Integrate AlloyDB with External Services using SnapLogic

SnapLogic is an integration platform-as-a-service (iPaaS) that allows users to create data integration flows with no code. When paired with the CData JDBC Drivers, users get access to live data from more than 250+ SaaS, Big Data and NoSQL sources, including AlloyDB, in their SnapLogic workflows.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live AlloyDB data. When platforms issue complex SQL queries to AlloyDB, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to AlloyDB and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations client-side (often SQL functions and JOIN operations). Its built-in dynamic metadata querying lets you work with AlloyDB data using native data types.

Connect to AlloyDB in SnapLogic

To connect to AlloyDB data in SnapLogic, download and install the CData AlloyDB JDBC Driver. Follow the installation dialog. When the installation is complete, the JAR file can be found in the installation directory (C:/Program Files/CData/CData JDBC Driver for AlloyDB/lib by default).

Upload the AlloyDB JDBC Driver

After installation, upload the JDBC JAR file to a location in SnapLogic (for example, projects/Jerod Johnson) from the Manager tab.

Configure the Connection

Once the JDBC Driver is uploaded, we can create the connection to AlloyDB.

1. Navigate to the Designer tab
2. Expand "JDBC" from Snaps and drag a "Generic JDBC - Select" snap onto the designer
3. Click Add Account (or select an existing one) and click "Continue"
4. In the next form, configure the JDBC connection properties:
   • Under JDBC JARs, add the JAR file we previously uploaded
   • Set JDBC Driver Class to cdata.jdbc.alloydb.AlloyDBDriver

   • Set JDBC URL to a JDBC connection string for the AlloyDB JDBC Driver, for example:

     jdbc:alloydb:User=alloydb;Password=admin;Database=alloydb;Server=127.0.0.1;Port=5432RTK=XXXXXX;

     NOTE: RTK is a trial or full key. Contact our Support team for more information.

     Built-In Connection String Designer

     For assistance in constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the AlloyDB JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

     java -jar cdata.jdbc.alloydb.jar

     Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.

     The following connection properties are usually required in order to connect to AlloyDB.

     • Server: The host name or IP of the server hosting the AlloyDB database.
     • User: The user which will be used to authenticate with the AlloyDB server.
     • Password: The password which will be used to authenticate with the AlloyDB server.

     You can also optionally set the following:

     • Database: The database to connect to when connecting to the AlloyDB Server. If this is not set, the user's default database will be used.
     • Port: The port of the server hosting the AlloyDB database. This property is set to 5432 by default.

     Authenticating with Standard Authentication

     Standard authentication (using the user/password combination supplied earlier) is the default form of authentication.

     No further action is required to leverage Standard Authentication to connect.

     Authenticating with pg_hba.conf Auth Schemes

     There are additional methods of authentication available which must be enabled in the pg_hba.conf file on the AlloyDB server.

     Find instructions about authentication setup on the AlloyDB Server here.

     Authenticating with MD5 Authentication

     This authentication method must be enabled by setting the auth-method in the pg_hba.conf file to md5.

     Authenticating with SASL Authentication

     This authentication method must be enabled by setting the auth-method in the pg_hba.conf file to scram-sha-256.

     Authenticating with Kerberos

     The authentication with Kerberos is initiated by AlloyDB Server when the ∏ is trying to connect to it. You should set up Kerberos on the AlloyDB Server to activate this authentication method. Once you have Kerberos authentication set up on the AlloyDB Server, see the Kerberos section of the help documentation for details on how to authenticate with Kerberos.

5. After entering the connection properties, click "Validate" and "Apply"

Read AlloyDB Data

In the form that opens after validating and applying the connection, configure your query.

• Set Schema name to "AlloyDB"
• Set Table name to a table for AlloyDB using the schema name, for example: "AlloyDB"."Orders" (use the drop-down to see the full list of available tables)
• Add Output fields for each item you wish to work with from the table

Save the Generic JDBC - Select snap.

With connection and query configured, click the end of the snap to preview the data (highlighted below).

Once you confirm the results are what you expect, you can add additional snaps to funnel your AlloyDB data to another endpoint.

Piping AlloyDB Data to External Services

For this article, we will load data in a Google Spreadsheet. You can use any of the supported snaps, or even use a Generic JDBC snap with another CData JDBC Driver, to move data into an external service.

1. Start by dropping a "Worksheet Writer" snap onto the end of the "Generic JDBC - Select" snap.
2. Add an account to connect to Google Sheets
3. Configure the Worksheet Writer snap to write your AlloyDB data to a Google Spreadsheet

You can now execute the fully configured pipeline to extract data from AlloyDB and push it into a Google Spreadsheet.

Piping External Data to AlloyDB

As mentioned above, you can also use the JDBC Driver for AlloyDB in SnapLogic to write data to AlloyDB. Start by adding a Generic JDBC - Insert or Generic JDBC - Update snap to the dashboard.

1. Select the existing "Account" (connection) or create a new one
2. Configure the query:
   • Set Schema name to "AlloyDB"
   • Set Table name to a table for AlloyDB using the schema name, for example: "AlloyDB"."Orders" (use the drop-down to see the full list of available tables)
3. Save the Generic JDBC - Insert/Update snap

At this point, you have configured a snap to write data to AlloyDB, inserting new records or updating existing ones.

More Information & Free Trial

Using the CData JDBC Driver for AlloyDB you can create a pipeline in SnapLogic for integrating AlloyDB data with external services. For more information about connecting to AlloyDB, check at our CData JDBC Driver for AlloyDB page. Download a free, 30 day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for AlloyDB and get started today.