If you have existing databases in your company that you wish to use as data sources for Epicor CPQ, then you have many options. You can easily move data into and out of the Epicor CPQ databases included in your subscription.
Understanding your Epicor CPQ databases
- Your Epicor CPQ subscription comes with 3 cloud databases: one for each environment (dev, test, and prod).
- In each of these separate databases, you can create tables and views of data.
- Built on the Azure platform, your data is easy to integrate with other systems, as described below.
- Once your data in in a Epicor CPQ database, you can use it for
- option filters (calculate what options to show your users)
- queries written in Snap (provide data to your configurator rules, scene rules, workflow rules, safe functions, or just about any part of the Epicor CPQ experience).
- auto-complete fields (help your user find an item from a long list, such as a city or state for a shipping address)
- pricing rules (calculate the Bill of Materials in your configurator)
"Scale up" only when you need to
You may be considering using an external database as the source (or destination) of Epicor CPQ data. Don't feel pressured into doing that integration work early on. Thanks to the unified query statements in our Snap language, you can quickly start your application using local tables. They are easy to create and modify, and can store thousands of rows with minimal impact. Later, as your application grows, you can replace these local tables with database tables. When you do replace, there's no need to re-write any of your queries: just remove the old table Snap block, and replace it with a database block. The query syntax remains the same, regardless of the source.
Easy integrations with Epicor CPQ data
Regardless of how you plan to use information in your database, it's easy to integrate. Since your Epicor CPQ database is stored as a Microsoft Azure SQL Database, many ETL tools can connect to it easily.
Technical Details
If you're already familiar with how databases work, you might be interested in these specifics:
Related articles
- Tables and views are limited only by space, not by number.
Create as many tables or views as you need. You're only limited by the amount of space you consume against your overall pooled account limit.
- Each database in each environment has two schemas.
A database schema is a way to group related components so you can find what you need easily, like a folder in a file system. Your database has two schemas: The first 'dbo' schema is read-only. The second, called the 'x' schema, is available for your own use. You have extensive create/read/update/delete rights over tables and views here.
- Each database is completely separate and unrelated to the others.
If you want to have the same table structure or data appear in multiple environments – like in Dev, Test, and Production – you must perform the build and load in each environment. Our deploy feature that migrates behaviors from one environment to another does not include data. This means you can update your databases when you want, on its own schedule, separately from your deployments.
- Custom database tables can be read/written through integrations only, not through our Rest API. Stored procedures are not available at the database level.
For encapsulating business logic shared across multiple configurators, try hosting that code either within Epicor CPQ as a Safe Function, or outside of Epicor CPQ as a web service for Epicor CPQ to consume.
- To move data into or out of your database tables, you'll need an external tool.
You cannot "replicate" database tables on their own. Instead, set up an automated process outside Epicor CPQ, such as an ETL tool, that will move the data back and forth. Most larger corporations already have an ETL tool in-house, which means you can continue using the tools you know, rather than having to learn and maintain something new.
- Databases 1a: How to connect to your optional database (SSMS)— Use database tables to store large, synchronized, or secure sets of tabular data. Here's how using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), a tool for Windows.
- Databases 1b: How to connect to your optional database (Azure Data Studio)— Use database tables to store large, synchronized, or secure sets of tabular data. Here's how, using a modern tool available on Windows, OSX, and Linux.
- Databases 2: How to populate and query a database table— In this walkthrough, we'll create a database table and use it as a lookup source in our configurator UI.
- Databases 3: Localizing database tables for use with option filters— Follow these steps to create columns of localized text in your database tables that option filters will automatically sense and use.
- External Databases— You can easily move data into and out of the Epicor CPQ databases included in your subscription.