Connect to IBM Cloud Object Storage Data in the Denodo Platform

Denodo Platform is a data virtualization product providing a single point of contact for enterprise database data. When paired with the CData JDBC Driver for IBM Cloud Object Storage, Denodo users can work with live IBM Cloud Object Storage data alongside other enterprise data sources. This article walks through creating a virtual data source for IBM Cloud Object Storage in the Denodo Virtual DataPort Administrator.

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

Create the IBM Cloud Object Storage Virtual Port

To connect to live IBM Cloud Object Storage data from Denodo, you need to copy the JDBC Driver JAR file to the external library directory for Denodo and create a new JDBC Data Source from the Virtual DataPort Administrator tool.

1. Download the CData JDBC Driver for IBM Cloud Object Storage installer, unzip the package, and run the JAR file to install the driver.
2. Copy the JAR File (and license file if it exists) from the installation location (typically C:\Program Files\CData\CData JDBC Driver for IBM Cloud Object Storage\lib\) to the Denodo external library directory (C:\Denodo\Denodo Platform\lib-external\jdbc-drivers\cdata-ibmcloudobjectstorage-19).
3. Open the Denodo Virtual DataPort Administrator tool and navigate to the Server Explorer tab.
4. Right-click "admin" and select New -> Data source -> JDBC.
5. Configure the JDBC Connection:
   • Name: your choice, e.g.: ibmcloudobjectstorage
   • Database adapter: Generic
   • Driver class path: C:\Denodo\Denodo Platform\lib-external\jdbc-drivers\cdata-ibmcloudobjectstorage-19
   • Driver class: cdata.jdbc.ibmcloudobjectstorage.IBMCloudObjectStorageDriver

   • Database URI: Set this to a JDBC URL using the necessary connection properties. For example,

     jdbc:ibmcloudobjectstorage:ApiKey=myApiKey;CloudObjectStorageCRN=MyInstanceCRN;Region=myRegion;OAuthClientId=MyOAuthClientId;OAuthClientSecret=myOAuthClientSecret;

     Information on creating the Database URI follows:

     Built-In Connection String Designer

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

     java -jar cdata.jdbc.ibmcloudobjectstorage.jar

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

     Register a New Instance of Cloud Object Storage

     If you do not already have Cloud Object Storage in your IBM Cloud account, follow the procedure below to install an instance of SQL Query in your account:

     1. Log in to your IBM Cloud account.
     2. Navigate to the page, choose a name for your instance and click Create. You will be redirected to the instance of Cloud Object Storage you just created.

     Connecting using OAuth Authentication

     There are certain connection properties you need to set before you can connect. You can obtain these as follows:

     API Key

     To connect with IBM Cloud Object Storage, you need an API Key. You can obtain this as follows:

     1. Log in to your IBM Cloud account.
     2. Navigate to the Platform API Keys page.
     3. On the middle-right corner click "Create an IBM Cloud API Key" to create a new API Key.
     4. In the pop-up window, specify the API Key name and click "Create". Note the API Key as you can never access it again from the dashboard.

     Cloud Object Storage CRN

     If you have multiple accounts, you will need to specify the CloudObjectStorageCRN explicitly. To find the appropriate value, you can:

     • Query the Services view. This will list your IBM Cloud Object Storage instances along with the CRN for each.
     • Locate the CRN directly in IBM Cloud. To do so, navigate to your IBM Cloud Dashboard. In the Resource List, Under Storage, select your Cloud Object Storage resource to get its CRN.

     Connecting to Data

     You can now set the following to connect to data:

     • InitiateOAuth: Set this to GETANDREFRESH. You can use InitiateOAuth to avoid repeating the OAuth exchange and manually setting the OAuthAccessToken.
     • ApiKey: Set this to your API key which was noted during setup.
     • CloudObjectStorageCRN (Optional): Set this to the cloud object storage CRN you want to work with. While the connector attempts to retrieve this automatically, specifying this explicitly is recommended if you have more than Cloud Object Storage account.

     When you connect, the connector completes the OAuth process.

     1. Extracts the access token and authenticates requests.
     2. Saves OAuth values in OAuthSettingsLocation to be persisted across connections.
6. Click the "Test connection" button to confirm the configuration and click Save.

View IBM Cloud Object Storage Data in the VirtualPort Administrator Tool

After creating the data source, you can create a base view of IBM Cloud Object Storage data for use in the Denodo Platform.

1. Click the "Create base view" button in the newly created VirtualPort (admin.IBMCloudObjectStorage).
2. Expand the object tree and select the objects (tables) you wish to import.
3. Click the "Create selected" button to create views of the IBM Cloud Object Storage data.
   Optional: Click "Create associations from foreign keys" to define relationships between the objects.
4. With the view(s) created, navigate to a table (cdata_ibmcloudobjectstorage_objects) in the Server Explorer and double-click the selected table.
5. In the new tab, click "Execution panel" to open a query panel.
6. Customize the query in the "Execute" tab or use the default:

   SELECT * FROM cdata_ibmcloudobjectstorage_objects CONTEXT ('i18n'='us_est', 'cache_wait_for_load'='true')
   

7. Click Execute to view the data.

With the base view created, you can now work with live IBM Cloud Object Storage data like you would any other data source in Denodo Platform, for example, querying IBM Cloud Object Storage in the Denodo Data Catalog.

Download a free, 30-day trial of the CData JDBC Driver for IBM Cloud Object Storage and start working with your live IBM Cloud Object Storage data in Denodo Platform. Reach out to our Support Team if you have any questions.