I am a h/w engineer interested in using Bluemix for an IOT application. Other than C, I do not know any programming language but I am willing to learn whatever necessary. My application is as follows:
My sensor nodes would upload data to an existing h/w server that has the capability to upload the data to an external SQL server. I want to analyze this data on the SQL server on a periodic basis and generate reports that I can publish to a mobile application or even a web-page to begin with.
Questions:
Is it possible to implement the "SQL server --> Data analysis --> Report generation + data visualization --> HTML(?) Publish" flow on Bluemix?
What modern/efficient languages can I learn in order to do this with the least effort?
Is there a standard implementation/example that I can use as reference for the flow described above?
This question actually has little to do with IoT--that just happens to be the source of the data--and focuses on how to process data for analysis, report generation, and publishing. You can do this mostly using services in Bluemix such that there's little if any code to write and so the programming language of the runtime may not matter.
First, to store the data, you could use SQL Database or dashDB. The former is "just" a database, whereas the latter includes R and R-Studio for data analysis. Second, for report generation, you can use Embeddable Reporting, which has Cognos (e.g. IBM Cognos Business Intelligence reports) built in.
The way Cloud Foundry in Bluemix works, you'll need to create a runtime with some language, then bind the service instances to it so you can use them. But you may not have any code to write, in which case the language doesn't matter. In case you do need to write some code, choose whichever language you think you can learn most easily. Java programmers prefer that, but it requires compiling; they may also prefer Go. You'll probably have an easier time with Node.js and PHP, which are popular interpreted languages.
A couple of resources for further info:
"Embed rich reports in your applications" shows how to use Embeddable Reporting with dashDB.
"Leverage IBM Cognos on IBM Bluemix using the Embeddable Reporting service" shows how to use Embeddable Reporting with SQL Database.
"Embed Reports and visualize Data in your Bluemix Applications" gives an overview of both approaches.
BTW, Bluemix also has a neat service called Internet of Things, which helps connect your Bluemix app to lots of things all over the Internet. Sounds like you already have this handled for this example, but as you continue to use Bluemix for IoT applications, you might want to look into this service too. The Internet of Things Foundation Starter helps you get started using Node.js, Cloudant, and Node-RED.
Related
I need to connect Salesforce to an external database we have, and constantly keep both the database and salesforce updated in as close to real time as we can get. I have tired Google searching possible solutions, but nearly all of them have been outdated by over a year. Any ideas?
Thank You!
Depending on your exact scenario it is quite difficult to give you a proper answer.
However off the top of my head I would suggest two Salesforce products.
Salesforce Connect
https://www.salesforce.com/products/platform/products/salesforce-connect/
Salesforce Connect allows you to connect to various data sources and turn the tables / objects of that data source into a SObject. For example MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle etc. There are limitations and thus it would be better to talk to a Certified Architect about such an implementation.
Heroku Connect
https://www.heroku.com/connect
Heroku Connect allows you to connect a Heroku data source with a Salesforce Object. The sync is not immediate but there are quite a few customisations inside the product to make the sync as "live" as possible. There are limitations and thus it would be better to talk to a Certified Architect about such an implementation.
Salesforce Connect has limitations.. It's good for presenting data via the interface, but if you need to act on the data and report on the data it might not be the best bet.
For close to real time hand coded sync, look at the streaming API, or using Salesforce Platform Events.
If you want to use an ETL tool, my organization has had decent luck with DBAmp, which is a Sql add on product and fairly inexpensive as compared to a lot of ETL tools ($1625 annually.) http://www.forceamp.com/ We're able to replicate the entire SF database offline in SQL with DBAMP, push changes to the offline Sql copy and upsert changes. It's also a good backup solution via offline full data copy. We got very good support from them as well when we encountered challenges.
Hope this helps.
Not sure if you are syncing one object or multiple objects but there are a few options that you have.
You can try the salesforce provided features Salesforce Connect which allows you to view and update data from your external source In salesforce but there are limitations with reporting and other considerations you should consider.
If you make use of Heroku, Heroku Connect is your best bet
You can also use a middleware ESB solutions like MuleSoft which can orchestrate keeping data in sync across multiple data sources and do batch loads, but depending on how often changes you want to keep an eye out for api limits for inbound calls to salesforce.
You can roll your own solution where you can use Outbound Messages in workflow (or triggers that initiates an apex class that calls out, but that is more cumbersome and you have to do custom error handling and retry logic which you get for free using outbound messages) to send changes from salesforce to your homegrown service that writes to you database and have you homegrown solution write back to salesforce using the soap or rest api. That would probably take you some time to build. You would also still need to be aware of API limits depending on how many updates are made on the non salesforce side.
You crate a Canvas App which displays data from your DB in Salesforce as a Tab and hook it up via SSO so users are auto logged in. But again there would not be reporting, or any salesforce features that you can take advantage of.
But I really think that you should spend some time to determine what system is your source of truth because that would determine how the data should be synced. You should also investigate if you really need the sync to be realtime or near realtime, or if you can manage with something like an hourly true up on the system that is not the source of truth.
I have some tables from Postgres database to be integrated into Salesforce as external objects. I went through some video tutorials and documentations where I was recommended to use Salesforce Connect which supports providers with "OData" protocol support. Is it possible to integrate Postgres tables into Salesforce as external objects without Salesforce Connect?
Thanks.
Be careful with the phrase "external objects". To me, the use of those particular words implies the specific implementation of external data access/federation delivered with Salesforce Connect. I don't believe that there is any alternative if your goal is to create "real" external objects (named "objectname__x") within Salesforce.
