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Data Servers and Brinqa Agent

This article details data servers, the Brinqa Agent, and how to create, edit, or delete data servers.

What is a data server?​

A data server is a record you create in the Brinqa Platform to denote a server associated with your on-premises resources. Your Brinqa Platform comes with one pre-configured data server, named local server, to collect data from your cloud resources. But to transfer data securely from your on-premises servers to the Brinqa Platform, you must install a Brinqa Agent on each of your servers. Then you must create a data server in your Brinqa Platform to represent the agent and select that data server when configuring your data integration.

Navigate to Integrations > Data servers to see a list of the current data servers along with their relevant details, including their state, the Brinqa Agent version, and the date of the agent's last connection to the Brinqa Platform. You can also create new data servers on this page.

System Requirements for Brinqa Agent​

The system requirements for running Brinqa Agent depend on the data sources you have configured on the system. Most small servers and desktops can handle the Brinqa Agent effectively. Here are some guidelines:

Supported Operating Systems:

  • Linux Ubuntu 14+
  • Linux Redhat/CentOS 6+
  • Windows 2012R2+

JVM (Java Virtual Machine) Requirements:

Install Brinqa Agent​

A Brinqa Agent is a secure and high-performance gateway to the Brinqa Platform. If you want to sync data from your on-premises servers to the Brinqa Platform, you must first install a Brinqa Agent on each of your servers.

To install Brinqa Agent, follow these steps:

  1. Download the latest version of Brinqa Agent from https://connectors.brinqa.io/#/downloads.

  2. Install the Brinqa Agent on your server by unzipping the downloaded file to any directory on the server. The package contains the following directories and files:

    • bin: Scripts and other executables

    • bundles: Connector bundles

    • conf: Agent configuration files

    • lib: Libraries

    • logs: Agent log files

    • README.txt: Details about system requirements, memory defaults, permissions, troubleshooting tips, and more.

You can run Brinqa Agent as a service, and the installation process varies depending on your operating system. For specific instructions on setting up Brinqa Agent as a service, refer to the README for details.

Windows Installation

The install_agent_service.bat script attempts to create the service based on the JAVA_HOME and AGENT_HOME environment variables. If those variables are not defined, the script then tries to detect them based on the relative path of itself and the Java executable on the PATH variable.

Linux Installation

Ensure that Java is included in the PATH variable or defined in the {agent-directory}/bin/agent.service file as JAVA_HOME.

Create a New Data Server​

After installing Brinqa Agent, you must create a data server in your Brinqa Platform to generate a configuration file. Place this file on your server to associate it with your Brinqa Platform. Upon establishing a connection to the Brinqa Platform, a secure tunnel facilitates two-way data transfer.

To create a new data server, follow these steps:

  1. Log in to your Brinqa Platform, and navigate to Integrations > Data servers.

  2. Click Create.

  3. Fill in the data server properties:

    • Title: Title of the data server.

    • Name: Referenced name of the data server for queries and scripts.

    • Description: Description of the data server.

    • Max. Connections: Maximum number of simultaneous connections to the server. The default setting is 10 connections.

    • Skip SSL Verification: When selected, skip Secure Socket Layer (SSL) verification between the data server and the Brinqa Platform.

  4. Click Create. The page reloads and you should see your data server listed.

  5. Hold your pointer over the data server entry and click Download config to download the configuration file.

  6. Place the configuration file in the /conf folder of your Brinqa Agent installation.

  7. Make sure that both the bin/agent and bin/pm.sh files are executable:

    • $ chmod +x bin/agent bin/pm.sh

  8. Start the Brinqa Agent:

    • $ ./bin/agent start

  9. Check the /logs directory to see if there are any errors.

Refer to the README.txt file from your Brinqa Agent installation for additional details regarding system requirements, memory defaults, permissions, troubleshooting tips, and more.

Edit or delete a data server​

You can edit or delete existing data servers. Hold the pointer over the data server until you see a few options appear on the right-hand side. These options are Download config, Restart, Edit, and a kebab (three vertical dots) menu. The kebab menu contains the Delete option and the Clear working data option.

The Clear working data option deletes the data generated by Brinqa Agent during a sync. This option can be useful for the following reasons:

  • If the stored data is incorrect or outdated, you want to clear it and sync new data.

  • If the stored data is no longer needed, you want to remove it to free up disk space.

Download the Brinqa Agent log files​

If you encounter any issues with the Brinqa Agent, troubleshooting often involves examining the log files. To access the log file, you have two options:

  • In the /logs directory within your Brinqa Agent installation, you can find the log files and review their contents directly.

  • Alternatively, users with the System Administrator role can download the log files from the data server list page. This page provides a convenient option to retrieve the log files, allowing you to analyze them at your convenience.

To download the Brinqa Agent log files from the data server list page, follow these steps:

  1. Navigate to Integrations > Data servers.

  2. Click the row of your data server and a pane slides out from the right-hand side. In this pane, you can view essential information about your data server, including its IP address, hostname, operating system, memory, and available disk space.

  3. If your Brinqa Agent is online and connected, the Collect logs button turns green. Click the button to start collecting logs.

  4. Click Download logs to download the log files.

By studying the log files, you can gain valuable insights into any potential problems or errors occurring with the Brinqa Agent, aiding in the troubleshooting process.