Connections
The Connections page of the task pane details all the individual connections known and configured for the current xpna workspace, their latest activity logs, and actions to add new connections, manage existing connections, and data refresh schedules.
This is the central place to add, view, run, and manage connections.
Add New Connection
The Add new connection action button takes the user to a dialog where they are guided through a set of steps to connect xpna to a new source system.
The supported connection types available in xpna are (click through for detailed connection-specific information):
Connection Source
After selecting the connection type, the user will go through the connect/authorization flow for the selected type.
See the above links to our supported source systems to understand how this is handled by each provider.
Select Companies (optional)
If more than one company is retrieved from the connection, this section will allow the user to select which one they want to configure.
Map Dimensions
When connecting a new data source to xpna, users have the option to create up to four (4) custom dimensions. This step is optional but note that custom dimensions cannot be modified after the initial connection process without contacting xpna support.
Guidelines for Adding Connections
If this is not the first data source connection for a workspace, users should consider mapping the new dimensions to existing ones where appropriate. For instance, if a workspace already has a custom dimension labeled Region from a prior connection and the new data source introduces a dimension named Area, it may be prudent to map Area to Region if both represent the same concept within the business context.
To better understand how dimensions are handled for specific data sources, please refer to the above links detailing our supported data sources.
Connection specific
For information relating to a specific connection type and the dimensions that are retrieved from that source, for example, Xero tracking categories, refer to the specfic connections integration page
Refresh Data
Upon successfully arriving at this step, the user will be prompted to navigate back to the Connections page, and an initial refresh of the connection will start.
Note:
The initial data refresh for a new connection can take some time depending on the source system and the number of transactions and other details required. Workspace administrators will receive an email upon the completion of the first load of a new connection.
Connected Data Sources
This table shows all the connections xpna has in this workspace, with their entity and refresh schedule, as well as action buttons to:
- Refresh data - Runs a data refresh of incrementals so that only the newest data is pulled through to xpna (this looks like a 'Play' button).
- Reload transactions from - (Xero only) Allows the user to select a date from when to re-import data for the selected connection.
- Disconnect - Disconnects the connection from xpna.
Note:
Disconnecting a data source will not remove the data associated with that connection from xpna; it will just stop it from being automatically or manually refreshed.
Activity Log
Clicking on the name of the entity for a given connection will show a table of the most recent activity logs for each data refresh (in descending datetime order). Each activity log item shows when it was executed, how long it ran, who ran it, and its status.
For each activity log item, users can click to expand to a higher level of detail around the steps performed, the number of items received, their duration, and their status.
Integration Log
The integration log shows a listing of all the recent API events that have taken place for any connection in the current workspace. It separates these logs by entity and data type and shows how much data was retrieved and how long ago it was run.
Note:
Hovering over a given integration log record will show the connection's API endpoint that was used.