Configuring a Connection

After Installing the Connector you can connect and create a Data Source for data in Azure Cosmos DB.

Setting Up a Data Source

Complete the following steps to connect to the data:

Under Connect | To a Server, click More....
Select the data source called Azure Cosmos DB by CData.
Enter the information required for the connection.
Click Sign In.
If necessary, select a Database and Schema to discover what tables and views are available.

Using the Connection Builder

The connector makes the most common connection properties available directly in Tableau. However, it can be difficult to use if you need to use more advanced settings or need to troubleshoot connection issues. The connector includes a separate connection builder that allows you to create and test connections outside of Tableau.

There are two ways to access the connection builder:

On Windows, use a shortcut called Connection Builder in the Start menu, under the CData Tableau Connector for Azure Cosmos DB folder.
You can also start the connection builder by going to the driver install directory and running the .jar file in the lib directory.

In the connection builder, you can set values for connection properties and click Test Connection to validate that they work. You can also use the Copy to Clipboard button to save the connection string. This connection string can be given to the Connection String option included in the connector connection window in Tableau.

Before You Connect

Role Assignment

Ensure that the Azure identity has the correct role assignment. The identity is the account that you log in to the browser during AzureAD authentication or the Application itself for AzureServicePrincipal authentication. Please visit the link below for more details:

Configure role-based access control for your Azure Cosmos DB account with Azure AD

You can either assign one of the built-in role definitions:

CosmosDB Built-in Data Reader
CosmosDB Built-in Data Contributor

or create your own custom role definitions. You must also set the scope of the role assignment, where "/" means that the identity has access to all the databases.

Connecting to Azure Cosmos DB

Account Key

Set the following to authenticate:

AccountEndpoint: The Cosmos DB account URL. Set this to the URI value found in the Settings > Keys blade of the Cosmos DB account.
AccountKey: A master key token or a resource token for connecting to Azure Cosmos DB. Set this to the PRIMARY KEY value found in the Settings > Keys blade of the Cosmos DB account.
TokenType: (optional). Set this to "master" (the default value) if you are using a Master Token, which is a full permissions token generated during account creation. Otherwise, set this property to "resource" if you are using a Resource Token, which is a custom permissions token generated when a database user is set up.

Azure AD

Azure AD is Microsoft’s multi-tenant, cloud-based directory and identity management service. It is user-based authentication that requires that you set AuthScheme to AzureAD.

Desktop Applications

CData provides an embedded OAuth application that simplifies authentication at the desktop.

Before you connect, set the following variables:

InitiateOAuth: GETANDREFRESH. Used to automatically get and refresh the OAuthAccessToken. CData provides an embedded OAuth application that simplifies authentication at the desktop; that is, in situations where the user is using a local server not connected to the internet.
You can also authenticate from the desktop via a custom OAuth application, which you configure and register at the Azure Cosmos DB console. For further information, see Creating a Custom OAuth Application.
Custom Azure AD applications only:
- OAuthClientId: The client Id assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
- OAuthClientSecret: The client secret assigned when you registered your custom OAuth application.
- CallbackURL: The redirect URI defined when you registered your custom OAuth application.

When you connect, the connector opens the Azure Cosmos DB's OAuth endpoint in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions to the application. The connector then completes the OAuth process:

Extracts the access token from the callback URL and authenticates requests.
Obtains a new access token when the old one expires.
Saves OAuth values in OAuthSettingsLocation. These values persist across connections.

When the access token expires, the connector refreshes it automatically.

Azure Service Principal

Azure Service Principal is role-based application-based authentication. This means that authentication is done per application, rather than per user. All tasks taken on by the application are executed without a default user context, but based on the assigned roles. The application access to the resources is controlled through the assigned roles' permissions.

For information about how to set up Azure Service Principal authentication, see Creating a Custom OAuth Application.

Next Step

See Using the Connector to create data visualizations.

Tableau Connector for Azure Cosmos DB