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      Qlik Sense Connector (On-Prem)

      Qlik Sense connector (On-Prem) is a lightweight web service that helps you fetch data from many social media and web-based data sources. Qlik Sense is a data visualization and discovery product that allows you to create flexible, interactive visualizations that would lead to meaningful decisions.

      OvalEdge uses a service account to connect to the data source, which allows you to crawl the data objects (Reports, Report Columns, etc.) and build Lineage.

      Connector Capabilities

      The Qlik Sense connector supports the following data objects:

      Functionality

      Description

      Crawler 

      Reports (QVD Builder/Presentation Reports)

      Report Columns

      Dashboards

      Tiles

      Pages

      Views

      Datasets 

      Dataflows

      Lineage

      Report Lineage, ReportColumn lineage, and Lineage source.

      Supported File Types: QVD Builders, Tables. XLSX. TXT. CSV Files.

      Qlik Sense Authentication 

      Qlik Sense supports the following types of Authentication, which include:

      1. Windows Authentication: This authentication type requires the user's Windows credentials to grant access to the Qlik Sense environment.
      2. Certificates Authentication: This authentication type requires a valid digital certificate to access the Qlik Sense environment.
      3. Cookie-based Authentication: This authentication type requires a cookie to authenticate the user's identity and grant access to the Qlik Sense environment.

      In this document, you will see Qlik Sense with Microsoft Windows Authentication.

      Authentication with Microsoft Windows Identity

      Qlik Sense Repository Service (QRS) API requests can be authenticated using a Microsoft Windows identity. If this is the case, send requests using the proxy server URL.

      This authentication method does not require certificates, and the connection is made using the permissions of the Windows user. This method can be used on the Qlik Sense server or remotely (however, the API must support Windows authentication).

      To activate Windows authentication in the Qlik Sense environment, enable Windows Authentication to the Qlik Sense server and retrieve the corresponding UserID and User Password to enter into the designated fields.


      Prerequisites

      To establish a Qlik Sense connection, the following prerequisites are required:

      S.No.

      Details

      Options

      1

      Need the IP or Hostname of the Qlik Sense Server.

      Mandatory 

      2

      Need a Microsoft Windows user for which Windows authentication is enabled via Proxy server. 

      Reference:https://community.qlik.com/t5/Official-Support-Articles/How-the-Windows-Authentication-Pattern-in-Virtual-Proxy-enables/ta-p/1715008.

      Mandatory 

      3

      Need the Log files path generated while building Qlik Sense reports.

      Optional

      4

      Need QVD files generated by the Qlik Sense application. 

      Note: A QlikView Data (QVD) file is a file containing a table of data exported from Qlik Sense or QlikView.

      Optional

      5

      Need to create two folders in the OvalEdge server to store metadata. 

      Optional

      Service Account with Minimum Permissions

      The following are the minimum privileges required for a service account to crawl a connection. 

      Operation

      Minimum Access Permission

      Connector Validation

      Audit Admin

      Crawling

      Read Permission

      References: To check regarding Audit Admin rights. Thttps://help.qlik.com/en-US/sense/November2017/Subsystems/ManagementConsole/Content/default-administration-roles.htm?_ga=2.29671039.1198636087.1683012766-587182994.1683012766#Administ 

      Establish Environment Variables (Optional)

      This section describes the settings or instructions that you should be aware of prior to 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 Manage Connector pop-up window. This is done to identify which environment your connector is connecting to at a glance.
      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 in OvalEdge:

      1. Navigate to Administration | Configuration. 
      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 set up a Qlik Sense Connection, provide the necessary information in the Manage Connector pop-up window by completing the required fields with relevant details.

      1. Log into the OvalEdge application.
      2. Navigate to Administration > Connectors module. The Connectors Information page is displayed.
      3. Click on + New Connector. The Add Connector pop-up window is displayed.
      4. Select the connection type as Qlik Sense. The Add Connector with Qlik Sense details is displayed.

      Field Name

      Description

      Connector Type

      The selected connection type Qlik Sense is displayed by default. If required, the drop-down 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 datasource. 

      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 environment drop-down menu allows you to select the environment configured for the connector from the drop-down list. For example, PROD, or STG (based on the configured items in the OvalEdge configuration for the connector.environment).

      The purpose of the environment field is to help you identify which connector is connecting what type of system environment (Production, STG, or QA).

        

      Note: The steps to set up environment variables are explained in the prerequisite section.

      Connection Name*

      Enter a connection name for the Qlik Sense connector. 

      You can specify a name to easily identify it on the OvalEdge Connector page. Example: Qlik Sense_test

      Authentication

      Select the Windows Authentication, and enter the respective Windows User ID and Password.

      Connection URL*

      Enter the Hostname or IP address of the Qlik Sense

      Qlik Sense User Id

      Enter the Service Account User Id 

      Qlik Sense User Password*

      Enter the Service Account user password.

      Alias Host Name

      Enter the host name when loading the report on the report summary page.

      Logs Path

      Enter the path where all the Qlik Sense logs are stored.

      XML files generation path

      Enter the path created in the OvalEdge server to generate metadata files by the node server.

      Path to store QVDS

      Enter the path created in the OvalEdge server to store the metadata of QVD files.

      QVDs Path

      Enter the path to copy remote QVD into the OvalEdge server box.

      Exclude UnPublished Apps (Y/N)

      Enter Yes to exclude unpublished apps from the Qlik Server.

      Enter No to include unpublished apps from the Qlik Server.

      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 object. 


      Note: The drop-down 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.

      Select Bridge

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

      • When a bridge has been set up, it will be displayed in a drop-down 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
      1. Click on the Validate button to validate the connection details.  
      2. Click on the Save button to save the connection.  Alternatively, you can also directly click on the Save & Configure 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 get displayed on the Connector Home page. 

      Note: You can either save the connection details first, or you can validate the connection first and then save it. 

      Connection Validation Errors 

      Sl.No

      Error Messages(s)

      Descriptions

      1

      error_validate_connection

      An alert message is displayed when credential details are incorrect.

      ➤ 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 retrieve and display the information from the data source.  

      Connection Settings

      Description

      Crawler

      Crawler settings are configured to connect to a data source and collect and catalog all the data elements in the form of metadata. Check out the crawler options to set the crawler's behavior in the  Crawler & Profiler Settings.

      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. 

      Lineage

      The lineage settings allow you to configure multiple dialects (by Selecting Source Server Type for lineage) and connection priority lists to pick the tables to build lineage.

      Others

      The Send Metadata Changes Notifications option is used to set the change notification about the metadata changes of the data objects.

      • You can use the toggle button to set the Default Governance Roles (Steward, Owner, Custodian, etc.) 
      • From the drop-down menu, you can select the role and team to receive any metadata changes notification. 

      Context URL

      By utilizing the Context URL feature in the OvalEdge Browser Extension, you can map OvalEdge to specific URL addresses through the crawler settings. This allows the extension to recognize the site and provide metadata results from the OvalEdge catalog, even when the plugin is used outside of the OvalEdge application. The Context URL feature is only applicable to the Report connection type.

       

      The Crawling of Report Group Names

      A Crawl/Profile button allows you to select one or more  Report Group Names for crawling. 

      1. Navigate to the Connectors page, and click Crawl/Profile. It allows you to select the Report Groups that need to be crawled.
      2. Crawl option is selected by default. 
      3. Click on the Run button that gathers all metadata from the connected source into OvalEdge Data Catalog. After a successful crawl, all the information is displayed in the Data Catalog > Report / Report Column Tab.

      Note: For more information on Scheduling, refer to How to Schedule Connectors