DDX for SQL - Configuration guide
Before working through this help topic be sure to have complete the prerequisite step: Installing the DDX
You might also want to read the Technical Specification
You will need the following information before starting this process:
- your Venue ID number or Account Number.
- your DDX serial number
These two pieces of information were sent to you by email.
You will also need the connection string details for the database of your ticketing system. These include:
- Server address
- Database name
- SQL user name & password OR windows credentials that have access to the database.
First open the application from your Windows start menu. Ensure you 'Run As administrator' by right clicking the application and selecting the option.
Step 1 - the 'Settings' tab
With the application open, navigate to the Settings tab and click Add Venue
First validate your account.
In the appropriate fields enter the Venue ID and Serial key, then click Verify Venue.
If the two fields match our records your Venue Name and System should be populated.
Ensure Enable Upload is ticked.
If you receive an error when clicking Verify Venue, check that the Venue ID and Serial Key details are exactly right (ensure you exclude any hyphens from the serial key). If the problem exists - contact us a Purple Seven and we'll help you out.
Next - connect to your ticketing system.
In the appropriate fields enter the following details:
- Server name - usually in the form of an IP address and port number
- Database Name - this is the name of the database that contains your ticketing data.
Now you need to determine what level of security you want to use. We recommend using SQL Authentication. This will require you to create a new SQL Username and password for this application.
We recommend you create a new user such as 'DDX' with a highly complex password. The password can be up to x characters long. Once you have created the password and put it into the DDX you can dispose of the password - you don't need to remember it or share it with anyone.
After populating all the fields click Test Connection String. If all the settings are correct you will see a message saying the Test was successful if there was a problem connecting to the database you will need to troubleshoot the issue.
Step 2 - the Internet Settings tab
This tab checks that data can be sent to the Purple Seven servers correctly. If you don't use a Proxy Server - simply click Test Internet Connection. Usually this will return the message
If the test returns a failure you will need to Troubleshoot the issue before continuing.
Step 3 - the Schedule tab
The Schedule Tab creates a daily schedule for when the DDX should run. Whilst the DDX won't interrupt normal database activity, you should take the following into account when choosing what time to sent data.
- What time your backups happen - try to schedule the DDX after your daily full back up or equivilent
- Low sales periods - most venues have low sales over-night and this is the perfect time to send your data. We recommend a point after midnight and before sales commence in the morning.
- Complete before 6am - many of our processes run between 6am and 9am in the local timezone of your venue, whilst not critical, if you are able to get your data to us by 6am it means your data will be included in any analysis before the working day starts.
- Other ticketing system jobs. Many venues run reporting jobs or other maintenance tasks overnight - try to schedule the DDX so as to avoid these jobs.
In reality it won't matter much if you are not able to meet all of these criteria, so don't worry too much if you can't. These points are simply a guide to reduce load on your system.
A final point! Please try to avoid having your DDX run 'on the hour'. We have many venues who do this, and whilst it doesn't cause any problems, it can mean your DDX joins a queue to have data sent to us, which has the effect of extending how long your DDX will run for. Setting the schedule to run at 03:57 or 03:11 is better than scheduling it a 03:00.
Step 4 - Test the DDX
When you first install the DDX, it is automatically configured to run a test script. This won't pull any of your ticketing data but will pull some system data that is present in ALL MS SQL databases. To test if there is a good connection between the DDX and Purple Seven follow these steps:
1. On the Setting tab, ensure that there is a tick in the 'Enabled' field - see image below
2. Now navigate to the 'Control Panel' tab:
- select which account you want to test (even if you only have one)
- click 'Extract & Upload'
This will send 50 rows of data to our server - if it comes back as successful - you are all set. You can close the application (don't forget you will need to leave this machine on at the scheduled time).
If you encounter an error - please perform the following tests before contacting us:
Error check 1 - Internet Settings
On the Internet Settings tab click Test Internet Connection
Error check 2 - Database connection
Next on your check list to get the DDX can connect to your database. Simply navigate to the Settings tab, click the edit icon next to the account that has failed the upload test.
Click the Test Connection String button
To help problem solve any issues, you can try viewing the error log which is available from the control panel.
If the error is at the Purple Seven end we will already have been made aware of it and we will likely be in touch. But feel free to drop us a line at [email protected] and don't forget to include your venue / account ID and your DDX serial number
You can also check out our Troubleshooting guide here
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