined.

8.Whether the EP starts automatically with Linkar SERVER (true/false).

•The pencil icon in the second column of the EP sub-grid leads to the Edit form for the EntryPoint.

•The checkbox leads to a form to define MV Components.

•The "+" icon allows to quickly create an Api Key for the selected EntryPoint.

•The wrench leads to EntryPoint Parameters section.

All available EntryPoint properties are defined in the Create EntryPoint screen (see EntryPoint Properties below).

Password Management in Linkar

Linkar needs to know the necessary passwords to open database sessions. Linkar has two ways to provide the password to open sessions:

Within the Connection Types section there are boxes where the user types the required password.

For those environments where passwords change regularly for security reasons, Linkar can get the password through a REST web service. To do so, the "Get Passwords From Web Service" switch must be activated.

Every time LinkarServer needs to open a line in the Database, if the "Get Passwords From Web Service" feature is enabled in the EntryPoint, before opening the line, the web service indicated in "Database Password URL" is consulted to obtain the last password.

The URLs for obtaining passwords, token requests and their parameters are stored encrypted.

Capture fields in Linkar Manager do not display data unless the show button is pressed.

How it works?

Web Services Token URL: If there is no authentication method we leave this box blank. And if the web service has some authentication method in this box we indicate the url to obtain the token. For example https://webapi.passwords.com/Token

Request parameters: We indicate here the necessary parameters to obtain the token. For example grant_type=password&userName=WebApi&password=xxx@xxxx&environment=8382000&idclient=CUST23

Post QueryString:If this option is enabled the parameters will travel as a QueryString in the request, and will not be part of the message body.

Database password URL: This box is inside the Connection Types section, and is the url to access the password. If a token has been obtained it will travel with the request. Example https://webapi.passwords.com/api/mypass/?dbpass

This web service must only respond with the requested password in plain text. For example mypass25

EntryPoint Properties

The screenshot below shows the Create EntryPoint screen as seen from the EntryPoints option in the Configuration area.

From the New EntryPoint Wizard the details of the screen are the same, only the header is different:

The table below describes all fields available for EntryPoint configuration. Refer to the screenshot above.

When changing an existing configuration:

•Some of these properties apply from the moment they change. Others take a little longer, or some action must be taken to apply them.

•The change of some fields requires a restart of Linkar SERVER itself.

•Most properties can be changed while the EntryPoint is running, without the need to restart the EP.

•Others require a restart of the EntryPoint - not Linkar SERVER itself, just the specific EP.

In Linkar MANAGER, properties with a green label do not need a restart of the EntryPoint after a change.

Mandatory fields are noted below, and by an asterisk "*" by the field label in the browser.

