Plugins and Data Sources

Usage limits for data sources are determined by your plan

Plugins connect SquaredUp to your data sources. There are lots of plugins available with new ones being made available regularly, see SquaredUp: Plugins.

Plugins can be used to add new data sources from Data sources on the left-hand menu, which gives you access to their corresponding Data Streams and Objects when creating Dashboards.

While configuration steps vary between plugins, many data sources require credentials like an API key, access token or other authentication methods.

On-prem plugins allow you to connect to APIs hosted on-prem.

If there isn't a plugin available for your data source, then you can use the Web API plugin to connect to any HTTP API that returns JSON. Alternatively, you can build and customize your own plugin.

Contact our support team in-app or via SquaredUp Support

List of documentation for data source plugins available

Adding a new data source

To add a data source click on the + next to Data Sources on the left-hand menu in SquaredUp. Search for the data source and click on it to open the Configure data source page.

You must then configure the parameters for your data source. Each data source may have slightly different fields to fill out. See the corresponding data source documentation for detailed information.

What happens when I add a data source?

Most data sources will add the following to SquaredUp:

Adding data sources across workspaces

While there are reasons to add multiple instances of the same data source in your workspace, there's no need to recreate an exact copy of a data source in each of the workspaces you want to use it.

So long as no access restrictions have been added to a data source, you can quickly add a data source that's been configured in one workspace to another by simply selecting it from the Data sources in my organization section of the Add a data source page.

data sources in my organization

Adding multiple data source instances

It's possible to add multiple instances of the same data source in SquaredUp, and there are many use cases where this may be a benefit.

For example, you can add multiple instances of the AzureDevops plugin if you want to connect to both your production and development environments.

The only condition for adding multiple instances of a data source is that each data source instance must be configured with a unique Display Name.

data source multiple instances

Data source overview

Once you have added a data source, it will be listed under Data Sources on the left-hand menu, and the data source overview page will appear. Each data source has its own overview page, which is a management page showing all the indexed objects.

data source overview page

Each data source overview page displays:

  • The name of the data source
  • The indexing status of the data source:

    • Connected: Everything is working correctly.
    • Failed: The data source configuration failed. Click More Info to find out more about the issue with the data source.
  • When the last object finished indexing: Objects are automatically indexed every 12 hours. Admin users can use the Refresh button next to the status to manually index objects.
  • Manage: Admin users can use this to manage the data source configuration.
  • Remove: Admin users can use this to remove the data source from the workspace.
  • An overview of the objects for the data source

Data source settings

Admin users can also manage data sources from Settings > Data Sources. This page provides a single place to manage all of your data sources. You are able to add, edit, index, and delete data sources from this page.

Access Control

Data source access control works differently to workspace access control. Access control on a data source restricts which users are allowed to link a data source to a workspace, rather than which users are allowed to read data from the data source.

Access control functions per instance of a data source. Meaning that if you if you have multiple instances of a data source, you must manage data source access for each instance individually.

Access control is configured in the Edit data source window and is enabled via the restrict access to this data source toggle. By default, Restrict access to this data source is set to off, meaning that the data source can be viewed, edited and administered by anyone. Enable this toggle to manage manage access to a data source instance.

Restrict access to this data source fields
When using the Restrict access to this data source fields to control who has access to the data source:

  • Tailor access to the data source by selecting individual users or user groups from the dropdown and giving them Link to workspace or Full Control permissions.
    Access level
    Permissions
    Link to workspace
    • User can link the data source to any workspace they have at least Editor permissions for.
    • Data from the data source can then be viewed by anyone with any access to the workspace.
    • User can share the data source data with anyone they want.
    • User cannot configure the data source in any way, or delete it.
    Full Control
    • User can change the data source configuration, ACL, and delete the data source.
  • By default, the user setting the permissions for the data source is given Full Control and the Everyone group will be given Link to workspace permissions.
  • If a user is not available from the dropdown, you can invite them to the data source by typing in their email address and then clicking Add. The new user is sent an email inviting them to create an account on SquaredUp. Once the account has been created they will gain access to the organization.

Data source troubleshooting

Sometimes data source indexing fails, perhaps due to permissions or changes in the source system. A red indicator next to Settings at the bottom of SquaredUp will let you know if a data source has failed. On the Settings page any data sources that have failed are shown with a red indicator.

More info will expand to show you more of the message about the issue.

  • Help article will take you to the data source article.
  • Contact Support will open the Submit a support ticket page.

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