Appendix A: Ed-Fi ODS / API Databases
The Ed-Fi ODS / API uses several databases for various aspects of the application and to store data for each sandbox.
Database | Method | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
EdFi_Ods_Empty | Database Scripts | Empty database used for code generation when building the solution. |
EdFi_Ods_Minimal_Template | SQL Scripts | A template database used to create empty sandboxes. |
EdFi_Ods_Populated_Template | SQL Backup | A template database populated with sample data used to create sample data sandboxes. |
EdFi_Bulk | Entity Framework Code First | Stores bulk upload files and tracking information. |
EdFi_Admin | Entity Framework Code First | Database containing administration configuration information specific to the ODS / API. |
| EdFi_Security | Entity Framework Code First | Database containing security configuration information. |
In addition to these databases, copies of either the minimal or populated template databases are made for each sandbox in the environment.
Appendix B: Windows Azure
Windows Azure is not required for the installing and running the Ed-Fi ODS / API, though Azure deployment and infrastructure is a deployment option. If an Azure deployment is desired, the Azure SDK for .NET is required to perform local testing and cloud deployment from a developer workstation.
There are a few components that have been designed to work in the Azure environment. These components utilize Azure Queues and Blob Storage. The following table lists the Windows components as well as their Azure counterparts:
Windows Environment | Azure Environment | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
EdFi.MSMQServices.SendOnly | EdFi.Workers.BulkLoad | Azure Worker Role that performs asynchronous loading of bulk XML. |
EdFi.MSMQServices.ListenAndSend | EdFi.Workers.UploadCommit | Azure Worker Role that combines uploaded bulk XML file segments. |
Windows Azure SDK Installation
The Windows Azure SDK is used to simulate the Azure environment in a non-production environment (i.e., development machine) and includes local implementations of Azure components as well as tools for deploying to the Azure environment from Visual Studio 2013. The SDK is not required to compile the non-Azure configurations (Debug and Release) of the Ed-Fi ODS / API release.
The Windows Azure SDK is required to compile the EdFi.Ods.WindowsAzure, EdFi.Workers.BulkLoad, and EdFi.Workers.UploadCommit projects. These projects utilize various Windows Azure-specific components including Azure Blob Storage and Azure Queue Service.
Install the Windows Azure SDK, version 2.3 by following the directions at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=42317. You will need to follow the manual instructions in the "Install Instructions" section on that page.
