Hi Larry,

You can use K2 to connect to a database, but you may have to write custom code, or create smartobject(s) to retrieve the information.

Before taking this approach, I would encourage you to revisit why the information is not available in AD. By creating a separate database to maintain users and their managers, you are just creating a separate set of data that you have to maintain, and keep in sync with AD. This has the potential to turn into a maintenance nightmare, with question marks over what the true source of users should be.

Since you are going to have to build this hierarchy separately, why not just update AD with the data in the first place?

Possibly not the technical answer that you are looking for, but in my experience, duplicating data and doubling the maintenance overhead is never a good solution.

Thanks a lot, Arduk.

I agree with you. To create a separate database table and maintain it will be a headache, when it comes to frequent changes afterwards. But it seems that is the only way we can do, without any hierarchy information in AD. I guess I have to create a smartobject to retrieve manager information from the database table.

Could you please elaborate a little bit the detailed process to connect K2 to the database table?

Thanks very much!

Hi Larry,

This blog post has a walkthrough of connecting a smartobject to an SQL instance:

https://medium.com/markus-blog/create-k2-smartobject-from-any-sql-database-8a811013dc92

It may also be worth reading through this post:

http://community.k2.com/t5/K2-blackpearl/How-to-query-Sql-databases-via-smartobjects/td-p/67422

as it discusses using a stored proc rather than connecting directly to tables.

Hope this helps