Link Azure Data Lake Storage with FileMaker Pro

This article shows how to use the CData JDBC Driver for Azure Data Lake Storage to integrate with the External SQL Sources (ESS) feature in FileMaker Pro, which allows you to link records in FileMaker Pro with related records in your other operational data stores.

You will use the MySQL Remoting feature to access Azure Data Lake Storage as a remote MySQL database. The CData JDBC Driver for Azure Data Lake Storage implements both the JDBC and MySQL standards to integrate with applications like FileMaker Pro that support connections to traditional databases like MySQL but not generic JDBC connections.

Selecting a FileMaker Pro Integration

There are two data access modes in FileMaker Pro:

• Data Import: Azure Data Lake Storage data is copied into a FileMaker Pro database and can be refreshed on demand. To streamline this solution, use the CData ODBC driver, as FileMaker Pro supports ODBC natively, but it does not support JDBC. To use this approach, see ODBC Azure Data Lake Storage Integration in FileMaker Pro.
• ESS: Instead of working with a local copy of the data, you can use the JDBC driver to create an external SQL source. The remote data can be modified in FileMaker Pro and tables can be used in the relationships graph like standard FileMaker Pro tables.

Outlining the ESS Setup

The JDBC driver is part of a data access chain. Compared to a native ODBC integration, FileMaker Pro integrations that use MySQL remoting have several additional components. This article shows how to link each of the following components with FileMaker Pro:

1. The CData JDBC driver.
2. The CData MySQL Remoting daemon (included with the driver).
3. An ODBC driver for MySQL.

   On Windows, FileMaker Pro requires the official MySQL driver, the MySQL Connector\ODBC (currently, the best option is Connector\ODBC 8.0.11).

   On macOS, FileMaker Pro requires the Actual Technologies Open Databases ODBC driver.

4. An ODBC driver manager.

   On Windows, the driver manager is built in. On macOS, you will need to install a driver manager before installing the ODBC driver; install the iODBC driver manager.

Start the Remoting Daemon

Follow the steps below to enable the MySQL Remoting feature:

1. Open Terminal and change to the lib subfolder in the installation folder.

   $ cd "/Applications/CData/CData JDBC Driver for Azure Data Lake Storage/lib"
2. Edit the configuration file (cdata.jdbc.adls.remoting.ini by default):
   • Update the [databases] section with the JDBC Connection URL for Azure Data Lake Storage: adls = "Schema=ADLSGen2;Account=myAccount;FileSystem=myFileSystem;AccessKey=myAccessKey;InitiateOAuth=GETANDREFRESH"

     Authenticating to a Gen 1 DataLakeStore Account

     Gen 1 uses OAuth 2.0 in Azure AD for authentication.

     For this, an Active Directory web application is required. You can create one as follows:

     1. Sign in to your Azure Account through the .
     2. Select "Azure Active Directory".
     3. Select "App registrations".
     4. Select "New application registration".
     5. Provide a name and URL for the application. Select Web app for the type of application you want to create.
     6. Select "Required permissions" and change the required permissions for this app. At a minimum, "Azure Data Lake" and "Windows Azure Service Management API" are required.
     7. Select "Key" and generate a new key. Add a description, a duration, and take note of the generated key. You won't be able to see it again.

     To authenticate against a Gen 1 DataLakeStore account, the following properties are required:

     • Schema: Set this to ADLSGen1.
     • Account: Set this to the name of the account.
     • OAuthClientId: Set this to the application Id of the app you created.
     • OAuthClientSecret: Set this to the key generated for the app you created.
     • TenantId: Set this to the tenant Id. See the property for more information on how to acquire this.
     • Directory: Set this to the path which will be used to store the replicated file. If not specified, the root directory will be used.

     Authenticating to a Gen 2 DataLakeStore Account

     To authenticate against a Gen 2 DataLakeStore account, the following properties are required:

     • Schema: Set this to ADLSGen2.
     • Account: Set this to the name of the account.
     • FileSystem: Set this to the file system which will be used for this account.
     • AccessKey: Set this to the access key which will be used to authenticate the calls to the API. See the property for more information on how to acquire this.
     • Directory: Set this to the path which will be used to store the replicated file. If not specified, the root directory will be used.

     See the help documentation for more information about the available connection properties and other configuration options for remoting.

3. Start the MySQL daemon by specifying the configuration file or settings on the command line. The example below uses the included sample configuration file.

   $ java -jar cdata.jdbc.adls.jar -f "cdata.jdbc.adls.remoting.ini"

Create the DSN

After connecting successfully to Azure Data Lake Storage and starting the MySQL daemon, create a MySQL ODBC data source. When working with ODBC data sources, you specify connection properties in a DSN (data source name).

If you have not already obtained an ODBC driver and driver manager, refer to "Outlining the ESS Setup" to determine the components supported for your platform.

macOS

Follow the steps below to use the iODBC graphical administrator tool:

1. Open iODBC by searching in the launchpad.
2. On the System DSN tab, click Add and select Actual Open Source Databases.
3. Provide the following information to complete the wizard:
   • Name: Enter the DSN.
   • Server: Enter 127.0.0.1 or the address of the machine where the MySQL daemon is running.
   • Port: Enter the port that the daemon is listening on. For example, 3306.
   • Database: Enter the name of a database specified in the config file for the daemon. For example, ADLS.
   • In the Metadata tab, check the boxes for:
     • "Ignore schema in column specifications"
     • "Don't use INFORMATION_SCHEMA for metadata"
4. Click Test Connection and enter your credentials in the dialog.

Windows

You can use the built-in Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create the ODBC DSN.

1. From the Control Panel, select Set Up Data Sources (ODBC). The ODBC Data Source Administrator is displayed.
2. On the System DSN tab, click Add and select the MySQL ODBC driver.
3. Provide the following information to complete the wizard:
   • Name: Enter the DSN.
   • Server: Enter 127.0.0.1 or the address of the machine where the MySQL daemon is running.
   • Port: Enter the port that the daemon is listening on. For example, 3306.
   • Database: Enter the name of a database specified in the config file for the daemon. For example, ADLS.
   • In the Metadata tab, check the boxes for:
     • "Ignore schema in column specifications"
     • "Don't use INFORMATION_SCHEMA for metadata"
4. Click Test Connection and enter your credentials in the dialog.

Create Azure Data Lake Storage Shadow Tables

Shadow tables exist in an external SQL source but can be used in much the same way as other tables in your FileMaker database; you can add them in the relationships graph, browse data, and create layouts on them.

1. Click File -> Manage -> Database.
2. On the Relationships tab of the resulting dialog, click the Add a Table button in the Table/Relationships section.
3. In the Data Source menu, select Add ODBC Data Source and then select the DSN you created in the previous section.

After specifying the username and password for the DSN, you can add Azure Data Lake Storage tables to the relationships graph. You can now scroll through, sort, and summarize Azure Data Lake Storage data by clicking View -> Browse Mode, just as you would a remote MySQL database.