Agent Connections

When connecting to on-premise databases, like SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL and related, or PostgreSQL, you can select Connection Mode:

  • Direct - Skyvia connects to the database server directly. This requires database servers to be available from the Internet.
  • Agent - Skyvia connects to the database server via a secure Agent application. You create an Agent, download and install the Agent application on a computer that has both Internet access and access to the database server. Data is securely transmitted between the Agent and Skyvia in an encrypted form, and it doesn’t require a dedicated external IP or port, and usually does not require additional firewall configuration.
  • Agent with Alias - This mode also uses the Agent application. For this mode, you need to add a specific configuration file with connection settings and aliases to the Agent application folder.

Agent connection

Additionally, ODBC connections can only be Agent or Agent with Alias connections.

Creating Agent Connections

Agent connection is created like a usual database connection. You only need to select the Agent Connection Mode and then select the Agent to use.

After this enter corresponding database connection parameters. Note that you need to specify connection parameters for an agent connections so as if you are connecting from the computer where the agent is installed. For example, specify the local IP (or domain name) of the database server instead of the external one, if the Agent application is installed on a computer in the same local network.

Creating Agent with Alias Connections

In order to use such connections, you need to add a special configuration file to the folder where the agent application is installed. This configuration file contains connection parameters for database connections that you plan to use via this agent and the corresponding connection aliases.

Features of Agent with Alias connections:

  • All the connection parameters are only stored on the computer where the Agent application is installed, in the configuration file. They are not send to/stored on the Skyvia servers. The Agent application creates actual connections to local databases, so Skyvia service does not need to know the parameters at all.
  • If you add such a configuration file with connections and aliases, the Agent application allows creating only connections with aliases. It no longer allows normal Agent connections. In this way you may limit, connections to which your resources can be created via this Agent instance.

To create an Agent with Alias, perform the following steps:

  1. Download and install the Skyvia Agent.
  2. In the Connection Editor, choose Agent with Alias as the connection mode.
  3. Click Generate Alias Configuration File and fill in the required fields to create a connection to your database. This information is used temporarily to generate the configuration file and is not stored.
  4. Click Download File.
  5. Move the alias file to the Skyvia Agent folder, typically located at C:\Program Files (x86)\Skyvia Agent.
  6. In the Connection Editor, select your Agent and enter the name of the Alias file without including the file extension. The generated file is usually named skyvia_security_agent.