Configurations reference

This tutorial describes Flexmonster Data Server configuration. To install the Data Server, refer to Getting started with the Data Server.

Table of contents:

• Available configurations
• Setting configurations dynamically
• Setting the port number from the command line
• Specifying a path to the configuration file
• Examples

Available configurations

Flexmonster Data Server can be configured in the flexmonster-config.json file. It contains the following properties:

• "DataSources" – Array of objects. Allows configuring the data sources. Each object has the following properties:
  • "Type" – String. The type of the data source: "json", "csv", or "database".
  • "DatabaseType" (optional) – String. The type of the database: "mysql", "mssql", "postgresql", or "oracle". Only for "database" data source type.
  • "ConnectionString" (optional) – String. A connection string for the database. Only for "database" data source type.
  • "Indexes" – Object. Contains a list of datasets. Each dataset is represented by a "key": "value" pair, where "key" is a dataset name, and "value" is an object with the following properties:
    • "Path"(optional) – String. The path to the file with data. Only for "json" and "csv" data source types.
    • "Query" (optional) – String. The query to execute (e.g., "SELECT * FROM tablename"). Only for "database" data source type.
    • "Delimiter" (optional) – String. Defines the specific fields separator to split each CSV row. There is no need to define it if the CSV fields are separated by ,. This property is required only if another character separates fields. Default value: ",".
    • "DecimalSeparator" (optional) – String. Defines the specific character used to separate decimal parts of numbers. For example, to import CSV data with commas used to separate decimal parts of numbers (e.g., 3,14), set the "DecimalSeparator" property as ",". Default value: ".".
    • "ThousandsSeparator" (optional) – String. Defines the specific character used to separate groups of digits in numbers. For example, to import CSV data with periods used to separate groups of digits in numbers (e.g., 1.000 for one thousand), set the "ThousandsSeparator" property as ".". Default value: ",".
    • "Status" (optional) — String. The index status. It can be either "enabled" or "disabled". Disabled indexes are not available from the client.
      The "Status" property is available starting from version 2.9 of the Data Server. Default value: "enabled".
    • "RefreshTime" (optional) — Number. Defines how often the Data Server reloads the data for the index.
      The refresh time is specified in minutes. If it is 0, the Data Server will not reload the data.
      "RefreshTime" will override a value set in DataStorageOptions.DataRefreshTime.
      If "RefreshTime" is not specified, the Data Server will use the DataStorageOptions.DataRefreshTime property.
      If both properties are not specified, the data will not be reloaded.
      The "RefreshTime" property is available starting from version 2.9 of the Data Server.
• "Security" (optional) – Object. Allows managing the data access security. It contains the following properties:
  • "Authorization" (optional) – Object. Has the following properties:
    • "Enabled" – Boolean. Indicates whether the “Basic Authorization” for Flexmonster Data Server is enabled. When set to true, the authorization is enabled. Default value: false.
  • "CORS" (optional) – Object. Allows configuring the cross-origin resource sharing for Flexmonster Data Server. It contains the following properties:
    • "AllowOrigin" (optional) – String. The origin from which the server accepts the requests. If "AllowOrigin" is set to "*", requests from all origins are accepted.
      Note that if authorization is enabled ("Enabled": true), "*" cannot be set as the origin. In this case, specific origins must be defined. Several origins must be defined as follows:

      "AllowOrigin": "http://localhost,https://example.com"

      Default value: "*".
  • "HSTS" (optional) — Object. Allows configuring the Strict-Transport-Security (HSTS) response header. Contains the following properties:
    • "MaxAge" — Number. Defines how long the browser remembers that the site should be accessed only via HTTPS. The "MaxAge" property is set in seconds.
    • "IncludeSubDomains" (optional) — Boolean. Defines whether the Strict-Transport-Security header applies to the site’s subdomains (true) or not (false). Default value: false.
    • "Preload" (optional) — Boolean. Defines whether the site is in the HSTS preload list (true) or not (false). For details refer to the MDN documentation about HSTS. Default value: false.
  • "Headers" (optional) — Object. Allows adding response headers. This object consists of "key": "value" pairs, where "key" is a header name, and "value" is its value.
    We recommend adding response headers carefully and only if they are required for the project. Specifying an existing header with the wrong value can lead to runtime errors.
    Here is an example of how response headers can be specified:

    "Headers": {
        "Content-Security-Policy": "default-src 'self'",
        "X-Content-Type-Options": "nosniff",
        "X-Frame-Options": "SAMEORIGIN",
        "X-XSS-Protection": "1; mode=block"
    }
    

• "DataStorageOptions" (optional) – Object. Allows configuring options for data storage. It has the following properties:
  • "DataRefreshTime" (optional) – Number. Defines how often the data is reloaded from a file or a database. The refresh time is set in minutes. If the "DataRefreshTime" is not specified, the data will not be reloaded.
  • "CacheSizeLimit" (optional) – Number. The maximum number of cached server responses for every index defined in the "DataSources" property. When set to 0, the Data Server does not cache the responses. Default value: 100.
    
