Tableau Connector for Google Data Catalog

Build 23.0.8839

Configuring a Connection

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

Provide the following connection properties before adding the authentication properties.

  • OrganizationId: The ID associated with the Google Cloud Platform organization resource you would like to connect to. Find this by navigating to the cloud console.
    Open the Project drop-down menu and click the link to your organization from the list. The organization ID is displayed on this page.
  • ProjectId: The ID associated with the Google Cloud Platform project resource you would like to connect to.
    Find this by navigating to the cloud console dashboard and selecting your project from the Select from drop-down menu. The project ID is displayed in the Project info card.

Authenticating to Google Data Catalog

The connector supports using user accounts, service accounts and GCP instance accounts for authentication.

The following sections discuss the available authentication schemes for Google Data Catalog:

  • User Accounts (OAuth)
  • Service Account (OAuthJWT)
  • GCP Instance Account

User Accounts (OAuth)

AuthScheme must be set to OAuth in all user account flows.

Desktop Applications

CData provides an embedded OAuth application that simplifies OAuth desktop Authentication. Alternatively, you can create a custom OAuth application. See Creating a Custom OAuth App for information about creating custom applications and reasons for doing so.

For authentication, the only difference between the two methods is that you must set two additional connection properties when using custom OAuth applications.

After setting the following connection properties, you are ready to connect:

  • InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH, which instructs the connector to automatically attempt to get and refresh the OAuth access token.
  • OAuthClientId: (custom applications only) Set this to the Client Id in your custom OAuth application settings.
  • OAuthClientSecret: (custom applications only) Set this to the Client Secret in the custom OAuth application settings.
When you connect the connector opens the OAuth endpoint in your default browser. Log in and grant permissions to the application. The connector then completes the OAuth process as follows:

  • Extracts the access token from the callback URL.
  • Obtains a new access token when the old one expires.
  • Saves OAuth values in OAuthSettingsLocation that persist across connections.

Service Accounts (OAuthJWT)

To authenticate using a service account, you must create a new service account and have a copy of the accounts certificate. If you do not already have a service account, you can create one by following the procedure in Creating a Custom OAuth App.

For a JSON file, set these properties:

  • AuthScheme: Set this to OAuthJWT.
  • InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH.
  • OAuthJWTCertType: Set this to GOOGLEJSON.
  • OAuthJWTCert: Set this to the path to the .json file provided by Google.
  • OAuthJWTSubject: (optional) Only set this value if the service account is part of a GSuite domain and you want to enable delegation. The value of this property should be the email address of the user whose data you want to access.

For a PFX file, set these properties instead:

  • AuthScheme: Set this to OAuthJWT.
  • InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH.
  • OAuthJWTCertType: Set this to PFXFILE.
  • OAuthJWTCert: Set this to the path to the .pfx file provided by Google.
  • OAuthJWTCertPassword: (optional) Set this to the .pfx file password. In most cases you must provide this since Google encrypts PFX certificates.
  • OAuthJWTCertSubject: (optional) Set this only if you are using a OAuthJWTCertType, which stores multiple certificates. This should not be set for PFX certificates generated by Google.
  • OAuthJWTIssuer: Set this to the email address of the service account. This address usually includes the domain iam.gserviceaccount.com.
  • OAuthJWTSubject: (optional) Only set this value if the service account is part of a GSuite domain and you want to enable delegation. The value of this property is the email address of the user whose data you want to access.

GCP Instance Accounts

When running on a GCP virtual machine, the connector can authenticate using a service account tied to the virtual machine. To use this mode, set AuthScheme to GCPInstanceAccount.

Next Step

See Using the Connector to create data visualizations.

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