A connection string connects Anaplan's Financial Consolidation and Reporting application to an external source system. Integrations such as Model Export and Data Import workflow tasks use these connections, as do email and Slack notifications and REST API calls to other applications.

Creating a data source creates a link that can be used in different data integration workflows, such as automated imports or exports.

How to create a data source

A data source connects to a data system outside of the application. This is required to move data into or out of the application. Creating a data source establishes a reusable link for various data integration workflows, such as automated imports or exports.

To create a data source:

  1. Navigate to Configure and select the Add new Datasource icon to create a new data source. 
  1. In the Name field, enter a unique name for your data source.
  2. From the Provider dropdown menu, select the system you want to connect to.
    Providers include: 
    • Anaplan
    • App DB Master
    • Azure Analysis Services
    • Azure Blob Storage
    • Azure Data Factory
    • Azure File Storage
    • Azure Synapse
    • Data Blend
    • Ftp
    • RESTAPI
    • SapHana
    • Slack
    • Slack2
    • SQL Server
    • Teams
    • Vena
  3. In the Details field, enter the required connection information. The required details are specific to the provider you selected.
  4. Select OK to create the data source.
  5. Select Save in the Connection strings pane to save the new configuration for future use.

Understand the Details field

The Details field is where you enter the credentials or connection information needed to access the external data provider. The information you enter is specific to the provider you select.

Examples for the Details field: 

  • Anaplan — Enter the connection details for your Anaplan environment.
    Example: {"BaseUrl":"https://us1a.app.anaplan.com ","User":"username@anaplan.com",
    "Password":"*******","TenantID":"8a868c7291de98070191e5703ba0016e"}
  • App DB Master — Anaplan provisions this connection out-of-box for each tenant.
  • Azure Analysis Services — You should request this type of connection through Anaplan Support.
  • Azure Blob Storage — Enter a Blob SAS (Shared Access Signature) URL. Example: https://[storageaccount].blob.core.windows.net/[containername]?sp=r&st=...
  • Azure Data Factory — Enter the connection string for your Azure Data Factory instance.
  • Azure File Storage — Enter the storage access.  
    Example: DefaultEndpointsProtocol=https;AccountName=[myaccount];AccountKey=[123456...];EndpointSuffix=core.windows.net
  • Azure Synapse — Enter your Azure Synapse information.
    Example:     {"SubscriptionId": "", "TenantId": "9d7c7135-2f6f-4a1c-b046-5705ce98609b", "ApplicationId": "77532de3-76a8-49a6-a051-afa6917d9474", "AuthenticationKey": "*************************"}
  • Data Blend — Enter information from your DataBlend portal.
    Example: {"ClientId":"f5hj52533uglr6a2si3ssj82i",
    "ClientSecret": "16jbobm69vhl8medbq9p0b80o0ntc9o2nqgn3mt4a9prkmksftip",
    "Environment": "eu"}
  • FTP — Enter the connection details in JSON format, including the server, user name, and password. Example: {"Server":"myftps-server.ftp.azurewebsites.net","UserName":"username","Password":"*******"}
  • Rest API — Enter the Rest API request.
    Example: — {Url:"http://dataservice.accuweather.com ",
    QueryStrings:{apikey: "7xsEtJVENcrR7TB"},Headers:{apikey: "7xsEtJVENcrR7TB"}}
  • Slack — Enter your Slack Webhook information.
    Example: https://hooks.slack.com/services/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 
  • Slack2 — Enter your Slack OAuth credentials.
    Example:
    {
       "token": "xoxb-891037596791-2226233211696-EhN0UPXms2PdPfpOkjAPpx9k",
       "channels": ["#general", "#random"]
    }
  • SQL Server — Enter your SQL Server information.
    Example:
    To AWS Server: Server=tcp:ec2-54-196-49-243.compute-1.amazonaws.com; Initial Catalog=Fluence_ID1; Persist Security Info=False; User ID=herve; Password=*******; MultipleActiveResultSets=False; Encrypt=True; TrustServerCertificate=True; Connection Timeout=30;

    To Local Server: Server=.; Database=Test; User Id=sa; Password=YourPassword; Trusted_Connection=true
  • Teams — Enter your Teams Webhook information.
    Example:  https://YourTeamName.webhook.office.com/webhookb2/7a7ce0ee-e687-4871-a9cd-500b49062ad1@9d7c7135-2f6f-4a1c-b046-5705ce98609b/IncomingWebhook/363e0e387b264da78b51de6af2d93669/c44df116-22b9-4d2f-8318-1af57e8b8262
  • Vena — Enter your Vena connection information.
    Example: {"UserName": "username@yourcompany.com", "Password": "*******", "Host": "https://us1.vena.io "}

After creating the data source, define a staging table that references it. Reference a data source in a workflow task to automate imports and exports.