Summary and Use Case
When configuring Source and Outputs in DataForge, users must configure each Object to use a Connection. These Connections define the credentials and location of the Source/Output data. In an environment that uses Cloning to create multiple copies of Source & Output with the same logic, two patterns of Connection management arise, Multi Group Connections and Single Group Connections.
Multi Group Connections
Multi Group Connections are useful when Cloning Groups that all pull from the same Database/File Path. When a Source or Output attached to a Multi Group Connection is Cloned, the new versions will be attached to the existing Connection, similar to the image below.
Multi Group Connection behavior
Single Group Connections
Single Group Connections are useful when Cloning Groups that have a distinct Database/File Path. When a Source attached to a Single Group Connection is Cloned, the new versions will be attached to a separate Connection from the original Sources/Outputs, one belonging specifically to the new Group, similar to the image below. These Single Group Connections are required when creating Group Outputs pointed to Databases to allow the Cloning process to complete. If a Multi Group Connection is used in Group Outputs to databases, the Clone will fail because both sets of Group Outputs (original and cloned) will result in the same output connection path, table name, and schema name.
A Single Group Connection Clone
The Example
In the upcoming sections, we will explore how Connection Name Templates can be utilized to control the whether a Connection is treated as Single Group or Multi Group when Cloning. For this example we will expand upon the Company 1 example introduced in the Cloning Overview by adding a couple of Connections seen in the diagram below.
Connections of each type exist
The Connections will be configured so that the resulting configuration after Cloning looks like the image below. Notice that the Multi Group Connection is now connected to the Output with both Group channels, while the Single Group Connections are independent and attached to only one Group.
The Configuration Post Clone
Updated