Use the CData JDBC Driver for SingleStore in MicroStrategy Desktop

MicroStrategy is an analytics and mobility platform that enables data-driven innovation. When you pair MicroStrategy with the CData JDBC Driver for SingleStore, you gain database-like access to live SingleStore data from MicroStrategy, expanding your reporting and analytics capabilities. In this article, we walk through adding SingleStore as a data source in MicroStrategy Desktop and creating a simple visualization of SingleStore data.

The CData JDBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live SingleStore data in MicroStrategy due to optimized data processing built into the driver. When you issue complex SQL queries from MicroStrategy to SingleStore, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to SingleStore and utilizes the embedded SQL engine to process unsupported operations (often SQL functions and JOIN operations) client-side. With built-in dynamic metadata querying, you can use native MicroStrategy data types to visualize and analyze SingleStore data.

Connect to and Visualize SingleStore Data using MicroStrategy Desktop

In addition to connecting to SingleStore in MicroStrategy enterprise products, you can connect to SingleStore in MicroStrategy Desktop. Follow the steps below to add SingleStore data as a dataset using JDBC and create visualizations and reports of SingleStore data.

1. Open MicroStrategy Desktop and create a new dossier.
2. In the datasets panel, click New Data, select Databases, and choose Select a Table as the Import Option.
3. Add a new data source and choose the DSN-less data sources option.
4. Choose Generic in the Database menu and Generic DBMS in the Version menu.
5. Click the link to show the connection string and opt to edit the connection string. In the Driver menu, select MicroStrategy Cassandra ODBC Driver. (MicroStrategy requires a certified driver to interface through JDBC; the actual driver will not be used.)
6. Set the connection string as follows and click OK:
   • Add the JDBC keyword to the connection string.
   • Set MSTR_JDBC_JAR_FOLDER to the path of the JAR file for the JDBC driver. (C:\Program Files\CData JDBC Driver for SingleStore\lib\ on Windows.)
   • Set DRIVER to cdata.jdbc.singlestore.SingleStoreDriver, the driver class.
   • Set URL to the JDBC URL for the SingleStore driver, setting the necessary connection properties.

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

     • Server: The host name or IP of the server hosting the SingleStore database.
     • Port: The port of the server hosting the SingleStore database.
     • Database (Optional): The default database to connect to when connecting to the SingleStore Server. If this is not set, tables from all databases will be returned.

     Connect Using Standard Authentication

     To authenticate using standard authentication, set the following:

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

     Connect Using Integrated Security

     As an alternative to providing the standard username and password, you can set IntegratedSecurity to True to authenticate trusted users to the server via Windows Authentication.

     Connect Using SSL Authentication

     You can leverage SSL authentication to connect to SingleStore 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.

     Connect Using SSH Authentication

     Using SSH, you can securely login to a remote machine. To access SingleStore data via SSH, configure the following connection properties:

     • SSHClientCert: Set this to the name of the certificate store for the client certificate.
     • SSHClientCertPassword: If a client certificate store is password-protected, set this value to the store's password.
     • SSHClientCertSubject: The subject of the TLS/SSL client certificate. Used to locate the certificate in the store.
     • SSHClientCertType: The certificate type of the client store.
     • SSHPassword: The password that you use to authenticate with the SSH server.
     • SSHPort: The port used for SSH operations.
     • SSHServer: The SSH authentication server you are trying to authenticate against.
     • SSHServerFingerPrint: The SSH Server fingerprint used for verification of the host you are connecting to.
     • SSHUser: Set this to the username that you use to authenticate with the SSH server.

     Built-in Connection String Designer

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

     java -jar cdata.jdbc.singlestore.jar

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

     When you configure the JDBC URL, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.

   A typical connection string follows:

   JDBC;MSTR_JDBC_JAR_FOLDER=PATH\TO\JAR\;DRIVER=cdata.jdbc.singlestore.SingleStoreDriver;URL={jdbc:singlestore:User=myUser;Password=myPassword;Database=NorthWind;Server=myServer;Port=3306;};
7. Right-click on the new data source, and choose Edit catalog options.
8. Edit the SQL Statement to SELECT * FROM SYS_SCHEMAS to read the metadata from the JDBC Driver.
9. Select the new data source to view the available tables. You may need to manually click the search icon in the Available Tables section to see the tables.
10. Drag tables into the pane to import them. Note: Since we create a live connection, we can import whole tables and utilize the filtering and aggregation features native to the MicroStrategy products.
11. Click Finish and choose the option to connect Live. Live connections are possible and effective, thanks to the high-performance data processing native to CData JDBC Drivers.
12. Choose a visualization, choose fields to display, and apply any filters to create a new visualization of SingleStore data. Data types are discovered automatically through dynamic metadata discovery. Where possible, the complex queries generated by the filters and aggregations will be pushed down to SingleStore, while any unsupported operations (which can include SQL functions and JOIN operations) will be managed client-side by the CData SQL engine embedded in the driver.
13. Once you are finished configuring the dossier, click File -> Save.

Using the CData JDBC Driver for SingleStore in MicroStrategy Desktop, you can easily create robust visualizations and reports on SingleStore data. Read our other articles for connecting to SingleStore data in MicroStrategy Developer and connecting to SingleStore data in MicroStrategy Web for more examples.