An external-source-linked datastore appears to your application like any other datastore — list, create, search — but the data lives in an external database. You read and write through ActiveManage's normal interfaces while bytes stay where they belong.
Setup Flow
- Create an external DB connection (covered in “Connecting to an External Database”).
- Create a datastore in ActiveManage, choose “External source” as the storage backend.
- Pick the source connection and the target table.
- Map columns: source column → platform field. Auto-mapping suggests by name similarity.
- Set sync policy:
- Read-only: Cannot write to the external table; ActiveManage acts as a read-through cache.
- Read-write: Updates in ActiveManage flow back to the external table.
- Hybrid: Read external; store some additional fields in ActiveManage's own DB and join on key.
- Optionally enable caching with a TTL.
Queries
Every query against the linked datastore is translated to SQL against the external DB. The platform handles type conversions, NULL handling, and pagination. Complex filters work but may be slower than against native datastores.
Worked Examples
- Legacy customer service: Show order history from the legacy ERP without migrating it. Datastore Legacy Orders linked read-only.
- Two-way sync of contacts: Contacts datastore backed by external CRM DB. Edits in ActiveManage UI flow back to the CRM.
- Analytics overlay: Reports datastore backed by data warehouse — fast aggregations available to dashboards.
- Migration bridge: During migration, run the new system on top of the old DB until the old system is fully retired. Then unlink, retain in ActiveManage's own DB.
Tip: Test query performance early. A datastore linked to a slow remote DB feels slow everywhere — list views, search, exports. If latency is bad, consider caching or replicating data into ActiveManage's own DB.