Getting Started with the CData SSIS Components for Amazon Athena
This guide explains everything you need to get started with the CData SSIS Components for Amazon Athena. You'll learn how to install the components, activate your license, configure your first SSIS connection manager, and build a data flow task to move and transform Amazon Athena data in your SQL Server Integration Services workflows.
About Amazon Athena Data Integration
CData provides the easiest way to access and integrate live data from Amazon Athena. Customers use CData connectivity to:
- Authenticate securely using a variety of methods, including IAM credentials, access keys, and Instance Profiles, catering to diverse security needs and simplifying the authentication process.
- Streamline their setup and quickly resolve issue with detailed error messaging.
- Enhance performance and minimize strain on client resources with server-side query execution.
Users frequently integrate Athena with analytics tools like Tableau, Power BI, and Excel for in-depth analytics from their preferred tools.
To learn more about unique Amazon Athena use cases with CData, check out our blog post: https://www.cdata.com/blog/amazon-athena-use-cases.
Getting Started
Installation & Licensing
System Requirements
- Windows: Windows 10/11 or Windows Server 2016+
- Visual Studio: Visual Studio 2015 or later
- SQL Server: SQL Server 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, or 2022
Installing the SSIS Components
- Download the SSIS Components installer for Amazon Athena from your CData account or the evaluation download page
- Run the installer and follow the installation wizard
- The installer automatically registers the Connection Manager, Source, and Destination components with Visual Studio
- When prompted, activate your license using the product key sent to you by the CData Orders Team:
XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX- Note: To run a trial, choose the Trial Key option.
Enabling SSIS in Visual Studio 2022
If you are using Visual Studio 2022, the SQL Server Integration Services Projects extension must be installed.
- In Visual Studio, select Extensions > Manage Extensions
- Search for SQL Server Integration Services Projects 2022
- Click Install
- Close Visual Studio and run the downloaded Microsoft.DataTools.IntegrationServices.exe installer
- Reopen Visual Studio. The Integration Services Project template will now appear when creating a new project
Activating Your License
During installation, you are prompted to activate the SSIS Component license. If you need to update or change activation:
License Activation
The installer automatically prompts you to add your license. During installation, you can choose to:
- Use your existing subscription license key, or
- Enter your trial license
To activate a full subscription license, contact the CData Orders Team and request your product key at [email protected].
Enter the license key in the installer when prompted. Once activated, the components will be licensed and ready to use inside Visual Studio without any additional steps.
Runtime Licensing
When deploying SSIS packages, a Runtime Key (RTK) can also be used:
- Set the RTK property in the Connection Manager before deployment
Common Licensing Questions
Can I use my license on multiple machines?
Yes, depending on your subscription tier. Contact [email protected] for details.
I lost my license key. How do I retrieve it?
Email [email protected] with your order number, and we'll resend your license key.
How do I transfer my license to another machine?
Yes. When transferring the license to a different machine, you will need to submit a License Transfer Request on our site linked below:
https://www.cdata.com/lic/transfer/After the License Transfer Request is submitted and successfully processed, an activation will be added to your Product Key and you will be able to activate the full license on the other machine. Once this process is finished, the license on the previous machine will be invalid.
You may also view and upgrade licenses in the self-service portal at portal.cdata.com.
Connection Configuration
Once the components are installed and licensed, you can configure a connection to Amazon Athena using an SSIS Connection Manager. This Connection Manager stores all authentication and connection properties used by the Source and Destination components.
Creating a Connection Manager
- In the bottom Connection Managers panel of your SSIS package, right-click and select New Connection
- Select CData SSIS Components for Amazon Athena from the list
- Click Add to open the Connection Manager UI
- Enter the required authentication properties (OAuth, API token, client credentials, etc.) depending on your Amazon Athena
- Sign into the IAM console.
- In the navigation pane, select Users.
- To create or manage the access keys for a user, select the user and then select the Security Credentials tab.
- Sign into the AWS Management console with the credentials for your root account.
- Select your account name or number and select My Security Credentials in the menu that is displayed.
- Click Continue to Security Credentials and expand the Access Keys section to manage or create root account access keys.
- Click Test Connection to confirm connectivity
Configuring Connection Properties
Authenticating to Amazon Athena
To authorize Amazon Athena requests, provide the credentials for an administrator account or for an IAM user with custom permissions: Set AccessKey to the access key Id. Set SecretKey to the secret access key.
Note: Though you can connect as the AWS account administrator, it is recommended to use IAM user credentials to access AWS services.
