Migrating Connectors

This guide covers how to migrate your legacy data connectors to Inspire’s DataPool system.

Legacy vs Inspire Data Architecture

Legacy	Inspire
Connectors bind directly to display elements	Connectors feed the DataPool; elements bind to DataPool fields
Data pulled by each display independently	Data pushed from DataPool to all displays
No historical data	Snapshots provide historical values
Custom connector code	Standardised connector types with configuration UI

Migration Steps

Inventory your legacy connectors

List all connectors in your legacy installation:

Connector name and type
Data source (database, URL, file path)
Fields used in displays
Refresh interval

Create Inspire connectors

For each legacy connector, create the equivalent in Inspire:

Legacy Connector Type	Inspire Equivalent
SQL Data	SQL Connector
CSV / Excel	File Connector
JSON / XML URL	File Connector with URL polling
Custom API	Webhook or Data Ingestion API
Manual entry	Data Ingestion API

Configure the connection

Point the Inspire connector at the same data source as the legacy connector. For SQL connectors, you can often reuse the same connection string and query.

Verify data flow

Open the DataPool Explorer and confirm data is flowing correctly. Check field names, data types, and values.

Update content bindings

When recreating scenes in Inspire, bind elements to the new DataPool fields instead of the legacy connector fields.

SQL Connector Migration

If your legacy SQL connector uses a query like:


SELECT Region, Revenue, Target FROM SalesData WHERE Date = GETDATE()

In Inspire, create a SQL Connector with the same query. The results appear in the DataPool as:


Stream: sales-data
  Item: North     → Fields: region, revenue, target
  Item: South     → Fields: region, revenue, target

Inspire’s SQL Connector supports parameterised queries (@today, @startOfMonth, etc.) that replace common GETDATE() patterns. See SQL Connector for details.

API Connector Migration

Legacy custom API connectors typically require rewriting as webhook integrations or Data Ingestion API clients. The advantage is that Inspire’s approach is standardised — no custom connector code to maintain.

Testing

Run legacy and Inspire connectors in parallel during migration. Compare DataPool values against legacy connector values to ensure data parity before switching displays to Inspire.