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

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 Lake Storage 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 Lake Storage 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 CData Tableau Connector for Azure Data Lake Storage Gen 2

To connect to a Gen 2 DataLakeStorage account, set the following properties:

• Account: The name of the storage account.
• FileSystem: The file system name used for this account. For example, the name of an Azure Blob Container.
• Directory (Optional): The path to the location where the replicated file should be stored. If no path is specified, the file is stored in the root directory.

Authenticating to CData Tableau Connector for Azure Data Lake Storage Gen 2

CData Tableau Connector for Azure Data Lake Storage supports four different ways to authenticate: using an AccessKey, using a Shared Access Signature, Azure Active Directory OAuth (AzureAD), and Managed Service Identity (AzureMSI).

Access Key

To connect using an access key, you must first obtain an available access key for the ADLS Gen2 storage account.

At the Azure portal:

1. Go to your ADLS Gen2 Storage Account.
2. Under Settings, select Access keys.
3. Copy the value for one of the available access keys to the AccessKey connection property.

When you are ready to connect, set these properties:

• AuthScheme: AccessKey.
• AccessKey: The access key value you just retrieved from the Azure Portal.

Shared Access Signature (SAS)

To connect using a Shared Access Signature, you must first generate one using the Azure Storage Explorer tool.

When you are ready to connect, set these properties:

• AuthScheme: SAS.
• SharedAccessSignature: The value of the Shared Access Signature you just generated.

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.

Authentication to Azure AD over a Web application always requires the creation of a custom OAuth application. For details, see Creating an Azure AD Application.

Desktop Applications

CData provides an embedded OAuth application that simplifies connection to Azure AD from a Desktop application.

You can also authenticate from a desktop application using a custom OAuth application. (For further information, see Creating an Azure AD Application.) To authenticate via Azure AD, set these parameters:

• AuthScheme: AzureAD.

• Custom 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 you defined when you registered your custom OAuth application.

When you connect, the connector opens Azure Data Lake Storage's OAuth endpoint in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions to the application.

The connector completes the OAuth process, obtaining an access token from Azure Data Lake Storage and using it to request data. The OAuth values are saved in the path specified in OAuthSettingsLocation. These values persist across connections.

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

Managed Service Identity (MSI)

If you are running Azure Data Lake Storage 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.