Obtaining the Access Key
To obtain the credentials for an IAM user, follow the steps below:
To obtain the credentials for your AWS root account, follow the steps below:
Authenticating from an EC2 Instance
If you are using the CData Data Provider for Amazon Athena 2018 from an EC2 Instance and have an IAM Role assigned to the instance, you can use the IAM Role to authenticate. To do so, set UseEC2Roles to true and leave AccessKey and SecretKey empty. The CData Data Provider for Amazon Athena 2018 will automatically obtain your IAM Role credentials and authenticate with them.
Authenticating as an AWS Role
In many situations it may be preferable to use an IAM role for authentication instead of the direct security credentials of an AWS root user. An AWS role may be used instead by specifying the RoleARN. This will cause the CData Data Provider for Amazon Athena 2018 to attempt to retrieve credentials for the specified role. If you are connecting to AWS (instead of already being connected such as on an EC2 instance), you must additionally specify the AccessKey and SecretKey of an IAM user to assume the role for. Roles may not be used when specifying the AccessKey and SecretKey of an AWS root user.
Authenticating with MFA
For users and roles that require Multi-factor Authentication, specify the MFASerialNumber and MFAToken connection properties. This will cause the CData Data Provider for Amazon Athena 2018 to submit the MFA credentials in a request to retrieve temporary authentication credentials. Note that the duration of the temporary credentials may be controlled via the TemporaryTokenDuration (default 3600 seconds).
Connecting to Amazon Athena
In addition to the AccessKey and SecretKey properties, specify Database, S3StagingDirectory and Region. Set Region to the region where your Amazon Athena data is hosted. Set S3StagingDirectory to a folder in S3 where you would like to store the results of queries.
If Database is not set in the connection, the data provider connects to the default database set in Amazon Athena.
Building an SSIS Data Flow
With a Connection Manager created, you can now pull data from Amazon Athena or push data into it using SSIS data flow tasks.
Creating a Data Flow Task
- In the Control Flow tab, drag a Data Flow Task onto the design surface
- Double-click the task to open the Data Flow workspace
Using the Source Component
- In the SSIS Toolbox, drag the CData Amazon Athena Source component into the Data Flow
- Double-click it to open the Source Editor
- Select the CData Amazon Athena Connection Manager you created
- Choose a table or view to extract records from
- Click OK to save your configuration
Using the Destination Component
- Drag a SQL Server Destination onto the canvas
- Double-click it to open the Destination Editor
- Select an existing table or click New to auto-generate a table based on the Source schema
- Connect the Source output to the Destination input and map the columns as needed
- At this point you have created a data flow task for replicating your Amazon Athena data to a SQL Server database
Testing Your Data Flow
- Return to the Control Flow tab
- Click Start Debugging
- Monitor the progress indicators
- Review row counts and ensure data is loading as expected
Common Connection Issues
Authentication Failed
Solution: Verify OAuth settings, client IDs, secrets, or token permissions for your Amazon Athena. Contact [email protected] for OAuth troubleshooting.
Cannot Reach Server
Solution: Check firewall, proxy, and VPN configurations. Contact [email protected] for specific port requirements.
Table Not Found
Solution: Confirm you selected the correct schema or database when querying Amazon Athena.
What's Next
Now that you have installed, licensed, and configured the SSIS Components, here are scenarios you can use to explore our SSIS tools:
| SSIS Component | Article Title |
|---|---|
| BIML | Use Biml to Build SSIS Tasks to Replicate Amazon Athena to SQL Server |
| SSIS Export | Export Data from SQL Server to Amazon Athena through SSIS |
| SSIS Import | Import Amazon Athena Data into SQL Server using SSIS |
| SSIS Lookup | Insert New or Update Existing Amazon Athena Records from SQL Server |
Get Support
If you need assistance at any point:
- Technical Support: [email protected]
- Community Forum: CData Community Site
- Help Documentation: Installed locally and available online
FAQs
Installation & Licensing
- Do I need administrator rights to install the SSIS Components?
Yes, administrator rights are required to install components for use across Visual Studio. - Do I need an RTK to deploy to Azure Data Factory?
Yes. Set the RTK property in the Connection Manager before publishing.
Connecting
- Can I use multiple Amazon Athena accounts?
Create separate Connection Managers for each account. - Can I connect through a proxy?
Yes. Configure proxy settings in the Connection Manager properties. - How do I test my connection?
Click Test Connection in the Connection Manager UI.
Performance & Troubleshooting
- Why is my data flow slow?
Add filters, limit rows, and ensure batching settings are configured in the Source component. - How do I enable logging?
Add the following to your connection manager:- Logfile: /path/to/logfile.log
- Verbosity: 3
Be prepared to securely upload the log file upon request when reaching out to [email protected] for troubleshooting analysis.
For questions not covered in this FAQ, contact [email protected].