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New features delivered in 3.4.3, 3.4.2, 3.4.1, and 3.4.0

Version 3.4.3

The following features and enhancements were included as part of 3.4.3.

Performance optimizations

Delta snapshots

Enhancements were made to the SQL queries used in the process of generating "delta" view snapshots in order to improve performance.

Data Bridge-specific query timeout

As Data Bridge and CRM could retrieve data in inherently different ways, the performance characteristics of the SQL queries generated by Data Bridge need to be subjected to parameters that are different from the CRM configuration. We fine-tuned the SQL query timeout configuration related to Data Bridge requests. A new configurable parameter called "Bridge Query Timeout" was added on the Statistics page in NexJ CRM System Admin Console at <CRM server>/nexj/SysAdmin.html. The default value for the timeout is 90 seconds. The timeout will apply to any SQL queries that Data Bridge executes in NexJ CRM and will overwrite the SQL query timeout configured in NexJ CRM for Data Bridge queries only.

For more information, see Advanced Data Bridge Adapter configuration.

Diagnostic improvements

Additional diagnostic logging was added to the code to aid in support and troubleshooting tasks.

Support for advanced authentication methods

Additional environment configuration was added to facilitate integration between Data Bridge and CRM in case either server has been secured with an authentication method (such as a Custom Authentication Interceptor) that does not easily support server-to-server token validation. Data Bridge and CRM will now use metadata channel wrappers for API endpoint invocation that will make it possible to overwrite the server's authentication method.

For more information, see Data Bridge 3.4.x deployment.

Version 3.4.2

The following features and enhancements were included as part of 3.4.2.

Security enhancement

The jackson-databind library has been upgraded to 2.8.11.6 to include recent security updates and bug fixes.

Version 3.4.1

The following features and enhancements were included as part of 3.4.1.

Preview tab enhancements

Minor changes were made in order to lower the likelihood of a bad user experience as a result of a possible long-running query in NexJ CRM. Preview data and object counts will no longer be queried automatically. To retrieve the preview data for a view, and update the Message and Data subtabs, click Load Preview Data in the Preview tab. Similarly, a new Refresh button was added to update the view object count.

Support for soft-deleted records as part of snapshots

When a user deletes a major NexJ CRM object (such as an entity or activity) from the NexJ CRM user interface, it is considered to have a soft-deleted record, as the record remains in the database. You can enable or disable the output of soft-deleted records as part of snapshots by selecting or clearing Include deleted records in the Publishing Options tab for a view. The About tab for the view indicates whether Include deleted records has been selected.

Generation of the control (.manifest) file for file-based snapshots

When you publish a File (Delimited) or File (JSON) snapshot for a view, a .manifest file is created to notify you that the snapshot has been published. The .manifest file will also contain the relevant details, such as: the final status of the snapshot process, the start and end times, as well as the list of the output extract files that were generated by the snapshot.

Consistent naming of output files generated by Data Bridge

Enhancements were made in order to achieve better consistency in file naming between the delimited, JSON, and .manifest files that Data Bridge produces.

For more information, see Using Data Bridge.

Version 3.4.0

The following features and enhancements were included as part of 3.4.0.

User experience enhancements

  • You can delete all views at once by selecting the Select all checkbox beside the Name column in the data table, and clicking Delete Views.
  • New filters have been added to the Errors tab on the View Details page to assist with error handling.

For more information, see Using Data Bridge.

Bulk import of view definitions is supported

When creating views, you can import one or more JSON files containing view definitions.

For more information, see Using Data Bridge.

Publishing snapshots and file format configuration enhancements

As of Data Bridge 3.4.0, you can publish snapshots using the following options:

  • Kafka
  • File (Delimited)
  • File (JSON)

The File (Delimited) and File (JSON) options replace the CSV option that was available previously.

You can also configure the following file format settings for delimited file snapshots at run time on the Delimited File Format Configuration card on the Global Settings workspace:

  • The file delimiter character
  • Whether strings are surrounded by quotation marks in exported delimited files
  • The quote character that is used to surround strings in exported delimited files
  • Whether the header row is included in exported delimited files
  • The file extension used for exported delimited files

File export and delimited file format settings can also be defined in the Statistics tab in the Data Bridge System Admin Console.

For more information, see Using Data Bridge.

Canceling snapshots in progress

You can cancel a running or stuck snapshot export process.

For more information, see Using Data Bridge.

NexJ CRM Data Bridge Adapter's default mode

When the Data Bridge Adapter is initially deployed on NexJ CRM, it is not enabled. You must enable it by navigating to the Statistics page in NexJ CRM System Admin Console, selecting nexj.finance > Administration > DataBridgeAdapter > Replication and changing the Data Bridge Adapter Enabled value to Y.

For more information, see Setting up Data Bridge.

Consistent formatting for JSON and Avro messages

Data Bridge now applies consistent data type-specific formatting rules to the values of attributes included in published JSON and Apache Avro messages.

Mapping multiple views to a common Avro schema 

Data Bridge now allows you to configure multiple views to participate in a common shared Avro schema for publishing streaming updates to Kafka. When you configure the same Kafka topic name, schema name, and schema namespace for multiple views, and you have selected the Avro message format, the schema is shared, consisting of a combination of all the attributes defined in the participating views.

For more information, see Using Data Bridge.