Field	Type, and Optional/Mandatory	When change takes effect	Description
EntryPoint Name	string, Mandatory	EP start	We must assign a name to the EntryPoint. This name indicates the purpose of the EP. Examples include "payables", "warehouse", "client01", "mobile", or "internal". This name can only include alpha and numeric characters, without alphanumeric "signs".
Connection Type	Mandatory	EP start	The drop-down will present different options depending on the database defined in the Profile.
Linkar TCP Port	Mandatory	EP start	This is the Linkar SERVER port on which the EntryPoint will listen for client requests. Each EntryPoint must have a separate TCP port. This port must be available/unused on Linkar SERVER. See Network Issues and Permissions for possible issues related to firewalls and TCP ports.
Login Expiration Time in seconds	Mandatory	hot-change New Client Sessions	When Linkar Clients use Persistent Functions (see EntryPoints), they must Login to establish a session between Linkar Client and Linkar SERVER. When the seconds indicated in this property have elapsed with no activity in a session, it closes automatically and the Linkar Client must Login again. A value of 0 means sessions do not expire. The default is 3600 seconds = 1 hour.
Custom EntryPoint IP or hostname		EP start	Opcionally an unique and custom IP can be as-signed to make an independent Linkar Server main IP listening. Specially useful to avoid ex-posing all Linkar Server. Linkar Server main IP would be then private in your local network. Assigning a public IP to the EntryPoints wanted to be exposed will be needed.
Socket Receive TimeOut	Mandatory	EP start	TimeOut in seconds to end listening Linkar Server Socket receptions. It is recommended to put 10 seconds in order to avoid endless waiting times that would origi-nate high CPU consumption.
Socket Send TimeOut	Mandatory	EP start	TimeOut to end sending from Linkar Server Socket. It is recommended to put 60 seconds in order to avoid endless waiting times that would origi-nate high CPU consumption.
Maximum string size in database memory	Mandatory	hot-change New received requests	By default, Linkar MV Components keep data that will be returned to Linkar SERVER in memory, until it exceeds the size in kilobytes indicated here. Then, temporary files are used. This parameter is important when Linkar SERVER manages large volumes of data to transfer, for example with the PowerBI plugin. The correct value depends on the database, item sizes, counts of records returned, and other factors. Experimentation is advised. The default is 256K.
MV Linkar Version	Display-only		This is a display-only field showing the last known version of the MV Components active for this EntryPoint. (Not displayed in the New EntryPoint Wizard where the Profile might be new.)
Automatically Start in Linkar Server		Linkar SERVER start	If enabled, when Linkar SERVER starts, this EntryPoint will also start. The EntryPoint will establish connections with the database, which will be available for Linkar Clients. If this option is disabled, the EntryPoint must be manually started to start Database Sessions and allow client connections.
Keep Database Log Files		hot-change New received requests	If this option is enabled, a log file will be generated to record activity with the database through this EntryPoint. The log file is located in the LOGS folder where Linkar is installed. (Windows, Linux, macOS) This is only recommended for diagnostics and analytics.
Force Customized Control		hot-change New received requests	If this option is activated, the execution of the subroutine SUB.LK.MAIN.CUSTOM.CONTROL is forced in each operation requested by Linkar CLIENT. Each client operation request executes this subroutine so the database administrator can customize and control the requested operations. Examples for use of this feature include security checks, custom logging, and initialization of COMMON blocks. This can be enabled at any time - a default subroutine will be executed until it is customized.
Use Common Blocks for the 100 most used files		hot-change New received requests	This option for performance improvement allows you to save the 100 most used files opened by Linkar Client code in server-side COMMON to optimize their access. The LinkarClt ResetCommonBlocks function allows a warm reset of these COMMON variables. Without this option, each file will be opened and closed on each request. The default is to use this feature.
Enable EntryPoint Statistics		hot-change Immediately	If enabled, Linkar SERVER stores statistics for the EntryPoint to display on the Dashboard. The default is to use this feature. Overhead is minimal.
Permanently Connected Sessions	Mandatory	hot-change on each automatic Refresh Settings cycle, or manually on "Refresh" in the EntryPoint Monitor	Specifies the number of Database Sessions that are always open. These sessions are started when the EntryPoint starts and they are monitored for restart if the Refresh Settings feature is enabled. These Database Sessions never close automatically. Allowed values range from 0 to the total number of Linkar licences. Value 0 can be used only when Temporal Sessions on Demand is 1 or greater.
Temporal Sessions on Demand	Mandatory	hot-change on each automatic Refresh Settings cycle, or manually on "Refresh" in the EntryPoint Monitor	The maximum number of temporal (temporary, on-demand) Database Sessions that will open for this EP when requests cannot be processed by Permanently Connected Sessions. As requests are queued, the EntryPoint will open new sessions, one by one, until this maximum is reached. Allowed values range from 0 to the total number of Linkar licences. Value 0 can only be used when Permanently Connected Sessions is 1 or greater.
Inactivity seconds for disconnect	Mandatory	hot-change on start of each Temporal Session	When the Temporal Sessions on Demand is greater than 0, this property indicates the maximum allowed time in seconds of inactivity for sessions opened on demand. Once this time is exceeded in an "Open On Demand" line, the EntryPoint will automatically close it. Like the opening, this closing process is done one at a time in an attempt to ensure that an adequate number of processes always remain available to satisfy load. The default for this value is 0, no termination. When non-zero, the minimum value is 30 seconds. This is to avoid a scenario where processes are constantly closing and re-opening.
Get Passwords From Web Service		hot-change Immediately	Enables or disables the collection of passwords through a REST Web Service
Web Service Token URL		hot-change Immediately	The URL address used to obtain the access token. If none is specified, the authorization processes will be ignored and the address specified in Password URL will be called.
Request Parameters		hot-change Immediately	The information sent through the message body via a POST method using application/x-www-form-urlencoded as the type in the request.
Post QueryString		hot-change Immediately	If this option is enabled the parameters will travel as a QueryString in the request, and will not be part of the message body.

If using the New Entry Point Wizard, please click Next and continue with Step 3.

After setting the above properties, the bottom of the EntryPoint configuration screen prompts for details related to the Connection Type set for the EP.
See Connection Types to continue.

EntryPoint Parameters

Master Parameters can be defined in Linkar MANAGER. These Master Parameters will be copied to a new EntryPoint each time you create it.

You can view these parameters using the GetVersion function.

Accessible from the wrench in the EntryPoint grid.

Date Output Conversion	string, Mandatory	MV Format	Output date conversion by default. If there is a Custom date conversion in the property, it will be used.
Time Output Conversion	string, Mandatory	MV Format	Output time conversion by default. If there is a Custom time conversion in the property, it will be used.
MV DateTime Separator	string, Mandatory	! ' " # $ % & ' ( ) * + , - . / : ; < = > ? @ [ \ ] ^ _ ` { \| } ~	Separator char for DateTime in the database. For instance, 18671,43200 will be 12.00 p.m. on 12 February 2019.
MV Boolean True	string, Mandatory		Boolean True char that will be used in the database.
MV Boolean False	string, Mandatory		Boolean False char that will be used in the database. Null or empty will always be False.
Convert Numeric and Boolean data types in Json			This option will build JSON with numeric and boolean values. If not active, all values will be of string type.
Output Boolean True	string, Mandatory		Boolean True char that will be used for Output.
Output Boolean False	string, Mandatory		Boolean False char that will be used for Output.
MV Decimal Separator	string, Mandatory	. , none (dot, comma, none)	Decimal char separator in the MV Data. If there are no decimals, none will be used.
Table Row Separator	Integer, Mandatory		It is the decimal char that you use to separate the rows in the output table format. By default 11.
Table Column Separator	Integer, Mandatory		It is the decimal char that you use to separate the columns in the output table format. By default 9.
Other Languages	string	Comma-separated	A comma-delimited list of languages that are used in the application. English and the languages defined here will be used. For instance: ES,FR confirms that Spanish and French are used in addition to English. Language IDs used here are not validated. Any code can be used for any languages as long as consistency is used throughout the application.

The red Reset button assigns all Linkar Master Parameters to the EntryPoint, replacing previous customizations for the EntryPoint.

by Kosday Solutions

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Linkar Suite 2.3.8