This topic describes how to connect Application Builder
to Watson Explorer Engine backends.
About this task
The majority of data that Application Builder uses is stored
in indexed collections in Watson Explorer Engine instances. This
allows for fast, reliable, and versatile manipulation of that data. You must identify back
ends in order for Application Builder to know where these
Watson Explorer Engine instances are located. Each identified
backend equates to one Watson Explorer Engine instance. Use the
following procedure to add a backend to Application Builder
Procedure
- Before adding a backend, the target Watson Explorer Engine
instance must be started, the Query Service enabled, and query access allowed to the
Application Builder IP address. See the Search Engine section of the Watson Explorer Engine documentation for
more information.
- Next, click the Data Sources link in the administration tool header,
select the Backends tab, and click Add a
backend.
- Enter the fully qualified URL of the Watson Explorer Engine
instance. This includes the .exe extension when connecting to a
Watson Explorer Engine
Microsoft
Windows Server installation.
A fully qualified Watson Explorer Engine instance URL takes
the following form:
http://hostname:port/virt_d/cgi-bin/velocity.exe
Where hostname:port is the host name and port of
the Watson Explorer Engine instance,
virt_d is the virtual directory of the Watson Explorer Engine instances, and .exe is
added if the platform is Microsoft
Windows.
For example, if Watson Explorer Engine is installed on the
same machine as Application Builder and uses the default
port and virtual directory settings used by Watson Explorer Engine on a Microsoft
Windows system, the backend URL would be
http://localhost:9080/vivisimo/cgi-bin/velocity.exe
- Finally, enter the user name and password of an administrative user for that Watson Explorer Engine instance and click Create
Backend. The backend is then verified, and, if it is found to be invalid
you will be prompted to correct one or more fields.
Note: On the first backend that you create, collections will be automatically created to
manage the workspaces feature, entities that are connected to federated sources, the
user entity, and the activity feed.
Repeat this process to add additional Watson Explorer Engine backends.
Note: If you intend to create Cluster Collection Store using the
BigIndex API, all associated
Watson Explorer Engine backends must be identified before creating
the cluster collection store. More information on creating cluster collection stores can
be found in the
Creating Cluster Collection Stores section of
the documentation.
Results
Once you have created a backend, all indexed collections and defined federated sources
on that backend become available to use when creating entities. The next step in the
configuration process is to create entities. See
Creating an Entity for more information.