Tableau Connector for Azure Data Catalog

Build 23.0.8839

Configuring a Connection

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

Setting Up a Data Source

Complete the following steps to connect to the data:

  1. Under Connect | To a Server, click More....
  2. Select the data source called Azure Data Catalog by CData.
  3. Enter the information required for the connection.
  4. Click Sign In.
  5. 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 Data Catalog 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.

Connecting to Azure Data Catalog

You can optionally set the following to read the different catalog data returned from Azure Data Catalog.

  • CatalogName: Set this to the catalog name associated with your Azure Data Catalog. If left blank, the default catalogis is used.

    To get your catalog name, navigate to the Azure Portal home page > Data Catalog > Catalog Name

Authenticating to Azure Data Catalog

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 Data Catalog 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 Data Catalog's OAuth endpoint in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions to the application. The connector then completes the OAuth process:

  1. Extracts the access token from the callback URL and authenticates requests.
  2. Obtains a new access token when the old one expires.
  3. 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.

Managed Service Identity (MSI)

If you are running Azure Data Catalog on an Azure VM and want to leverage MSI to connect, set AuthScheme to AzureMSI.

User-Managed Identities

To obtain a token for a managed identity, use the OAuthClientId property to specify the managed identity's "client_id".

When your VM has multiple user-assigned managed identities, you must also specify OAuthClientId.

Next Step

See Using the Connector to create data visualizations.

Copyright (c) 2024 CData Software, Inc. - All rights reserved.
Build 23.0.8839