Pipeline wizard
Broker
See how the wizard finds the log broker for your source host, and install, bind or repair one without leaving the Source step.
DirectLog on SQL Server, Oracle and Sybase, and Reconstruction on SQL Server and Sybase, read the transaction log through a log broker that runs on the database host. You don't enter a broker address in the wizard. The Log broker panel on the Source step finds the broker registered for your source host and states whether it can serve the pipeline. Other capture modes don't use a broker, and the panel doesn't appear for them.
To install a broker from scratch, see Log brokers.
How the wizard finds the broker
The panel sits under the connection form. After you enter the source host, the wizard looks up the approved broker registered for that host.
A broker registers under its machine name. If you type localhost, an alias or an address, SQL Flow uses the agent you chose: when the source host is that agent's own machine, the broker on the agent's machine is used, and the panel says Resolved to broker <identity>: the source host is agent <name>'s own machine.
The panel checks again by itself while the broker isn't serving yet, and after each source test.
Read the panel
| Panel | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Log broker active on <machine>, chip Listening | The broker is approved and serving. | Nothing. |
Not ready (amber): No log broker is registered as <identity>. or No log broker is registered for <host>. | No broker is registered for this host. | Select Use an existing broker if the account already has one under another name. Otherwise select Add broker. |
Not ready (amber): Broker on <host> is approved but not serving. | The broker is approved but can't serve this pipeline, for example because it doesn't serve the log folder. The panel gives the reason. | Follow the reason, then test again. |
Awaiting approval: A broker on <host> is registered and awaiting approval. | The broker registered and needs approval. | Open Agents → Brokers, check its host, log folders and certificate, and approve it. Then test the connection. |
Not ready (red): The broker on <host> is revoked. | The broker's access was revoked. | Run SqlFlow.LogBroker install on the host again and approve it under Agents → Brokers. |
Couldn't resolve the broker for <host>. Check your connection and retry. | The lookup failed. | Select Retry broker lookup. |
Expand the details
When the broker serves, select More details to see:
- Serves: the folders the broker is allowed to read.
- Certificate SHA-256: the fingerprint of the broker's certificate, which agents must match exactly.
- Agents dial: the host agents use to reach the broker. See Change the dial address.
- Log file: for SQL Server, the transaction log file the source test found.
- After a passing source test, a green line confirms that the agent reached the broker and the certificate matched.
An amber line saying the broker's host lacks TLS 1.3 means the connection uses TLS 1.2, restricted to ECDHE key exchange with AES-GCM or ChaCha20-Poly1305.
Use an existing broker
Select Use an existing broker when the account already has an approved broker that the wizard didn't match to your host, for example because it registered under a different machine name.
- Select Use an existing broker. The dialog lists the approved log brokers in the account, with their host, port and Allowed folders.
- Choose a broker marked Eligible. A broker marked Needs configuration or Unavailable shows the reason.
- The panel then reads
Bound to broker <identity> by you.
The binding belongs to this host and agent. If you change either, the binding clears. Select Use a different broker to clear it yourself.
Add a broker
Select Add broker when no broker serves this host. Your draft is kept while the dialog is open.
- In the Add broker dialog, choose the platform of the database host, select Download <file name>, and copy the install command. Choose Install as a service or Run now.
- Check Log folders. The wizard fills it from the source test. Enter absolute folders on the database host, separated by commas. The broker serves exactly these folders and no others.
- Check Agent addresses: the IP addresses or CIDR networks of the agents that read through this broker, separated by commas. The wizard fills in your known agents. Only these addresses can connect, so add any agent that is missing or runs from another network.
- Run the command on the database host as an administrator.
- The broker appears as Pending. Approve it under Agents → Brokers.
- Select Done, then test the connection.
Choose the folders that hold the database's log:
| Source and mode | Folders |
|---|---|
| SQL Server DirectLog and Reconstruction | The folder with the transaction log (.ldf). |
| Oracle DirectLog | The folders for online redo and archived redo. The broker can't read ASM storage. |
| Sybase DirectLog | The folder of the database's log device file. |
| Sybase Reconstruction | The folders of the database's log, data and LOB device files. |
The dialog's Database guidance section gives the engine-specific details. Service accounts and the full install steps are in Log brokers.
localhost while a broker is installed on the agent's machine, check that you chose the agent on that machine. If the broker is registered under another name, use Use an existing broker.Change the dial address
Agents reach the broker by the machine name it registered under. If an agent's host can't resolve that name, select Change beside Agents dial.
- Choose one of the addresses the broker reports, or type one in Broker address, for example when the route goes through NAT or a reverse proxy.
- Select Use this address. To go back to the machine name, select Use the machine name.
The change applies to every running agent that reads through this broker, so use it only to fix a name that agents can't resolve.
Set the log file path
For SQL Server, the source test finds the transaction log file, and the panel only states it. Set the path yourself only when the test found no log file (The source test found no transaction log file on this host.) or the broker doesn't serve the folder that holds it. Select Set the path (or Change), and enter the path in Transaction log file (.ldf) path.
