Important information regarding TimeXtender 20.10 (V20), TimeXtender Data Integration (TDI), and TimeXtender Classic (V25 / Classic)
This post gives you the what's and when's and how's.
Announcing TimeXtender Classic (V25): A Focused Solution for On-Premises Data Warehousing
We are excited to announce the upcoming release of TimeXtender Classic (V25), the next phase in our journey to provide world-class data solutions. This release reflects our commitment to providing a reliable product for organizations prioritizing traditional, SQL-based, data warehousing. We will continue to provide support as well as feature improvements for this product designed to work either on On-Prem SQL Server or Azure SQL Database environments. TimeXtender Classic (V25) will be released by the end of March.
Streamlined Data Ingestion
To align with TimeXtender Classic's focus on simplifying operations for on-prem environments we have made the decision to deprecate the Operational Data Exchange (ODX) from this edition of TimeXtender. By streamlining the product, we reduce unnecessary complexity and remove the need for internet connectivity to ensure it remains a powerful and efficient tool for on-premises data warehousing.
Improved Connectivity across all our solutions
Over the years we have relied on our technology partnership with CData to supply many of the data sources providers in our tools. Unfortunately, this has led to some challenges in compatibility, usability, version issues, performance, and support. To address this, we have been busy developing a broad range of new and powerful TimeXtender data source providers to ensure a more flexible and reliable alternative to CData.
In our upcoming release (20.10.58), all of the TimeXtender providers developed for TDI are enabled for the V20 and Classic applications. We've ensured these new and improved connectors will continue to support to all your critical data connectivity needs, and we are investing heavily in improving our library of providers.
With this in place, we have decided to discontinue support for CData providers in TimeXtender. We no longer distribute CData providers and strongly recommend that you upgrade to the TimeXtender-branded providers. In the meantime, CData providers installed on customer machines will continue to work. You will not be able to update any CData provider though TimeXtender, and if you delete the existing provider TimeXtender can no longer distribute a new file to you.
Innovation Focus: TimeXtender Data Integration (TDI)
While TimeXtender Classic will receive ongoing support and occasional updates, our primary innovation efforts are directed toward TimeXtender Data Integration (TDI). TDI is designed to support any modern cloud-based architectures from warehouse, data lakes and lake houses, offering unparalleled scalability and flexibility for organizations embracing the future of data management. TDI is the scalable and future proof solution when it comes to flexible storage options and flexible and scalable architecture setups and data distribution endpoints.
TDI Migration Made Easier
In the event you wish to transition from V20 to TDI, we are introducing an improved TDI Migration Tool. This tool simplifies the migration process by enabling and automating the transfer of projects from V20 to TDI. However, given the inherent differences between these technologies, migrations require thoughtful planning and some time investment. If this is a direction you wish to take, we encourage you to begin evaluating your transition strategy with your TimeXtender partner. For detailed guidance, please refer to our migration documentation in our support community or visit our website.
Decision Guide for Current Users on TimeXtender V20
To ensure a smooth transition to the latest TimeXtender solutions, please navigate the following guide to help you decide how to proceed.
Option A: I plan to move my data solution to the cloud and I want to be able to choose my own storage type as my solution scales.
If this is your preference, then TimeXtender Data Integration (TDI) is designed for you and you will want to plan your migration to this solution. Here are some important details to help you plan:
If you are using CData Data Sources:
You should start looking at how to move from the Cdata provider to the corresponding TimeXtender provider. You will find the new TimeXtender data sources under Enhanced Data Sources in Business Units. In an ODX, the new TimeXtender data sources are found under Data Sources > Manage Data Source Providers > Add
If you are using ODX Server, you must upgrade to TDI before 2027.
Operational Data Exchange (ODX) cloud functionality will no longer function after February 2027.
The migration tool will assist in migrating your existing ODX to the TDI Ingest Instance.
CData data sources are migrated to TDI using the migration tool. Once the CData data sources have been migrated to TDI, they must be converted to TimeXtender enhanced data source providers. The following features can help with this transition:
Option B: I prefer to keep my SQL-based data solution and don't plan to move to the cloud in the near future.
If this is your preference, then you will want to plan to Migrate to TimeXtender Classic (v25). Here are some important details to help you plan:
If you are using CData Data Sources
You will find the new TimeXtender data sources under Enhanced Data Sources here:
and you should start looking at how to move from the Cdata provider to the corresponding TimeXtender provider.
Transition to TimeXtender’s native data source providers for future support and improved functionality.
You will not be able to add new Cdata data sources.
If you are using ODX Server, you must migrate before 2027
Migrate from ODX to “Business Units” before February 2027 as the required ODX cloud functionality will no longer function after this date.
Once you are using Business Units, you can Upgrade to TimeXtender Classic (v25).
If you are already on our latest version of TimeXtender Data Integration (TDI)
You can no longer add any new Cdata data sources (effective from Jan 2025)
To help you transition, we have released new import/export and change provider features in the January 2025 release to help change to a TimeXtender provider.
We will continue to invest in both new application adapter provider types, but also share connection profile templates for easier setup of a new data source.
Need Help? We’re Here for You!
If you have questions or need assistance:
Reach out to your partner for transition planning.
Contact your solution specialist for tailored guidance.
Connect with our support team for urgent concerns or troubleshooting.
Consider leveraging Xpert Services for comprehensive migration support.
We’re committed to making this transition as smooth as possible and ensuring you continue to unlock maximum value from TimeXtender solutions. Thank you for trusting us with your data journey!
Did this topic help you find an answer to your question?
A while back you literally said goodbye to Business Units and marked them as deprecated. Partly because of that we have migrated to ODX for most of our data sources. But it looks like we may have to migrate back to BUs if we go to option B. That is… unexpected at least.
You do not have to migrate back to BUs, if you decide to migrate to TimeXtender Data Integration. Furthermore, there are 2 years to migrate, so this is not something which has to be decided/done immediately.
Is there a global way of finding which CData Connectors are in use. We have a number of projects created over more than a decade and quite possibly use connectors that i am not aware of.
Is there a global way of finding which CData Connectors are in use. We have a number of projects created over more than a decade and quite possibly use connectors that i am not aware of.
In V20 you can write a fairly basic query on the TimeXtender repository tables. For example, if you are using global databases (Environment Properties):
select ds.BusinessUnitId, ds.name as ds_name, gd.name as gd_name,
replace(gd.DatabaseType, 'TimeXtender.TXEnvironments.TXGlobalDatabase', '') as gd_type,
gd.Properties
from DataSources as ds
innerjoin GlobalDatabases as gd
on ds.GlobalDatabaseId = gd.GlobalDatabaseId
where ds.ValidTo = 99999999and gd.DatabaseType like'%cdata%'orderby1, 2, 3
This was a quick & dirty test, not sure if it's complete but you get the idea :)
just be sure to check there are no non-global database sources (normally these would be new sources in a dev environment) as well. You can also use Tools > Manage CData Providers to check whether any have been installed for BU use, there is a similar function for the 20.10.x ODX Server. If there are no providers installed, there are no data connections using CData.
I acually was dissapointed that the Business Units disappeared. Glad that Classic is here now for our On-Prem Clients and TDI is really growing into a great Cloud Holistic Datawarehouse Automation too. (And so much more!)
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