Analyze Avro Data in SAP Analytics Cloud

SAP Analytics Cloud is a cloud-based business intelligence platform. CData Connect AI creates a pure, cloud-to-cloud connection to Avro and can be used to generate an OData API (natively supported in Analytics Cloud) for Avro. By pairing SAP Analytics Cloud with CData Connect AI, you get true cloud-to-cloud connectivity to all of your SaaS and cloud-based Big Data and NoSQL sources — no need to migrate your data or write your integrations. Simply connect to Connect AI as you would any other OData service and get instant, consolidated access to all of your data.

In this article, we walk through connecting to Avro from SAP Analytics Cloud (through CData Connect AI) to create a model and build a simple dashboard.

Connect to Avro from SAP Analytics Cloud

To work with live Avro data in SAP Analytics Cloud, we need to connect to Avro from Connect AI, provide user access to the connection, and create a Workspace for the Avro data.

Connect to Avro from Connect AI

CData Connect AI uses a straightforward, point-and-click interface to connect to data sources.

1. Log into Connect AI, click Sources, and then click Add Connection

2. Select "Avro" from the Add Connection panel

3. Enter the necessary authentication properties to connect to Avro. Connect to your local Avro file(s) by setting the URI connection property to the location of the Avro file.
4. Click Save & Test
5. Navigate to the Permissions tab in the Add Avro Connection page and update the User-based permissions.

Add a Personal Access Token

When connecting to Connect AI through the REST API, the OData API, or the Virtual SQL Server, a Personal Access Token (PAT) is used to authenticate the connection to Connect AI. It is best practice to create a separate PAT for each service to maintain granularity of access.

1. Click on the Gear icon () at the top right of the Connect AI app to open the settings page.
2. On the Settings page, go to the Access Tokens section and click Create PAT.
3. Give the PAT a name and click Create.
4. The personal access token is only visible at creation, so be sure to copy it and store it securely for future use.

Configure Avro Endpoints for SAP Analytics Cloud

After connecting to Avro, create a workspace for your desired table(s).

1. Navigate to the Workspaces page and click Add to create a new Workspace (or select an existing workspace).
2. Click Add to add new assets to the Workspace.
3. Select the Avro connection (e.g. Avro1) and click Next.
4. Select the table(s) you wish to work with and click Confirm.
5. Make note of the OData Service URL for your workspace, e.g. https://cloud.cdata.com/api/odata/{workspace_name}

With the connection, PAT, and Workspace configured, you are ready to connect to Avro data from SAP Analytics Cloud.

Create a Model of Avro Data in SAP Analytics Cloud

With the connection to Avro configured and the OData endpoint(s) created, we can create a Model for Avro data in SAP Analytics Cloud.

1. Log into your Analytics Cloud instance and click Create -> Model from the menu.
2. Choose "Get data from a datasource" and select "OData Services"
3. Choose an existing connection to your Connect AI OData or Create a new one:
   • Set Connection Name
   • Set Data Service URL to the Base URL for your OData API: https://cloud.cdata.com/api/odata/{workspace_name}
   • Set Authentication Type to Basic Authentication
   • Set User Name to the Connect AI user (e.g. [email protected])
   • Set Password to the PAT for the above user
   
4. Choose "Create a new query" and click Next
5. Name the Execute, select an OData endpoint (like SampleTable_1) and click Next
6. Drag the columns you wish to work with into the Selected Data workspace and click Create
7. At this point, a Draft Data source is created; click the draft to finalize the model
8. Perform any transformations, including creating calculated dimensions, location dimensions, and combining data sources, then click Create Model
9. Name your model and click OK

Build a Dashboard in SAP Analytics Cloud

With the model created, you are ready to create a dashboard in SAP Analytics Cloud based on Avro data.

1. From the menu, click Create -> Story
2. Click on SAP Analytics Template (this article uses the "Dashboard" template)
3. Choose a layout and click Apply
4. From the More menu, select a visualization to insert (Chart)
5. Select a model to visualize
6. Select a structure and the required Measures and Dimensions
7. Save the store

More Information & Free Trial

Now, you have created a simple but powerful dashboard from live Avro data. For more information on creating OData feeds from Avro (and more than 100 other data sources), visit the Connect AI page. Sign up for a free trial and start working with live Avro data in SAP Analytics Cloud.