Components of Database Gateway

Database Gateway consists of one service and four ways to use it. This page explains what each part is for, where it runs, and how it's delivered.

graph LR
  subgraph Workstation
    A["(2) Access + OData ODBC driver"]
    E["Excel / Power BI (no add-on)"]
    N["(3) .NET program + client"]
    V["(4) VBA program + class"]
    M["(5) Administration app"]
  end
  subgraph Server
    G["(1) Data service Wkl.Data.Gateway"]
    S[("Administration store")]
  end
  A -- "OData v4" --> G
  E -- "OData v4" --> G
  N -- "HTTP" --> G
  V -- "HTTP" --> G
  M -- "HTTP /admin/" --> G
  G --- S
  G --> Q[("SQL Server")]

No.	Component	Purpose	Runs on	Delivered as
1	Data service (`Wkl.Data.Gateway`)	the only way to the database: sign-in, rights, SQL generation, audit; manages data sources, people, and keys	server (Windows service, also behind IIS)	installer `Wkl.Data.Gateway-Setup-<version>.exe` or `.msi` package—see Install the data service
2	OData ODBC driver (`Wkl.Data.OData.Odbc`, driver name `Wkl OData`)	lets Access link, read, and edit tables and send pass-through queries as if the service were a database	workstation, 32-bit and 64-bit	separate installation package; see the driver documentation
3	.NET client (`Wkl.Data.Gateway.Client`)	typed access from .NET programs to the native API	inside the program	NuGet package
4	VBA class `WklGatewayClient`	administration commands from VBA (issue keys, set up the second factor, call procedures)	inside an Access application	class module you add to your application—see “WklGatewayClient: VBA class for the data service” (documentation of the administration app)
5	Administration app	maintain data sources, rules, people, keys, the sign-in policy, and the log	an administrator's workstation, Access or Access Runtime	ZIP file `GatewayManager-<Version>-share.zip` with the starter, the app, the WKL components, and the ODBC driver—see “Administrator guide for WKL Database Gateway Manager”

Excel and Power BI don't need a component of their own: they read the service's OData feed through Power Query—see Load data into Excel with Power Query.

Which option to choose

If you want to …	Use
view and edit tables in Access	the driver (2)
build reports in Excel or Power BI	the OData feed, no add-on
read data and call procedures from a .NET program	the client (3) or HTTP directly
issue access from your own Access application	the VBA class (4)
administer the service	the administration app (5)

Components of Database Gateway

Which option to choose

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