TimeXtender 6024.1 (and later versions) bring web-based infrastructure and software-as-a-service business model with cloud-powered ODX, data warehouse and semantic model instances. Instances are self-contained objects that can be strung together in the software to create the flow of data you need.
This article describes how to get started with TimeXtender Portal and Desktop.
Sign in on the web
Once you have an account, go to app.timextender.com and sign in.
You need to have the Data Estate Admin permission to configure instances. Review and set permissions using the Profile & preferences page.
Add your ODX, data warehouse, and semantic models in the Portal
ODX, data warehouse, and semantic model instances are the building blocks of your data estate, so setting up instances is the place to start.
A logical order for adding instances would follow the flow of data, in other words: ODX, data warehouse, semantic models. For each instance, specify all the connection information you used to specify in the desktop application in previous releases. That includes, for the ODX, the information that the desktop application needs to connect to the ODX service running the ODX instance.
To add your first instance, go to Data Estate > Instances, click Add instance and click the type of instance you want to add.
Below is the Add ODX page.
Under Basic info, you'll find the settings that are the same across instance types. Name and Description are important fields since that's the information that will be visible in TimeXtender Desktop. Connection info, such as server name, database, storage account, will only be visible in the Portal.
For more information on adding instances, see these articles:
Add and map data sources in the Portal
The connection information for data sources has moved to the cloud. Once you've added a data source in the Portal, it can be mapped to an ODX instance and used when you add a data source to the ODX in TimeXtender Desktop.
To add a data source, go to Data Estate > Data Sources and click Add data source.
On the form, select the Data source type from the list. The fields required by the specific data source will load and you can then enter the connection information for your instance of the data source.
Once you've added a few data sources, it's time to map them to an ODX. Go to Data Estate > Instances and click on an ODX instance. On the Mapped data sources list, click Add and, in the box that pops up, select the data sources you want to add from the Data sources list, and then click Add.
For more information, see the article Add and map a data source connection.
Download and install the software
Finally, install the software on your machine.
Download the latest release
Just like the previous version, there are two packages, ODX Server and TimeXtender.
First, install the ODX Server. Compared to the previous version, the configuration of the ODX is much simpler. There's no need to copy secrets, just sign in and choose the ODX instance you want to use on this specific installation. In addition to that, a lot of the settings have moved to the Portal.
Verify the ODX Server Service is running.
Note: For each ODX instance you want to use, you need an ODX Server installation that is connected to that ODX instance.
With the ODX in place, install TimeXtender Desktop.
Sign-in to TimeXtender Desktop and create databases
Once installed, start TimeXtender and sign in. The ODXs, data warehouses and semantic models you have created in the Portal will be listed in the Solution Explorer in the left-hand side of the main window. You can work on those similar to the ODX, data warehouses, and semantic models in the previous version.
However, before you start working on a data warehouse or an ODX instance, the data storage you entered connection info for in the Portal needs to be created. Right-click the instance, click Edit and click Create storage... to configure and create it.
When you add a data source in the ODX, you'll notice that you can choose between the data source connections you've mapped to the ODX instance in the Portal.
Firewall configuration
The article Configure your Firewall lists the servers and ports used by TimeXtender and ODX Server, which should be opened in your firewall settings.