Connecting a Data Source to Smart Ingest

Smart Ingest connects Iterable to your data source so you can import data into Iterable. This article provides an overview of the process and the steps to connect a supported data source to Smart Ingest.

# In this article

# Connection requirements

Before you connect your data source to Smart Ingest, you need to prepare the following:

• Allow Smart Ingest IPs in your data source

  Smart Ingest connects to your data source from specific IP addresses. Provide your data source administrator the IP addresses associated with your organization’s region in Iterable (USDC or EDC) so that it can accept connection requests.

• Data source connection details

  Every data source has its own connection requirements, like an account-specific URL or ID, a SSH tunnel, or a service account. Find the requirements for your data source by visiting the connection guide for your specific connector, then ask your data source administrator for these details.

• Data source user credentials

  For a file-based connection, Iterable needs the credentials for the file storage service.

  For database connections, Iterable needs to connect using the credentials for a database user. Typically these credentials are different from the username and password that you use to log in to the data source or warehouse app.

  Minimum permissions for the data source user depend on the sync type you plan to use:

  NOTE

  Large datasets may require the database user to have write access, which supports faster sync performance. To learn more, read Optimizing Smart Ingest Sync Performance

# Smart Ingest IPs to allow

To connect your data source to Smart Ingest, you need to allow the following IP addresses in your data source. These IP addresses are specific to your organization’s region in Iterable (USDC or EDC).

# USDC

• 3.217.26.199
• 3.224.126.197
• 18.213.226.96
• 52.72.201.213
• 54.196.30.169

# EDC

(learn more)

• 34.255.226.212
• 52.16.84.199
• 52.211.114.138

# Minimum permissions for Basic and Lightning sync engines

For the following data sources, you can choose between two sync engines: Lightning and Basic.

• Amazon Redshift
• Databricks
• Google BigQuery
• Snowflake

Basic is the default sync engine. It is slower and less efficient than Lightning sync, but it only requires the database user to have read access to the database & data tables or files and is universally supported by all data sources, which is why this is the default selection.

Lightning is the recommended sync engine when available. It’s faster and more efficient than the Basic sync, but it requires the database user to have write access. Some data sources don't support the Lightning sync engine.

To view the additional permissions required for the database user, select the Lightning sync engine in the source setup. These permissions are necessary for Smart Ingest to create and manage the sync schema, vary by source, and are customized based on the other inputs you provide in the source setup form.

Share this information to your data source administrator so they can grant appropriate access.

To learn more about how sync engine choice impacts sync performance, read Optimizing Smart Ingest Sync Performance.

# Connecting a data source to Smart Ingest

These are general instructions for connecting a data source to Smart Ingest. For specific instructions for your data source, visit the connection guide for your connector.

To connect a supported data source to Smart Ingest:

1. Log in to Iterable as a user with the Manage Integrations project permission and open the project you’re working on.

2. Go to Integrations > Smart Ingest.

3. Click Connect a New Source.

   

4. Select the name of the source that you’re connecting to, then click Continue.

5. Enter your connection details, which vary depending on your source.

6. Choose your sync engine: Lightning (recommended) or Basic (default).

7. Enter the user credentials for your data source.

   This user must have the necessary permissions to use the sync engine you selected.

8. Click Continue. Smart Ingest automatically tests the connection.

9. When the connection test is successful, click Continue. (If there are problems connecting, review failing connection tests.)

10. Add a name for your data source. This is for display in Iterable.

11. Click Finish.

# Testing your connection

When setting up a source for the first time, Smart Ingest validates the following:

• Network connectivity to your data source
• Data source credentials
• Permission to list schemas and tables

All configurations must pass these checks.

# Failing connection tests

When connection tests fail, Smart Ingest provides an error with additional information. Review the message to understand what needs to be fixed.

Any of the following issues could cause a connection test to fail:

• Smart Ingest IP addresses can't to connect to your data source.
• Incorrect or improperly configured data source connection details.
• Incorrect data source user credentials or permissions. (For database connections, Smart Ingest needs the credentials for a database user, not for a user that logs in to the data source app.)

Some sources may initially fail due to timeouts. Once a connection is established, subsequent API requests should happen more quickly, so it's best to retry tests if they first fail. You can do this by clicking Test Again.

# Next steps

You've now connected your data source to Smart Ingest. The next thing you can do is create a sync.