Create Data Visualizations Based On HCL Domino Data in Mode

Mode is a collaborative data platform that combines SQL, R, Python, and visual analytics in one place. When paired with CData Connect Cloud, you get instant, cloud-to-cloud access to HCL Domino data for use in data visualizations. This article shows how to connect to HCL Domino in Connect Cloud, connect to HCL Domino data in Mode, and create a simple visualization using that data.

CData Connect Cloud provides a pure cloud-to-cloud interface for HCL Domino, allowing you to build data visualizations from live HCL Domino data in Mode — without replicating the data to a natively supported database. In order to create visualizations, users write SQL queries to gather data. Using optimized data processing out of the box, CData Connect Cloud pushes all supported SQL operations (filters, JOINs, etc.) directly to HCL Domino, leveraging server-side processing to quickly return the requested HCL Domino data.

Configure HCL Domino Connectivity for Mode

Connectivity to HCL Domino from Mode is made possible through CData Connect Cloud. To work with HCL Domino data from Mode, we start by creating and configuring a HCL Domino connection.

1. Log into Connect Cloud, click Connections and click Add Connection
2. Select "HCL Domino" from the Add Connection panel
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to HCL Domino.

   Prerequisites

   The connector requires the Proton component to be installed. Normally, Proton is distributed as part of the AppDev pack. See the HCL documentation for instructions on acquiring and installing Proton or the AppDev pack.

   Once the Proton service is installed and running, you will also need to create a user account and download its Internet certificate. This certificate can be used to set the connector certificate connection properties.

   Authenticating to Domino

   • Server: The name or IP address of the server running Domino with the Proton service.
   • Port: The port number that the Proton service is listening on.
   • Database: The name of the database file, including the .nsf extension.
   • SSLClientCertType: This must match the format of the certificate file. Typically this will be either PEMKEY_FILE for .pem certificates or PFXFILE for .pfx certificates.
   • SSLClientCert: The path to the certificate file.
   • SSLServerCert: This can be set to (*) if you trust the server. This is usually the case, but if you want to perform SSL validation, you may provide a certificate or thumbprint instead. See the documentation for SSLServerCert for details.

   Additional Server Configuration

   The connector supports querying Domino views if any are defined. Before views can be queried by the connector they must be registered with the design catalog.

   Please refer to the Catalog Administration section of the AppDev pack documentation for details on how to do this.

4. Click Create & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add HCL Domino Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

If you are connecting from a service, application, platform, or framework that does not support OAuth authentication, you can create a Personal Access Token (PAT) to use for authentication. Best practices would dictate that you create a separate PAT for each service, to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on your username at the top right of the Connect Cloud app and click User Profile.
2. On the User Profile page, scroll down to the Personal Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give your PAT a name and click Create.
4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

With the connection configured, you are ready to connect to HCL Domino data from Mode.

Connect to HCL Domino in Mode

The steps below outline connecting to CData Connect Cloud from Mode to create a new HCL Domino data source.

1. Log-in to Mode
2. In the top-left corner of the screen, click the down-arrow next to your name and select Connect a Database...
3. On the next screen, select Microsoft SQL Server.
4. Enter the Microsoft SQL Server credentials:
   • Display Name: the name for the connection.
   • Host/Port: enter tds.cdata.com in the Host field and 14333 in the Port field.
   • Database name: enter the Connection Name of the CData Connect Cloud data source you want to connect to (for example, Domino1).
   • Username: enter your CData Connect Cloud username. This is displayed in the top-right corner of the CData Connect Cloud interface. For example, test@cdata.com
   • Password: enter the PAT you generated on the Settings page
   Leave the rest of the connection settings at their default values unless you need to modify them.
5. At the bottom of the page, click Connect to ensure that you can connect to CData Connect Cloud.
6. Upon success, the following screen appears.

Your connection is now available for use in Mode. To connect to additional data sources from your CData Connect Cloud account, repeat the setup steps above, changing the value for Database for each data source.

Creating A Mode Visualization

To create a visualization in Mode, follow these steps:

1. On the current screen, click New Report. The SQL query text editor appears. Enter the following query: SELECT * FROM [Domino].[ByName]; Click Run. The app now shows the query result:
2. Running the query activates the New Chart tab. Click this tab and select Pie Chart.
3. Now, drop a dimension in the Color section and a measure in the Angle section.

   We have now created a visualization of HCL Domino data in Mode using CData Connect Cloud!

Get CData Connect Cloud

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