There are, though, Salesforce integration solutions from the likes of Progress, Jitterbit, Mulesoft, and Informatica and others that can be used to access PostgreSQL, with varying degrees of coding being required. You won't get "external objects", but you will be able to access data residing off-cloud in a PostgreSQL database from your Salesforce system.
Hope this helps.
Currently the way to integrate data from external storages (Postgres in your case) without Salesforce Connect is implement your custom logic for synchronization using REST or SOAP API, Apex classes and triggers, Salesforce Workflows and Flows. Also you will need to implement appropriate interfaces on side of your data storage. Complexity of all these steps depends on complexity of your existing data model and infrastructure around it.
We have a python based server that uses mongodb database. Our server programs uses RabbitMQ to exchange request/reply packets with many Android apps and perform actions accordingly. In addition to this, now we also need to create a web portal for the admin staff to let them manipulate the database, upload/download files, view data/statistics and trigger actions for android clients. So, the database is going to be common for the portal and the existing server programs.
For the web portal development, I got a recommendation for using Plone. We are comfortable in using traditional Node.js. Could anybody guide me on the use of Plone within this context. Is plone able to communicate with mongodb and existing server side programs?
Plone is a CMS designed around managing web based content and is tightly integrated for storage of its data in the ZODB, a NoSQL database. If data is very custom and isn't all about webpages and website nagivation etc, or if you have a need for the data to live in a different kind of DB then Plone probably isn't the right tool for you. This isn't to say it can't be made to do these these things but you would have to learn a lot about it's internals to make it do these things.
I am new to K2 and have to check how similar is it to MS Access. So I need to know whether we connect external data from example from SQL server to K2.
Yes, K2 uses SmartObjects to connect to external data sources (like SQL Server).
Absolutely! Connecting with many disparate repositories of data is K2's great strength.
To connect to a SQL Server, you simply have to create an instance of the SQL service broker, with the details of the server and database you want to read from. Then you can create a SmartObject for each table, view, or stored procedure within that SQL Server database that you need to interact with.
The following thread on K2 Community should get you started: http://community.k2.com/t5/K2-blackpearl/How-to-connect-K2-blackpearl-with-MS-SQL-R2/td-p/53993
K2 is not similar to Access since it is larger platform which meets enterprise workflow automation needs whereas Access would rather allow you to build department level apps with little flexibility - so comparison is incorrect neither from feature set nor from product positioning or pricing point of views.
K2 has 3 major pillars tightly integrated with each other:
Workflow Engine (manages execution of steps defined for process you automating)
SmartForms (allow to build you web UI to your apps and processes)
SmartObjects - this abstraction layer offers you set of OOB connectors which allow you to consume or write data from variety of external LOB systems - SQL Server, Oracle, SharePoint and many more. Custom brokers can be created to connect to any other LOB system which is not covered by OOB brokers set.
So in terms of connecting to different to external data you won't have any problems and capabilities are far greater than those you may find in MS Access. Comparing those two things it is almost like compare SMB shared folder VS SharePoint Server or something like this.
Also product being marketed (and build in that way) to allow "code-less development" - it has really gentle learning curve / allows you to start quick with building your applications.
I wanted to make a web application through which :
user(end user) can create his own
web application online.
which will be integrated with the
databases and application/web
servers
and user can also publish that
application withing that application
only...
Doing some research i come to know it goes under category of PaaS(Platform as a Service)
But i am confuse how can i do that ?
I want to build that application using Java/J2EE.
Can any one explain me from where should i start ?
Or which framework / technology is better to implement it in Java ?
Waiting for your helpful reply....
There are several options as far as choosing a PaaS - each PaaS vendor has its pros and cons, so you need to consider a range of issues:
Language support - Do you want just Java or maybe additional languages/frameworks?
Hosting - Are you going to use a cloud computing provider like Amazon Web Services? Or are you using your own hardware? Or do you want multiple options?
DB support - You mentioned using a central DB. Do you plan on installing/administering this DB yourself, or use a hosted DB service? Do you need the PaaS to support the particular DB you want? Perhaps you need multiple Databases to provide scalability and separation among clients?
There are several good comparisons of PaaS vendors out there. This might be a good place to start: Looking for PaaS providers recommendations
Full disclosure: I work for Cloudify, an Open-Source PaaS provider.
I think while choosing a PaaS you should think of the below points.
It should be easy to deploy, scale and manage
Scaling
Flexible topology
Data safety
No vendor lock in
Open software stack
I suggest you, before going to any big vendor try a new player in town Jelastic. I recently used their services and continue to do so and they are just awesome. Their web UI is best in class and has no drama of API, SDK or downloadable software. Let me know if you use them so that I can also have some feedback before I migrate all our apps to them.
Surya
As far as i understand, you are looking for a solution that Viravis is currenlty implemented.
But believe me it is not an easy task to build that kind of platform. i strongly suggest you to look at some PaaS providers to get involved and build a business relationship to achieve your goal. They are just exists for this purpose. Provide platform for people who just want to develop a single online application or some professional who want to build an SaaS business.
I think it is better to hire the platform rather than build it from scratch (ofcourse if you dont have to...)
A web application consists of language, framework, database and Web-server.
If you want to make a web application in java, you should try GRAILS framework.
Its fast and web development is very easy and you can use java code as it is, in it.
Secondly you can choose database from MySQL, PostgreSQL etc or if you want to use No-SQL dbs, you can choose from MOngoDB, CouchDB etc.
Web-Servers can be tomcat, jetty etc.
After creating you application, you would like to host your application on web, Here PaaS comes to play. It helps you to deploy and host your application on web. So what you have to do is only to focus on your application and then deploy your app on any PaaS providers.
There are many PaaS providers in market, you can choose any.