Model Jira Service Desk Data Using Azure Analysis Services

Microsoft Azure Analysis Services (AAS) is a fully-managed platform-as-a-service (PaaS) offering that delivers enterprise-grade data models in the cloud. When combined with CData Connect Cloud, AAS facilitates immediate cloud-to-cloud access to Jira Service Desk data for applications. This article outlines the process of connecting to Jira Service Desk via Connect Cloud and importing Jira Service Desk data into Visual Studio using an AAS extension.

CData Connect Cloud offers a seamless cloud-to-cloud interface tailored for Jira Service Desk, enabling you to create live models of Jira Service Desk data in Azure Analysis Services without the need to replicate data to a natively supported database. While constructing high-quality semantic data models for business reports and client applications, Azure Analysis Services formulates SQL queries to retrieve data. CData Connect Cloud is equipped with optimized data processing capabilities right from the start, directing all supported SQL operations, including filters and JOINs, directly to Jira Service Desk. This leverages server-side processing for swift retrieval of the requested Jira Service Desk data.

Configure Jira Service Desk Connectivity for AAS

Connectivity to Jira Service Desk from Azure Analysis Services is made possible through CData Connect Cloud. To work with Jira Service Desk data from Azure Analysis Services, we start by creating and configuring a Jira Service Desk connection.

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

   You can establish a connection to any Jira Service Desk Cloud account or Server instance.

   Connecting with a Cloud Account

   To connect to a Cloud account, you'll first need to retrieve an APIToken. To generate one, log in to your Atlassian account and navigate to API tokens > Create API token. The generated token will be displayed.

   Supply the following to connect to data:

   • User: Set this to the username of the authenticating user.
   • APIToken: Set this to the API token found previously.

   Connecting with a Service Account

   To authenticate with a service account, you will need to supply the following connection properties:

   • User: Set this to the username of the authenticating user.
   • Password: Set this to the password of the authenticating user.
   • URL: Set this to the URL associated with your JIRA Service Desk endpoint. For example, https://yoursitename.atlassian.net.

   Note: Password has been deprecated for connecting to a Cloud Account and is now used only to connect to a Server Instance.

   Accessing Custom Fields

   By default, the connector only surfaces system fields. To access the custom fields for Issues, set IncludeCustomFields.

4. Click Create & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Jira Service Desk 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 lacks support for OAuth authentication, you have the option to generate a Personal Access Token (PAT) for authentication purposes. It's advisable to follow best practices by creating a distinct PAT for each service to uphold access granularity.

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 Jira Service Desk data from Visual Studio using Azure Analysis Services.

Connect to Jira Service Desk in Visual Studio Using AAS

The steps below outline connecting to CData Connect Cloud from Azure Analysis Services to create a new Jira Service Desk data source. You will need the Microsoft Analysis Services Project Extension installed to continue.

1. In Visual Studio, create a new project. Select Analysis Services Tabular Project.
2. In the Configure your new project dialog, enter a name for your project in the Project name field. Fill in the rest of the fields.
3. Click Create. The Tabular model designer dialog box opens. Select Workspace server and enter the address of your Azure Analysis Services server (for example, asazure://eastus.azure.windows.net/myAzureServer). Click Test Connection and sign in to your server.
4. Click OK to create the project. Your Visual Studio window should resemble the following screenshot:
5. In Visual Studio, in Tabular model Explorer, right-click Data Sources and select Import From Data Source.
6. In the Table Import Wizard, select SQL Server database and click Connect. In the Server field, enter the Virtual SQL Server endpoint and port separated by a comma: e.g., tds.cdata.com,14333
7. Click SQL Server Authentication and enter the following information:
   • User name: 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.
   Click Test Connection. If successful, choose from the Database name list and click Next.
8. On the next screen, select Current User and click Next.
9. Now, select the first option and click Next.
10. On the next screen, select a table from the list and click Preview & Filter.
11. You should now see the table from Jira Service Desk populated with data.

Now that you have imported the Jira Service Desk data into your data model, you are ready to deploy the project to Azure Analysis Services for use in business reports, client applications, and more.

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