Use the CData ODBC Driver for Apache Airflow in SAS for Real-Time Reporting and Analytics

SAS is a software suite developed for advanced analytics, multivariate analysis, business intelligence, data management, and predictive analytics. When you pair SAS with the CData ODBC Driver for Apache Airflow, you gain database-like access to live Apache Airflow data from SAS, expanding your reporting and analytics capabilities. This article explains how to create a library for Apache Airflow in SAS and create a simple report based on real-time Apache Airflow data.

The CData ODBC Driver offers unmatched performance for interacting with live Apache Airflow data in SAS due to optimized data processing built into the driver. When you issue complex SQL queries from SAS to Apache Airflow, the driver pushes supported SQL operations, like filters and aggregations, directly to Apache Airflow 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 easily visualize and analyze Apache Airflow data in SAS.

Connect to Apache Airflow as an ODBC Data Source

Information for connecting to Apache Airflow follows, along with different instructions for configuring a DSN in Windows and Linux environments (the ODBC Driver for Apache Airflow must be installed on the machine hosting the SAS System).

Start by setting the Profile connection property to the location of the ApacheAirflow Profile on disk (e.g. C:\profiles\ApacheAirflow.apip). Next, set the ProfileSettings connection property to the connection string for ApacheAirflow (see below).

ApacheAirflow API Profile Settings

Apache Airflow 3 uses JWT Bearer tokens for API authentication. You can generate a token from the Airflow web UI under Settings or via the Airflow CLI using airflow users create and the /api/v2/auth/token endpoint. Note that this profile targets Apache Airflow 3.x using the /api/v2 REST API. The legacy /api/v1 endpoint used by Airflow 2.x is not supported.

After setting the following connection properties, you are ready to connect:

• AuthScheme: Set this to APIKey.
• APIKey: Set this to your Apache Airflow JWT Bearer token.
• Server: Set this to the base URL of your Airflow instance (e.g. http://localhost:8080).

When you configure the DSN, 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.

Windows

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.

Linux

If you are installing the CData ODBC Driver for Apache Airflow in a Linux environment, the driver installation predefines a system DSN. You can modify the DSN by editing the system data sources file (/etc/odbc.ini) and defining the required connection properties.

/etc/odbc.ini

[CData API Sys]
Driver = CData ODBC Driver for Apache Airflow
Description = My Description
Profile = C:\profiles\ApacheAirflow.apip
AuthScheme = APIKey
ProfileSettings = 'APIKey = your_jwt_token
Server = http://localhost:8080'

For specific information on using these configuration files, please refer to the help documentation (installed and found online).

Create a Apache Airflow Library in SAS

Connect to Apache Airflow in SAS by adding a library based on the CData ODBC Driver for Apache Airflow.

1. Open SAS and expand Libraries in the Explorer pane.
2. In the Active Libraries window, right-click and select New.
3. Name your library (odbclib), select ODBC as the Engine, and click to Enable at startup (if you want the library to persist between sessions).
4. Set Data Source to the DSN you previously configured and click OK.

Create a View from a Apache Airflow Query

SAS natively supports querying data either using a low-code, point-and-click Query tool or programmatically with PROC SQL and a custom SQL query. When you create a View in SAS, the defining query is executed each time the view is queried. This means that you always query live Apache Airflow data for reports, charts, and analytics.

Using the Query Tool

1. In SAS, click Tools -> Query
2. Select the table sources and the table(s) you wish to pull data from. Then, click OK.
3. Select columns and right-click to add filtering, ordering, grouping, etc.
4. Create a local view to contain the query results by right-clicking the SQL Query Tool window, selecting Show Query, and clicking Create View. Name the View and click OK.

Using PROC SQL

1. In SAS, navigate to the Editor window.
2. Use PROC SQL to query the data and create a local view.
   NOTE: This procedure creates a view in the Work library. You can optionally specify a library in the create view statement.

   proc sql;
     create view dagruns_view as
     select 
       dagrunid, 
       state 
     from 
       odbclib.dagruns 
     where 
       DagId = 'example_dag';
   quit;
   

3. Click Run -> Submit to execute the query and create a local view.

Report On or Visualize Apache Airflow Data in SAS

With a local view created, you can report, visualize, or otherwise analyze Apache Airflow data using the powerful SAS features. Print a simple report using PROC PRINT and create a basic graph based on the data using PROC GCHART.

Print an HTML Report

1. In SAS, navigate to the Editor window.
2. Use PROC PRINT to print an HTML report for the Apache Airflow DagRuns data.

   proc print data=dagruns;
     title "Apache Airflow DagRuns Data";
   run;
   

   

Print a Chart

1. In SAS, navigate to the Editor window.
2. Use PROC GCHART to create a chart for the DagRuns data.

   proc gchart data=dagruns;
     pie dagrunid / sumvar=state
         value=arrow
         percent=arrow
         noheading
         percent=inside plabel=(height=12pt)
         slice=inside value=none
         name='DagRunsChart';
   run;