Connect to Salesforce 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 Salesforce, Denodo users can work with live Salesforce data alongside other enterprise data sources. This article walks through creating a virtual data source for Salesforce in the Denodo Virtual DataPort Administrator.

With built-in optimized data processing, the CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Salesforce data. When you issue complex SQL queries to Salesforce, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Salesforce 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 Salesforce data using native data types.

Create the Salesforce Virtual Port

To connect to live Salesforce 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 Salesforce 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 Salesforce\lib\) to the Denodo external library directory (C:\Denodo\Denodo Platform\lib-external\jdbc-drivers\cdata-salesforce-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.: salesforce
   • Database adapter: Generic
   • Driver class path: C:\Denodo\Denodo Platform\lib-external\jdbc-drivers\cdata-salesforce-19
   • Driver class: cdata.jdbc.salesforce.SalesforceDriver

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

     jdbc:salesforce:User=username;Password=password;SecurityToken=Your_Security_Token;

     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 Salesforce JDBC Driver. Either double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command-line.

     java -jar cdata.jdbc.salesforce.jar

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

     There are several authentication methods available for connecting to Salesforce: Login, OAuth, and SSO. The Login method requires you to have the username, password, and security token of the user.

     If you do not have access to the username and password or do not wish to require them, you can use OAuth authentication.

     SSO (single sign-on) can be used by setting the SSOProperties, SSOLoginUrl, and TokenUrl connection properties, which allow you to authenticate to an identity provider. See the "Getting Started" chapter in the help documentation for more information.

6. Click the "Test connection" button to confirm the configuration and click Save.

View Salesforce Data in the VirtualPort Administrator Tool

After creating the data source, you can create a base view of Salesforce data for use in the Denodo Platform.

1. Click the "Create base view" button in the newly created VirtualPort (admin.Salesforce).
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 Salesforce 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_salesforce_account) 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_salesforce_account 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 Salesforce data like you would any other data source in Denodo Platform, for example, querying Salesforce in the Denodo Data Catalog.

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