# Remote database ActiveRecord model

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/remote-database-activerecord-model/92793>\
**Category:** Rails\
**Created:** [April 24, 2007, 9:24am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/remote-database-activerecord-model/92793 "2007-04-24T09:24:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ericgoodwin](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/e/c68b51/32.png) [@ericgoodwin](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/ericgoodwin)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2007, 9:24am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/remote-database-activerecord-model/92793/1 "2007-04-24T09:24:00Z")

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Does anyone know how to make a model connect to a remote database and  
only for that specific model?

That way I can do the typical CRUD functions on a remote server?

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**Author:** ![ericgoodwin](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/e/c68b51/32.png) [@ericgoodwin](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/ericgoodwin)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2007, 10:02am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/remote-database-activerecord-model/92793/2 "2007-04-24T10:02:45Z")

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Check out establish\_connection:

[http://api.rubyonrails.org/classes/ActiveRecord/Base.html#M001075](http://api.rubyonrails.org/classes/ActiveRecord/Base.html#M001075)

b

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**Author:** ![ericgoodwin](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/e/c68b51/32.png) [@ericgoodwin](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/ericgoodwin)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2007, 10:07am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/remote-database-activerecord-model/92793/3 "2007-04-24T10:07:45Z")

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On 4/24/07, Aryk G. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote:

> Does anyone know how to make a model connect to a remote database and  
> only for that specific model?
> 
> That way I can do the typical CRUD functions on a remote server?

AFAIK distributed transactions with Ruby/Rails is an unsolved problem.  
If neccessary, your best bet is probably talking to a Java or .net  
-based backend over a web service, or perhaps having a look at JRuby;  
which can probably work with JTA.

However, if you, like most rails/php/web/mysql programmers, don’t care  
about or need data integrity, connecting one of your models to a  
different db is fairly simple.

Start at  
[http://wiki.rubyonrails.com/rails/pages/HowtoUseMultipleDatabases](http://wiki.rubyonrails.com/rails/pages/HowtoUseMultipleDatabases),  
and/or search this groups archives for “multiple databases”.

HTH,  
Isak