Analyze AlloyDB Data with Power Pivot

The ODBC protocol is used by a wide variety of Business Intelligence (BI) and reporting tools to get access to different databases. The CData ODBC Driver for AlloyDB brings the same power and ease of use to AlloyDB data. This article uses the driver to import AlloyDB data into Power Pivot.

Connect to AlloyDB as an ODBC Data Source

If you have not already, first specify connection properties in an ODBC DSN (data source name). This is the last step of the driver installation. You can use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator to create and configure ODBC DSNs.

The following connection properties are usually required in order to connect to AlloyDB.

• Server: The host name or IP of the server hosting the AlloyDB database.
• User: The user which will be used to authenticate with the AlloyDB server.
• Password: The password which will be used to authenticate with the AlloyDB server.

You can also optionally set the following:

• Database: The database to connect to when connecting to the AlloyDB Server. If this is not set, the user's default database will be used.
• Port: The port of the server hosting the AlloyDB database. This property is set to 5432 by default.

Authenticating with Standard Authentication

Standard authentication (using the user/password combination supplied earlier) is the default form of authentication.

No further action is required to leverage Standard Authentication to connect.

Authenticating with pg_hba.conf Auth Schemes

There are additional methods of authentication available which must be enabled in the pg_hba.conf file on the AlloyDB server.

Find instructions about authentication setup on the AlloyDB Server here.

Authenticating with MD5 Authentication

This authentication method must be enabled by setting the auth-method in the pg_hba.conf file to md5.

Authenticating with SASL Authentication

This authentication method must be enabled by setting the auth-method in the pg_hba.conf file to scram-sha-256.

Authenticating with Kerberos

The authentication with Kerberos is initiated by AlloyDB Server when the ∏ is trying to connect to it. You should set up Kerberos on the AlloyDB Server to activate this authentication method. Once you have Kerberos authentication set up on the AlloyDB Server, see the Kerberos section of the help documentation for details on how to authenticate with Kerberos.

Connect from Power Pivot

Follow the steps below to connect to the DSN in Power Pivot.

1. In Excel, click the Power Pivot Window icon on the Power Pivot tab to open Power Pivot.
2. Launch the Table Import Wizard: Click the Get External Data from Other Data Sources button.
3. Select the OLEDB/ODBC source option.
4. Click Build to open the Data Link Properties dialog.
5. In the Provider tab, select the Microsoft OLEDB Provider for ODBC Drivers option.
6. In the Connection tab, select the Use Data Source Name option and then select the AlloyDB DSN in the menu.

Select and Filter Tables and Views

Follow the steps below to use the wizard to import AlloyDB tables. As you use the wizard to select, filter, and sort columns of AlloyDB tables, Power Pivot generates the query to be executed.

1. After selecting the DSN in the Table Import Wizard, select the option to select from a list of tables.

2. Click Preview & Filter to select specific columns, sort data, and visually build filters. To include or exclude columns, select and clear the option next to the column name.

   To filter based on column values, click the down arrow button next to the column name. In the resulting dialog, select or clear the column values you want to filter. Alternatively, click Number Filters or Text Filters and then select a comparison operator. In the resulting dialog, build the filter criteria.

3. Return to the Select Tables and Views page of the wizard. You can access filters by clicking the Applied Filters link in the Filter Details column.

Import and Filter with SQL

You can also import with an SQL query. The driver supports the standard SQL, allowing Excel to communicate with AlloyDB APIs.

1. After selecting the DSN in the Table Import Wizard, select the option to write a query.

2. In the SQL Statement box, enter the query. Click Validate to check that the syntax of the query is valid. Click Design to preview the results and adjust the query before import.

3. Finish the wizard to import the data for your chosen query.

Refresh On Demand

Connectivity to AlloyDB APIs enables real-time analysis. To immediately update your workbook with any changes, click Refresh.