---
title: External databases
slug: external-databases
createdAt: 2025-09-03T14:40:39.919Z
---

You can add connections to external structured databases to augment you time series data and event data. You can use these databases to fill event properties on detected events.

## Configuration

Available at `Configuration > External databases`, when viewing or editing an external database, are the following fields:

### Name

**Description:** The administrative name for your external database

### Description 

**Description:** Give your database a description if you like *(optional)*

### Database type

**Description:** The type of database you would like to connect to. Factry Historian supports several types of database:

- Postgres
- MySQL
- Oracle
- SQL Server
- sqlite
- SAP (hdb and ASA)

### Connection string

**Description:** You can use $USER and $PASSWORD if you wish to exclude this sensitive data from the connection string. If you do 2 extra field will appear below. These placeholders are replaced when creating a connection with the values filled in in the next two steps

### Username

**Description:** The username for the database connection. Make sure this is a user that only has read only permission on the database

### Password

**Description:** The password for the database connection.

### Timeout

**Description:** The timeout used when querying the database, in milliseconds
**Default:** 5000

### Retry interval

**Description:** Determines how often the connection can be retried
**Default:** 5000

## How-Tos

- [Creating an external database connection](docId\:wFSr6QG3CAMLBiB7g_VzA)