Synchronizing Aurea List Managerdata using ODBC

Aurea List Manager can synchronize its data with other databases using ODBC (Open DataBase Connectivity).

ODBC connectivity synchronization

Follow the steps below to synchronize the connectivity:

1. To use ODBC, the administrator must first install the correct ODBC 3.51 compliant driver for the data source on the Aurea List Manager server. UNIX users should use unixODBC along with the vendor-specific ODBC 3.51-compatible driver.
2. The server administrator must then create a database connection in Utilities > Administration > Server > Database > Database Connections, specifying the connection string and SQL query to be used to connect to the external database.
3. Once the database connection has been created, a list, site or server administrator may enable the database synchronization for a particular list in Members > Synchronization Settings, and further specify how Aurea List Manager should handle data from the external data source, and with what frequency.
4. The server administrator may also specify the default frequency for database synchronization in Utilities: Administration > Server > Server Settings > Scheduled Tasks > Synchronize Lists.
5. Administrators may also opt to have Aurea List Manager synchronize data before sending a mailing in Mailings > New Mailing > Recipients, to ensure that Aurea List Manager is using the most updated information before sending mail.
6. For more information about how to add additional columns to the Aurea List Manager members_ database, see For more information refer to Server: Database: Add/Remove Member Columns: Add Column Wizard.

Important ODBC Notes

• ODBC in Aurea List Manager has been tested against Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, and MySQL. Other databases should also work, but are not supported.
• Aurea List Manager checks the entire members_ table each time it synchronizes its data; it does not only look for new or changed data.
• Aurea List Manager does not check to see if there is sufficient space in the database before performing synchronizations. You have to make sure there is always sufficient space for synchronization.
• Synchronization can take a long time. In our internal tests, a synchronization against a list of one million members took three hours. If you are synchronizing large amounts of data, you may opt to use methods other than ODBC to keep it in sync.
• Synchronization requires more space on your Aurea List Manager database server. The amount of space depends on how much data your are synchronizing against.
• Do not update the password_ field. The Aurea List Manager password_ field is encrypted.

For more information on ODBC synchronization see the topics below: