MCP server

Most installations do not need this page. NeelAI normally talks to HANA directly, as described in Connect HANA, and the bridge exists for the cases where a direct connection is not available.

1When you need the bridge

• The database sits behind a network boundary that NeelAI's host cannot cross, and opening it is not acceptable.
• Your SAP partner already runs a read-only service in front of the database and policy says everything goes through it.
• You are evaluating NeelAI from outside the client network and want a working demonstration before any firewall change is discussed.

If none of those apply, connect directly. Every hop between the question and the database is another thing that can be slow, another thing that can be down, and another thing to explain in a security review.

2What the bridge is

A small service that exposes exactly one capability: run a read-only SQL statement and return the rows. It holds the database credential so NeelAI does not have to, and it refuses anything that is not a SELECT or a WITH.

3Configuring it

Three settings, in the tenant's connection configuration:

EXTERNAL_MCP_ENABLED=true
EXTERNAL_MCP_URL=https://b1-bridge.internal.example.com
EXTERNAL_MCP_API_KEY=<issued per tenant>

The key is per tenant, not per installation, so revoking one customer's access does not disturb anybody else. Rotate it the way you rotate any other service credential; NeelAI picks up the new value on its next connection without a restart.

4Checking it works

Administer → Connection → Test. A healthy bridge answers a trivial query in well under a second and reports the database it reached. If the test passes but real questions are slow, the bridge is reachable but the round trip is expensive — which is the usual argument for connecting directly instead.

5What it costs you