• "Port" (optional) – String. The number of the port Flexmonster Data Server runs on. The port can also be set from the command line. Default value: "9500".
• "LoggerMinLevel" (optional) – String. Defines a minimum log level for the Data Server: "Info", "Warn", "Error", or "Fatal". Setting "LoggerMinLevel" to "Warn" or a higher level can improve the Data Server’s performance. Learn more about these log levels in the Microsoft documentation.
  "LoggerMinLevel" will not affect info-level logs that appear when the Data Server is started, or the data is reloaded.
  Default value: "Info".
• "HTTPS" (optional) – Object. Allows configuring the HTTPS protocol. It contains the following properties:
  • "Enabled" (optional) – Boolean. Indicates whether the HTTPS protocol is enabled (true) or not (false). Default value: false.
  • "Certificate" (optional) – Path-Password Object|Subject-Store Object. Allows adding a certificate. By default, if the certificate is not specified, the generated development certificate will be used. The certificate can be added with either Path-Password Object or Subject-Store Object. Each of them has different properties.
    The Path-Password Object has the following properties:
    • "Path" – String. The URL to the certificate file. Note that Flexmonster Data Server supports only .pfx certificates.
    • "Password" – String. The password to access the certificate.
      
    The Subject-Store Object has the following properties:
    • "Subject" – String. The certificate subject name.
    • "Store" – String. The store from which the certificate is loaded.
    • "Location" (optional) – String. The location of the store from which to load the certificate. It can be either "CurrentUser" or "LocalMachine". Default value: "CurrentUser".
    • "AllowInvalid" (optional) – Boolean. Indicates whether to allow using invalid certificates (e.g., self-signed certificates). When set to true, invalid certificates are allowed to use. Default value: false.
  • "Protocols" (optional) – String. Establishes the HTTP protocols enabled on a connection endpoint or for the server. It can be one of the following values: "Http1", "Http2", and "Http1AndHttp2". Default value: "Http1AndHttp2".
• "ReportSharingOptions" (optional) – Object. Allows configuring the report-sharing functionality. It contains the following properties:
  • "EndpointEnabled" (optional) – Boolean. Indicates whether the endpoint to share reports is enabled in the Data Server. If set to true, the report-sharing feature will be enabled. Default value: false.
  • "PathToFolder" (optional) – String. Defines the folder to which the Data Server saves reports. Default value: "C:/ProgramData/FlexmonsterDataServer/reports/" on Windows, "~/.local/share/FlexmonsterDataServer/reports/" on macOS and Ubuntu/Linux (will resolve to  /home/[current_user]/.local/share/FlexmonsterDataServer/reports/).
  • "ReportExpirationTime" (optional) – Number. Defines how long the saved reports are stored. "ReportExpirationTime" is set in minutes. Default value: 0 (reports are stored permanently).
  • "MaxSizeOfFolder" (optional) – Number. The maximum memory size available for report saving (in MB). Default value: 0 (unlimited).
  • "AutoDeletingEnabled" (optional) – Boolean. Should be used with the "MaxSizeOfFolder" property. Defines whether to delete older reports when the folder is full. If set to true, older reports will be deleted automatically until there is enough memory for a new report. Default value: false (older reports are not deleted).

Setting configurations dynamically

To store the connection strings and other configurations more securely, you can set them dynamically as command-line arguments or environment variables.

Follow a short guide to set dynamic configurations:

Step 1. Assign the parameter to the needed configuration as follows:

"DataSources": [{ 
    "Type": "database",
    "DatabaseType": "postgresql",
    "ConnectionString": "${param}",
    "Indexes": {
        "index_database": {
            "Query": "SELECT * FROM ${param2}"
        }
    }
}],

param and param2 are the names of your parameters.

Step 2. Using the parameter’s name (e.g., param), pass your value to the Data Server:

flexmonster-data-server.exe param=connectionString param2=tableName

./flexmonster-data-server param=connectionString param2=tableName

Setting the port number from the command line

To define a port for the Data Server from the command line, use the -p parameter:

flexmonster-data-server.exe -p 7777

./flexmonster-data-server -p 7777

Note that if the "Port" property is specified in flexmonster-config.json, the port set from the console will not be applied.

Specifying a path to the configuration file

If flexmonster-config.json and the Data Server are located in different folders, you can specify the path to flexmonster-config.json when running the Data Server. It can be done using the -s parameter:

flexmonster-data-server.exe -s <path_to_config>\flexmonster-config.json

./flexmonster-data-server -s <path_to_config>/flexmonster-config.json 

Examples

Here is an example of configured flexmonster-config.json:

{
   "DataSources": [
     {
       "Type": "json",
       "Indexes": {
         "index_json": {
           "Path": "./data/data.json"
         }
       }
     },
     {
       "Type": "database",
       "DatabaseType": "mysql",
       "ConnectionString":
 "Server=localhost;Port=3333;Uid=root;Pwd=pwd;Database=TestDB",
       "Indexes": {
         "index_database": {
           "Query": "SELECT * FROM TestTable;"
         }
       }
     }
   ],
   "Security": {
     "Authorization": {
       "Enabled": false
     },
     "CORS": {
       "AllowOrigin": "*"
     }, 
     "HSTS": {
       "MaxAge": 31536000,
       "IncludeSubDomains": true
     },
     "Headers": {
       "Content-Security-Policy": "default-src 'self'",
       "X-Content-Type-Options": "nosniff",
       "X-Frame-Options": "SAMEORIGIN",
       "X-XSS-Protection": "1; mode=block"
     } 
   },
   "DataStorageOptions": {
     "DataRefreshTime": 60,
     "CacheSizeLimit": 150
   },
   "Port": "9500",
   "HTTPS": {
     "Enabled": true,
     "Certificate": {
       "Subject": "localhost",
       "Store": "My"
     },
     "Protocols": "Http2"
   },
   "ReportSharingOptions": {
     "EndpointEnabled": true,
     "PathToFolder": "C:/Reports",
     "ReportExpirationTime": 120,
     "MaxSizeOfFolder": 100,
     "AutoDeletingEnabled": true
   }
}

What’s next?

You may be interested in the following articles:

• Data sources guide
• Security and authorization guide