File

Box Connector

Box Connector allows you to securely store and share a variety of files, including presentations, design documents, videos, and photos. With Box's cloud drive, you can collaborate seamlessly without worrying about version control problems. Whether you're working with internal teams or external partners, Box provides quick access to files from any device, ensuring productivity from anywhere.

OvalEdge uses a Java SDK to connect to the data source, which allows you to crawl Files and Folder data objects.

Box Connector

Connector Capabilities

Functionality

Description

Crawler

While crawling, root Folders or Files will be cataloged by default. The cataloging is performed only for the 1st level of Folders

Prerequisites 

The following are the prerequisites required for establishing a connection between the connector and the OvalEdge application. 

  1. Access Token Details
  2. Service Account Permissions.
  3. Configure Environment Variables (Optional).

Java SDK Details

SDK

Version

Details

Java SDK

V4.0.0

NA

Note: The OvalEdge Dependencies automatically include the Java SDK, ensuring that the Connector comes equipped with it by default.

Service Account with Minimum Permission

By default, the service account provided for the connector will be used for any user operations.

Operations

Description

Connection Validation

Read Permissions on the Folders or Files that need to be cataloged.

Crawler

Read Permissions on the Folders or Files that need to be cataloged.

Establish Environment Variables (Optional)

This section describes the settings or instructions that you should be aware of before establishing a connection. If your environments have been configured, skip this step.

Configure Environment Names

The Environment Names allow you to select the environment configured for the specific connector from the dropdown list in the Add Connector pop-up window.
You might want to consider crawling the same schema in both stage and production environments for consistency. The typical environments for crawling are PROD, STG, or Temporary, and may also include QA or other environments. Additionally, crawling a temporary environment can be useful for schema comparisons, which can later be deleted, especially during application upgrade assistance. 

Steps to configure the Environment on OvalEdge:

  1. Navigate to Administration | System Settings
  2. Select the Connector tab
  3. Find the Key name “connector.environment”.
  4. Enter the desired environment values (PROD, STG) in the value column. 
  5. Click ✔ to save. 

Establish a connection

To establish the connection, complete the following steps:

  1. Log into the OvalEdge application.
  2. In the left menu, navigate to the Administration module, and click on Connectors.
  3. Click on the + icon (New Connector), then the Add Connector pop-up is displayed.
  4. Search/Click on the desired connector and the Add Connector pop-up with the connector details is displayed.
    Connectors-1

    Fields

    Details

    Connection Type*

    The selected connection type ‘Box’ is displayed by default. 

    If required, the dropdown menu allows you to change the connector type and based on the selection of the connection type, the fields associated with the selected connection type are displayed.

    License Add-Ons

    All the connectors will have a Base Connector License by default that allows you to crawl and profile to obtain the metadata and statistical information from a data source. 


    OvalEdge supports various License Add-Ons based on the connector’s functionality requirements.

    • Select the Auto Lineage Add-On license that enables the automatic construction of the Lineage of data objects for a connector with the Lineage feature. 
    • Select the Data Quality Add-On license to identify, report, and resolve the data quality issues for a connector whose data supports data quality, using DQ Rules/functions, Anomaly detection, Reports, and more.
    • Select the Data Access Add-On license that will enforce connector access via OvalEdge with Remote Data Access Management (RDAM) feature-enabled

    Connector Environment

    The OvalEdge Environment dropdown menu is used to select the environment  for crawling are PROD, STG, or Temporary, and may also include QA or other environments.

    Connection Name*

    Enter a connection name for the Box. You can specify a reference name to identify the Box connector in OvalEdge. 

    Example: BoxConnector

    Access Token*

    Enter the access token details generated from the remote server/instance.

    Example: XXXX-76548-XXXXX

    Note: The Access Token is typically accessible and generated by the Service Account user responsible for utilizing the Box data source.

    Default Governance Roles*

    You can select a specific user or a  team from the governance roles (Steward, Custodian, Owner) that get assigned for managing the data asset. 

    Note: The dropdown list displays all the configurable roles (single user or a team) as per the configurations made in the OvalEdge Security | Governance Roles section.  

    Admin Roles

    Select the required admin roles for this connector.


    • To add Integration Admin Roles, search for or select one or more roles from the Integration Admin options, and then click on the Apply button.
      The responsibility of the Integration Admin includes configuring crawling and profiling settings for the connector, as well as deleting connectors, schemas, or data objects.
    • To add Security and Governance Admin roles, search for or select one or more roles from the list, and then click on the Apply button.
      The security and Governance Admin is responsible for:
      • Configure role permissions for the connector and its associated data objects.
      • Add admins to set permissions for roles on the connector and its associated data objects.
      • Update governance roles.
      • Create custom fields.
      • Develop Service Request templates for the connector.
      • Create Approval workflows for the templates.

    No of archive objects*

    The "Number of archive objects" refers to the count of recent modifications made to the metadata data of a dataset at the remote/source location. By default, this feature is disabled. To enable it, toggle the Archive button and enter the desired number of objects to archive.

    For instance, if a user sets the count to 4 and the connection is crawled, it will retrieve the last 4 changes that occurred in the remote/source of the connector. These changes can be observed in the 'version' column of the 'Metadata Changes' module.

    Select Bridge

    To enable OvalEdge to function as a SaaS application behind a customer's firewall, the OvalEdge Bridge is necessary. 

    • When a bridge has been set up, it will be displayed in a dropdown menu. Users can select the required Bridge ID.
    • The user can select "NO BRIDGE" when it is not configured.

    For more information, refer to Bridge Overview

  5. Click on the Validate button to validate the connection details.
  6. Click on the Save button to save the connection.  Alternatively, you can also directly click on the button that displays the Connection Settings pop-up window to configure the settings for the selected Connector. The Save & Configure button is displayed only for the Connectors for which the settings configuration is required. 
    Note: * (asterisk) indicates the mandatory field required to establish a connection. Once all the parameters are entered, you can validate the details and save the connection that will be displayed on the Connector Home page. 

    Note: It is up to your wish, you can save the connection details first, or you can validate the connection first and then save it. 

Connection Validation Errors 

Sl.No

Error Message(s)

Description

1

Permission Denied

If the access token details are not valid, you get this error message.

2

Internal Server Error

It will respond with a 500 Internal Server Error.


➤ If you have any issues creating a connection, please contact your assigned OvalEdge Customer Success Management (CSM) team.

Connector Settings 

Once the connection is established successfully, various settings are provided to fetch and analyze the information from the data source.  

Connection Settings

Description

Crawler

Crawler settings allow you to set the crawling configuration that will collect the metadata and display it in the data catalog. 

Crawler Settings include

(i) Crawler Options: 

  • FileFolders/Buckets by default enabled

(ii) Crawler Rules: Defining Crawler Rules enables you to filter the crawl through Regular Expression (Regex) that defines schema, table and views, columns, procedures, and functions to include and exclude.

Access Instruction

It allows the data owner to instruct others on using the objects in the application. 

Business Glossary

It allows users to manage the data association of terms related to a particular connector associated with it. The business glossary setting works based on the order of options defined for each business glossary’s managed data association. 


For more information, refer to the Connector Settings

To Catalog Files/Folders

For cataloging Files and Folders of Box connector, click the Crawl/Profile button to submit a job that will display a message of  “Catalog Files/Folders Job submitted successfully”. You can navigate to the Job log to view the status of the job.

Additional Information 

In the OvalEdge > Data Catalog > Files tab > Nine-Dots option > Open in Native/Remote tab will open Box-supported file types and it displays only the details of files and folders that the user has access to in the File Manager.


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