A newer version of the Ed-Fi ODS / API is now available. See the Ed-Fi Technology Version Index for a link to the latest version.

Getting Started - Appendix

Ed-Fi ODS / API Database Overview


The Ed-Fi ODS / API uses several databases for various aspects of the application and to store data for each sandbox. The table below summarizes the databases with a brief statement of the creation method and purpose.

Database

Method

Purpose

EdFi_Ods_Empty

SQL Scripts

An 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_Admin

SQL Scripts

A database containing administration configuration information specific to the ODS / API.

EdFi_SecuritySQL ScriptsA 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.

Ed-Fi ODS / API Features 


The Ed-Fi ODS / API comes with a set of configurable features that can be enabled or disabled using configuration settings in deployed API. See the Configuration Details section for more details on these settings.

FeatureIs Enabled by DefaultDescription
changeQueriestrueThe Changed Record Queries feature can be enabled or disabled via configuration. Database configuration remains a separate step, see Using the Changed Record Queries.
openApiMetadatatrueThe metadata API endpoint used by Swagger UI can be enabled or disabled via configuration. It is recommend for Production deployments to disable this.
compositestrueThe Composites API endpoints can be enabled or disabled via configuration. This includes the default Enrollments composite and any custom composites that have been added to the platform.
profilestrueThe Profiles feature can be enabled or disabled via configuration. 
identityManagementfalseEnables the Identity API endpoints.
extensionstrueEnables the API endpoints created for all Extensions. Installations can be extended by modifying source code see How To: Extend the Ed-Fi ODS / API - Student Transportation Example or by deploying dynamic extension plugins see How To: Deploy TPDM As Dynamic Plugin for details.
uniqueIdValidationfalseEnables Unique ID Validation. This requires custom implementation of IUniqueIdToIdValueMapper and its registration within the WebApi. 
tokenInfotrueEnables oauth token_info introspective endpoint which provides the additional security configuration information for the token. 

Ed-Fi ODS / API Cloud Binary Features 


The Ed-Fi ODS / API cloud binary release focuses on the district use cases and comes with a limited set of features but enables these features for both SQL Server and PostgreSQL. 

FeatureIs Enabled by DefaultDescription
changeQueriestrueThe Changed Record Queries feature can be enabled or disabled via configuration. Database configuration remains a separate step, see Using the Changed Record Queries.
openApiMetadatatrueThe metadata API endpoint used by Swagger UI can be enabled or disabled via configuration. It is recommend for Production deployments to disable this.
compositestrueThe Composites API endpoints can be enabled or disabled via configuration. In the cloud binary release, this affects only the built-in Enrollments composite.
extensionstrueEnables the API endpoints created for selected Ed-Fi backed domain extensions (e.g., TPDM). An installation that doesn't desire these extensions can disable this feature in production.
tokenInfotrueEnables oauth token_info introspective endpoint which provides the additional security configuration information for the token.