Data Sources

Data Sources (Main Menu / Admin / Data Sources) are used by Importers to fetch data from external sources. A Data Source represents a connection e.g. to a database, and can be used by multiple Importers.

Introduction

Txture supports a wide variety of Data Sources. As stated above, the Data Source is used by one or more importers for retrieving data from external sources. Each Data Source is compatible with specific importers. Basically there are two types of Data Sources in Txture: Generic Data Sources and Vendor Specific Data Sources.

Vendor Specific Data Sources can only be used for specific vendors, whereas Generic Data Sources allow to inspect data from all kinds of interfaces accessible via the internet.

Example: The Generic Data Source IP network does not care whether the target machine of the IP address is running at Amazon, Google or on-premises. The queried data depends on the command that the importer will execute on the target machine. This command can be chosen freely by the user. The Vendor Specific Data Source AWS on the other hand can only query a restricted amount of data from machines launched at Amazon. The retrievable data from these machines is fixed by the vendor and can not be influenced by the user.

The Data Source, as the name indicates, is the source the importer connects to for extracting data. The importer contains the logic for mapping the incoming data to Txture. More details can be found at Importers

FAQs

Can I use the same Data Source for multiple importers?

Yes, it is possible to use the same Data Source for multiple importers. When creating an importer, the user can pick from a list of saved Data Sources. A Data Source can only be deleted if it is not in use by any importer.

Can I use multiple Data Sources for one importer?

No. However, for some Data Sources, like the AWS Data Source, it is possible to add multiple credentials. When multiple credentials are added, importers using that Data Source will query data across all provided credentials. If you need the same importer configuration applied to multiple credentials, use a single Data Source with multiple credentials rather than creating separate Data Sources for each credential set. This approach significantly reduces the importer configuration and maintenance effort.

Can I change a Data Source if it is in use by one or more importers?

Yes, the Data Source can be updated without restrictions. The user should be very careful with changes regarding the endpoint or similar, because the importer synchronizes the data in the repository.

Example: If the Data Source with only one endpoint as input is changed such that another endpoint will be requested, the importer will delete the previously imported data and only save the now available data. If the intention was to request several endpoints, a separate Data Source for each endpoint must be created.