Use the Connect Server to Access EnterpriseDB Data in Microsoft Power Pivot

This article will explain how to use the Connect Server to provide EnterpriseDB data as OData services and then consume the data in Microsoft Excel's Power Pivot business intelligence tool. Follow the steps below to retrieve and edit EnterpriseDB data in Power Pivot.

Connect to EnterpriseDB from Power Pivot

To work with live EnterpriseDB data in Power Pivot, we need to connect to EnterpriseDB from Connect Server, provide user access to the new virtual database, and create OData endpoints for the EnterpriseDB data.

Add a Connect Server User

Create a User to connect to EnterpriseDB from Power Pivot through Connect Server.

1. Click Users -> Add
2. Configure a User
3. Click Save Changes and make note of the Authtoken for the new user

Connect to EnterpriseDB from Connect Server

CData Connect Server uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources and generate APIs.

1. Open Connect Server and click Connections
2. Select "EnterpriseDB" from Available Data Sources
3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to EnterpriseDB.

   The following connection properties are required in order to connect to data.

   • Server: The host name or IP of the server hosting the EnterpriseDB database.
   • Port: The port of the server hosting the EnterpriseDB database.

   You can also optionally set the following:

   • Database: The default database to connect to when connecting to the EnterpriseDB Server. If this is not set, the user's default database will be used.

   Connect Using Standard Authentication

   To authenticate using standard authentication, set the following:

   • User: The user which will be used to authenticate with the EnterpriseDB server.
   • Password: The password which will be used to authenticate with the EnterpriseDB server.

   Connect Using SSL Authentication

   You can leverage SSL authentication to connect to EnterpriseDB data via a secure session. Configure the following connection properties to connect to data:

   • SSLClientCert: Set this to the name of the certificate store for the client certificate. Used in the case of 2-way SSL, where truststore and keystore are kept on both the client and server machines.
   • SSLClientCertPassword: If a client certificate store is password-protected, set this value to the store's password.
   • SSLClientCertSubject: The subject of the TLS/SSL client certificate. Used to locate the certificate in the store.
   • SSLClientCertType: The certificate type of the client store.
   • SSLServerCert: The certificate to be accepted from the server.
4. Click Save Changes
5. Click Privileges -> Add and add the new user (or an existing user) with the appropriate permissions (SELECT is all that is required for Reveal).

Add EnterpriseDB OData Endpoints in Connect Server

After connecting to EnterpriseDB, create OData Endpoints for the desired table(s).

1. Click OData -> Tables -> Add Tables
2. Select the EnterpriseDB database
3. Select the table(s) you wish to work with and click Next
4. (Optional) Edit the resource to select specific fields and more
5. Save the settings

(Optional) Configure Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS)

When accessing and connecting to multiple domains from an application, there is a possibility of violating the limitations of cross-site scripting. In that case, configure the CORS settings in OData -> Settings.

• Enable cross-origin resource sharing (CORS): ON
• Allow all domains without '*': ON
• Access-Control-Allow-Methods: GET, PUT, POST, OPTIONS
• Access-Control-Allow-Headers: Authorization

Save the changes to the settings.

Import EnterpriseDB Tables in Power Pivot

Follow the steps below to import tables that can be refreshed on demand:

1. In Excel, click Data -> Get Data -> From Other Sources -> From OData Feed
2. Fill out the OData feed URL (e.g. http://localhost:8080/odata.rsc)
3. On the next screen, select Basic and configure the username and password. Password should be your auth token.

4. Select the tables that you would like to import into Excel

5. After selecting your table(s) and clicking Load, you should see the data appear in an Excel spreadsheet

6. Now, click the Power Pivot tab on the ribbon, and then select Add to Data Model. This can now work with your EnterpriseDB data in Power Pivot.

Free Trial & More Information

If you are interested in connecting to your EnterpriseDB data (or data from any of our other supported data sources) from Power Pivot, sign up for a free trial of CData Connect Server today! For more information on Connect Server and to see what other data sources we support, refer to our CData Connect page.