Actian MCP Server¶

The Actian Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server connects artificial intelligence (AI) applications to the Actian databases. By implementing the open-source MCP, the server acts as a secure bridge between an MCP-compatible AI client and the data source. It eliminates the need for custom integrations, allowing AI agents to discover capabilities, access metadata, and safely run database tasks through a standardized connection.

MCP is an open standard designed to connect AI models with external systems, tools, and data sources. When you use an Actian MCP Server, it provides the AI clients with three core building blocks:

MCP Server Capabilities¶

You can use the Actian MCP Server to provide a single and unified interface for the Actian database management systems instead of building and maintaining separate connections for every AI client or workflow.

Depending on the configuration, the server enables AI clients to:

• Run database queries using MCP tools.
• Discover tables and other database objects.
• Review schema details and metadata.
• Use reusable prompts for database-oriented tasks.

The server also manages backend requirements, including transport, configuration, authentication, and secure database access.

Architecture and Request Flow¶

Workflow¶

The Actian MCP Server sits between AI clients and the databases that they need to access.

%%{init: {'theme': 'dark', 'themeVariables': {'fontSize': '12px', 'fontFamily': 'arial'}}}%%
flowchart TB
    subgraph Clients["MCP Clients"]
        claude["Claude Desktop"]
        cursor["Cursor"]
        copilot["GitHub Copilot"]
        fastagent["fast-agent"]
        codex["Codex"]
        custom["Custom AI Agents"]
    end

    subgraph Transport["Transport Layer"]
        http["HTTP / SSE
(Network)"]
    end

    subgraph Auth["Authentication"]
        idp["Identity Provider
(Keycloak / Auth0)"]
        oauth["OAuth 2.0 / OIDC
JWT Validation"]
    end

    subgraph MCP["Actian MCP Server"]
        direction TB
        core["MCP Protocol Handler"]
        tools["Tools
─────────────
• Execute SQL Queries
• List Tables & Views
• Describe Table Schema
• List Functions"]
        resources["Resources
─────────────
• Schema Metadata
• Table Definitions"]
        plugins["Database Plugins"]
        pool["Connection Pool"]
    end

    subgraph Databases["Actian Databases"]
        ae["Analytics Engine"]
        ingres["Ingres"]
        zen["Zen"]
        informix["HCL Informix®"]
        nosql["NoSQL"]
    end

    subgraph Security["Security Controls"]
        readonly["Read-only Mode"]
        impersonation["User Impersonation
(SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION)"]
        tls["TLS / HTTPS"]
    end

    claude & cursor & copilot & fastagent & codex & custom --> http

    http --> oauth
    oauth <--> idp
    oauth --> core

    core --> tools & resources
    tools & resources --> plugins
    plugins --> pool

    pool --> ae & ingres & zen & informix & nosql

    Security -.-> MCP

End-to-End Request Flow¶

When an AI agent interacts with the database, the system follows the standard sequence:

%%{init: {'theme': 'default', 'themeVariables': {'fontSize': '44px', 'fontFamily': 'arial'}}}%%
sequenceDiagram
    actor User
    participant Client as MCP Client (Claude/Cursor/Codex)
    participant Transport as HTTP / SSE Transport
    participant Auth as OAuth 2.0 (Keycloak/Auth0)
    participant Server as Actian MCP Server
    participant Plugin as Database Plugin
    participant DB as Actian Database (Analytics Engine/Ingres/Zen/HCL Informix®/NoSQL)

    User->>Client: Natural language query
    Client->>Transport: MCP request

    Transport->>Auth: Validate JWT token
    Auth-->>Transport: Token valid

    Transport->>Server: Forward request
    Server->>Server: Route to tool/resource

    opt User Impersonation enabled
        Server->>Plugin: SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION
    end

    Plugin->>DB: Execute read-only queries
    DB-->>Plugin: Query results
    Plugin-->>Server: Formatted response
    Server-->>Transport: MCP response
    Transport-->>Client: Results
    Client-->>User: Natural language answer

Key Features¶

MCP Server Deployment¶

You can deploy an MCP Server as follows:

MCP Server Advantages¶

By removing the need to build individual integrations for every AI use case, the Actian MCP Server provides a standardized way to use the trusted database capabilities. It ensures that deployment and access control remain securely managed at the server layer.

Next Steps¶