Get Started with Composer v6

Composer makes visual analytics easy. Even fun. For anybody. For everybody. But if you're starting with a bootstrap script, a cover letter, and a license and are not sure how to get started, start here.

Several actions must be performed by different people to get Composer functioning in your organization. The following steps show the order in which actions should be performed. In addition, read Composer Personas for a descriptions of the different job skills that contribute to the successful implementation and use of Composer.

  1. Verify you have a server available that meets the sizing requirements of Composer. See Sizing Guidelines and System Requirements and Installation Prerequisites.

  2. Install the software using the supplied bootstrap script. See Installation Steps. Optionally, install the product and its metadata store manually (see Install Composer Manually).

  3. Optionally, configure Composer servers in a high availability (HA) environment or behind a load balancer. See Configure a Composer v6 High Availability Environment and Configuring the Composer Server Behind a Load Balancer.

  4. License the product. See Requesting a New License Key.

  1. Integrate with your security software (LDAP, SAML, OAuth, Kerberos, or X 509). See Supported Authentication Tools.

  2. Set up Composer accounts, user definitions, and groups, with appropriate privileges. See Authorize Composer v6 Access.

  3. Define custom attributes, as needed, for each user. Custom attributes provide a way for administrators to create variables in user definitions. These variables can be interpolated in other fields elsewhere in the product. See Specifying Custom User Attributes.

  1. Log in as a supervisor and set up the Composer connectors needed to support the data stores your organization uses and that you will want to use for Composer data source configurations. See Manage Connectors and Connector Servers.

  2. Log in as an administrator and define the connection strings necessary for the Composer connectors to access your data stores. See Manage Data Store Connections.

  1. Activate logging. (regular -- Fluentd optional) See Activity Logging, Manage Activity Logs, and Set Up Fluentd Unified Logging.

  2. Optionally, create custom charts needed by your organization. Managing Composer v6 Custom Charts.

  3. Optionally, create admin-defined functions needed for your environment. Composer v6 Admin-Defined Functions.

  4. Optionally, configure a different theme for the Composer UI. See Managing Composer v6 UI Themes.

  5. Optionally, customize the Composer UI for your organization. See Customize the Composer User Interface.

  1. Identify the data you need to use from your data stores to perform the data analytics you want.

  2. Define data source configurations that collect the data you need. Data source configurations use the data store connections previously defined. See Manage Composer v6 Data Source Configurations.

  3. Optionally, configure row and column security for your data sources. See Restrict Access to Data Using Row Security and Restricting Access to Fields Using Column Security.

  4. Optionally, configure permissions for each data source. See About Data Source Authorization.

  1. Configure the dashboards and visuals needed to analyze your data. See Manage Composer v6 Dashboards and Manage Composer v6 Visuals

  2. Optionally, configure permissions for each dashboard. See About Dashboard Authorization.

  3. Optionally, specify how each visual can be interacted with when embedded. See Control How Users Interact With a Visual.

  4. Optionally, share dashboards with other Composer users in your account. See Share a Composer v6 Dashboard with Users Inside Your Account.
  5. Optionally, export a dashboard. See Export a Dashboard.

  1. Embed Composer dashboards in your applications. See Embed Composer v6 Dashboards.

The following additional topics may also be helpful.