Introduction to Flexmonster Data Server

Flexmonster Data Server is an installable, server-side application that implements the custom data source API. The idea of the Data Server is to reduce the time of data loading and allow analyzing large datasets by delegating all calculations to the server. The Data Server fetches your data from a data source, aggregates it, and then sends it to Flexmonster Pivot, which visualizes this data.

The diagram below shows how the Data Server interacts with Flexmonster Pivot:

Supported data sources

• CSV and JSON files
• MySQL databases
• MariaDB databases
• Microsoft SQL Server databases
• PostgreSQL databases
• Oracle databases
• Microsoft Azure SQL databases

Why use the Data Server?

Advantages of Flexmonster Data Server:

• Larger datasets. Although Flexmonster Pivot can connect to a CSV or JSON file directly, the browser’s capability limits the size of a file (on average, up to 100 MB). Flexmonster Data Server can process files larger than 1 GB — the maximum file size depends on your RAM capacity and the number of unique members in the dataset.
• Saves browser resources. All manipulations with data are performed by the server, resulting in faster data visualization and more efficient use of the browser's resources.
• Optimized data loading. When using the Data Server, only the data you need to visualize is loaded into the component, which optimizes the data loading time.
• Built-in security and authorization. The Data Server provides a convenient way of managing security and establishing authorized access to data.
• Ready-to-use solution for databases. The Data Server allows connecting to databases out of the box.
• Cross-platform support. Flexmonster Data Server is available for Windows (32-bit and 64-bit), macOS (64-bit and ARM64), and Ubuntu/Linux (64-bit and ARM64).

The Data Server might not suit you in the following cases:

• Your server is limited in RAM size. The Data Server stores all the data in RAM. Depending on your file or queries, the data can take up to 200%–300% of its original size.
• You want database queries to be affected by the user's input. You need to predefine database queries that the Data Server will use to fetch data. This means that the queries cannot be changed based on the user's input.

Approaches to using the Data Server

There are three approaches to using the Data Server. Each approach provides unique features that are useful in different scenarios:

• Windows/Unix service (recommended) — the Data Server runs in the background, starts automatically with the OS, and can be managed via a special GUI tool. This approach offers tighter security and makes it harder to unintentionally close the Data Server.
• DLL — tailored for .NET Core applications. The Data Server is integrated directly into your codebase, so it is easy to update and doesn't require launching a separate executable file. This approach also provides greater resource control and enables deep customization, such as adding support for other data sources or changing existing functionality.
• Console application — simple, straightforward, and easy to troubleshoot. The Data Server can be run manually or scheduled to run periodically using system tools. You can also start multiple instances of the Data Server using this approach.

See also

• Connecting to JSON using Flexmonster Data Server
• Connecting to CSV using Flexmonster Data Server
• Approaches for connecting to SQL databases
• Introduction to the custom data source API